"The most pressing matter, I believe, is to prioritize bringing the Five-Tails Jinchuriki back to Konoha. As for the information about Seven-Tails—"
Jiraiya looked at the people from Kumogakure and Kirigakure, saying with a serious expression, "Everyone, please return to your respective villages as soon as possible and inform your Kage."
Samui and the others exchanged glances. For now, this was the only option.
With a leap, Jiraiya soared into the sky, riding the clouds towards Konoha.
On the ground, Samui and the others confirmed everything once more before leaving separately. The news of Seven-Tails' capture had to be reported to their villages as quickly as possible.
—
"Brat, tell me your thoughts."
Sitting atop Jiraiya's enormous head, Jiraiya glanced at the restrained Five-Tails Jinchuriki, then turned to Shinji and spoke.
"Hmm? What thoughts?"
Shinji, who had been deep in thought, looked up blankly, unsure what Jiraiya was referring to.
"What do you think of those two guys today?" Jiraiya playfully slapped Shinji's head.
Shinji propped himself up with his hands behind him, watching the white clouds drift by, and shook his head, saying, "They're not particularly troublesome, but their individual abilities are very strange."
"That Hiruko, I heard he was a friend of yours back then, senpai?"
Shinji couldn't help but turn to Jiraiya with some curiosity. Today, Jiraiya hadn't lost his composure when he saw Hiruko. Though there was also the reason of not wanting the people from Kumogakure and Kirigakure to find any leverage.
"Ah, yes." Jiraiya nodded gloomily.
Back then, it was him, Tsunade, and Orochimaru who went to stop Hiruko, but at the time, the three of them each had their own ideas. As a result, Hiruko escaped. Now, thinking back, perhaps if they had taken him down then...
Perhaps he wouldn't have had to see his old acquaintance in such a state today.
"It's just that, after so many years, I didn't expect him to actually succeed in developing Chimera Technique."
With five Kekkei Genkais combined, Konoha would gain another lurking enemy in the shadows. Moreover, this enemy's power was not weak.
"Even if he developed it, Chimera Technique is nothing special. His danger lies in his ability to steal others' Kekkei Genkais."
Shinji wasn't too worried about the Chimera. What was truly unacceptable about Chimera Technique was its direct theft of Kekkei Genkais.
And those who had their Kekkei Genkais stolen would likely not meet a good end.
Han, who was restrained behind them, was in this very state, and even Shinji himself couldn't guarantee he could fix it.
Jiraiya couldn't help but smile wryly upon hearing this.
Chimera Technique is nothing special?
If Hiruko heard that, he would probably explode with anger. But since the one who said it was Shinji...
Jiraiya had to admit that Shinji had the capital to say such a thing.
"When did you develop Lava Release and Ice Release?" Jiraiya asked.
He remembered how he was momentarily stunned when Shinji displayed two Kekkei Genkais with a mere raise of his hand.
Otherwise, Shinnō wouldn't have been able to use the opportunity to detonate some tentacles, allowing the two to escape.
Shinji, hearing Jiraiya's question, shook his head. "What I did wasn't true Kekkei Genkais at all, it was just a crude imitation."
"Huh?" Jiraiya blinked, a bit unclear about what Shinji meant.
Seeing Jiraiya's expression, Shinji raised his hand, and a square, translucent barrier appeared in his palm.
"Dust... Dust Release!"
Jiraiya looked as if he had seen a ghost, staring at the square energy mass in Shinji's hand that subtly gave him a sense of danger.
"Kekkei Genkais have always been described in the Ninja World as a representation of bloodline and talent."
Shinji rotated the square energy mass in his hand, beginning to explain to Jiraiya.
"However, there is another explanation, which is the energy foundation."
Jiraiya nodded, moving closer to Shinji. "You mean that combining two Chakra Natures can also achieve it?"
However, this theory wasn't very solid, as there were many ninjas in the Ninja World with multiple Nature Transformations. Yet, no one had truly managed to synthesize a Kekkei Genkai.
"You could say that, but not entirely."
Shinji shook his head, looking at Jiraiya and saying, "Senpai, you yourself have traveled the Ninja World for so many years. You must have encountered many Kekkei Genkai users or clans, right?"
Hearing Shinji say this, Jiraiya nodded.
The Ninja World wasn't too big nor too small. But over the years, he had seen all sorts of people.
"Actually, the prerequisite for Kekkei Genkais still comes back to genetic bloodline. This condition determines whether a person has the qualification to fuse."
"This can also be called a substance carried by the body."
"A substance capable of simultaneously and completely fusing two Nature Transformations, thereby causing a qualitative change and forming a completely new and stable Nature."
"This process is extremely complex, far from being as simple as adjusting proportions."
Jiraiya, hearing this, seemed to grasp something, yet was still a bit confused. "Doesn't this just revert to the initial statement? That only bloodline inheritance can achieve it."
"Not quite. If a single-nature Ninjutsu is likened to using ready-made paints to draw, then a Kekkei Genkai is essentially being born with a secret formula to chemically react two basic paints."
"And that reaction, I coincidentally analyzed it last time using Yin Release, and it was for three types."
Shinji said, holding up the square energy mass in his hand, then dispersed it.
It was only then that Jiraiya suddenly understood, and then burst into laughter.
"So that's it. That's why you said what you performed wasn't true Kekkei Genkais, but merely a clever way of using them."
"Exactly." Shinji nodded in acknowledgment.
He had only obtained the formula for combining these "paints," but he didn't possess the corresponding bloodline himself.
Such Lava Release and Ice Release, rather than being called Kekkei Genkais, were more like Shinji's reassembly based on his understanding of Nature Transformation.
"Ōnoki probably still can't figure out why you learned Dust Release, can he?"
Jiraiya couldn't help but want to laugh when he thought of Ōnoki's expression when he saw Dust Release being performed by Shinji.
Shinji said with a smile, "Pretty much. After all, Dust Release is a Kekkei Tota. And it's precisely thanks to Dust Release that I was able to analyze Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation at the atomic level."
This was also why the Dust Release he performed back then was slightly inferior to Ōnoki's.
After all, for the same reason, he had only obtained the formula, and his clever method couldn't compare to the inherent strength of a natural inheritance.
However, it wasn't without a solution. Increasing Chakra output or elevating his Nature Transformation and Shape Transformation to the perfect level or even higher could solve it.
Jiraiya shook his head with a bitter smile. Shinji's words sounded easy, but looking across the Ninja World, who could achieve such a feat?
Atomic-level analysis?
Someone telling him they could create a moon would seem more plausible. Jiraiya would even find the latter possibility easier.