Uesugi Toru stood in a dark room, a stream of data scrolling rapidly through his eyes.
Outside the window, Konoha Village lay in silence.
Inside the room, a revolution capable of changing the Ninja world was quietly taking place.
[Optimization plan under construction, estimated time: 7 hours 28 minutes...]
Seeing this time, the flow of data in Uesugi Toru's eyes slowly faded. He didn't intend to wait here all night. To ensure his bodily functions remained at their peak, he had to rest and conserve his energy for tomorrow's graduation exam.
He turned toward the bed and lay down, closing his eyes. Almost instantly, his breathing became steady and long as he entered a deep sleep. The ongoing plan in his mind seemed to have nothing to do with him.
He had left everything to the AI brain to handle.
The night passed in silence.
As soon as dawn broke, Uesugi Toru opened his eyes on time. He didn't have a habit of sleeping in and sat up immediately.
The moment he opened his eyes, the AI brain's notification sounded in his mind.
[Optimization plan construction complete]
[Full version of the 'Three Basic Jutsu' analysis report generated, please review]
Uesugi Toru leaped out of bed. Without washing up, he immediately commanded in his mind, "Expand report."
The 3D model before his eyes vanished, replaced by a report. The title of the report was:
"Preliminary Analysis and Underlying Logic Reconstruction Report on the Three Basic Jutsu"
Uesugi Toru skipped the abstract and went straight to the core content.
Part One: The Essence of Ninjutsu—A primitive programming system based on Command-Energy-Shaping.
This report deconstructed the mysterious Ninjutsu that Ninjas took so much pride in into the most basic concepts.
Conclusion 1: Hand seals are an inefficient way of inputting commands. Through specific combinations of hand gestures, an initial command packet is issued to the body's energy circulation system. Its essence is using fixed physical movements to guide spiritual energy to produce specific vibration frequencies.
Conclusion 2: Chakra is a form of energy supply. It is a mixture of physical and spiritual energy, but the mixing ratio and energy utilization are extremely crude. Energy utilization is very low, resulting in massive waste.
Conclusion 3: Spiritual power is the core shaping command. After the hand seal command is issued, spiritual power is responsible for guiding the Chakra's flow path, form change, and property stability. This is the most critical link in the entire Ninjutsu system and is the fuzzy area that relies most heavily on talent under the current system.
Looking at these conclusions, the corners of Uesugi Toru's mouth curled up almost imperceptibly.
This coincided almost perfectly with his observations and guesses over the past six years.
What Ninjas called talent was, under the AI brain's analysis, simply certain people being born with stronger control over spiritual power shaping. For example, the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan might just be a natural auxiliary plug-in capable of optimizing shaping commands.
Deconstructing fantasy with science, this feeling of having everything under control made the curve of his smile even wider. This brought him more satisfaction than simply gaining power.
He continued reading as the report entered the second part.
This section was filled with glaring red warnings and merciless evaluations.
Part Two: Massive Waste—Structural Defect Assessment of the Current Three Basic Jutsu System.
[Redundancy Analysis]:
After conducting energy flow and motion capture analysis on Konoha's standard Three Basic Jutsu, the following conclusions were reached:
1. Energy Redundancy: During a standard execution of the Substitution Jutsu, up to seventy percent of the Chakra is consumed ineffectively. This is mainly reflected in overly long energy conduction paths, energy overflow caused by vague spatial coordinate marking, and excessive energy injection to compensate for algorithmic defects.
2. Motion Redundancy: Taking a Clone Jutsu set containing twelve basic seals as an example, six of the hand seals are non-essential movements whose only purpose is to delay the Chakra output rhythm to accommodate a Ninja's vague spiritual control. Another three seals can be merged into one through combination and simplification. Overall, ineffective hand seal movements exceed 50%.
[Comprehensive Evaluation]:
Crude, primitive, and inefficient. This system relies excessively on the user's intuition and experience, lacking standardization and precision. Continuing to use this system when a precise algorithmic model is available is a massive waste of energy and time.
"So that's how it is," Uesugi Toru whispered to himself.
He finally understood why Naruto had such a hard time learning the Clone Jutsu; it was because the design of the technique itself was flawed. For a novice whose Chakra control was already crude, failing while trying to complete a technique full of redundant movements and energy waste was the norm.
He himself had felt a sense of sluggishness in his Chakra output countless times while practicing the Substitution Jutsu, as if the power wasn't being used where it mattered most. Now it seemed that wasn't his imagination; the technique itself was defective.
Looking at this report, Uesugi Toru felt as if he were standing in another dimension. And this feeling of looking down on everything from a higher dimension was exactly the kind of power he pursued.
He suppressed his thoughts and turned to the last page of the report, which was the part he cared about most.
Part Three: Optimization Plan—Priority Sequence Recommendations Based on "Survival Value Maximization."
[Option 1: Transformation Jutsu Optimization]
* Optimization Direction: Simplify the Chakra wrapping process and establish a quick-access model library for common transformation targets (e.g., passersby, rocks, trees).
* Optimization Result: Hand seals simplified to three, Chakra consumption reduced by 60%, enabling instantaneous transformation.
* Tactical Value: Enhances deception and infiltration capabilities.
[Option 2: Clone Jutsu Optimization]
* Optimization Direction: Reconstruct the hand seal algorithm and optimize the energy structure of the optical illusions to make them more stable.
* Optimization Result: Hand seals simplified to a single 'Ram' seal, Chakra consumption reduced by 80%, and clone stability duration extended by 300%.
* Tactical Value: Enhances feinting, confusion, and intelligence gathering capabilities.
[Option 3: Substitution Jutsu Optimization]
* Optimization Direction: Completely rewrite the spatial coordinate exchange algorithm, introducing concepts of "pre-marking" and "trigger-based" exchange.
* Optimization Result: Hand seals simplified to a single seal, Chakra consumption reduced by 70%, and activation delay shortened to the millisecond level.
* Tactical Value: Greatly enhances battlefield survival rate.
The three options were listed side by side, each offering a massive improvement.
The AI brain's mechanical voice chimed in at the right moment: [Based on data analysis, 'Transformation Jutsu' optimization takes the shortest time, while 'Clone Jutsu' has the widest tactical application range. It is recommended to prioritize 'Clone Jutsu' to handle various possible situations in the graduation exam. Please confirm the optimization sequence.]
The AI brain's suggestion was based entirely on data and logic, making it very reasonable.
But Uesugi Toru made his choice immediately.
"Veto," he said calmly in his mind.
[...? Please provide a reason for the veto.] The AI brain's program paused for a moment.
"Prioritize the optimization sequence for the Substitution Jutsu," Uesugi Toru's tone left no room for doubt.
[Reason?] the AI brain asked again, needing a logical basis to correct its judgment.
Uesugi Toru walked to the window and pushed it open, letting in the cool morning air. He looked at the streets in the distance starting to bustle with activity, watching the Ninjas hurrying along with their tool pouches, his eyes deep.
"Your calculations aren't wrong; Clone Jutsu has wide application, and Transformation Jutsu takes little time. But you've overlooked the most core rule of this world."
He paused and said in an incredibly certain tone.
"This world doesn't follow logic. Conspiracies, sneak attacks, and all sorts of incomprehensible Bloodline Limits could appear at any time. No matter how perfect a plan is, it can be broken by a sudden Kunai or an enemy burrowing out from underground."
"In the face of unpredictable danger, any fancy tactics are useless."
His gaze fell on his palm, as if he could see the Chakra flow that was about to be reconstructed.
"No matter how many clones you have, they can't stop a fatal blow. No matter how realistic a transformation is, it can't fool a Byakugan. Therefore, before having sufficiently powerful offensive capabilities, invest all resources into one thing—staying alive."
"Only by surviving first do you earn the right to deal damage."
This was the sole creed he had derived after lying low for six years and witnessing countless deaths.
The AI brain fell silent for a moment, seemingly processing this information that existed outside of pure data. A few seconds later, a new prompt popped up.
[Logic received. Survival priority principle entered into the highest strategic sequence. Resetting optimization plan...]
[Prioritizing 'Substitution Jutsu' optimization confirmed. Concentrating all computational resources, initiating deep optimization...]
Uesugi Toru nodded in satisfaction. He didn't need a machine that could only calculate; he needed a tool that could understand his will.
The light screen before his eyes shifted again. The models for Clone Jutsu and Transformation Jutsu were compressed to the side, while the complex 3D model of the Substitution Jutsu was enlarged to its limit, occupying his entire field of vision.
Countless streams of code refreshed frantically at a speed ten times faster than before. Old energy circuits were dismantled, and new algorithms were written. The originally complicated hand seal gestures were vetoed one by one until, finally, all the complex movements pointed toward a single, most concise and stable form.
Time passed minute by minute.
When the sun had fully risen, bathing all of Konoha Village in golden light, the AI brain's voice sounded once more.
['Substitution Jutsu: Modified' optimization complete.]
On the light screen, the final plan had been set.
One diagram and one seal.
The diagram was a Chakra output timing chart. It detailed every node from Chakra refinement, through the meridians, to the final burst, specifying how much energy to output and how many milliseconds of delay. Its precision had exceeded the realm of biological instinct.
The seal was a brand-new single-handed seal. It was no longer any known seal in the Ninja system but a gesture created to minimize command input time to the maximum extent.
Uesugi Toru extended his right hand, mimicking the movement on the light screen, and slowly formed that brand-new seal.
The moment the seal was formed, he immediately felt a sense of absolute control. The Chakra in his body flowed with unprecedented smoothness, linking with an invisible coordinate. The Substitution Jutsu was no longer a Ninjutsu that needed to be cast; it had become a part of his bodily instinct.
He looked down at his hand, his eyes shimmering with light.
This was the power of science.
He looked up and out the window. Toward the Ninja Academy, he could already see crowds gathering.
The graduation exam was about to begin.
Just how effective would this millisecond-level, brand-new Substitution Jutsu be in actual combat?
There would be an answer very soon.
And on tomorrow's exam ground, who would be the first witness?