Inoichi was a bit speechless. Was his daughter really this eager to learn?
He could only tactfully say, "According to the current classification of ninja techniques in the ninja world, the second stage is the B-rank secret technique, the Mind Body Disturbance Technique. The core of this technique is to reduce the input of mental energy while maintaining one's own mobility, allowing one to control, influence, and disrupt the enemy's mind, achieving a limited form of control."
After two days of learning, Inoichi's communication with his daughter had clearly improved. Knowing Ino's ability to grasp ninja techniques and her chakra level, his concerns had lessened significantly.
She had already mastered the Mind Body Switch Technique, and now it was just a matter of practice. He briefly explained the key points of the Mind Body Disturbance Technique.
The Mind Body Switch Technique was the foundation, requiring various forms of assistance, while the Mind Body Disturbance Technique was the advanced stage, something she could learn on her own during this period.
"Dad, what about the third stage of the technique?" Ino couldn't hold back her curiosity. Without knowing the answer, she was afraid she wouldn't be able to sleep.
Inoichi always felt a bit strange about being called "Dad." It didn't sound like something a ninja would say, more like something a bandit or pirate would use.
Was he really that old? He was only 38.
But before this, Ino had only called him "Dad" a few times when she was little. After she turned eight, she mostly referred to him with "Hey," "Yo," or "Eh." The Akimichi father and son, Choza and Choji, were even more extreme—they basically communicated with just glances. A nod at home was considered a greeting. Compared to that, his daughter calling him "Dad" wasn't so bad.
This time, Inoichi didn't keep her in suspense. Since Ino had mastered the Mind Body Switch Technique, she was undoubtedly the family's heir, and she needed to understand the family's history.
He carefully chose his words: "The Mind Body Switch Technique controls the enemy's body, but at that moment, you are in great danger. The Mind Body Disturbance Technique uses your own mental energy to influence the enemy, controlling part of their body while still retaining some of your own mobility, greatly increasing safety.
I haven't mastered the third stage, and neither have countless family predecessors over the past few hundred years. The family calls the third stage secret technique the Mind God Disturbance Technique."
Ino felt a bit confused: "God?"
Inoichi nodded gently: "Yes, similar to the process of the second stage Mind Body Disturbance Technique, but using mental energy to control the mind of a god, making that god our friend—a true friend, a close friend. The duration of the Mind Body Disturbance is short, but the duration of the Mind God Disturbance is very, very long. After that comes the fourth stage, the Mind God Switch Technique, where we use our secret technique to destroy and replace that friend, abandoning our original body to become a god ourselves."
As if savoring the words, he repeated with emphasis: "Mind Body Switch, Mind Body Disturbance, Mind God Disturbance, Mind God Switch—these are the core secret techniques of our Yamanaka clan."
Ino was stunned.
This method of cultivating a good friend and then killing them—didn't it sound a lot like the Uchiha clan's process of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan? Relying on intense mental stimulation to gain vast amounts of mental energy?
Damn, isn't there a gentler way? The second stage of the secret technique is just short-term control, and the third stage has long-term effects on the divine? No wonder the Yamanaka clan's ninjas couldn't complete the third stage of training. The leap in this secret technique is comparable to upgrading the Byakugan to the Tenseigan, right? Shouldn't there be a couple more stages in between?
And what the hell is this "divine"? Are there gods in the Shadow of Fire world? She only remembers the Shinigami, the King of Hell, and the Evil God.
Inoichi seemed to have guessed part of her thoughts and said, "The first clan leader laid the foundation for the Mind Body Switch Technique. The third clan leader's secret technique reached the third stage, which is the level of Mind Chaos Divine. He once controlled a god, intending to replace the god and use divine power to lead the clan away from this war-torn world. Unfortunately, an accident occurred in the end, and now gods are no longer seen in this world. The clan's secret technique might only reach the second stage."
As the sun slowly rose, the conversation between father and daughter ended. Ino returned to her room. She was quite interested in these stories that didn't appear in the manga and didn't go to sleep immediately. Instead, she took out the clan's historical records to read. The general situation was pretty much as Inoichi had said. The third clan leader of the Yamanaka clan was deeply worried about the cruelty of the Warring States period, concerned for his wife and children. So, based on the Mind Body Switch Technique, he developed the Mind Transfer Divine Technique.
"Wow! Holy crap!" Ino exclaimed in surprise. She hadn't known, but now she was shocked.
She discovered that the first clan leader of the Yamanaka clan was originally from the Ninja Sect!
Back then, there wasn't even the term "ninja techniques." The first clan leader was initially a bandit who went down the mountain to rob and encountered the wandering Sage of Six Paths. He was eventually converted and became a follower.
Later, by the time of the third generation, the third clan leader led the clan to participate in the war of succession between Indra and Asura for the Ninja Sect. The Yamanaka clan had once clearly supported Asura. Ino was too surprised. She had originally thought the Yamanaka clan was just an insignificant small ninja clan, but now?
The first clan leader had built bridges with the Sage of Six Paths, and the third clan leader had dug wells with Asura!
This kind of background, if thrown into her previous life, would be comparable to crossing snowy mountains and grasslands.
The foundational knowledge of the Mind Body Switch Technique was taught to the first clan leader by the Sage of Six Paths, aiming to enhance communication between people. The essence of this thing wasn't ninja techniques at all. "No wonder," Ino had always felt that the Yamanaka clan's secret techniques were out of place with the ninja techniques of the entire ninja world. The root of it was here.
The first clan leader was definitely a fierce person, and the second and third weren't weak either. After the Yamanaka clan left the Sage of Six Paths, they pieced things together, combined with some knowledge about Yin and Yang Release from the Ninja Sect, and managed to develop a series of secret techniques from the Mind Body Switch Technique to the Mind Transfer Divine Technique.
Ino quickly flipped through the records. She gained a deeper understanding of the Warring States period, which was like a background in the Shadow of Fire story.
Kakashi's experience of graduating at five, becoming a Middle Ninja at six, and a Jonin at twelve, according to Earth's values, is utterly absurd. But this kind of experience was the norm in the Warring States period.
Children as young as five or six years old were common on the battlefield. Hashirama Senju lost three of his four younger brothers, and Uchiha Madara lost all four of his. It's worth noting that this was already the late Warring States period, a time when everyone was exhausted from fighting. The earlier stages of the war had been even more brutal.
Ino flipped through the notes left by her predecessors, and every line was filled with slaughter and hatred.
While Hashirama Senju and Uchiha Madara dreamed of ending this chaotic world, the third head of the Yamanaka clan, who lived during the early Warring States period, thought only of escape.
He led his clan and a special life form called the "Flower God" to seclude themselves in a valley. Before the ritual of the Mind Transfer Jutsu could be completed, the weak and fragile "Flower God" was slain by an external enemy, causing the Yamanaka clan to decline rapidly.
"What a weak god," Ino couldn't help but mutter.