Chapter Thirty-Six: Upgraded Chakra Refinement Technique
One week later, inside the Akimichi clan's cultivation chamber, Ryūya sat cross-legged atop an experimental platform, his eyes closed as he carefully sensed the flow of chakra within his body.
At this moment, the Akimichi clan's chakra refinement technique was operating inside him. Streams of pure bodily energy were being converted into chakra at an extremely fast rate.
At the same time, inside Ryūya's mind, the bio-chip was recording every change that occurred during the refinement process.
"Data recording complete. Optimization of the Akimichi clan's chakra refinement technique finished."
After a short while, accompanied by a pleasant notification tone, Ryūya opened his eyes. A look of delight appeared on his face as he murmured:
"It's finally optimized!"
After entering the clan's secret grounds and recording a vast amount of data, the bio-chip in Ryūya's mind had finally uncovered the reason behind Kyōko's transformation after a full week of analysis.
It turned out that within the Akimichi clan, there had always been two different chakra refinement techniques in circulation.
The differences between the two techniques were subtle. Had Ryūya not combined the cultivation experiences of dozens of Akimichi predecessors, he would never have noticed this fact.
The mainstream chakra refinement technique of the Akimichi clan—the one Ryūya himself had been practicing—had been passed down since the Warring States period.
The other version was the one Kyōko practiced.
This version had been improved by a certain clan predecessor, who modified the mainstream technique by incorporating characteristics of the Butterfly Transformation Secret Technique.
The improved chakra refinement technique had only one advantage:
Weight loss.
As the speed of chakra refinement increased, Akimichi ninja practicing this version would accelerate the conversion of stored body fat into chakra, thus achieving a slimming effect.
The Akimichi clan's strongest specialty was the Expansion Technique. Generally speaking, the larger the body, the greater the power it could unleash.
Because of this, the modified chakra refinement technique circulated mostly among female clan members. Male members almost never chose to practice it.
Over time, the two versions of the chakra refinement technique naturally became divided along gender lines. Unless one was deeply familiar with the clan's internal history, this fact would remain unknown.
The drastic mutation caused by the Sealing Gluttony Mark on both Ryūya and Kyōko was precisely due to their use of different chakra refinement techniques.
For most male members of the Akimichi clan, the slimming function might have been useless—but for Ryūya, it was a welcome benefit.
The development path Ryūya envisioned for himself was never meant to rely solely on Akimichi clan secret techniques. Sacrificing a bit of raw power in exchange for greater mobility felt like a very worthwhile trade.
Moreover, Ryūya possessed the bio-chip capable of optimizing techniques. Once optimized, the chakra refinement technique and Akimichi secret techniques might not be inferior to the orthodox versions at all.
"Begin analysis and optimization of the Butterfly Transformation Secret Technique."
After a brief rest, Ryūya immediately issued another command to the bio-chip.
The Butterfly Transformation Technique represented the strongest state achievable through Akimichi clan secret techniques.
In the original storyline, Akimichi Chōji—one of Konoha's Twelve—had unleashed overwhelming combat power three times using this technique. At his peak, he was even capable of confronting the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path head-on.
This time, when entering the clan's secret grounds, the Butterfly Transformation Technique and the Three-Colored Pills were the two things Ryūya wanted most.
Originally, after successfully researching the Sealing Gluttony Mark and acquiring the Body Activation Secret Technique, Ryūya's desire for these techniques had not been so urgent.
Based on his previous "pay-to-win" cultivation speed, by the time he reached adulthood, Ryūya would certainly possess elite jōnin-level strength, with growth potential far surpassing that of Chōji and others from the original story.
Coupled with his foreknowledge, Ryūya was confident he could survive long enough in the ninja world for the chosen ones to grow up—saving the world would not be a problem.
However, the brief clash with Orochimaru a week earlier had made Ryūya painfully aware of his own weakness.
In front of a true powerhouse, he still had no ability to resist whatsoever.
That sense of despair—of having his fate controlled by another—was something Ryūya never wanted to experience again.
He wanted to become stronger.
Fortunately, that night, Orochimaru had no intention of killing him.
After decisively teaching Ryūya a harsh lesson, Orochimaru revealed his true objective.
He only wanted a portion of the green snake's cell tissue.
The appearance of the green snake in the Forest of Death had piqued Orochimaru's interest.
With his extensive experience in dealing with snakes, Orochimaru immediately recognized that the green snake was not old—yet its strength was completely disproportionate to its age.
Naturally, he wanted to obtain its cells for research.
If he could successfully replicate it, or even derive something useful from the research, Orochimaru's strength—given his many snake summons—would increase tremendously.
As the condition for the deal, Orochimaru promised to take the green snake to a place suitable for its growth.
Faced with Orochimaru's proposal, Ryūya agreed without hesitation.
First, when facing the overwhelming pressure of "Uncle Snake," Ryūya feared that refusing again might put his life at risk.
He had no choice.
Second, Ryūya understood the green snake's true nature very well. The key factor behind its rapid growth was the Sealing Gluttony Mark, not some unique constitution.
Even if Orochimaru obtained the green snake's cells, replicating another such snake through research would be nearly impossible.
Third was the place Orochimaru mentioned—a suitable environment for the green snake's growth.
Ryūya guessed that place was most likely Ryūchi Cave.
Given the green snake's current size and strength, there were few places left in the ninja world where it could be safely released. Ryūchi Cave was undoubtedly one of the best options.
Although the serpentine beings living there were far from friendly, and placing the green snake there carried risks, the environment of Ryūchi Cave was exceptionally suited for its growth.
Perhaps before long, he might truly possess a ninja snake capable of rivaling Manda.
With that in mind, Ryūya readily finalized the deal with Orochimaru.
Afterward, once Orochimaru removed the Contract Seal from Ryūya and obtained a piece of the green snake's cell tissue, he departed with the summoning scroll.
Although Ryūya was somewhat worried about whether Orochimaru would truly send the green snake to Ryūchi Cave as promised, it was beyond his control. In the end, he chose not to dwell on it.
Over the next two days, Ryūya fully immersed himself in training with the newly optimized chakra refinement technique.
In just two days, under the effects of the new version, Ryūya's body began visibly slimming down.
His body fat was rapidly consumed, yet his total chakra reserves showed no obvious increase.
With his physical capacity already at its limit, all the chakra produced by the rapid conversion of fat simply dissipated without being retained.
Though Ryūya felt somewhat heartbroken over this wasted chakra, there was nothing he could do about it.
On the night of the second day, just as Ryūya was lamenting the chakra that had evaporated for nothing, an enormous wave of sinister chakra suddenly appeared above Konoha.