In the blue-tinted light of the Shadow Realm laboratory, Ren stood alone behind a reinforced glass barrier. His dark eyes were fixed intently on the subjects resting inside the testing chamber.
He had already cleared the animal trials. The field mice were visibly growing in size, and the mountain monkeys were displaying a shocking level of near-human intelligence. Most importantly, there was zero biological harm. The prototype "Evolution Seal"—infused with a fragment of his chakra—was perfectly stable.
Ren was in the middle of analyzing the data for the human trials when the heavy laboratory door slid open.
Kaori marched in, balancing a tray carrying steaming white rice, grilled fish, and miso soup.
"Ren," Kaori scolded, marching right up to him and slamming the tray onto his workbench. "Eat. Now."
"Mom, I'm at a critical juncture," Ren protested, barely tearing his gaze away from the glass chamber where his first batch of human volunteers—four native ninjas and four civilians—were sitting in quiet meditation.
"I don't care, you are going to eat," Kaori ordered, crossing her arms in a stance that brokered no argument.
But as she stood there waiting for him to pick up his chopsticks, her gaze drifted down to the clipboard on the desk. It was covered in Ren's meticulous notes, diagrams, and flowcharts recording the experiments. She stepped closer to the glass, her dark eyes widening as she took in the biometric readings of the subjects inside.
"How is this possible?" Kaori breathed, her medical instincts overriding her maternal scolding.
"Mom, I don't know how, but my chakra can boost their potential or help them evolve beyond their limit," Ren explained smoothly, effortlessly weaving the lie. "To be specific, it increases their upper limit."
Ren knew exactly how his chakra was boosting their potential, but he kept the truth locked safely away in his mind.
The Hōgyoku resides within my mentalscape, Ren thought to himself. To induce evolution in others, I had to figure out a way to bring the subjects into contact with its power. My first experiments were on mice and monkeys. I discovered that I could channel the Hōgyoku's evolutionary radiation outward using either Reiatsu or Chakra. However, Chakra proved vastly superior and more effective than Reishi for the animals, and the same holds true for the humans.Then, I developed a prototype seal containing my chakra, heavily saturated with the Hōgyoku's power.
"The chakra in the seal accelerates the natural growth cycle without forcing it to break," Ren explained aloud through a mouthful of rice, resigned to his fate of eating under his mother's watchful eye.
Kaori was hooked. She completely forgot about scolding him. She pulled up a chair, grabbed a spare clipboard, and effectively moved into the lab to monitor the data herself.
The Breakthrough
Because Kaori was now practically living in the laboratory, Satoshi became a frequent visitor.
Two weeks into the human trials, Ren was carefully adjusting the sealing formula on his desk when Satoshi walked in. Ignoring the monumental scientific breakthroughs happening around him, Satoshi walked straight over to Kaori, who was squinting at a complex chakra chart.
"How is the progress?" Satoshi asked, looking over her shoulder.
"Our experiment is a resounding success, Dad," Ren replied from his desk, gesturing toward the subjects behind the glass. "The ninjas' chakra capacity is increasing. It has increased three times over in just two weeks, and their training results are four to five times higher than normal."
Ren tapped a specific chart. "And one of the ninjas' chakra attributes has a tendency to merge. Lightning and Water. He might awaken Storm Release."
Satoshi stiffened, shocked to hear that a simple seal could awaken a Bloodline Limit.
"Just wait until you hear about the civilians," Ren said, an excited glint in his eye. "Two of the four have the tendency to develop a Bloodline Limit, and their exponential growth has been vastly superior to the ninjas. They haven't just successfully extracted chakra; their rate of chakra growth has been far superior."
Satoshi frowned, trying to make sense of the logic. "And why do civilians have more tendency to awaken a Bloodline Limit?"
Kaori answered without looking up from her notes. "Ren's chakra is not omnipotent; you can consider it as a limit breaker. Now take a civilian whose limit is that they couldn't extract chakra at all, and compare them to a ninja—for example, a Chunin who has to increase his limit to the Jonin level. For Ren's chakra, enabling chakra extraction in a civilian is easier compared to breaking a full-fledged ninja's limit."
She tapped the glass lightly. "Though it helps in breaking the limit, the ninjas still have to practice more, and the same goes for the civilians—they too have to work hard to level up. As for the Bloodline Limits, Ren's chakra has the ability to merge chakra or develop latent bloodlines, but it has all been chakra-based, like mixing two attributes. None of the people have shown any physical mutations."
After hearing this, Satoshi's eyes lit up. He looked at Kaori and grinned. "I too want one of these seals."
Kaori slowly facepalmed, letting out a long, exhausted sigh.
Ren spoke up from the side, completely deadpan. "Dad, you and Mom already have the ultra-premium, unrestricted version of this seal."
"Then how do you think we became like this?" Kaori added dryly, gesturing to their unaging bodies and limitless stamina.
Later that evening, the three of them sat around the dinner table. The experiments were a terrifying, unquestionable success, but Ren had one final revelation to share.
"We have the means to build an army of elite, Bloodline-wielding Jonin," Satoshi said, still marveling at his own upgraded potential.
"Dad, that seal is more than that," Ren said, placing his chopsticks down on the table.
Satoshi and Kaori stopped eating, looking at Ren and waiting for him to continue.
"Chakra carries information. Just like a Shadow Clone transferring memories when it disperses," Ren explained, leaning forward. "The Evolution Seal doesn't just boost their potential. It actively records their chakra fluctuations. Every time they train, it records data on their chakra changes."
"What's the use of that?" Satoshi asked.
Ren held his hand out. In an instant, he gathered all five basic chakra natures—Fire, Water, Earth, Wind, and Lightning—flickering simultaneously on each of his five fingertips. "I have mastered all five chakra natures."
"We too mastered that," Satoshi pointed out.
"But can you mix two chakra natures to create a Bloodline Limit like Ice Release?" Ren challenged, dispelling the elemental sparks. "Certainly not right now. I can do it if I observe someone with Ice Release using my eye technique, but it's going to take time because while my eyes can provide the method and direction, to actually achieve it, I must have absolute mastery over those two elements."
Ren's expression grew intensely serious. "And what if I want to mix three chakra attributes, like Onoki the Third Tsuchikage? The difficulty increases tenfold."
He looked back and forth between his parents. "Mom, Dad, think about it... if you managed to integrate all seven chakra natures, what would that create? That is how the seal's data is going to help me increase my mastery of chakra."
Kaori froze, her sharp mind connecting the dots instantly. "You intend to harvest their progress?"
"Precisely," Ren smiled,"When a seal-bearer reaches the absolute limit of their induced evolution, I can actively recall the chakra fragment I placed inside them. When I do, all that recorded knowledge, muscle memory, and chakra data integrates directly into my own body. I gain their combat experience without lifting a finger."
"Will it harm them?" Satoshi asked, a hint of concern in his voice.
"Not at all. It just copies the data," Ren assured them. "They keep the strength and the Bloodlines they developed... and in exchange, I get a flawless copy of their hard work."
Satoshi and Kaori sat in stunned silence. The sheer magnitude of Ren's ambition was terrifying. He wasn't just creating soldiers; he was using the population to farm the ultimate mastery of ninjutsu for himself.
Ren stood up, walking to the window and looking out toward the refugee camps surrounding the Daimyo's palace.
"The prototype phase is over," Ren announced, "Starting tomorrow, I am deploying my Shadow Clones. We are going to stamp every loyal citizen and refugee in this country."
He turned back to his parents, his red eyes gleaming in the dim light.
"And Mom, Dad... after this, we are going to meet the Daimyo of the Land of Hot Water and the Land of Frost."