A year ago, Hui had felt something stirring within his eyes, as if they were developing a unique power.
He had wondered about it, imagined what it might be, but he hadn't expected the ability to control life force itself. It was so overwhelming a power that he could hardly believe it.
Still, Mochizuki Hui was calm by nature. Rather than get carried away, he focused on understanding the extent and limits of his new abilities. After some testing, he discovered his power in detail.
Firstly, it only worked on living beings. He could drain life force from other organisms or grant it to them—whether human, summon beasts, or ordinary animals.
But he couldn't affect inanimate objects; stones, for instance, which had no life force to begin with and couldn't retain it.
Secondly, his ability to drain life force had limits. For example, if the life force of a typical person equaled one unit, he could currently only extract a tenth of a unit at once.
Additionally, there was a cooldown period: he could only use his ability again after an hour. The same cooldown applied to granting life force, and each use only allowed him to transfer about one-fifteenth of a unit.
This explained why, after using both drain and restore abilities on the bird, it still seemed weaker than it had initially.
Mochizuki Hui also found that he could only retain a small fraction—about a tenth—of the life force he absorbed, while the rest would dissipate shortly after.
After thoroughly exploring his new ability, Mochizuki Hui couldn't help but feel a bit deflated. His power seemed impressive on the surface, but the limited amount of life force he could drain or restore in a single use was practically insignificant in combat.
Draining a tenth of a person's life force would do little more than leave them mildly fatigued, like having a light cold. It certainly wouldn't be enough to weaken an enemy in a meaningful way.
It quickly became clear that unless he could extract far more life force per use, this ability wouldn't be useful in a fight.
Imagine if he could drain an entire unit of life force from an ordinary person—he could end their life instantly or, conversely, restore someone near death state to full strength.
Such a quantity would even weaken a powerful ninja considerably.
But that was all speculation; for now, he had no way to extract that much, and the one-hour cooldown time further limited its practical use.
"Did I just end up with a flashy but useless power?" Hui sat on the rooftop, pondering why fate had seemingly toyed with him.
"No, life force is too profound a concept to be this limited. There must be more I'm not seeing," he reasoned, refusing to give up.
There had to be something he was missing that would reveal the full potential of his power.
He spent hours thinking, but the answer eluded him.
Finally, he sighed. "Maybe this ability will grow stronger with time—a skill that matures as I do," he muttered to himself, hoping that, eventually, he'd be able to control larger quantities of life force.
But still, he couldn't fully shake his frustration. This power felt too strong to leave up to chance.
Then, suddenly, inspiration struck.
He jumped to his feet, his eyes alight. "Of course! Life force—it's meant to be used differently!"
Hui's whole demeanor brightened as he pieced it together, grinning widely. "The real power isn't just about granting and taking away. It's in the essence of life force itself!"
He quickly sat down, closed his eyes, and concentrated.
Just as he'd hoped, he could sense an entirely new type of energy within himself alongside the light energy, chakra, and natural energy he already wielded. It was life force.
"Yes! Let me assimilate it!" he commanded, feeling his internal energy—his original essence, Primordial Yuan Qi—begin to move, slowly drawing the life force toward it, absorbing and assimilating it.
This was the true potential of life force: rather than merely taking or giving it to others, he could integrate it within himself. Primordial Yuan Qi could devour, assimilate, and transform any energy, and life force was no exception.
Just imagining the possibilities made his heart race. With enough life force assimilated into his Yuan Qi, he might attain near-immortality, with healing abilities surpassing even Hashirama Senju.
Hui envisioned himself recovering instantly from wounds, his lifespan stretching across centuries, possibly millennia, as he continued to live within the Shinobi World.
"The speed of assimilation is excruciatingly slow… but, for life force, that's only to be expected," he muttered, a mix of frustration and satisfaction on his face.
He estimated it would take at least ten years—likely longer—to fully assimilate life force at this rate.
But the reward was worth the patience, he was strong as it is, and would only continue to grow stronger, as he'd gain not only longevity but regenerative capabilities beyond compare.
"Now, it's just a matter of time." He whispered, jumping down from the rooftop.
Looking at his hands, Mochizuki Hui grinned.
He was eager to explore any other transformations his body might have undergone. After all, with power like this, there was no limit to how far he could go.
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