As Minato thought of the consequences of such a bloodline on a larger scale, Kushina said, "But the boy himself said he only said that as an example."
Minato stayed silent.
Kushina kept watching the projected seal and the child standing beneath it.
"This might not really be a bloodline," she said. "If something like this existed, then the Nara clan should be the first to claim it."
Minato replied, "Intelligence can be hereditary sometimes. With Nara, that sometimes sounds almost the same as always... They are just inherently smart, but I know many ninjas who are just as smart, if not smarter, so their IQ is not that level of extraordinary... It's just that the normal IQ in their clan is higher than normal. But I still have a feeling that is not what this is with the boy... He is just extraordinary with abilities like superior memory, photographic memory, very high adaptability and compatibility with tailed beasts... Just a few of them are enough to suspect a bloodline. But all of the... It's definitely a bloodline."
Kushina said, "Maybe you are right."
Minato looked at her and said, "Now...Just imagine the Nara clan not lazy, not demotivated to train, and also an expert in fuinjutsu and ninjutsu."
Kushina reacted at once.
"Then the Nara clan would be unstoppable."
Minato looked back at Ryu.
"I have a theory."
Kushina turned to him. "What theory?"
"This might be a first-generation bloodline... just like Lord First."
At the mention of Lord First, Kushina's face changed.
Who would not react to that? The First had been called the God of Shinobi for a reason. And Kushina, being an Uzumaki, knew more of the old Senju secrets than most.
"A first generation," Kushina said quietly.
Minato gave a single nod.
"First-generation bloodlines are often unstable and disappear in the next generation, but they are always powerful. Even if inherited, the descendants rarely compare to the first bearer."
He kept his eyes on Ryu.
"Did you see his fight with Itachi?"
Kushina nodded.
"There were ninjutsu he used against Itachi that he never used against the Nine-Tails," Minato said. "So either he is hiding more, or his body cannot bear what happens when he stops holding back. He said as much himself."
Kushina nodded again.
Minato added, "And bloodlines tend to grow stronger with age..."
Kushina's eyes widened at that. She understood immediately why Minato was so concerned.
Bloodline abilities did not only grant power. Sometimes they changed personality too. She had seen enough Uchiha grow harsher, prouder, and more difficult with age to know that much. She had lost friends to that kind of change.
"I just hope he does not change with it," she said.
Minato let out a slow breath.
"We will have to put some faith in him. From inside this isolated layer in this seal, that is all we can do."
*
Back in the real world, Arata now understood Ryu's uniqueness more clearly.
Ryu had explained parts of it before, but then Arata had hardly made sense of it then. Now, after seeing Souji's example and hearing how it could help Akihiro, it made sense.
Arata looked at the seal, then at Ryu.
"Your seal cannot copy your own methods and ways properly like you want," he said. "They are too unique... almost like a bloodline ability. But it can copy me. I am closer to normal, even if I am not... That is what you are trying to say, brother Pyu..."
Ryu gave a single nod.
"Your ability is no less than a bloodline," Ryu said. "Your brain is wired to translate sound into visual patterns. For a blind person, that becomes a navigational ability."
"Yes."
"If you close your eyes, you can still tell where sound is coming from."
"Roughly."
"That ability can be reinforced with training and made useful in mapping surroundings without sight," Ryu said. "And in extreme cases, which I deal with often, it can become the basis of an entirely new ninjutsu path. And with my help, you can also help develop it for others."
Arata listened in silence.
Ryu continued, "As it is now, your condition is biological and cannot simply be copied. But for me, that part is not the problem. I know how it works at a biological level. With your help, I can recreate the same principle using the artificial brain you see here in front of you. I have already sent signals from brain to body with this seal. I can also do it in reverse. If I reproduce what your ears are doing, then I have a solution for my problem."
Arata nodded.
A simplified model appeared before them.
This time it was Akihiro's, shown as a visual animation.
"Akihiro's visual cortex may still be usable even if his eyes are not," Ryu said. "If I can record how your brain maps sound input into visual signals like you, I can adapt that method for him. I would not make him see with his eyes. Instead, I would teach his remaining senses to feed the part of the brain that once handled sight with sound signals... just like the echolocation of bats."
A visual explanation video was played in genjutsu for a couple of seconds.
Now back to Akihiro's brain model, new pathways lit up across the model and the InstinctGPT mapped the visual cortex and auditory cortex like how a circuit board does.
"And if possible, chakra sensing can also be replicated as visual signals through your condition. I need to test whether that is already happening in some form for you, as you have never tried sensing chakra. If not, I will have to think of a way to make that happen artificially. If it works, Akihiro will not need years of repetition and guesswork to reach the heights I want from him."
"That would cut years," Kohinata said.
"Yes," Ryu replied.
Arata looked at the model, then back at Ryu.
"Useful," he said. "But you said it would also help me... how?"
Ryu said, "Let me first tell you something properly."
Arata waited.
"You are not here because you are useful to Akihiro," Ryu said. "You are here because you are family now. In this house, family comes before usefulness. Even if this helped no one else, I would still work on your sleep issues."
Arata took that in without speaking.
Then he asked, "But how?"
"It's the same logic," Ryu said. "An additional brain working in tandem with the primary one... your brain. If the seal can send signals between brain and body and also store instincts and commands, then your subconscious mind can continue in your body where conscious control sleeps away."
He pointed toward Arata's model.
"Just like your muscle memory is already doing now, but on a larger and advanced scale. It would be structured sleepwalking. Your subconscious mind would continue protecting your body even when the conscious part goes offline."
Arata tilted his head.
Ryu went on, "And just so you know, I have already built a way for the body to see with the eyes closed. Your sensory overlap would increase the efficiency of that method many times over. Your subconscious would be able to perceive while you sleep and make decisions to protect your body. The human mind is very self-preserving under harsh conditions. You are the best example of that. Your body already developed protective habits to survive your condition before anyone taught you anything."
Arata stayed silent, absorbing it.
*
Kushina watched the boy absorb all of it. "He makes insane things sound reasonable."
*
Arata looked at Ryu.
"I understand the mechanics of it... but why are you explaining all this to me? I already told you I trust you. I already agreed to be useful to you."
Ryu let the display remain suspended above them. The image of a seal spread across a child's body and brain.
Then Ryu said, "Because there is a problem with this type of seal."
Kaori's attention sharpened immediately. Kohinata's did, too. He understood that problem far too well.
Naruto was still throwing shuriken in the background, only looking back between misses.
"Putting seals on people by others is not seen in a good light," Ryu said. "And for some very good reasons. So I must tell you what you are getting into so that you can make an informed decision."
He looked from Arata to Kaori to Kohinata.
"I explained this to everyone else as well who was not already a shinobi. Souji was close enough to the chunin level to understand the risks himself. You deserve honesty."
Ryu's gaze hardened slightly.
"A seal like this demands extreme trust. In the wrong hands, it becomes something close to a slave pact. A cursed seal. A leash written into flesh."
Naruto threw again and missed. He glared at the target.
Ryu continued, "You both fought the rogue Cloud team. You saw what a deep-binding seal can become. The enemy leader used them as explosive and disposable tools. Seals like that are feared and looked down upon for a reason."
His eyes settled on Arata.
"I am not judging you if you think of this kind of seal the same way."
Then he added, "If you refuse, I will find another way to help you. There are mushrooms that produce effects similar to your condition. I can begin researching them to create a medicine for you. In fact, before I met you, I was already considering researching them for Akihiro to artificially recreate the strong visualisation effect through chemistry. But I already found a boy who was permanently high on those magic mushrooms."
A/N:
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