Chapter 29 – Learning
Although Danzō barked quite fiercely, his first round of probing never truly touched Minamoto Ren. Perhaps it was due to Hiruzen Sarutobi's attitude, or maybe out of respect for Tsunade… Whatever the reason, as long as Danzō didn't make a move, Ren's usual rhythm would not be disrupted.
By now, after a period of relentless study, Ren had finished reading every book on tracking techniques and sealing arts. Through his own analysis and by consulting with Orochimaru, he was able to distill his learnings into a simple summary.
Tracking techniques were like the Inuzuka clan's secret art he'd seen during the pursuit of Gensaburō—they tracked by scent, with a range so wide it could cover one to two kilometers.
Do not underestimate such a jutsu—ninja rarely moved more than two kilometers in a single leap, meaning the Inuzuka clan's technique could effectively cover most combat scenarios.
At present, the most common tracking method in the ninja world was actually Blood Trace Tracking. This was the simplest form: chakra existed in blood, much like each person's DNA information, unique to the individual. Tracking by blood was therefore both simple and highly efficient.
Of course, there were other methods—soundwave tracking, dōjutsu tracking, seismic tracking… The most extreme even ventured into profile-based tracking. Strictly speaking, that wasn't really a "jutsu," but a matter of natural talent.
So, what did the Fire Style: Dragon Flame Release Song Technique use for tracking?
The answer: dōjutsu tracking—a conclusion that made Ren want to put on a "mask of pain." No wonder in the original story only Uchiha Madara and Obito used this technique—both had the Sharingan!
After rigorous study and verification, Ren reached this conclusion, and for a moment, he seriously considered giving up on the technique. But in the end, he steeled his resolve—partly because his Game of Power System could refresh Bloodline Limits, and partly because he had no desire to endure the bitter learning process a second time.
As he had always believed: every A-rank and S-rank jutsu came with an exceptionally powerful mechanism or effect. But behind these effects lay a foundation of deep knowledge. Ninja battles were fought through one's understanding of the chakra system—otherwise, how could one explain Hiruzen Sarutobi's strength? He had no Bloodline Limit at all!
Thus, if Ren wanted to master an A-rank jutsu, he had no choice but to learn it thoroughly. He had already come this far with the Dragon Flame Release Song—abandoning it now would be far too wasteful.
Back to the technique itself: since the first step—tracking—was blocked by the requirement of a dōjutsu, he would move to the second step: how to input the "tracking" command into the jutsu itself.
When it came to sealing techniques, Ren's understanding was still shallow. These were, after all, the Uzumaki clan's ancestral art, and the Land of Whirlpools had long been destroyed. He could only catch glimpses of the art through books.
But even that glimpse opened a new door for him—and thanks to Orochimaru's guidance, he avoided many conceptual detours. He even came to a bold realization:
Ninjutsu and sealing arts are like two different programming languages, designed to achieve different results.
It might sound abstract, but Ren liked analogies. Sealing techniques were like C language—if you wanted to use them well, you had to understand their underlying principles. You couldn't stumble into battle with them like a Java-style ninjutsu you barely grasped. This, perhaps, was why the Land of Whirlpools perished—the inheritance threshold for sealing techniques was simply too high.
With this understanding, Ren finally knew how to approach learning each discipline.
Learning sealing arts meant consuming massive, technical tomes—studying the principles behind each technique until you could extrapolate and apply them more easily over time.
Learning ninjutsu, on the other hand, didn't require deep theoretical mastery. If it worked, it worked—after all, ninja were there to kill, not to rewrite "spaghetti code" in the form of hand seals and chakra circuits. Otherwise, you might "crash" the jutsu inside your own body and create a disaster!
With this perspective, Ren couldn't help but wonder what those "predecessor transmigrators" had been thinking. Why was their first instinct always to simplify hand seals and speed up casting? Were they really so unafraid of blowing up their own messy jutsu code? These ninjutsu programmers were either incredibly brave… or incredibly reckless.
Only now did Ren fully appreciate Orochimaru's intentions—why he'd told him to only read part of the theory books on tracking ninjutsu, but to read the sealing books cover to cover. It was because the learning methods for the two were fundamentally different.
That—was understanding.
Ren's respect for Orochimaru deepened.
If he had never studied ninjutsu, seeing Orochimaru would have been like a frog gazing at the moon from the bottom of a well.
But now that he had stepped through the threshold, it was like a mayfly glimpsing the vast sky for the first time.
That said—Ren still hadn't solved the problem of the (Dragon Flame Release Song) Ryūen Hōka's sealing technique input.
And of course, he couldn't have solved it—because Orochimaru had never even given him a book on the matter. He had only just finished reading an introductory sealing manual from the Land of Whirlpools.
By all logic, Ren should have been frustrated. Yet he wasn't. Instead, he felt a spark of joy—
The joy of finally glimpsing the solution to a long-standing puzzle,
The joy of a newborn's first cry.
For the first time, he had truly stepped into the world of Naruto, beginning to understand their thoughts, their knowledge, their vision.
Ren … was now a shinobi.
In other fantasy novels, this kind of integration into the world might come with a flashy "breakthrough" or a sudden surge in cultivation.
Unfortunately, the Naruto world offered no such convenient perks, and his so-called "Power Game System" didn't care in the slightest whether its host had adapted to the setting.
From that day forward, Ren's academic discussions with Orochimaru became more frequent—and more engaging. Orochimaru's appreciation of him grew as well, and the range of topics they could discuss expanded rapidly.
Every person is an island, but even islands yearn for the sight of a distant sail.
Their growing closeness even prompted Tsunade to tease him, saying:
"Ren, you're supposed to be my student, yet when it comes to research, you act more like Orochimaru's. Where does that leave me as your teacher?"
Of course, she was only joking. Ren had learned plenty from Tsunade as well—most importantly, chakra control.
"What is control?"
It sounded like a simple, even foolish question, yet it was the very first lesson Tsunade had given him.
Ren had given a long, thoughtful answer: control meant saving energy, calculating precisely, being efficient…
Tsunade had simply listened, silently, until he finished. Then she gave her own answer:
"Control… means making your opponent's chakra run out before yours does."
The words struck him like a thunderclap. He had never considered it from that perspective before.
With that insight, he began to understand the guiding principle behind Tsunade's approach to developing jutsu.
No wonder she loved to gamble—she was used to always holding one more card than her opponent in battle, so in daily life, she naturally had the instinct to go all in.
Learning to control chakra, to unleash powerful jutsu with minimal expenditure, to maximize their effects—
All of it came down to one ultimate goal: controlling your opponent.