Mutsuki didn't immediately go for the Lottery. Instead, he took a ritualistic approach, burning incense and bathing before finally pressing the draw button.
[Ninjutsu Extraction Scroll·S has been consumed, Skill Obtained—Transformation (Mastery Level)]
Seeing the name of the Ninjutsu, Mutsuki was momentarily stunned. Fortunately, it didn't have the suffix "jutsu" at the end; otherwise, he might have felt slightly disillusioned. This was, after all, an S-rank Ninjutsu Extraction Scroll—getting one of the Three Basic Jutsu would've been too abstract.
As the Ninjutsu draw was completed, a flood of memories about the Transformation skill entered his mind. Mutsuki then realized the origin of this skill: Transformation is a localized Ninjutsu adaptation of a Pokemon world skill.
Just mentioning the skill "Transformation" might not leave an impression on many people, but if one thinks of the transformation abilities of Ditto and Mew, Pokemon fans would recall some related memories.
This Transformation is different from the Transformation Jutsu in Naruto—it allows the user to use the abilities of the transformed target, though there are some limitations.
After organizing the vast amount of information in his mind, Mutsuki could only say that Transformation is worthy of being an S-rank Ninjutsu drawn from the Ninjutsu Extraction Scroll; it's essentially a versatile, all-purpose Ninjutsu.
With Identification Jutsu, Mutsuki can be considered an intelligence-focused ninja, and the Transformation skill can enable those who master it to gain a certain degree of similar abilities to Identification Jutsu.
Transformation has two stages. The first stage involves scanning and recording the physical information of the target to be transformed.
If Mutsuki were to teach Transformation to Jiraiya, it could indeed turn him into an intelligence-gathering Machine—if Jiraiya could learn it.
The second stage is copying the recorded information from the ninja using Transformation. Once this stage is complete, the caster enters the Transformation state and can use the copied abilities.
Mutsuki considers Transformation the most complex Ninjutsu he has ever seen. With his current level of Ninja knowledge, trying to understand the essence of the Transformation skill feels like a grade-schooler trying to read a college textbook.
Mutsuki even feels that Transformation is somewhat like a Mangekyo Sharingan Dojutsu—its effects are incredibly powerful yet extremely difficult to comprehend.
How should he put it? The skill he drew is indeed very strong and functional, but it still doesn't quite match Mutsuki's expectations.
What Mutsuki really wanted was a skill related to Clones, which would make it convenient to set up various strategies and protect his disciples.
While Shadow Clone is decent, it can't refine Chakra independently, can't exist for long periods, and is quite fragile, disappearing with a single hit.
But since he's already drawn it, Mutsuki merely grumbled briefly about his luck when he first gets it. After that, he just focused on developing the skill without overthinking things.
After all, if he didn't get a more suitable skill, then it simply doesn't exist for him. Diligently studying the abilities he has now is the best way to make progress.
Aside from the rewards from the system, Mutsuki's biggest gain from his trip to Roran was the successful development of Yang Breathing.
Naruto's special qualities allowed Mutsuki to reap a significant reward from Yang Breathing, greatly accelerating Mutsuki's development speed.
However, in Mutsuki's view, the current state of Yang Breathing is not yet a complete success, as it only supports single breathing without achieving the fusion of Yang and Fire or Yang and Lightning as Mutsuki envisioned.
Still, this is a significant breakthrough. If Mutsuki's hypothesis is correct, Yang Breathing could potentially solve the issue of future Mangekyo blindness for Obito and Shisui.
According to the original Naruto series, there are two ways to prevent Mangekyo blindness. The first is transplanting a blood relative's Mangekyo Sharingan to evolve into the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, as seen with Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Sasuke.
The second method is transplanting Hashirama Cells. Obito, for example, does not possess an Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan but can use Kamui without concern because half of his body was filled with Hashirama Cells by Uchiha Madara.
Why do Hashirama Cells have this effect?
After analyzing it, Mutsuki believes it's due to the strong life force contained within Hashirama Cells, which is essentially Physical energy.
Danzo's arm with Hashirama Cells required as many as ten Three Tomoe Sharingan transplants to balance the Mental and Physical energy, demonstrating the immense amount of Physical energy contained in Hashirama Cells.
The effect of Yang Breathing is to enhance Physical energy, which theoretically could have a similar effect to Hashirama Cells.
However, at this stage, Mutsuki isn't planning to teach Yang Breathing to them. It's too difficult to learn, and Yang Breathing doesn't significantly enhance combat power at the early stages, making the effort and reward imbalanced.
More importantly, with Obito and Shisui's current age and skill level, they are still far from reaching Mangekyo.
Since the Transformation skill has a limited range, Mutsuki left his house after organizing his thoughts and began scanning random ninjas on the street to record their information.
After testing, Mutsuki discovered that the maximum distance for Transformation to scan information is around fifteen meters; beyond this, scanning is impossible.
[Transformation Jutsu, Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu…]
Highly skilled ninjas are rare; most of the ninjas Mutsuki scanned in succession were Chunin and Genin, and all possessed abilities that he himself already had.
Nonetheless, Mutsuki returned home using Flying Thunder God, took off his glasses, and attempted to use Transformation once.
Mutsuki could see in the mirror that his form was changing rapidly, instantly transforming into the unfamiliar Chunin he had scanned.
He inspected himself carefully and found no flaws at all—an exact, 100% replica. Even when activating his Byakugan, Mutsuki couldn't see through the transformation.
He tried using Ninjutsu and noticed that even his Chakra had changed.
Everyone's Chakra is unique, even more distinct than their appearance. In the world of Sensor Ninjas, sensing Chakra is far more reliable than recognizing faces.
In Mutsuki's memory, only White Zetsu's impersonation Jutsu could mimic Chakra, but White Zetsu needed to absorb someone first to imitate them, whereas Mutsuki just needed a glance, making his ability even more advanced.
"I wonder if the Rinnegan could see through Transformation. If not, recruiting Nagato as a disciple would be much easier."
Mutsuki immediately thought of a plan to take Nagato as his disciple.
Approaching Nagato as Mutsuki Yumi would be too difficult, as Nagato would be wary of Mutsuki's identity as a Konoha Ninja.
Also, due to Obito, Uchiha Madara likely knows some information about Mutsuki and might not be pleased with Mutsuki approaching his Rinnegan.
But if Mutsuki is not Mutsuki Yumi, it becomes much simpler. He has many personas in mind that could earn Nagato's trust.
For example, he could pose as someone born in the Land of Rain, a patriot displaced by war who wandered the ninja world and ultimately returned as a powerful figure aiming to change his homeland.
Or, he could play the role of the last disciple of the ancient Shinobi sect, re-emerging to restore peace after witnessing the endless conflict and lost ideals in the ninja continent.
Mutsuki quickly recorded these ideas. In the current ninja world, the best candidate for his fifth disciple slot is Nagato—not because of Nagato's potential, but because Nagato could offer a huge Chakra boost to Mutsuki, covering his weaknesses and even turning them into strengths.
Mutsuki continued testing the Transformation skill.
[Substitution Jutsu, Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu, Three Tomoe Sharingan, Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Jutsu…]
When he scanned an Uchiha Jonin, Mutsuki was surprised to discover that even a Kekkei Genkai like the Three Tomoe Sharingan could be recorded by Transformation.
Keeping his expression neutral, Mutsuki returned home and used the Transformation skill again. This time, the Chakra consumption was slightly higher than when he transformed into a Chunin.
"If it can replicate the Sharingan, then other Kekkei Genkai might not be a problem either." Staring at the blood-red eyes in the mirror, Mutsuki was a bit taken aback.
The upper limit of Transformation was higher than he'd imagined—it could even copy the Sharingan.
As he used the Sharingan, Mutsuki confirmed that the Transformation skill didn't just replicate appearance; at this moment, he truly possessed a pair of Three Tomoe Sharingan, with his dynamic vision greatly enhanced.
Mutsuki's regard for the Transformation skill increased a level. With the abilities it displayed, it might be one of the best among S-rank Extraction Scrolls.
If there were an Uchiha with a Mangekyo Sharingan in Konoha, Mutsuki would definitely try to replicate it. If Transformation could even copy the abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan, that would truly be powerful.
This Transformation also allowed Mutsuki to test a limitation of the skill: information consumption. After twenty minutes of using the Sharingan in his transformed state, it disappeared and was no longer usable.
Mutsuki tried canceling the Transformation and then reactivating it to turn into the Uchiha Jonin again, successfully reactivating the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
Afterward, Mutsuki went to Tsunade's house, where they had lunch together and discussed the development of Ninjutsu to accompany the Yang Seal.
"Mutsuki, have you made any new characters recently?" Tsunade asked, getting bored with the old characters.
Tsunade was somewhat addicted to playing "Ninja Killer" and needed a few rounds daily.
"I haven't made any, but I have some ideas," Mutsuki replied after thinking for a moment. In Roran, he was too focused on developing Sealing Jutsu to think about creating new Ninja Killer characters.
"Then hurry up and make some new characters. I've memorized all the skill explanations for the old ones," Tsunade urged.
"Alright." Mutsuki nodded in agreement, planning to have his Shadow Clones create characters with skill explanations that were like short essays. That should keep Tsunade entertained for a while.
Before leaving, Mutsuki scanned Tsunade's information.
While scanning Tsunade, Mutsuki could clearly sense that her information was far more abundant than that of an ordinary ninja. Tsunade's information alone was more than the combined total of everyone Mutsuki had scanned before.
Mutsuki set up an alert barrier around the area using Sealing Jutsu before using Transformation to become Tsunade.
He didn't want to be accidentally walked in on and discovered, or else he'd be mistaken for a pervert.
By comparing the panels before and after Transformation, Mutsuki found that transforming into Tsunade actually consumed 15,000 Chakra points.
After transforming into Tsunade, Mutsuki realized he could now use the Yin Seal, which he had previously been unable to train, and his panel also displayed many advanced Medical Ninjutsu.
Since Mutsuki was able to use the Sharingan when transforming into an Uchiha, he tried to restore his Chakra in the form of Tsunade.
"So fast," Mutsuki felt as though his connection had gone from 3G to 5G, with the restoration speed greatly increased.
Next, Mutsuki found a way to meet with Kushina and copied her information.
However, to Mutsuki's disappointment, copying Kushina didn't allow him to transform into her. The copied Uzumaki physique didn't increase Chakra, and Transformation couldn't replicate the Nine-Tails sealed inside her, only a bunch of Sealing Jutsu.
By this point, Mutsuki had understood the basic effects of the Transformation skill.
First, it couldn't increase the Chakra limit. No matter how much Chakra the Transformation target had, Mutsuki's Chakra limit remained unchanged after the transformation, and his physical strength didn't change either.
Although it couldn't increase the limit, if the Transformation target had a special ability like the Senju physique, it could enhance Mutsuki's Chakra recovery speed.
Additionally, Kekkei Genkai and Secret Jutsu Ninjutsu could mostly be copied. Mutsuki even copied all three heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan.
Furthermore, the more information the Transformation target had, and the more advanced their abilities, the more Chakra it would cost to use. The Chakra consumption when using Ninjutsu after Transformation remained normal.
While in Transformation, Mutsuki's skills were in two states: one was his own skills, and the other was the skills of the Transformation target. Using the Transformation target's skills consumed corresponding information, and once the information was depleted, the skill could no longer be used. Canceling and reactivating Transformation would refresh the information.
If there are overlapping skills, such as if the Transformation target also has Great Fireball Jutsu, which Mutsuki also possesses, the skill's level will determine which one is used. The one with the higher Proficiency level will take precedence; if Mutsuki's Proficiency level is higher, it will count as his own skill, but if the Transformation target's Proficiency level is higher, it will count as the target's.
Additionally, if the scanned character's skill Proficiency level exceeds that of Mutsuki's Transformation skill, it cannot be completely copied. Only partial information can be copied. For example, since Mutsuki's Transformation skill is at Mastery with a certain Proficiency level, the skills he copies can only reach that level.
Finally, there's a limit to how much information can be stored. Because Mutsuki copied too much information from various ninjas, he had to delete the previously copied ninjas.
In the end, Mutsuki decided to keep only Tsunade, Kushina, and the three heads of the Ino-Shika-Cho clan.
Mutsuki discovered that it was better to take off his black-framed glasses when using Transformation, or it would look strange. To outsiders, it would appear as if Mutsuki's head was on the body of the Transformation target.
If the body type and gender of the Transformation target matched his own, it would be fine, but if they were different, it would look awkward, as if Mutsuki's head had been placed on someone else's body.
Mutsuki also tried to see if he could use Transformation by imagining the target's information out of thin air, but he could only change his appearance, and the corresponding Chakra consumption was very low.
...
"Shisui, come here, I need to talk to you." As the afternoon training was about to end, Obito walked over to Shisui and spoke in a low voice.
Obito had discussed with Kakashi and Rin, and decided that he could tell Shisui about the future.
Changing the future required strength, and Shisui was also one of Mutsuki's disciples, a genius among geniuses, a natural member of their team to alter history.
Shisui stopped his training, sighed heavily, and followed Obito to the side.
"The Uchiha will be wiped out in the future," Obito said seriously.
"Why?" Shisui asked, confused.
He felt that the Uchiha had major issues, and if left unresolved, it could lead to very serious problems in the future, but he didn't dare say that the Uchiha would be exterminated.
After all, the Uchiha were the strongest clan in Konoha, with many Chunin and Jonin, a deep foundation, and powerful strength.
"This is not my speculation, this is something that is very likely to happen in the future if we don't intervene," Obito quickly explained when he saw that Shisui misunderstood his meaning.
"Our mission this time is to go to Roran to help the queen investigate the Prime Minister. During the mission, we encountered two Ninjas from the future..."
"Future Ninjas, traveling through time and space?" Shisui looked at Obito in shock.
If it weren't for how vividly Obito described it and the serious expression on his face, Shisui would have suspected that Obito was trying to prank him.
"One of those future Ninjas is Kakashi's disciple, and the other is Kakashi's junior, but neither of them know Mutsuki-sensei, nor do they know me or Rin-chan," Obito's voice lowered as he spoke.
Just thinking about such a future existence, even though it hadn't happened yet, made Obito feel uneasy.
"Don't know Mutsuki-sensei," Shisui's eyes flickered, and an ominous guess formed in his mind.
As Kakashi's disciple, even if he wasn't familiar with Mutsuki, he should have heard something about him. If he hadn't heard anything at all, then that could mean...
Shisui didn't dare to think further and continued listening to Obito recount their journey in Roran.
"Based on the information from the future, we have speculated and can pretty much confirm that Mutsuki-sensei will die in the Third Great Ninja War if we do nothing," Obito said, stating the worst thing that Shisui could imagine.
"Impossible!" Shisui instinctively retorted.
That was Mutsuki-sensei, the powerful and mysterious Mutsuki-sensei.
"I agree, it's hard to believe. Mutsuki-sensei is so strong, how could he possibly die?" Obito wasn't surprised by Shisui's reaction.
He had felt the same way at the time. After all, Mutsuki Sage was all-powerful—who could kill him?
"But this is still a possible future. We've confirmed it multiple times. They are truly Ninjas from the future, and that fact is absolutely certain," Obito sighed.
Shisui fell silent, memories of his time with Mutsuki flooding his mind.
To give him a birthday gift, Mutsuki, despite being incredibly busy, taught himself to forge ninja tools, even injuring his hand just to give him the best birthday present.
Whenever he was lost, Mutsuki would always be the first to comfort and guide him, showing him the way forward.
"Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely cannot let this happen!"
Various emotions surged in Shisui's mind, and under the influence of this special Chakra, he unknowingly entered the Sharingan state. The Tomoe in his blood-red eyes spun rapidly, changing from two to three.
"We all don't want this to happen, so we must work together to create the best future!" Obito said, clenching his fist.
He wanted to create a perfect future where Naruto Uzumaki was not an orphan, where Mutsuki-sensei, as a legendary Ninja, lived to the end, and where they all became outstanding Ninjas.
"I will do my best," Shisui replied after taking a deep breath.
A future where Mutsuki died was not the future Shisui wanted. He would stop Mutsuki's death and prevent the Uchiha clan from being exterminated.
"There is very little information regarding Mutsuki-sensei's death, but the Uchiha clan's extermination is very clear. In the future, the Uchiha Clan is wiped out by a Ninja named Uchiha Itachi, who awakened a Mangekyo Sharingan even stronger than the Three Tomoe."
After briefly recounting their journey to Roran, Obito immediately told Shisui about the Uchiha clan's extermination.
"Uchiha Itachi?" Shisui felt like he had heard that name before.
"Shisui, do you know him? Is this guy the gloomy type, the kind who just doesn't look like a good person?" Obito asked sarcastically.
In Obito's view, Uchiha Itachi was a terrible person, his actions were truly monstrous.
According to Yamato, not only the Uchiha ninjas, but even the ordinary people of the Uchiha clan—men, women, children, the elderly—were all completely slaughtered. Only the extermination perpetrators, Uchiha Itachi and his younger brother Uchiha Sasuke, were left alive.
If Uchiha Itachi had suffered some unjust treatment and killed those who held grudges against him, Obito wouldn't have minded too much. But wiping out all the innocent people of the Uchiha clan was too much. Obito despised such acts of killing the innocent.
After continuous effort, Shisui finally remembered where he had heard the name before.
One day, while taking a walk through the Uchiha Compound, he had encountered Uchiha Fugaku holding a small child, and the child's name was Uchiha Itachi.
"Obito, are you sure it was Uchiha Itachi who exterminated the Uchiha clan?" Shisui asked after recalling the slightly innocent face of Uchiha Itachi.
"Of course, I've double-checked such an important matter. There's no mistake, the name is definitely Uchiha Itachi," Obito replied.
Shisui showed a somewhat incredulous expression. "I do know Uchiha Itachi, but he seems like he was just born recently."
He had met Fugaku just a few months ago, and Uchiha Itachi hadn't even reached one year old yet.
"Ah, is he still that young?" Obito scratched his head.
"No, I still need to check. Maybe this guy is one of those naturally evil beings."
Due to preconceived notions, Uchiha Itachi had already developed a highly negative image in Obito's mind. Even though he had just been born, Obito still felt that the child was extraordinary.
"Then I'll go with you. We should be able to visit Clan Leader Fugaku's house under the pretext of asking for training advice," Shisui thought for a moment and said.
He wasn't entirely comfortable with Obito investigating alone and decided to act together with him.
Since Obito had made a significant impression at the Chunin Exams, he was now regarded as a genius in the Uchiha clan, even surpassing Shisui in reputation. Given their performance, Uchiha Fugaku would surely welcome them.
"Mm, that's a good idea. I was thinking the same," Obito silently discarded his original plan and replied.
Obito had intended to buy some lollipops and other snacks, casually wander near Uchiha Fugaku's house, and lure Uchiha Itachi out to investigate.
The two first went home to have dinner, then met up again to go to Uchiha Fugaku's house.
"Good evening, Uncle Fugaku," Shisui greeted Uchiha Fugaku politely.
"Good evening, Clan Head," Obito greeted alongside Shisui.
"Uncle Fugaku, do you have some time? Obito and I have encountered some difficulties in our training," Shisui continued.
Uchiha Fugaku nodded and invited them in.
As soon as they stepped into the yard, they saw Uchiha Itachi sitting outside on the porch, lost in thought.
Uchiha Fugaku seemed to remember something and smiled as he waved at Uchiha Itachi. "Itachi, come here, let's introduce you to the outstanding members of our clan."
Hearing Fugaku's voice, Uchiha Itachi curiously glanced at Obito and Shisui before walking over to Fugaku.
"This is my son, his name is Uchiha Itachi," Fugaku said as he patted Itachi's head and briefly introduced him.
"Call them Big brother Shisui and Big brother Obito. They are the most talented young ninjas of the Uchiha Clan. Last year, Shisui even touched your face."
"Big brother Shisui, Big brother Obito," Uchiha Itachi greeted Obito and Shisui honestly, following Fugaku's instructions. Since he had only recently learned to speak, his words were not very fluent.
"Good evening, Itachi," Shisui responded with a neutral expression, while subtly nudging Obito, who was deeply focused on observing Uchiha Itachi.
Shisui was glad he came along; Obito's behavior was starting to resemble that of a kidnapper.
Realizing his lapse, Obito immediately greeted Uchiha Itachi.
"How does he look so clueless? How could he possibly destroy the Uchiha Clan?" Obito thought to himself, puzzled.
He suspected that after the Third Shinobi World War, the Uchiha had suffered serious damage.
Uchiha Fugaku didn't pay much attention to Obito's reaction; in his eyes, Obito was just a slightly older child.
In order to prevent Uchiha Fugaku from noticing anything unusual, Shisui had come prepared with two Fire Release training-related questions, one for himself and one for Obito.
Uchiha Fugaku, having practiced Fire Release for decades, quickly and fluently answered Shisui and Obito's questions after a brief moment of thought.
"At this age, with such an understanding of Fire Release, if Itachi has even two-thirds of your strength by the time he reaches your age, he will definitely be considered outstanding," Uchiha Fugaku remarked.
From the questions the two had asked, he could gauge their training progress to some extent. Uchiha Fugaku could only describe Shisui and Obito as the twin prodigies of the Uchiha clan.
In Fugaku's view, the revival of the Uchiha clan in the coming decades would likely depend on Obito and Shisui, assuming they grew up without any premature death.
"Uncle Fugaku, you're too kind. There's always someone better out there. Perhaps Itachi's potential as a Ninja will surpass ours," Shisui humbly replied.
Uchiha Fugaku smiled. If that were truly the case, the Uchiha revival would be just around the corner, and returning to the glory of the Warring States period wouldn't be just a dream.
Perhaps because Obito had shown a keen interest in Uchiha Itachi, after discussing their training, Uchiha Fugaku took the initiative to give them space to converse among themselves.
"Itachi, you should learn more from these two," Fugaku said before temporarily leaving the living room.
Obito's eyes lit up; he had been waiting for this moment. Uchiha Fugaku's presence had been a hindrance; there were many things Obito wanted to say but couldn't with him around.
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