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Chapter 11 — Golden Finger: Replication!
Konan knelt and picked up a scroll covered in black markings, quickly unrolling it.
Across the top gleamed five bold characters — Chimera Technique.
She herself had once gone to Hiruko's secret base to invite him into Akatsuki, but by the time she arrived the battle was already over and the place lay in ruins. Hoping to salvage intelligence from the site, she'd stumbled on an unexpected prize.
"This was found in the remnants of an underground chamber beneath the battlefield."
Alex immediately floated over the opened scroll and scanned it.
[It really is the Chimera Technique!]
Since arriving in this world and awakening his innate mastery of Paper Release, Alex had gained a basic understanding of ninjutsu structures—enough to roughly read such scrolls. And even if he couldn't, he had his golden finger: as long as it was written text, he could instantly comprehend and learn it.
Konan gently pressed him to her chest so they could read it together.
After obtaining this strange jutsu, she and Nagato had once studied it, but—
"Is this technique truly that miraculous?" she asked, her tone doubtful.
The Chimera Technique required devouring bloodline users—clearly cruel and inhumane. After reading it, Nagato had said only, "No ninjutsu surpasses the eyes of a god. I don't need it."
At the time, Konan too had faith in the Rinnegan and felt aversion toward such a grotesque art. Just the thought of absorbing another's entire body caused instinctive rejection. She had sealed the scroll away to gather dust.
But now—if mastering it meant gaining power quickly, avenging Yahiko and Nagato, and maybe even resurrecting them—she would endure the discomfort and study this wicked, forbidden jutsu.
Lines of text began forming on Alex's paper surface:
[This technique alone let a man with no bloodline—Hiruko—become a wielder of five Kekkei Genkai. That already proves its miracle.]
[It's a technique that defies fate itself, breaking the shackles of lineage.]
Hearing Alex's high praise, Konan's expectations rose. If it truly worked, then even fusing with another man's essence would be a small price.
[Konan, place the scroll flat on the ground and open it completely,] Alex wrote.
Konan tilted her head, puzzled but compliant. The one-meter-long scroll unfurled across the cave floor.
"Golden Finger," Alex murmured inwardly, "don't let me down."
He floated above it, descending slowly. His small paper body began to expand until he covered the entire text.
Konan blinked at the sight but didn't interrupt, trusting he had a purpose.
Shhh—!
A flash of white light ran across Alex's surface. The golden finger activated—Replication!
Under Konan's astonished gaze, lines of black text began emerging on his body, perfectly mirroring the scroll's script.
What's he doing? Konan wondered. Making a backup in case the scroll gets damaged?
She stayed silent and watched.
When the entire scroll's contents had been transcribed, the replication was complete. Alex lifted off, shrinking back to his usual palm size. The black letters faded away until his paper returned to pristine white.
Replication finished.
At that moment, Alex felt something extraordinary—every detail of the Chimera Technique had etched into his mind. Its theory, mechanics, chakra flow, integration points—he understood it all, even better than its creator.
So this is the Chimera Technique... but it's still flawed.
Hiruko had believed it perfected, yet Alex could already see its defects. The requirement to physically consume entire bodies polluted the user's genes and limited fusion efficiency. Minor design flaws further weakened results.
There was room for refinement, and Alex already had ideas—especially to eliminate the need for devouring full corpses.
After all, he couldn't bear the thought of gentle Konan harboring the remains of some filthy brute inside her. Her subtle unease hadn't escaped him.
He'd lacked the right words before, but now, empowered by his golden finger, he had a solution that spared her from such horror.
"Akatsuki?" Konan's soft voice called him back.
[I'm fine. I was using my ability to learn the Chimera Technique.]
Konan nodded without asking further. After facing death together so many times, she already regarded him as a comrade—perhaps even her final hope. Though he was just paper born of her jutsu, she respected his privacy.
[Konan, this technique still has room for improvement. I already have ideas—especially to solve the problem of... consuming people.]
Konan stared at him, surprised. "You've mastered it that fast—and can improve it?"
If she could avoid merging others' bodies, that would be best. But learning an S-rank forbidden art in mere minutes? Improving it further? It was unbelievable.
Could this be the power of the Rinnegan's legacy? she thought. Unable to explain it, she attributed the miracle to the eye of god.
Fast? Alex blinked, realizing the issue. He could instantly learn through replication—but Konan couldn't.
The unfinished Chimera Technique was already S-rank. Once he perfected it, it might reach super-S-rank complexity.
[Konan, how long would it take you to learn this unrefined version?] he asked.
She pondered briefly, brows furrowing. "Any S-rank forbidden jutsu demands enormous time to study. Even for me, it could take years—three at least, maybe ten—and even then, success isn't guaranteed."
That was for a skilled Kage-level ninja. For anyone less gifted, it might take a lifetime. Some arts only bloom for those born to them—like Guy's Eight Gates, the Flying Thunder God of Tobirama, Orochimaru's Reanimation, or Hiruko's own Chimera.
Alex's "Replication" let him bypass all talent restrictions—but Konan had to start from scratch. He himself could perform it now, but as a being without a body, he couldn't absorb bloodlines.
"What's wrong? Is the time an issue?" Konan asked, noticing his silence.
[Time's not just an issue—it's disastrous.]
If it truly required years, even one, the Fourth Great Ninja War would already be over.
Then, suddenly, an idea sparked in Alex's mind. He fixed his gaze on Konan, eyes shining.
Wait... maybe there's another way.