Chapter 32: The Ability to Learn All Ninjutsu
What is the essence of ninjutsu?
Chakra.
In the ninja world, chakra is the foundation of all ninjutsu—ninjutsu is simply the outward expression of this energy.
Every technique is made possible through chakra.
And the realization of ninjutsu through chakra lies fundamentally in two aspects: nature transformation and shape transformation.
Li Yao wouldn't go so far as to say that all ninjutsu works this way.
But he was certain that the vast majority of them are developed based on chakra's nature and shape transformations.
Chakra's nature transformation gives ninjutsu its elemental properties.
For example, fire-nature chakra results in fire-like qualities: heat, light, combustion—those essential characteristics of flames.
Meanwhile, shape transformation defines how the chakra takes form.
Techniques like Fireball Jutsu, Fire Dragon Jutsu, and Phoenix Sage Fire all owe their distinctive shapes to chakra's shape transformation.
In simple terms, chakra's nature transformation allows raw chakra energy to behave like fire, water, lightning, and other physically real elements, giving it the ability to cause real-world damage.
Shape transformation then processes that energy further—molding it into destructive constructs.
For example, Steel Release chakra gives the qualities of steel, and its shape transformation allows it to take the form of a sword. Combined, you get the Steel Release: Steel Blade Jutsu.
In short, almost every ninjutsu is built upon chakra's nature and shape transformations.
Even techniques like the Rasengan, which don't involve nature transformation, rely entirely on shape transformation.
These types—those that use only shape transformation—are the easiest for Li Yao to learn.
As long as he could directly perceive the chakra form used in Rasengan, Li Yao could learn it instantly.
He had two overwhelming advantages:
Absolute control over his own chakra's nature and shape transformations.A powerful sensory ability that allowed him to perceive the nature and shape of other people's jutsu chakra.
With both, Li Yao had complete confidence in his ability to learn all ninjutsu.
And indeed, that confidence was justified.
In fact, it had only taken him three days to replicate the sealing chakra used in the jutsu on his body.
It took that long simply because the sealing chakra had complex nature and form transformations—it took three days to fully perceive it.
Otherwise, he could've replicated it in a day—or even a second.
And although he now had the chakra to lift the seal on his body at any time…
The real issue was hiding the constant increase in his chakra levels from ANBU surveillance.
For now, his chakra amount was still low.
The sealing formula on his body hadn't reacted to any significant fluctuation—nothing seemed unusual during inspections.
But if Li Yao's chakra kept growing, eventually someone with chakra-sensing abilities would detect the anomaly through the sealing formula.
At that point, the ANBU would become suspicious—making it harder for him to pull off a surprise counterattack.
"I need a way to store the excess chakra without it being noticed."
As Li Yao pondered how to hide his growing chakra pool, the members of Bao's squad brought him to the gates of a dark underground base.
A squad of four, clad differently from standard ANBU, was already waiting by the entrance.
This was one of Root's two four-man teams.
Their captain stepped forward and intercepted Bao's squad.
He walked to the restraint bed and examined Li Yao carefully.
When he saw the black sealing formula on Li Yao's body, his brows furrowed, and he turned to Bao: "Remove the seal on the subject."
Bao's gaze sharpened. He refused, "The target is extremely dangerous. Hokage-sama explicitly ordered that the sealing formula must never be removed under any circumstances."
The Root captain replied, "I know. I'll apply a new sealing formula afterward."
There was a clear tone of distrust in his voice, which made Bao frown—he didn't like the captain's attitude. As a direct subordinate of the Hokage, Bao took offense.
He knew exactly how important—and how dangerous—Li Yao was to the Hokage.
There was no way he would risk removing the seal without direct orders.
So Bao, sticking to protocol, refused.
"Fine. Leave him to us."
The Root captain didn't argue further. He signaled his squad to take the restraint bed from Bao's team and wheeled it into the Root base.
Bao stood there, frowning.
He knew the only reason they didn't push the issue was because they were confident they could remove the seal themselves.
That worried him—there might be complications.
After some thought, Bao decided to report it to the Hokage.
Back at the Hokage's office, the response he got was: don't worry.
So Bao stopped concerning himself with Li Yao.
Root's base had been built atop the old facility once used for the Wood Release Revival Project.
That was why the Third had chosen to hand Li Yao over to Danzo.
At the time, Danzo wasn't in the base—or even in the village. He was out on a mission with Root's other team.
The squad receiving Li Yao led him into a sealed room.
The equipment here rivaled the high-end biotech labs of Li Yao's previous world. They even had computers and advanced technology.
Compared to ANBU's Interrogation Room Three, this place was far more professional.
Li Yao was stripped bare and laid on a stone bed covered in sealing formulas.
The Root captain stood behind his head. The other three surrounded him from three sides.
"Sealing Technique: Release!"
All four placed their hands on the four glyph-marked corners of the stone table, forming hand seals.
As their chakra activated the stone's seal pattern, Li Yao felt a force pulling the sealing chakra from his body—along with the replicated sealing chakra he had created.
He quickly canceled his own chakra, reverting it to a normal state to avoid detection.
If they extracted the wrong amount, they'd realize he had the ability to cancel the seal on his own.
And he couldn't afford that kind of exposure.
After enduring half a year of torture, Li Yao no longer underestimated any ninja.
In a world where supernatural power reigned, you could never be too cautious.
With the sealing chakra removed, Li Yao regained full control over his chakra.
But he made no move. He continued feigning a vegetative state.
Even though he could now fully control his body, he chose to wait.
So long as he could stay alive, he would bide his time and wait for the right moment to escape.
If a life-or-death situation arose—then he would strike.
Li Yao's mindset was much more composed than it had been half a year ago.
Or maybe… he had just gone numb.
A reflection of his loss of fear toward life and death.
"Eight Trigrams Seal!"
After lifting the old seal, the Root squad applied a new one—Eight Trigrams Seal.
Li Yao sensed it. Its effect was similar to the previous seal—
It suppressed and sealed his chakra.
But this one had an added function: it continuously absorbed his chakra to sustain itself.
The previous seal had to be recharged periodically by Bao.
In this regard, the Eight Trigrams Seal was more advanced.
And more troublesome for Li Yao.
He could replicate its chakra nature and form and stop it from draining his chakra—
But doing so might expose his abilities.
Until he figured out a way to secretly store chakra, Li Yao would stop replicating the Eight Trigrams Seal's chakra.
"Put him into Pod Eight."
The Root captain instructed.
Right now, Root didn't have the time to study Li Yao. They'd store him for later.
The lab held eight cylindrical glass pods filled with nutrient fluid used for cultivating cells—perfect for preserving test subjects.
These chambers could maintain minimal life activity while reducing the need for constant supervision. Monitoring would be handled by computer.
And so, naked and motionless, Li Yao was sealed into Pod Eight.
He had no idea where his body had been placed. His chakra sense only detected chakra—not physical materials like glass.
So he didn't know he was now floating in nutrient fluid.
But he did sense that he was surrounded by a gentle chakra filled with faint life energy.
The nutrient fluid contained chakra.
This chakra had special life-preserving qualities—it was nourishing his body.
He could feel his physical energy rising.
That meant his body was regaining vitality.
Though he didn't know what was happening outside, Li Yao was sure—
For now, there was no need to risk everything.
(END CHAPTER)
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