Ino continued to allocate her Pot Points, moving them to the "Nin" attribute. Her approach was straightforward: focus on one attribute, push it to 10, and then move on to the next.
"Hmm?" Just before committing the Pot Points, the feedback from the panel surprised her.
One Pot Point wasn't enough to increase her "Nin" from 7 to 8; it seemed she needed two. From 8 to 9 required three, and she guessed that reaching 10 would likely take four, possibly with additional conditions.
This complicated things.
Ino hesitated.
The unexpected change made her cautious about allocating points immediately. She decided to plan more carefully.
Reading, resting—the second day without school passed quickly.
By late night, the village was quiet. Most villagers were asleep, except for the patrolling ninjas.
The Yamanaka clan's secret techniques were eerie, practiced not during the day but at night.
Ino didn't mind; night was fine.
Father and daughter stood in the backyard. Inoichi first explained the hand seals for the Mind Body Switch Technique in detail, then brought over a large rock. "Use your spiritual energy to sense this rock, then perform the Mind Body Switch seal."
In the past, Ino might have internally mocked the idea of sensing a mere rock. But today, she was calm. Closing her eyes, she located the rock through her senses and formed a unique hand seal not part of the standard twelve ninja seals.
Extending her arms, she pressed her thumbs together, overlapped her index and middle fingers, and raised her ring and pinky fingers, forming a "heart" shape. Ino mixed her spiritual and physical energy in a 9:1 ratio to create chakra, then projected it toward the sensed rock.
The rock was empty, containing nothing, and couldn't hold her chakra. After circling, the chakra, guided by instinct, returned with her consciousness intact.
Guessing the purpose of Inoichi's training, Ino suppressed the restless spiritual energy in her mind. After a few deep breaths, the physical discomfort subsided by 70-80%, and she opened her eyes.
Inoichi asked, "What did you see during this process?"
"Hmm," Ino thought carefully, answering objectively, "Energy. Energy is everywhere in nature."
She was surprised. The Yamanaka clan had long known about natural energy. But from her observation, this natural energy wasn't as benevolent as depicted in animations—it was incredibly volatile.
To put it mystically, perhaps the endless killings in this world had filled natural energy with negative emotions. Without purification, absorbing it would surely drive one mad.
Inoichi didn't comment subjectively but continued, "How did you feel about that energy?"
This time, Ino answered quickly, "It's chaotic and... dangerous?"
Inoichi nodded, "Yes, nature is filled with various energies, and they are very dangerous. When performing the Mind Body Switch, remember to maintain distance, sense ahead, and avoid these chaotic energies."
Ino took these words to heart. Today, she was practicing the Mind Body Switch Technique, not Sage Mode.
At her current stage, she was as weak as a chicken, and recklessly attempting to harness natural energy was akin to playing with fire.
To forge iron, one must first be strong themselves. If her physical and spiritual energy weren't robust enough, she wouldn't be able to control natural energy. While she didn't know about Shikkotsu Forest or Ryūchi Cave, the Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku had a clear threshold: one's chakra reserves had to be substantial. Ino estimated that she needed to increase her "Stamina" attribute to 10 before she could even consider attempting Sage Mode.
For now, she had to focus on diligently practicing her family's secret techniques. Earlier in the night, Ino had been struggling with a large rock in front of her.
The secret techniques of the Yamanaka clan were dangerous from start to finish.
The initial stage was dangerous, projecting her spiritual energy outward was dangerous, and successfully retracting it back into her body was also dangerous.
Fortunately, apart from the initial stage, the subsequent steps were closely tied to ninja techniques, and chakra was omnipotent! Her "Ninjutsu" attribute was a solid 7, firmly placing her at the level of a Jonin. The challenging aspects of the secret techniques had been thoroughly explained by her predecessors, making Ino's learning process relatively smooth.
After completing all the preliminary training, she began the final step in the latter half of the night.
"Ninja Art: Mind Body Switch Technique!"
Ino aimed her hands at a deer that Inoichi had brought from the Nara clan.
Deer were the most spiritual and, at the same time, the most docile animals.
Ino's spiritual energy, following the method of the Mind Body Switch Technique, entered the deer's inner world. Her vision turned blood red, and her brain once again felt like it was boiling. The panic was momentary; she had read her predecessors' notes and knew this was normal.
The secret technique was like a drill, piercing directly into the target's inner world.
In an instant, Ino replaced the deer's soul, completing the entire process of usurping its body.
She moved around, transitioning from her original body to the animal's body, and immediately felt the deer's body was unusually stiff. Moreover, this body was consuming the chakra that carried her consciousness every second.
If she couldn't return to her body in time and her chakra ran out, her consciousness could gradually be worn down and assimilated by the deer.
Ino held on for half a minute. When her chakra was more than halfway depleted, she released the Mind Body Switch Technique and, guided by her body's instincts, returned to her own body.
"Drink this quickly."
Her stepmother, Yamanaka Rino, brought her a large bowl of what looked like a very bitter potion.
Knowing it was meant to restore her spiritual energy after her first use of the secret technique, Ino didn't need any urging. She pinched her nose and forced herself to drink it.
About two minutes later, the discomfort faded, and she stood up again.
The secret potions, incantations, predecessors' notes, and the guidance of an experienced mentor—outsiders truly had no way to steal the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. Even if Ino were captured now and the hand seals were known, without these external aids, no one else could master the techniques.
While many coveted the Byakugan and the Sharingan, almost no one coveted the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques. From the Warring States period to the present day, the Senju and Uchiha clans had vanished, yet small clans like the Yamanaka and Nara had survived. It had to be said that there was a profound wisdom in their survival.
The tool-like Yamanaka Rino soon left the courtyard with the medicine bowl, and Ino continued to listen to her stepfather explain the key points of the Mind Body Switch Technique.
"That... Dad, can I say I've started to grasp the Mind Body Switch Technique?"
"Yes, indeed. You're progressing faster than I expected."
"So when can I begin the second stage, the training of the Mind Body Disturbance Technique?" Ino wasn't satisfied with just controlling Obito for two seconds, which seemed strong but actually had little impact on the battle. She wanted more.