Chapter 196: The Perfect Transformation… Isn't Perfect
After two years of effort, he had finally replicated the Rinnegan's ocular chakra.
Combining it with the soul perception of the Spirit Transformation Technique, Li Yao could now sense the unique spiritual energy fluctuation of every individual.
He could see the very attributes of the soul.
Just moments ago, Li Yao had tested something: he was able to adjust his own spiritual energy fluctuation to match that of another person.
And with that, the final step of the Perfect Transformation Technique was complete.
"Time to go accept a mission."
Li Yao turned back immediately. Whether or not the Perfect Transformation Technique truly worked, he now only needed a test subject—a shinobi to experiment on.
It wouldn't be convenient to do this in Drizzle City. He had to go out and find a wandering shinobi somewhere more remote.
Which meant he needed an excuse—a mission—as a pretext to leave.
Top floor of the tower.
Yahiko and Nagato stood on the second-floor corridor, leaning against the iron railing. Below them in the hall, several comrades were playing cards, taking a break after a mission.
Li Yao walked up beside Yahiko and Nagato. "Yahiko, any missions?"
"There is." Yahiko turned around, nodded, and said, "Brother Li, you just got back from a mission a few days ago. Not going to rest a bit?"
"No need. Hand it to me." Li Yao smiled and shook his head.
"Alright." Yahiko turned toward the mission room. Inside, the duty shinobi stood up from his seat upon seeing them. "Boss, you're here."
Yahiko nodded and said, "Give the protection mission for the village near the Earth Country border to Brother Li."
"That mission… I think it's one of the free ones. Does Brother Li really need to take that one?"
Li Yao's strength was well known—though few had seen him fight directly, every mission he returned from was without injury. Everyone in the organization knew he was powerful. Any mission with high risk and high reward was usually handled by him.
Protection missions for villages with no pay were typically handled by members with less strength.
Because Yahiko accepted every mission—especially village protection ones—even without compensation, many villages began issuing requests to Akatsuki.
Most members were currently busy with this kind of mission.
Having Li Yao take one seemed like a waste.
"Missions are not about compensation. We're an organization striving for peace in the ninja world. If we focus only on rewards, how are we different from the shinobi of the five great nations?" Yahiko frowned and reiterated his ideals.
"Yes, boss, understood." The shinobi quickly responded and handed the mission scroll to Li Yao.
"I'm off."
With the scroll in hand, Li Yao didn't linger. He immediately departed Drizzle City, heading for the border of the Land of Rain and the Land of Earth.
A day later, he arrived at the village that issued the request.
However, the one who showed up was just a shadow clone.
His real body was currently seated atop a clay bird, floating at 8,000 meters above ground—with an unconscious wandering shinobi beside him.
"At this altitude… better add a barrier."
Li Yao activated a sensory-blocking barrier jutsu passed down through the Uzumaki lineage. A transparent dome expanded, enveloping the bird, shielding the area from detection.
"Now White Zetsu shouldn't be able to sense anything."
Li Yao looked down at the thick clouds below—his vision completely blocked, his chakra masked by the barrier. He felt much more at ease.
He didn't want White Zetsu knowing anything about the Perfect Transformation Technique—not even enough to guess.
This was the key to freeing himself from Madara's control. It had to be perfect. If discovered, it would be dangerous.
"All right. Let's begin."
Li Yao crouched, placing a hand on the captured shinobi's forehead, fully sensing his physical structure and spiritual energy fluctuation.
Soon, he had parsed all the data.
"Perfect Transformation Technique!"
With a focused thought, his body began to change. Under the influence of chakra, his cells transformed to mirror those of the target—like reading a genetic code and cloning an identical body.
At the same time, his spiritual energy fluctuation shifted to perfectly match the target's.
Now, both his body and spiritual energy were identical to the shinobi.
Using the transformed soul and body as a foundation, he created chakra in a 1:1 ratio.
"Success!"
Li Yao's eyes lit up. The chakra he now generated was identical to that of the original shinobi.
Even someone like Minato wouldn't be able to tell them apart.
Not just chakra—even in terms of soul perception, the waveforms were identical. Even someone with soul-sensing ability wouldn't detect any difference.
"The Perfect Transformation finally… huh?"
"…Why is it still there?!"
Li Yao's smile faded.
Though his spiritual and physical information now matched the shinobi, the chakra still contained traces of Madara's presence.
He could still sense Uchiha Madara's chakra hidden within.
"Sigh… it still failed."
"Looks like I still can't break free from Madara."
After a long silence, Li Yao shook his head and sighed deeply.
He had hoped the Perfect Transformation Technique could alter his chakra properties enough to erase Madara's trace—and thus break his control.
Over the past two years, combining canon events, Li Yao had deduced how Madara controlled him: likely the same way he controlled Obito—by embedding a chakra signature via the curse mark on his heart.
That signature allowed Madara to wrest control of his chakra in critical moments, and thus his body.
Just like in the original timeline, where Madara manipulated Obito's body to perform the Rinne Rebirth using the curse mark.
Casting jutsu wasn't just about hand seals—it was about manipulating chakra internally.
If Madara could make Obito perform Rinne Rebirth, he could absolutely seize chakra control.
Li Yao speculated that Madara's embedded chakra signature acted like his will. At key moments, he could use the curse mark to fight for control.
If Li Yao couldn't eliminate that embedded signature, he would always be at risk.
Originally... Never mind.
A failure is a failure.
Li Yao composed himself. He still had the Kekkei Mōra path to pursue.
Still, the imperfection of the Perfect Transformation Technique left him frustrated.
Because this meant he couldn't enact his revenge until Madara was dead.
And even then, with Black Zetsu lurking, he might still be under surveillance.
Madara clearly wanted him to stay close to Nagato and not wander freely.
Unless he could break free, Li Yao had no freedom of movement.
"This won't do. I need another way."
He couldn't wait forever.
He didn't know how long it would take to develop Kekkei Mōra. In a thousand years of ninja history, only Dust Release had ever successfully fused three chakra natures.
Even with confidence, he had no idea how long it would really take.
If it took fifteen or twenty years, the Third Hokage might be dead. And even if he wasn't, an old man resigned to fate wouldn't make a satisfying target for revenge.
(END CHAPTER)
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