Chapter 61: Life Return
Inside the Kikyo Mountain camp, Izumo leaned sideways against the canvas wall of the medical tent. The wounds across his body had already been neatly wrapped in clean white bandages.
His fingertips brushed across the pale blue panel. The numbers in the attribute column emitted a cold, faint glow beneath the fading light of dusk: Physical Energy 6.6, Chakra 6.4, Mental 6.9.
Stats like these were already considered excellent among Jōnin. Yet when facing the power of a Tailed Beast, this level of chakra was no different from a small stream crashing into an ocean in full fury.
When the Tailed Beast Ball exploded, that wave of energy capable of tearing apart heaven and earth wasn't merely a difference in technique. It was absolute suppression born from the sheer volume and density of raw energy.
"The quality and quantity of chakra… in the end, they're still weaknesses that are hard to avoid."
A low sigh escaped Izumo's throat. His fingers unconsciously rubbed against the edge of his bandages.
He could rely on the proficiency panel to train his ninjutsu up to Master level. He could also dismantle and reconstruct the Six Powers to compensate for shortcomings in taijutsu.
But all of that still belonged to the realm of "technique." It was like decorating a cracked pot with gold—beautiful on the surface, yet unable to fill the hole in the foundation of energy itself.
The chakra of a Tailed Beast was a deep ocean attached since birth. Meanwhile, his own chakra had to be refined little by little through effort after birth. The gap between them had been destined from the very first second of life.
Conventional training had long since reached its limit. In his mind, his thoughts returned to the kekkei genkai he had once considered—the fusion of Water and Earth that gave birth to Wood Release.
If he could master Wood Release, combined with his current taijutsu capabilities, perhaps he could occupy a significant position in the shinobi world.
Thinking about it, a spark of excitement rose within Izumo's heart. But to rely solely on personal training to merge two chakra natures and create a kekkei genkai… with his current level, even taking the first step seemed nearly impossible.
"I still need to study the cells of Senju Hashirama," Izumo thought silently.
But Hashirama's cells were a double-edged sword. After so many human body experiments in Konoha, only one had ultimately succeeded—Yamato. If he directly transplanted those cells into himself, it would be no different from seeking death.
Unfortunately, he didn't possess a body from the Uchiha clan. Otherwise, he might have been able to imitate Uchiha Madara's method of forcibly fusing with Hashirama's cells.
"Cells… right, cells!"
Izumo's thoughts suddenly circled back to the inspiration he had gained while reconstructing the Six Powers. If he could adapt the six techniques from the One Piece system into abilities compatible with chakra, then another divine technique—Life Return—might become his way forward.
Life Return, in the world of One Piece, represented the pinnacle of human mastery over one's own body.
Unlike ordinary taijutsu, which only trained muscles and movements, this technique pursued absolute "unity of body and mind." Awareness penetrated the tips of nerves, reached every cell, every strand of hair, and could even regulate the rhythm of internal organs.
In its original story, some users of Life Return could weave their hair into dense nets, digest food instantly to restore energy, and even reactivate cells after severe injury to accelerate healing. It was a form of total bodily control—complete and comprehensive.
More importantly, this technique did not conflict with the chakra system. On the contrary, it complemented it.
Life Return strengthened the body's foundational potential. Meanwhile, chakra itself was a fusion of physical energy and spiritual energy.
If the body's potential increased, the efficiency of chakra extraction and the limits of chakra storage would naturally rise as well.
"Isn't this the perfect chance to evolve from chakra into… 'chakraton'?" Izumo licked his lips with excitement. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that this was the ability most capable of elevating his essence right now.
Of course, he fully understood just how high the threshold for Life Return was. He would first need to train the Six Powers to their peak, building an absolute foundation of bodily control.
The high-frequency muscle bursts of Shave, the regulation of skin density through Iron Body, and the flexible evasion of Paper Art—each of these required precise control over specific parts of the body.
Only by carving every technique into his bones could he gradually master the entire body: from hair and skin, to muscles and bones, then to organs and cells. A single mistake carried the risk of collapsing his chakra pathways.
And beyond that, the price to be paid was immense.
Excessive control over the body and forcing its limits would drain life energy and accelerate cellular aging.
Just as ninja shortened their lifespans through excessive chakra extraction, the true essence of Life Return was not "forced control," but finding the delicate balance between "mastery" and "adaptation." That was the true path of life.
After understanding this, Izumo suddenly rose to his feet and walked toward the quiet valley behind the camp.
He first activated the Six Powers, bringing his body to its peak condition. The high-frequency leg bursts of Shave made the muscles in his legs tighten like steel strings.
When Iron Body activated, his skin emitted a cold sheen like metal. Paper Art softened his body as if it had no bones at all. These three states rotated within him, sharpening the precision of his bodily control.
The training began with the most basic level—controlling his hair.
The first step of Life Return was allowing awareness to penetrate the barrier of the skin and reach each hair follicle with precision.
Izumo sat cross-legged atop a green stone in the valley, closed his eyes, and focused his mind. His spiritual energy was pushed to the extreme limit.
His Master-level Chakra Control allowed him to clearly sense the subtle flow of energy within his body while expanding his perception of the outside world to an extreme degree. Even the movement of ants within cracks in the stone could be felt.
He attempted to direct his awareness toward a single strand of brown hair on his head, trying to lift it slightly.
But the first attempt felt like scratching an itch through thick boots. His consciousness struck the barrier of skin and shattered into fragments. No matter how he focused, the strand of hair refused to move.
Occasionally, a few hairs trembled faintly, but that was merely the side effect of chakra fluctuations—not true conscious control.
"Don't rush."
Izumo took a deep breath, suppressing the impatience in his heart.
He recalled his experience training the Six Powers: mastery of any extreme technique was born from refining details repeated thousands of times.
He no longer rushed. Instead, he condensed his spiritual energy into fine threads, gently wrapping them around a single hair follicle. He felt the breathing rhythm of the cells within it, as well as the delicate nerve endings connecting the hair to his skin.
Time passed in the silence of the valley. Only the sound of leaves stirred by the wind and his steady breathing echoed back and forth.
Fine beads of sweat formed on Izumo's temples, sliding down along his jaw and dripping onto the green stone below, leaving small dark stains.
Who knew how much time had passed. But when the frequency of his awareness finally aligned completely with the pulse of the follicle's cells, that black strand of hair suddenly seemed to gain life.
Slowly, it lifted ever so slightly, then curved into a precise, small arc.
[Life Return: Beginner (1/100)]
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