Chapter 58: The Second Shinobi World War Begins
First, there was the 'rejuvenation' of his mindset.
Although "live and learn" is a broad consensus in human society, actual data leads to a conclusion that is the complete opposite of 'common sense': 'Humanity's golden age for learning is from birth to young adulthood.'
Of course, this statistic might be unfair in the Naruto world. After all, until forty-odd years ago, the average life expectancy of a shinobi in this world didn't exceed thirty. Civilians might have fared better, but not by much.
The very concept of an 'old person' wasn't widespread, let alone 'learning until you're old.'
But considering only physiological and psychological factors, a person's youth is indeed when their mind is most active, their acceptance is highest, and their comprehension is strongest.
As a researcher, while the accumulation of experience is extremely important, that 'lightness' of mind belonging to the young is undoubtedly more important.
Not being limited by past experience, a sudden flash of insight, a spark of inspiration from the details of daily life... these are talents that old, stagnant minds, sinking into incurable decay, can no longer possess.
Hiiro Rinko was a firm believer that there was romance in research, and he was someone who could truly feel that charm. He, who viewed research as a pleasure, never wanted to lose that lightness of heart.
The pursuit of joy should be endless.
A firm, pure will is a form of power, and Yin Release is the means of forging that will into a blade.
And on the other hand, there were the tangible, negative side effects.
Just as Hiiro Rinko's Chakra nature had been changed to Wind and Water by the strong inclination of his soul, Yin Release had probably also solidified his cognitive understanding of energy systems onto his physical body.
Of course, he knew that being bound by the knowledge of his past life was a stupid limitation. But some things, even when realized, are hard to change.
Hiiro Rinko had never imagined that his subconscious perceptions would be infinitely amplified by his strengthened Yin Release and then, in turn, affect his physical body.
His current solution was to use the Chakra-suppressing bandages wrapped around his entire body to slow the operational efficiency of his Yin-nature Chakra, while simultaneously using Cursed Energy to shield the outer layer, allowing his Yang-nature Chakra to operate normally. He was trying to pull Yin and Yang back into balance.
The Chakra-suppressing bandages were something he had originally developed to be used with the 'Tenketsu Unblocking Jutsu'—a Medical Ninjutsu that used external stimuli to temporarily open Chakra points and adjust the body's condition. By closing off local Chakra circulation, the amount of Chakra released by the jutsu could be controlled. With fine adjustments and his own processing power, he could suppress Chakra flow on a body-wide scale.
It was strange. His Yin Release had gone out of control because he achieved Triple Split-Thinking, and now he was only able to solve it because of the boost in processing power from that Split-Thinking.
The solution was right next to the problem.
As for why he couldn't learn Lightning Release...
The Five Elements, the Four Elements... none of the attribute-cycle systems Hiiro Rinko had encountered in his past life included 'Lightning' as a fundamental element.
From a mystical perspective, lightning was seen as 'fire from the heavens.' From a physics perspective, it was charge separation caused by collisions of particles.
In the former, 'Lightning' is a derivative of 'Fire.' In the latter, it's a derivative of 'Wind.'
But in any case, 'Lightning' itself was never included as a fundamental, cyclical attribute.
And while Rinko was someone who loved to play with statistics, he had to admit that some things in the world of mathematics couldn't just be denied with passion.
Mathematics cannot prove its own correctness using only itself; within a single system, it can only prove 'non-contradiction.' Gödel's incompleteness theorems clearly weren't just limited to math.
This was especially true now that he could already construct a simple cycle using the four Chakra natures of Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind. The existence of Lightning Release was just... awkward.
Dude, why are you even here?
Even now, he genuinely believed this. If he wanted to learn Lightning Release, he would clearly have to wait until his Yang Release was back in balance with his Yin Release and its negative effects were gone.
"Hah. I never understand a word you say, brat."
There are many abilities in this world that even the users themselves don't fully understand, like the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains, or Shukaku's own Magnet Release.
As a 'talent-based' user, the big-tailed Tanuki never understood Rinko's long-winded technical explanations. But that was fine. Shukaku just liked listening to Rinko ramble. He didn't understand Bunpuku's scriptures either, but that didn't stop him from liking Bunpuku. Same logic.
"Rinko, new intel is here."
The maintenance bay door slid open. Pakura's tall, slender figure emerged from the tunnel, handing Hiiro Rinko a stack of reports.
Seeing this, Shukaku hopped off Rinko's lap and scurried over the railing toward the outer area. Clearly, the following conversation would just be about "war" and "plans," the same boring crap he'd heard a hundred times. The big-tailed Tanuki had zero interest.
"Mhm… I don't see the point in reading these..."
Rinko casually flipped through the reports, which detailed the recent movements of all the great nations, and then tossed the stack onto a nearby table. He grabbed Pakura's wrist and pulled her into his lap.
"Isn't this important intel? If you analyze it, you can always find something useful."
Pakura, sitting on her lover's lap, was long used to this level of contact. The three of them had already done everything they should—and shouldn't—do.
"Mhm... For the current intelligence agencies, the problem is never a lack of intel, but too much information coming from too many channels. In fact, if you predicted the war's start time at any point between the beginning of the year and now, you could always 'draw the bullseye after shooting the arrow' and find intel to support that view."
He wrapped his arms around his lover's waist, burying his face in her bare back. Hiiro Rinko noted that Chakra really did wonders for the skin, and explained his philosophy in a muffled voice.
"And we've already made all the preparations we can. All we're waiting for now is the 'go' order from the Daimyō..."
"Is that so."
"We're the ones who have to make the first move. We have to at least pick a suitable season, right?"
Just as Hiiro Rinko judged, two months later, Sunagakure, under the Daimyō's orders, officially declared war on Konoha.
In the same year, Iwagakure also announced it was joining the war.
Konoha Year 38. The Second Shinobi World War had begun.