But for Ronin, none of the ninjutsu felt difficult. There weren't even "element" restrictions—if he wanted to, as long as he could form the hand seals and release chakra, he could cast any jutsu whose "rank" he clearly remembered.
Even taijutsu like the Eight Gates didn't require him to painstakingly study meridians or pathways. He could use it as easily as eating and drinking—through seals and chakra release.
Only when he tried to open a "Gate" beyond what his current level allowed would he run into a "rank" restriction and be unable to use it.
Still, there were abilities Ronin couldn't use—like kekkei genkai–type powers, or certain special or forbidden techniques.
And there was one kind of technique he absolutely could not cast at all: the iconic fan-favorite Summoning Jutsu from Naruto.
Without a contract, even if he could "cast" the Summoning Jutsu, there would be nothing to summon.
And since he could never summon anything, he couldn't properly activate the jutsu in the first place.
Unless Ronin found a suitable contract beast and formed a contract—then summoning would naturally become possible.
Ronin planned to look for the right kind of creature when he had the chance. Maybe he could unlock summoning.
He also started thinking: what if he widened his frame a bit?
If he examined the relationship between chakra and Nen—and then brought Vows and Limitations into the equation—could he reinterpret his abilities?
That thought made Ronin's eyes brighten.
Chakra itself might be a derivative form of Nen.
If he followed that line of reasoning, a lot of things became easier to understand.
The "rank" restrictions, the need to find Scarlet Eyes and absorb them, and the fact that the number of eyes required increased as his own eyes evolved—those were clearly limitations.
And under those limitations, the conversion of Nen into chakra, the convenient and powerful way ninjutsu could burst in strength and shift attributes, plus the effects his eyes gained after evolution—those were the benefits granted by the vow.
In other words, from the start, Ronin's transformation and everything that followed was essentially a Specialist Nen ability.
It was simply a Specialist ability that was more direct, more efficient—and uniquely suited to him.
You could call it "Ninja," or you could call it "Sharingan," since everything began with those eyes.
He would use those special eyes to look into the secrets hidden in the world of Hunter x Hunter.
And thinking further, it was also clear that Nen wasn't just life energy—it included mental energy as well.
After all, whether it was Gon cultivating his mind while in Zetsu, or Chairman Netero's gratitude-based training, both involved spiritual discipline.
When Gon broke free of Wing's "promise restriction," his aura became more stable—matching his state of mind. When he broke free of Knuckle's ability-based restraint, his aura increased dramatically.
Those were proof.
Proof that Nen and mental energy were tightly connected.
When your mental energy grew strong enough, that strength reflected into your Nen.
And thinking about himself, Ronin began to understand why his growth had been so fast.
Because the "him" who transmigrated had effectively absorbed the previous owner's soul as it was about to dissipate.
And what he absorbed was largely mental energy—giving him mental strength far beyond normal.
That was why he retained the previous owner's memories. And if you thought about it, many childhood memories in those memories were blurry—only the recent ones, especially the massacre, were painfully clear.
Maybe the previous owner had triggered a vow and limitation at the moment of death:
Trading his soul in exchange for a new soul—Ronin—one that could bring change.
Perhaps the cost of that limitation was permanent dissolution, never entering reincarnation… assuming reincarnation existed.
After untangling all that, Ronin felt he now understood Nen—and vows and limitations—much more deeply.
Nen had an all-encompassing quality, while chakra, for him, was a special energy for casting ninjutsu and activating the Sharingan.
And both Nen users and "ninja" had weaknesses.
Top-tier Nen monsters—like Chairman Netero, the Ant King, and the Royal Guard—were clearly high attack, high defense, high speed. They were all-rounders.
But ninjas—even Hokage-level—were often glass cannons.
Devastating destructive power, but compared to Nen users—especially Enhancers—their defensive ability was frankly worrying. They relied more on special methods to avoid damage.
Take Ronin's fight with Uvogin: when he opened the Eight Gates and used the Primary Lotus, the damage he did to himself was clearly greater than the damage he did to Uvogin.
That was the physical gap.
Once Ronin converted himself into chakra mode, his defense dropped sharply compared to when he was in pure Nen mode.
Even the intermediate state still weakened him. His strongest defensive state was likely his normal Nen-user state.
Maybe once he fully mastered Lightning Release chakra cloak–style taijutsu, that weakness would improve.
Lightning Release taijutsu was also B-rank, but it consumed enormous energy. And once activated, Ronin still couldn't fully control the extreme speed, which was why he hadn't used it against Uvogin earlier.
Even with Sharingan support, adapting to that ultra-high-speed state required heavy practice.
That Raikage guy really was a monster.
Otherwise, with Lightning Release taijutsu's power, fighting Uvogin might have been easier—maybe even possible to break through head-on.
Next time—if Uvogin could still fight next time—Ronin would crush him directly in Uvogin's strongest domain.
As for Ronin's plan for his Hatsu, it was to create something that could help him generate more chakra—so both Nen-user state and chakra mode could be pushed to the maximum.
In the best case, he would become like Kisame—an "un-tailed tailed beast."
Or he could go even further: develop toward becoming a literal "tailed beast," creating one inside his own body.
But how would he do that?
And in his view, no matter how you created a tailed beast, turning himself into a jinchūriki carried risks. It didn't feel as practical as simply forging himself into an "un-tailed tailed beast."
Trying to be greedy and choose everything wasn't a good idea either.
Because his foundation was still Nen—and Nen development had a concept like "memory capacity."
Only by specializing—like Chairman Netero did—could you truly maximize Enhancement's strengths.
It was a pity he wasn't a Conjurer.
If he were, he wouldn't mind creating a Samehada-type weapon—something that could fill the chakra gap.
But if he were a Conjurer, he'd suffer in taijutsu.
Thoughts collided endlessly in his mind. Ronin felt he needed more time to think and test, to find the best way to maximize his aura capacity.
He lifted his eyes to the window.
Golden wheat fields swept past in vast stretches.
He was getting close to Molding City.
~~~
Patreon(.)com/Bleam
— Currently You can Read 70 Chapters Ahead of Others!