Chapter Seventeen: Absorbing the Soul Fragments

When Gofu Kato first used the Soul Nurturing Technique to split his soul and leave his body to kill, his lack of experience led him to directly browse his opponent’s memory within the enemy’s soul world. The massive memory fragments of that Rain Ninja jonin surged into the depths of Gofu Kato’s soul in an instant, nearly scattering his spiritual form. This almost allowed his opponent to break free from the restraints of Gofu Kato’s sealing technique. The situation at that time was extremely perilous, and only Gofu Kato himself truly understood the tension and thrill of it.

To directly browse the enemy’s soul memories during battle not only consumes vast amounts of chakra and soul power, but the instant influx of all those memories brings more than just an immediate shock—there are lingering aftereffects as well. For half a month now, inexplicable fragments would flash through Gofu Kato’s mind—disjointed and chaotic memories from that Rain Ninja jonin—surfacing unpredictably and affecting his state at any moment.

The first time these aftereffects appeared, they nearly jeopardized a mission Gofu Kato was undertaking. For a ninja, daydreaming in the midst of a mission is incredibly dangerous. Fortunately, by using the Soul Nurturing Technique to split his soul without leaving his body, Gofu Kato was able to specifically address the memory fragments left from killing the Rain Ninja. After more than half a month of effort, he finally sorted through and resolved the aftereffects from his previous use of the technique.

As for those jumbled and massive memories, it’s uncertain whether their meaninglessness and distortion were due to Gofu Kato’s lack of proficiency, inherent shortcomings in the Soul Nurturing Technique’s memory browsing, or the Rain Ninja jonin’s resistance. Most fragments were nothing more than useless, twisted images with no value whatsoever.

It could only be said that when touching upon the mysterious soul arts revered by all ninjas, even a slight variable made things far more complicated than Gofu Kato had anticipated. Even with his cheat-like Ninja System, the system itself had to abide by the most basic and fundamental laws of the ninja world—and the soul was precisely one of those fundamental laws.

In this respect, the Soul Nurturing Technique, and even the Kato Clan’s Spiritualization Technique, were worthy of their S-rank classification. They touched upon the very operating principles of the ninja world, their developmental potential possibly even surpassing the S-rank.

For the current flaw in the Soul Nurturing Technique, Gofu Kato had no effective solution. For now, he could only practice the technique diligently, strengthen his soul power, and avoid directly browsing enemy memories in battle until he found a real answer.

He already had a strategy in mind to address this flaw. He recalled his second team leader, the jonin from the Yamanaka Clan of the Leaf. The Yamanaka Clan’s secret technique—Mind Transfer Jutsu.

The Yamanaka’s Mind Transfer Jutsu was akin to a weaker version of the Kato Clan’s Spiritualization Technique, but it had two advantages. First, its mastery did not require the monstrous talent of the Spiritualization Technique; many in the Yamanaka Clan achieved proficiency. Second, it was especially adept at interrogating, searching, and browsing enemy memories. Many Yamanaka served in the Leaf’s Intelligence Division, relying on their swift Mind Transfer Jutsu to extract enemy memories—a skill of unique value. It was said that some Yamanaka experts could extract intelligence even from freshly severed heads. In this aspect, the Mind Transfer Jutsu surpassed the Spiritualization Technique.

Gofu Kato planned, should he get the chance, to obtain the Mind Transfer Jutsu from the Yamanaka. By referencing their methods for searching and browsing memories, he hoped to perfect his own Soul Nurturing Technique. For now, it was just a plan; he had no concrete leads.

The direct lesson from his first use of the Soul Nurturing Technique to kill was clear: unless absolutely necessary, and until he addressed his own shortcomings, he should avoid browsing enemy soul memories directly.

However, not all outcomes were negative—sometimes, risk and crisis breed opportunity. The soul fragment Gofu Kato began absorbing was a serendipitous result of that ordeal.

The fragment he absorbed was a piece left after he shattered the Rain Ninja’s soul. Most of the enemy’s soul, destroyed before it could escape the corpse, dissipated instantly. The largest fragment, breaking off in the process, lingered just a bit longer. Incomplete, unable to pass on to the Pure Land, it drifted out of the corpse and was absorbed by Gofu Kato.

Soul fragments dissipate rapidly; very little time passed between the Rain Ninja jonin’s death and Gofu Kato’s absorption. By the time he absorbed the largest piece, it had already shrunk considerably; most of the rest vanished within the corpse. The absorbed soul fragment was primarily pure soul power, replenishing Gofu Kato’s depleted spirit. It also contained a memory, but with the lesson from his previous near-disaster fresh in mind, Gofu Kato stored it deep within his soul for future processing.

Today, having finally resolved all aftereffects from his first reckless use of the Soul Nurturing Technique to browse enemy memories, Gofu Kato prepared to handle that remaining memory fragment.

…

In his bedroom, dressed in comfortable sleepwear, Gofu Kato lay on his bed, feigning sleep.

Within his soul’s world, he readied himself to absorb the lingering memory fragment. Recalling his previous lesson, Gofu Kato carefully split his soul using the Soul Nurturing Technique, but did not leave his body. He controlled the split soul to absorb the fragment that had waited half a month.

This time, there was no onslaught of massive memories, no resistance from the enemy’s consciousness. The process went smoothly.

…

Rain—endless, unceasing rain. From gentle drizzle to roaring downpours, all kinds of rain fell as if the sky itself were a massive sieve. Beyond the curtain of rain, a village appeared, its architectural style utterly unlike the Leaf. Rows of tall, square towers, most rising high and packed tightly together. The walls and streets, awash with rainwater, were also lined with countless pipes—wooden, stone, metal. In the wider streets, exotic sculptures stood out, each with its own unique flair.

This was the steampunk world of the Hidden Rain Village.

The scene flickered—a memory of performing ninjutsu: forming hand seals, channeling chakra, the Rain: Thousand Needles Technique. He could control raindrops from the sky, transforming them into senbon to kill enemies, coating them with poison or altering their chakra nature…

The scene shifted again—a large room, seemingly an office. Pipes were neatly arranged along the walls and corners; outside the window, dark clouds loomed as raindrops pattered against the glass, making the office feel even colder and more severe.

The viewpoint was kneeling on one knee, bowing to a ninja seated above—another figure was kneeling ahead as well. The ninja at the head appeared to be in his forties, arms bare and bulging with explosive muscle. His short black hair stood in clumps, and his face was obscured by a green metallic gas mask.

“I gave you a chance—not just one chance—and you failed again. We Rain Ninja don’t keep useless people. If we want to surpass the Five Great Nations, we cannot afford any deadweight!” The voice, muffled and metallic through the gas mask, was cold and harsh, matching the inclement weather outside.

Gofu Kato saw the kneeling figure ahead, and himself trembling in fear. Without the masked ninja even moving, the Rain Ninja in front convulsed and collapsed, his face turning blue and purple before he spat blood and foam…

The memory fragment ended there. Lying on his bed, Gofu Kato opened his eyes.

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