On the huge boulder sealing off the entrance to the research facility.
Kei Yamanaka sat cross-legged, opening his Personal Panel—which he hadn't examined closely in a long time.
...
Host: Kei Yamanaka
Occupation: Ninja
Activated Keywords: World Traveler (Red), Yin Release Master (Purple), Space-Time Insight (Purple), Shout-to-Summon (Purple), Water Release Mastery (Blue), The Expert King of the Ninja World (Blue), Handsome (Blue)
Dormant Keywords: Chrysalis User (White), Fragile Skin, Tough Life (White), Bro, You Smell So Good (White), Smiling Welcome (White)
Keyword Bestowal Opportunities: 4
Keyword Copy Opportunities: 1
Keyword Severance Opportunities: 1
Keyword Upgrade Opportunities: 1 (Blue)
Keyword Downgrade Opportunities: 1
...
"Wait, I've actually accumulated four Keyword Bestowal opportunities?"
Kei stared at his lengthy Personal Panel and began scrolling through the system notifications.
Completed missions with the three brats once, defeated Fuguki Suikazan once, messed with Pakura once, and now messed with Water Gate again.
"I should probably clean up those white keywords later—they're stacking up too much."
Kei muttered to himself before shifting focus to the remaining rewards.
The keyword copy ability was self-explanatory.
To perfect the Flying Thunder God Technique without flaw, he had previously targeted Minato's [Hyper Reaction Speed].
As for keyword severance, it didn't seem immediately useful yet.
But that didn't change the fact that this reward was arguably even more valuable than keyword copying.
Imagine this:
Nagato Uzumaki controls the Six Paths of Pain as they leap into action, ready to take all the hits.
Then Kei uses a keyword severance, instantly removing all Rinnegan-linked abilities.
The six bodies controlled by the Rinnegan collapse instantly.
A blinded Nagato can only rely on the chakra from the Uzumaki clan while resorting to basic ninja techniques taught by Jiraiya.
This damn thing!
If you don't pound Nagato until he shits blood, you haven't hit him hard enough!
"Hehehe~"
Kei curled his lips into a grin and let out a laugh like a Soul Temple elder.
He let out a long chuckle before refocusing on the next 'blue keyword upgrade opportunity'.
This reward allowed him to directly upgrade a blue keyword into a purple one—no need to emphasize its value.
However... should he use it?
Kei eyed the three blue keywords on his system panel, torn and uncertain.
If his blue keywords were Minato Namikaze's [Chakra Reservoir] or [Overwhelming Luck], or Maito Gai's [Limitless Recovery], he would've upgraded without hesitation.
But his current three blue keywords were [Water Release Mastery], [The Expert King of the Ninja World], and [Handsome].
Upgrading them felt like wasting such a precious reward.
Not upgrading?
You've received a powerful enhancement—Are you going to wait until you die just to chat casually with Hagoromo in Pure Land?
"This damned system doesn't even give a preview before upgrading!"
Kei complained inwardly.
After a brief hesitation, he allocated the upgrade to [Water Release Mastery].
Whether it was Handsome or The Expert King of the Ninja World, neither directly boosted combat power like typical skills. In this brutal ninja world, strength was the foundation of everything!
Vroom~
A flood of Water Release training experience surged into his mind as the skill listings upgraded.
[Water Gun Technique], [Water Mirror Technique], [Water Ball Technique], [Oil Conversion], [Genjutsu Art: Mirage], [Steam Imp], [Suishō no Jutsu], [Hydrification Healing Technique], [Medical Water Release: Water Mosquito], [Medical Water Release: Water Jellyfish]...
The once inaccessible Hydrification Technique, previously blocked due to his unique Kekkei Genkai, now flowed effortlessly within him.
The inherited Water Techniques from the Second Mizukage Gengetsu Hozuki—seen only half an hour ago—felt as though he'd been cultivating them for decades.
Various Water Release techniques he'd glimpsed while reading others' memories in the Analysis Team kept resurfacing in his mind.
Mighty water, raging torrents, cutting blades of water, bone-dissolving streams, and soothing droplets.
It embodied both destruction and rebirth—supremely powerful, yet infinitely gentle.
Kei Yamanaka opened his eyes, raised his right hand, and a stream of water seemed to awaken, dancing nimbly across his palm.
In the next moment, his entire right arm transformed into water, becoming semi-transparent liquid.
"Partial Hydrification Technique… feels kind of strange."
Kei felt his arm while in the hydrification state, then poked his right hand with his left index finger.
The left finger passed straight through the right palm, scattering droplets. Once the technique was canceled, his right hand remained completely intact.
"Feels like sweating... Did my body lose some moisture?"
Kei looked at the water stains scattered on the ground.
He formed a [One-Handed Seal], absorbing large amounts of moisture from the air. In seconds, his body visibly grew more muscular and robust, with a noticeable surge in strength.
"[Suishō no Jutsu] can absorb moisture from the air. If the external intake is insufficient, it still draws on the body's internal water reserves."
Kei systematically tested each of the Water Techniques that affected his physical form.
While marveling at the genius of the Hozuki Clan's ancestors, he also understood why in Naruto Shippuden, Suigetsu Hozuki kept drinking water constantly.
For members of the Hozuki Clan who inherited their ancestral bloodline, entry-level mastery of those secret techniques wasn't particularly difficult.
The real challenge lay in absorbing enough moisture from the air during the execution of the techniques.
However, for Kei now, this was not a problem at all.
He estimated that compared to the Sea Release of the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju, the only thing he lacked was sufficient chakra reserves.
"Is the threshold of a Kekkei Genkai the ability to master ninjutsu at a Purple-tier skill listing level?"
Kei repeatedly experienced the various physical changes under the Hydrification Technique.
He had already begun anticipating the day when he would obtain other elemental release skill listings at the purple level—how many new Kekkei Genkai might he unlock then?
After testing all the abilities bestowed by the system and completing the initial adaptation phase,
Kei noticed that Minato Namikaze still hadn't returned. He maintained partial hydrification on his right arm, formed a Rasengan in his palm, and began slowly infusing it with Water Release nature transformation.
Explosion!
His arm exploded into a splash of water. Kei blinked in surprise but refused to give up, attempting again immediately.
RUMMM– BOOM!
RUM-RUM– BOOM!
RRRUMMMM– BOOM!!!
His arms kept exploding into bursts of water, only to regenerate each time.
After trying nonstop for over an hour, Kei had nearly burned through all his chakra. Only thanks to the exceptional chakra control granted by [Shout-to-Summon] did he barely start to grasp a hint of it.
Just how long it would take to master this technique was anyone's guess.
"Damn it! There's no way Naruto should've pulled off the Wind Release: Rasenshuriken—must've been pure plot armor from Kishimoto!"
Kei inwardly grumbled, furious.
He'd come across countless ninjutsu techniques since childhood—many of them S-rank kinjutsu.
Yet none had ever left him utterly stumped.
Difficult!
This was just plain impossible!
The Rasengan's high-speed rotation made the Water Release nature incredibly wild and unstable.
It was like stuffing countless razor-sharp, high-pressure water blades into a single sphere—any slight contact between them would set the whole thing off like a bomb.
And worst of all, as the Rasengan spun faster, those water blades started stretching and warping out of control.
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