The Kirigakure ninja were reduced to lifeless husks, their bodies drained of all moisture under the scorching power of Scorch Release.
The Sunagakure shinobi fared no better—some were pierced clean through by water bullets, while others had their internal organs crushed by the sheer force of Water Release. The blood streaming into the raging currents turned the battlefield into a crimson nightmare.
In mere moments, everyone had fallen silent—except for Pakura, whom Yamanaka Shinno had deliberately spared.
The carnage before them perfectly mirrored the aftermath of a brutal clash between two opposing forces. Only a few details needed adjustment. A bit of careful tampering with the scene, and it would be enough to mislead any subsequent investigations.
"How did you use Scorch Release?" Namikaze Minato asked, his sharp gaze fixed on the lone survivor, Pakura. He knew Shinno had left her alive to take the fall, so he didn't press further. But there was something he couldn't wrap his head around.
Pakura was under the control of the Mind Destruction Dance Jutsu. That meant her body should be fully dominated by Shinno's will. If so, how had she managed to use Scorch Release?
From what Minato understood, the Yamanaka Clan's secret techniques, while formidable, had their limitations. When taking over another person's body, those with weaker mastery of the technique often found it impossible to use the target's ninjutsu.
To bypass this limitation, one needed an exceptional level of proficiency in Yin Release—to the point of severing the original consciousness's influence over its own chakra.
Since chakra was a fusion of spiritual and physical energy, cutting off the host's control was far more challenging than simply hijacking their body.
More importantly, under normal circumstances, the jutsu a possessed target could use should be limited to what the caster already knew. Even if the target had the necessary chakra nature, they wouldn't be able to wield techniques foreign to the caster.
Pakura was undeniably skilled in Scorch Release. But Shinno…
There was no way he had mastered Scorch Release himself, right?
"Through long-term practice, certain techniques become ingrained as muscle memory, almost a bodily instinct. With a little guidance, the body can complete the jutsu even before the brain consciously processes it." Shinno's explanation was brief but precise.
In truth, Pakura's proficiency in Scorch Release—especially her signature technique, Scorch Release: Extremely Steaming Murder—was so high that she no longer needed to think about performing it.
Shinno had merely mimicked her hand seals.
The moment her body registered the familiar sequence, it instinctively followed through, executing the technique before she could resist.
"Muscle memory... bodily instinct..." Minato murmured, deep in thought.
"Minato, double-check the battlefield for any loose ends. I'll take care of her." Shinno directed, before dragging the still-hostile Pakura toward a ruined, abandoned house nearby.
...
Yin Release—the power to manifest form from the formless.
As the embodiment of spiritual energy, it was capable of feats that defied conventional understanding: distorting the five senses, fabricating illusions indistinguishable from reality, sensing chakra across vast distances, probing memories, controlling bodies, transmitting emotions, harming the mind, erasing consciousness...
And even rewriting memories.
As the only individual in Konoha possessing the rare red-tier trait [Transmigrator], Shinno's spiritual energy was beyond comprehension.
Augmented by this extraordinary mental fortitude, his purple-tier trait [Yin Release Master] granted him abilities unparalleled in the shinobi world.
Specifically, in the art of memory alteration.
To his knowledge, no one else in the current ninja world could achieve such a feat.
Even Uchiha Shisui, who would one day awaken the ultimate genjutsu Kotoamatsukami, could only influence a person's will—not rewrite their entire history.
Yamanaka Inoichi, second only to Shinno in his clan's mind techniques, had once attempted memory modification. The result? His target had died instantly, and Inoichi himself suffered a severe backlash from Yin Release, collapsing into a coma for over two months, bleeding from every orifice.
This technique belonged to Shinno alone.
Laying Pakura onto the dust-covered tatami mat, Shinno formed a one-handed seal, sending tendrils of Yin Release energy deep into her mind.
He extracted fragments of memories he had once obtained while working in the Intelligence Division—scraps of past encounters, collected and analyzed over time.
Piece by piece, he reconstructed Pakura's past, crafting a new identity for her. She was no longer a loyal Sunagakure kunoichi.
Now, she had been a Konoha spy, planted in Sunagakure since childhood.
To solidify the deception, he inserted fabricated exchanges of intelligence, secret meetings, and clandestine missions.
Finally, he altered her most recent memories, erasing all traces of himself and Minato from today's events. Every crime, every horror—he shifted all blame onto the already-dead Fuguki Suikazan.
With the modifications complete, Shinno prepared for the final step. He carefully formed a long sequence of intricate seals.
He pressed his palm against Pakura's forehead, activating the memory-sealing jutsu Kushina had once taught him.
The moment the extensive and complex hand seals were completed, all of Pakura's altered memories were locked away.
He left a subtle flaw in the seal—a tiny gap, ensuring that the memories would gradually resurface over the next one to two years.
The human brain possessed a remarkable ability to fill in gaps and rationalize inconsistencies. By the time the fabricated memories fully 'returned,' Pakura would wholeheartedly believe in her identity as a Konoha spy.
"This is way better than that crude Yamanaka Jutsu," Shinno muttered, wiping the sweat from his brow with a satisfied grin.
The Uzumaki Clan's memory-sealing jutsu was far superior to the Yamanaka technique that required piercing the brain with needles. No matter what interrogation methods Sunagakure used, they would never find any abnormalities in Pakura's mind.
...
[Beep—Significant alteration of a supporting character's fate detected. Minor disruption to worldline progression. Rewards earned: Trait Extraction ×1, Trait Gift ×1.]
"System, you're such a cheapskate!" Shinno nearly rolled his eyes in frustration.
He had gone through so much trouble—rewriting memories, using sealing techniques, turning a future Sunagakure hero into a Konoha spy—
And he got the same reward as when he simply killed Fuguki Suikazan?
He grumbled internally, cursing the stingy system. But since it remained silent like an unresponsive AI, he lost interest in complaining further.
Without hesitation, he used both trait extraction chances.
[Congratulations! You have obtained the blue-tier trait 'Water Release Mastery' and the white-tier trait 'Always Smiling.']
Water Release Mastery (Blue): Years of training have granted you precise control over Water Release, enhancing your ability to refine, develop, and create water-based techniques. Your Water Release ninjutsu gains increased speed, power, and effectiveness.
Always Smiling (White): Your facial muscles have undergone a permanent change. Regardless of your actual emotions, all expressions appear as a smile. Slight increase in charisma, minor increase in risk of depression.
"Oh! A blue-tier trait!" Shinno's frustration vanished in an instant, replaced by a broad grin.
The fatigue from overusing Yin Release and altering memories vanished as excitement took over.
Blue-tier traits were no joke.
Even someone like Shimura Danzō, the student and personal guard of the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, had spent his entire life training, only to attain Wind Release Mastery at best.
Yet here Shinno was, gaining the same level of proficiency with a single draw.
Without hesitation, he activated Water Release Mastery.
As for Always Smiling...
Heh.
Who the hell wants to be stuck smiling all the time?
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