Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 172: Expanding Rasengan, Giant Rasengan Wheel! Human Puppet Technique: Creation and Regeneration Core!

Minato's expression turned serious as he put away his usual smile. He stared intently at the palm of his raised right hand, murmuring as though he were solving a complex problem:

"I think I understand why it failed!"

"To make the Cat's Paw Light Wheel Reverse Ignition Spiral Uchiha Double Sphere explode properly..."

Uchiha Ci couldn't help but twitch his lips. "I told you not to call it that anymore!"

The minor complaint didn't distract Minato, who was fully immersed in his thoughts. When he continued speaking, Uchiha Ci's expression instantly grew serious, and he listened attentively.

At this moment, a deep blue, spherical orb appeared in Minato's palm.

Unlike the standard Rasengan, this one had a noticeably darker hue.

Moreover, as soon as it formed, it began to expand rapidly, its surface becoming dangerously unstable.

"I get it now!"

Raising an eyebrow, Minato focused intently on the swelling Rasengan in his palm and said with realization:

"The key isn't the violent chakra revolving around the core!"

"It's the core itself. As you said, Ci, I need to suppress the chakra protruding from the sphere to stabilize this technique."

"Previously, when I unconsciously imitated the Tailed Beast Bomb, I compressed the core too tightly, which sped up the chakra rotation around it and caused it to spiral out of control."

"So, the critical point of the core lies in compression!"

"Compress the core of the Lightwheel Catpaw Reversing Inspiration Swirl Uchiha Twin Style Sphere!!"

As Minato's hand continued to hold the dangerously swelling Rasengan, Uchiha Ci's eyes widened slightly.

At that moment, it was as if he had entered detective mode and understood everything in an instant.

Minato truly deserved his title as the creator of the Rasengan. After developing the basic form of the technique, he had quickly deduced the reason for its failure.

When it came to issues regarding spheres, consulting the creator certainly sped things up!

Minato's inspiration for the Rasengan came from witnessing the Tailed Beast Bomb. As a result, this new expanding Rasengan bore a striking resemblance to it.

By compressing the core and increasing the centrifugal force, the chakra entered a state of violent rotation, accelerating until it became uncontrollable and began to swell.

From Minato's words, Uchiha Ci quickly associated it with another variant of the Rasengan—

The Rasengan Wheel, which appeared only in the Road to Ninja movie's Infinite Tsukuyomi world, used by Uzumaki Menma.

The principle of the Rasengan Wheel also involved compression, but it included compressing the chakra rotating around the core as well.

Its advanced version, the Giant Rasengan Wheel, had an area of effect comparable to a Super Shinra Tensei!

With a single strike, it could destroy the Hidden Leaf Village!

At this moment, Minato's eyes lit up again. Inspired by this variant of the Rasengan, his quick-thinking mind immediately drew parallels with a similar concept:

"If I compress both the core and the surrounding chakra simultaneously, perhaps the Lightwheel Catpaw Reversing Inspiration Swirl Uchiha Twin Style Sphere could stabilize as well?"

"And its power... might even increase?"

Uchiha Ci fell silent, unsure how to respond to Minato's question.

Increase? Of course, it would increase! After all, this was the Giant Rasengan Wheel!

But what was happening now?

Under his influence, was Minato about to develop a movie-exclusive technique like the Giant Rasengan Wheel?

This...

This was bad. Minato was becoming ridiculously overpowered!

If he teleported above an enemy village and dropped a Sage Art: Giant Rasengan Wheel...

The scene would be too catastrophic to imagine. Even Uchiha Ci didn't dare think about it!

Closer to the present, the duo would soon encounter the notorious A and B duo. If they saw this upgraded version of Minato pull out a Giant Rasengan Wheel, what would their reactions be? How deep would their psychological scars run?

Just as the two were engrossed in their discussions about developing new techniques, a voice called out from afar.

"Sensei Minato, Mr. Ci, it's time to prepare dinner!"

Rin waved at them from a distance. The three younger team members carried wood and wild vegetables as they made their way back.

When they looked up, they were greeted by the sight of Minato holding a wildly unstable, rapidly expanding blue orb in his hand.

Their teacher stood there nonchalantly, his eyes gleaming as he enthusiastically discussed something with Uchiha Ci, completely ignoring the ticking time bomb in his palm.

The scene was so absurd that the three young ninjas were stunned.

Obito was so startled that he dropped the bundle of firewood he was carrying, shouting in horror:

"Sensei! Ci! It's about to explode!"

"Hmm?" Minato blinked, finally snapping out of his thoughts. Looking down at the near-exploding Rasengan in his hand, his pupils contracted.

In an instant, he vanished, reappearing at a Flying Raijin marker 200 meters away. He quickly hurled the expanding Rasengan and teleported back to the haystack.

The next moment—

Boom!

The overcharged Rasengan exploded with a blinding flash, sending a small pillar of light shooting into the sky!

A strong wind swept across the area, scattering dirt, grass, and broken branches in all directions.

"What was that?!"

Kakashi and the others stood slack-jawed, lowering their arms that had been shielding their faces from the blast. They turned in shock to Minato, who looked somewhat disheveled.

Minato let out a breath of relief before scratching his head with a sheepish smile.

"Ah, just a new technique I'm developing. It's still pretty dangerous and might explode at any moment."

Turning to Uchiha Ci, he continued,

"Ci, let's discuss the technique further when we return to the village. For now, let's eat."

Uchiha Ci nodded. He had already gained a lot—understanding the principle of the expanding Rasengan and mastering the basic Rasengan. Minato, too, must have benefited.

As for the remaining issues, such as controlling dark chakra to create a Dark Rasengan, combining Sage Mode, or modifying the Rasengan into a pseudo-Tailed Beast Bomb, these were challenges he would have to tackle on his own.

Uchiha Ci had a feeling that training this technique would cause quite a commotion, making this location unsuitable for practice.

Regarding Minato's explanation of the expanding Rasengan's core compression principle, Uchiha Ci already had some ideas.

The inspiration came from a skill he obtained after defeating Ebizō. Narrowing his eyes, he opened the interface in his mind and searched for the recently acquired skill:

[Ding!]

[You have defeated Sunagakure's top commander, Ebizō, who attempted to kill you. You have gained a random skill from him: Human Puppet Technique: Creation and Regeneration Core (A, Beginner).]

[The counterattack was overwhelming. The target is dead and unable to object. A critical reward has been triggered.]

[The skill has critically upgraded. Current attribute: Human Puppet Technique: Creation and Regeneration Core (A, Proficient).]

[Your "Heartsteel" stack has increased.]

The Human Puppet Technique: Creation and Regeneration Core!

This was a forbidden technique used by Sunagakure genius and future Akatsuki S-rank rogue ninja Sasori to achieve his "eternal art."

Sasori had transformed himself into a human puppet, modifying his heart into an eternal, indestructible chakra regeneration core to achieve a form of pseudo-immortality. The regeneration core could also control hundreds of chakra threads, enabling his legendary Performance of a Hundred Puppets!

The key to all of this lay in this technique:

Transforming the deceased into human puppets, condensing a chakra core, and using it to control all of their pre-death abilities—an ultimate forbidden jutsu.

Uchiha Ci mused that if the chakra of a deceased person could be condensed into a core, this high-level compression technique might also work on the chakra of the living!