Ok, on this episode of thinking about Naruto mechanics harder than anyone was ever meant to, I recently came to an epiphany around magnet release.
It is SO fucking weird. Instead of converting chakra into matter, this just changes the basic physical properties that your chakra has. Something like this is totally logical in a world like Hunter x Hunter but in Naruto, this doesn’t really happen. It is also up in the air if it should even be called “Kekkei” Genkai, because both the Third Kazekage and Rasa “learned” it. From watching Shukaku.
This all seems confusing until you remember the non-nature release Kekkei Genkai like the Byakugan or Shikotsumyaku (always showing up for some reason). The Byakugan helps you see real good and Shikotsumyaku allows you to spontaneously stimulate bone growth. However, neither have really obvious combat applications and had to have entire martial arts crafted around them. Ao has a Byakugan, but without a Hyuga tutor he’ll never learn gentle fist. Kimimaro doesn’t just fight by growing bones, he has a series of “Dances” to make effective use of them. Those don’t change the property of chakra, but they do change how your body works and thus opens a space for extended techniques. Anyways, I believe this is the secret to magnet release. People like the Third Kazekage and Rasa are born with it, but needed to study Shukaku to actually use it in any meaningful way. Probably why you see such drastic differences between the people in the sand who learned from Shukaku vs Toroi and Naruto just sorta winging it.
