Chapter 190: The Secret of Kekkei Tōta
Nightfall.
Li Yao and the other four sat in a villager's home, eating dinner. Or rather—it was more like munching on dry rice balls made of coarse grains, with bits of tree root mixed in. The taste... well, it was like chewing on sand-wrapped roots. His brows were tightly furrowed as he ate, several times tempted to just use his Black Water Space to swallow it all and be done with it.
Thankfully, he held back. This was going to be their daily routine from now on—he needed to get used to it.
Given Yahiko's personality, if it were rich folks, it might be different. But when even the villagers barely had enough to eat, Yahiko wouldn't dream of asking for a reward.
Looks like going hungry would be a frequent thing from now on.
"You've worked so hard. We don't have much to offer, please have some hot tea."
An old man of the household came over with hot tea, his expression sincere.
In such chaotic times, it was their luck to have someone like Yahiko. This simple meal was all they could offer in return.
Yahiko quickly stood up to receive the tea, saying politely, "Thank you for the tea, grandfather. We can serve ourselves."
He then handed the cups to Nagato, Li Yao, and the others.
After serving the tea, the elder quietly left.
Yahiko took a sip and asked Li Yao, "Brother Li, what kind of jutsu do you specialize in? I'm good at Water Style."
Since Li Yao looked and acted older, Yahiko and the others respectfully called him "Brother Li."
As for Li Yao's full name, none of them asked. They could tell he had his reasons for keeping it hidden.
Asking about his jutsu was also a practical move, to better coordinate during future missions.
"Me?"
Li Yao set down his tea and thought for a moment. "I don't think I specialize in anything. I know all five chakra natures, I'm okay with genjutsu, decent with taijutsu... I guess I'm kind of good at everything, but not really a specialist."
At first, Yahiko wanted to comfort him—but as Li Yao kept talking, Yahiko was left mentally shattered.
Mastering all five chakra types? Competent in both genjutsu and taijutsu?
That kind of talent… Yahiko instinctively glanced at Nagato.
Nagato had the legendary Rinnegan, so his mastery of all chakra types was understandable.
"Brother Li... could it be that you also possess some kind of powerful dōjutsu?"
Yahiko stared curiously into Li Yao's eyes. Even Nagato and Konan were surprised—Li Yao's talent was far beyond what they'd imagined.
Only Yuzu looked perfectly calm—though her proud eyes betrayed her inner thoughts.
This was nothing.
Her uncle's talent had survived even a Five Kage assassination attempt. Mastery of five chakra types was just the beginning.
If they knew he also mastered various kekkei genkai and powerful sealing arts, they'd probably drop dead from shock.
Yuzu thought to herself proudly.
Li Yao simply shook his head and looked at Nagato with a smile. "I don't have any special eyes, but I was surprised to see Nagato has the legendary Rinnegan."
"You know about the Rinnegan, Brother Li?" Yahiko's eyes lit up. "We didn't even know at first. It was our... our teacher who told us."
He caught himself just before saying "Jiraiya."
Li Yao didn't press further. "I read about it in a book once—it had drawings of the Rinnegan, so I recognized it."
I see.
Nagato's eyes flickered with disappointment. He had hoped Li Yao could tell him how to use his Rinnegan.
But even their teacher hadn't known its true abilities.
He let the thought go. So long as he could protect Yahiko and Konan, he would master it somehow.
The group then took turns sharing their specialties. When Yuzu revealed she also used Paper Style, the three brats were stunned again—then overjoyed.
Konan instantly felt a stronger connection with her.
Yuzu even explained the principle behind explosive paper seals and promised to teach Konan how to infuse paper with explosive tag formulas to create paper bombs.
"That's amazing!"
Nagato and Yahiko were thrilled for Konan. If she could master paper bombs, her combat abilities would rise significantly.
They'd feel much safer with her better equipped.
Konan herself was also excited. With more strength, she could better protect Yahiko and Nagato.
Before long, Konan and Yuzu became close, and that night, they shared a room to sleep together.
Yahiko, Nagato, and Li Yao each took their own spot.
The two boys had offered to share a room with Li Yao, but he politely declined. He wasn't about to risk waking up in the middle of the night wrapped in the arms of two dudes.
And besides, someone needed to keep watch.
Plenty of shinobi had been killed in their sleep.
So Li Yao volunteered to take the first watch.
Late at night.
The three brats and Yuzu had all gone to sleep.
Li Yao sat by the window, the steady drizzle outside continuing endlessly, as if it would never stop.
The world was quiet. Li Yao stared out, but his mind was immersed in the memories of the Third Mizukage.
Back in Kirigakure, Li Yao had extracted the chakra holding the Third Mizukage's memories from a shadow clone.
Now he could review those memories at any time.
Until now, he hadn't had time. But tonight, he did.
These memories would give Li Yao a deeper understanding of the world.
He browsed the Third Mizukage's memories like watching a movie—able to skip forward or jump to specific moments.
He skimmed through the Mizukage's early life—nothing too noteworthy.
But when the news arrived that the Second Mizukage and Second Tsuchikage had died together in battle, the Third Mizukage began researching Kekkei Tōta. That caught Li Yao's attention.
In the memories, the Third Mizukage believed that if someone as strong as the Second Mizukage could only manage a draw against the Second Tsuchikage, then Dust Release must be terrifyingly powerful.
And that's where the problem lay—he was weaker than the Second Mizukage, but Iwagakure now had Ōnoki, who had inherited Dust Release.
It made him anxious.
So he began trying to develop a Kekkei Tōta of his own.
He was born with Water, Earth, and Wind chakra natures.
He attempted to fuse those three into a new Kekkei Tōta.
But no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't achieve it. It was as if the three chakra natures clashed, forming a balance of power that resisted fusion.
Frustrated, he turned his attention to Ōnoki and his disciple—gathering all the intel he could.
Then, one day, the Third Mizukage got a chance. He and a team secretly assassinated Ōnoki's disciple on a mission and extracted the secrets of Dust Release from his mind.
"So that's the secret of Kekkei Tōta?"
Li Yao was stunned. He had always assumed Dust Release was just a fusion of Wind, Fire, and Earth chakra—just like Lava Release is made from Fire and Earth.
But it wasn't that simple.
From the disciple's mind, the Third Mizukage discovered the key to learning Dust Release:
"Earth Style: Ultra-Heavy Rock Technique!"
That's right—to learn Dust Release, you had to first master the Ultra-Heavy Rock Technique.
And in all of Iwagakure, only Ōnoki and the Second Tsuchikage knew that technique.
Which explained why only they could use Dust Release.
That's how difficult Ultra-Heavy Rock truly was.
It was a special Earth Style jutsu—similar to the Third Raikage's Black Lightning. It enhanced a single chakra nature to such an extreme degree that it rivaled even Kekkei Genkai.
The key to fusing three chakra types into a Kekkei Tōta was having one of those chakra natures far surpass the other two in strength—so much so that the others could merge around it, creating a unified, stable chakra.
For Dust Release, Earth chakra—super-enhanced by Ultra-Heavy Rock—became the core. Then Wind and Fire were merged into it, creating Dust Release-level chakra.
Understanding this concept made the Third Mizukage ecstatic.
He already had Earth chakra—and now, he had the full hand signs and training method for Ultra-Heavy Rock from the disciple's memories.
If he could learn that, then he too could use Earth as the base, then fuse Wind and Water to create his own unique Kekkei Tōta.
(END CHAPTER)
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