Kato Dan's death, in the official record, was chalked up to bad luck.
His hiding place found, or his team unable to guard him while his soul roamed.
Some speculated he never even got the chance to use the technique, struck down in the chaos before he could leave his body.
For Gen, the Spiritual Transformation Technique's fatal weakness didn't exist.
Not with the Soul-Soul Fruit in his arsenal.
He had Shuryu, Shizukamaru, and other Homies to guard his body, or even raise a temporary Homie stronghold around it.
In that domain, finding him was nearly impossible and breaching it, harder still.
And if things ever did go wrong, Homies could move the body to safety.
Even if the intruder was too strong to defeat, they could buy time until his soul returned.
Better yet, Gen could split his soul, one part going spiritual, the other staying behind to control his body. That erased the risk entirely.
Kato Dan, once dead, could wander freely. The living had limits, but Gen's soul was stronger than most shinobi alive or dead. His range dwarfed Kato's, and with soul-splitting, he had no time limit at all.
He could attack multiple targets at once, provided each fragment of his soul was strong enough to handle its prey. Too weak, and the backlash could tear him apart.
For Kato, every use of the technique was a gamble; hoping the enemy's soul was weaker, because if it wasn't, the counterattack could cripple him. Soul injuries were rare, but when they happened, they were nearly impossible to heal.
Gen didn't have to worry. With the Soul-Soul Fruit, he could harvest other souls and lifespans to repair himself, the same way others might set a bone or close a wound.
The stronger his soul grew, the farther his reach. One day, the whole shinobi world would be within range.
Travel to the farthest corners in an instant. Watch the sunrise in the Shimotsuki Sea and the sunset in the Kagerō Peaks. Strike unseen from thousands of miles away.
Most hidden villages didn't have permanent anti-spirit barriers. Even those that did couldn't run them nonstop. And with possession, Gen could bypass them entirely, wearing another's body as his shield.
Kato could only take one host at a time, and briefly. Gen's theoretical limit was… nonexistent. With enough soul strength, he could hold many at once.
Possession could even evolve into full-body takeover — not unlike Orochimaru's Living Corpse Reincarnation.
If they worked together, perfecting the technique to remove its drawbacks wasn't impossible. That would mean immortality, even if it didn't change the fundamental nature of life itself.
And harvesting? A split soul could still wield the Soul-Soul Fruit, albeit weaker. Possession meant he could feed on a host's soul and lifespan over time, sending the gains back to his main body, which in turn would make every future possession easier.
The synergy was perfect. Spiritual Transformation and the Soul-Soul Fruit a match made in heaven.
No wonder Gen had stayed up all night, studying the scroll until every nuance of the technique was etched into his mind. For him, learning it wasn't hard. He just had to decide to.
He moved from lying on the sofa to sitting cross-legged, hands forming the seals exactly as written. Chakra flowed through fixed meridians, steady and precise.
A strange lightness bloomed inside him, rising like mist to the Byakūi-Tanden between his brows. Something gave way.
A moment later, a translucent figure slid free from the crown of his head, one-third of his soul, features blurred but recognizably his.
Shuryu and Shizukamaru, lounging nearby, perked up immediately and drifted over to watch in curiosity.
Gen guided the fragment through the wall into the neighbor's house. The couple slept soundly.
Temptation whispered as the possibilities for spying were obvious.
He shook his head and suppressed it. That's asking for troubles.
Instead, he floated up through the roof, gliding high above the streets until dawn broke in the east. Then he returned, the soul slipping back into his body without resistance.
Most civilians couldn't see a spirit. Shinobi, though… chakra changed that. It also meant souls in this world could endure wind, rain, and sunlight without fading.
Still, it wasn't wise to flaunt the technique. Better to keep this ace hidden.
At 6:10, he finally rose, made himself a bowl of fried egg noodles, and ate in quiet satisfaction.
Orochimaru had given him the day off. No police work, and no errands.
Now all his dreams were nothing but flying in the open sky.