Kekkei Genkai, in the world of Naruto, refers to techniques that can be inherited through bloodlines or genetics.
The key point to note is that it is a technique, not a chakra nature.
Take, for example, Rasa's Magnet Release: Gold Dust Technique.
The reason Rasa can use Magnet Release is not because his chakra contains a unique "Magnet" nature, but because he fuses his Wind Release and Earth Release chakra together. Through nature transformation, this fusion produces magnetic force, which allows him to remotely manipulate gold dust.
This is the essence of Magnet Release.
However, if we look at the ninja world as a whole, not all Kekkei Genkai are inherited through family bloodlines. Some ninjas develop unique Kekkei Genkai on their own.
For example, Pakura from Sunagakure, a representative of the village's civilian faction, possesses Scorch Release.
Scorch Release is technically a Kekkei Genkai, but Pakura refers to it as a secret technique instead.
What is the difference?
The key distinction lies in the source. Unlike Rasa's Magnet Release, which was inherited through bloodline and genetics, Pakura developed Scorch Release herself by combining Earth and Fire chakra natures through nature transformation.
If Pakura were to have descendants who could inherit her Scorch Release, then it would no longer be considered a secret technique—it would officially become a Kekkei Genkai.
This is the fundamental difference between Kekkei Genkai and secret techniques.
To put it simply, there is no such thing as an innately existing Kekkei Genkai in this world. Even the Sharingan and Byakugan were originally secret techniques developed by powerful and talented ninjas. Only after being passed down through bloodlines did they become recognized as Kekkei Genkai.
This is also why Pakura holds such a high status in Sunagakure.
She created her own secret technique from scratch, and if passed down, it could give birth to a powerful bloodline clan. This kind of talent and potential is what the village truly values.
Of course, in terms of power, Kekkei Genkai are superior to secret techniques. The key reason is the difference between innate ability and acquired skill.
A Kekkei Genkai user naturally inherits their abilities through bloodline or genetics, requiring minimal effort to use them.
Secret techniques, on the other hand, require immense talent, rigorous training, and countless hours of practice to master.
In other words, when it comes to natural talent, even though Rasa became the Fourth Kazekage, he is actually inferior to Pakura.
Rasa's Magnet Release was merely an enhanced version of the Third Kazekage's Magnet Release, allowing him to manipulate gold dust instead of iron sand. However, Pakura developed Scorch Release entirely on her own—a much more difficult feat.
But now, Rasa is no longer the same as before.
Because he has a cheat ability: Kāma.
Through this recent experiment, Rasa has roughly figured out Kāma's first ability—it can alter the host's body and grant them some of the abilities of whatever they absorb.
Rasa feels no shame in surpassing Pakura through this golden finger (cheat ability).
Because in the world of shinobi, where human lives are as insignificant as grass, power is everything.
Even though Kāma seems unstable, what matters most is becoming strong right now—not worrying about future risks.
Although Rasa's Magnet Release is a Kekkei Genkai, the process of using it still requires him to manually fuse Wind and Earth chakra to generate magnetism.
The difference between this and a secret technique is that, after awakening Magnet Release, Rasa is naturally able to perform this fusion.
He does not need to go through the painstaking effort that Pakura did to develop Scorch Release. Nor does he have to put in a hundred times more training just to use it proficiently.
However, that doesn't mean Rasa can completely skip the process of refining his Magnet Release.
But this time, after absorbing Shukaku's chakra through Kāma, Rasa's body underwent some kind of transformation.
Now, he no longer needs to actively fuse Wind and Earth chakra—his body does it automatically.
To put it simply, Rasa has now become like Shukaku, where Magnet Release has become an innate ability.
This change brings two major benefits:
Increased control over Magnet Release, since he no longer has to spend time and focus on fusing chakra.Greatly reduced chakra consumption—because manually condensing and fusing chakra is inherently inefficient, while automatic fusion eliminates that extra waste.
Rasa tested his new abilities and found that using the same Magnet Release technique now required less than half the chakra it did before.
This is also why he can now freely fly on high-density gold dust—something he previously couldn't achieve.
Besides enhancing his Magnet Release, Shukaku's chakra granted Rasa two more abilities.
Rasa waved his hand, and suddenly, the sand beneath his feet began to tremble violently.
Like a rising tidal wave, the sand surged upward and gathered into a massive hand as large as a mountain, which then slammed down with a deafening impact.
"Boom!!"
That's right—Rasa has now obtained Shukaku's sand manipulation ability.
Compared to the dense gold dust, controlling regular sand is much easier.
Under Rasa's chakra control, the surrounding desert began to take shape, forming a massive sand creature.
At a glance, the creature's appearance was exactly like Shukaku!
It roared and swung its massive tail wildly, smashing into the sand dunes.
Of course, Rasa's version was cruder than the real Shukaku. It was clear that the construct was just a clump of sand, and its movements were still somewhat clumsy.
But one thing was certain—Rasa could now use "Giant Mode" just like Shukaku.
However, sand alone lacks defense. It could never compare to techniques like Susano'o, which are both offensive and defensive.
Fortunately, Rasa had a solution.
With a thought, countless streams of gold dust surged upward from the ground, coating the sand Shukaku's body.
Gold dust merged with the sand, reinforcing its structure.
Creating a full-sized gold dust giant would be far too taxing on Rasa's chakra reserves—after all, he wasn't a Jinchūriki-tier chakra monster.
More importantly, it wasn't necessary. A pure gold dust construct would be overkill, but a hybrid of sand and gold dust struck the perfect balance between durability and efficiency.
Looking at the towering sand-gold Shukaku before him, Rasa nodded in satisfaction.
"Alright... from now on, this move shall be called: Magnet Release: Shukaku Avatar."
But that wasn't all.
Besides Magnet Release and sand manipulation, Rasa had gained one more ability from Shukaku.
With a swift body flicker, he appeared atop the Shukaku Avatar and pressed his right palm against its head.
Mysterious sealing marks instantly spread across the entire construct.
That's right—this was Shukaku's unique sealing technique, which Rasa had now inherited!
After testing it briefly, Rasa confirmed that the power of this sealing jutsu far exceeded his expectations.
No wonder it was strong enough to seal Uchiha Madara's Limbo clones under Sage-enhanced conditions.
With all these newfound abilities, Rasa now felt confident in facing even the monsters of Konoha.
Now, all that remained was to master these techniques and develop new combat strategies—because war was coming...