Chapter 22: What is a Kekkei Genkai?
Old man Yoshitoki pointed the white light at his fingertips toward the center of Dana's chest. Something miraculous happened. Dana could suddenly see his own ribs, and inside them, the squirming of his internal organs.
His ribcage had become translucent. He could see his organs shifting slightly with the beat of his heart, looking wet and slick.
Caught completely off guard, the hair on Dana's arms stood on end. He panicked. The others, who had been on high alert, also saw the strange phenomenon and instantly drew their kunai, ready to strike. The order was to ensure Dana's safety above all else. Arashi's face turned cold as ice.
The sight of one's own internal organs is not a pleasant one. The intense mental shock immediately affected Dana's body. A crackle of electricity erupted from his skin and struck the old man's hand.
Yoshitoki hadn't anticipated this either. His hand trembled and he stumbled back, nearly falling. Fortunately, the shock wasn't very powerful, and the frail old man seemed unharmed.
As his finger left Dana's body, the translucent effect on his chest vanished.
The entire incident had happened in just a few seconds. Only now did everyone realize that what they had just witnessed was likely a unique form of ninjutsu.
"Sir, what was that?"
"Ah... that's a little jutsu I developed myself," Yoshitoki rasped, rubbing his sore hand. "A medical jutsu, I suppose. It's not much use for anything else, just convenient for diagnoses. Did I scare you? In my old age, I forgot to warn you beforehand."
Not much use? That was ridiculously cool!
Dana pushed the thought aside. For now, the diagnosis was the most important thing.
After calming Dana down, the old man continued his examination. Now that he was prepared, Dana simply closed his eyes. Staring at his own guts was seriously unnerving. Some of the female attendants had to turn their heads away as well.
This time, thankfully, there were no more electrical discharges. The old man spent an especially long time examining Dana's spine, but since it was on his back, Dana couldn't see what was happening.
"Hmm... a very strong body," Yoshitoki murmured after a while, a smile playing on his lips. "So small, yet so powerful... Young man, your condition is most peculiar. Why would you think this is caused by a Kekkei Genkai disease?"
"Because I can't store or use chakra," Dana said hesitantly. "And I discharge electricity sometimes. And... my physical abilities aren't normal?"
"Then, try molding chakra for me. Let me see."
At his word, Dana closed his eyes and began to earnestly mold chakra. It was a futile effort, but he held onto the hope that one day he would fill his "soccer field," so he had never stopped his daily practice.
Old man Yoshitoki continued to observe the inside of Dana's body with his miraculous jutsu. After a long time, he told Dana to stop.
"Do you know," he asked, "what a Kekkei Genkai truly is?"
I came here for a check-up, not a lecture, Dana thought. But he answered based on his own understanding. "An inheritable, special ability? Uh, related to chakra."
"Not wrong, but that's a very general description," Yoshitoki said. "Kekkei Genkai. The Kekkei part means it can be passed down to your descendants. The Genkai part means it is a limit that others cannot achieve, no matter how hard they try. And both of these are the result of the human body being modified by chakra. Hmm. Some are also created by mixing two chakra natures, but in my view, most of those are just special elemental releases. If they can't be passed down, they aren't true Kekkei Genkai."
Dana remained silent, listening intently.
"There are many jutsu in this world," the old man continued slowly. "Some are powerful, some have unique effects, some are difficult to counter. These were often favored by certain ninja during the Warring States Period..."
It was a known fact that Kekkei Genkai had existed in the ninja world long before the village system. These bloodline clans could miraculously and reliably (or semi-reliably) pass down certain traits to the next generation. Some of these traits were external physical changes, like the famous Byakugan and Sharingan. Others were internal, not affecting the body's appearance, like the ability to deprive someone of their five senses. A portion of these were inherited from the Sage of Six Paths or the progenitors of the ninja world. These bloodlines were a fast track to the pinnacle of power.
But another portion of them had a completely different origin. They were born from the influence of specific secret jutsu and chakra on the body itself. In the current era, where the Otsutsuki clan was all but forgotten, this was the common understanding of how a Kekkei Genkai was formed.
Throughout history, countless geniuses and clans had developed a wide variety of powerful and strange jutsu. Some were lost to time, some shone brilliantly, and some were useless. A small fraction of these jutsu, however, could be systematically studied and passed down. In the dog-eat-dog world of the Warring States, these became the foundation of a clan's power and heritage.
The clan would continuously refine these jutsu over generations. They would grow stronger, more stable. Many of these secret jutsu, or Hiden, were actually just optimized versions of conventional ninjutsu. At this point, the clan would forbid outsiders from learning them, maintaining the jutsu's transmission in a black box. This is how a jutsu became a Secret Jutsu.
The Nara clan's Shadow Jutsu was a perfect example. Their techniques were jealously guarded. It wasn't that only a Nara could learn them, but generations of practice had given the clan more effective training methods, more comprehensive knowledge, and a better internal support system. And because the techniques were kept secret, outsiders had no way of learning them.
Most importantly, the constant use of the Shadow Jutsu was slowly modifying the bodies of the Nara clan members, making them inherently more suited to its practice. Generation after generation, they refined their secret arts, and their descendants would continue to do the same. In addition to accumulating experience, their bodies were gradually adapting to the specific chakra patterns of the Shadow Jutsu. They were being remolded by their own chakra.
Perhaps, after a few hundred years, this gradual modification and accumulation would finally fuse the Nara clan and their Shadow Jutsu into a true Kekkei Genkai. This process was unpredictable. With luck, a single genius could create a new bloodline. Without it, a clan could go extinct before ever awakening one.
The Yotsuki clan's Lightning Release Chakra Mode was the same. As the ruling family of the Cloud, their signature technique was this unstoppable fusion of offense and defense, a jutsu that remained a powerful force throughout history. Like the Shadow Jutsu, it wasn't exclusively usable by the Yotsuki. Dana knew that Dodai, a trusted retainer, had mastered it to some degree, though he had his own Hiden and didn't rely on it.
Generations of accumulated practice had been slowly changing the bodies of the Yotsuki, but a true Kekkei Genkai had never formed. This was why Dana was so important.
But even for clans that already possessed a Kekkei Genkai, life wasn't without its worries. A bloodline didn't guarantee invincibility. And sometimes, errors occurred in the genetic lottery. The most common was a descendant being born without the ability at all. Just as people varied in height and weight, talent was not a given. Many clans had simply faded into history because their bloodlines thinned and no new users were born for several generations.
Another possibility was an incomplete inheritance—a flawed version of the Kekkei Genkai, one that came with defects or caused physical harm. This was a Kekkei Genkai disease.
"And you," Yoshitoki said, looking straight at Dana, "you don't have a Kekkei Genkai disease. You're just too weak."
Dana: "...What?"
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Guys We cross the 100 power stone goal and as promise here the bonus chapter
Next goal 200 power stone,come on guys you'll can do it, good luck.
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