Chapter 8: Perfection of the Breath Concealment ArtHalf a month passed like flowing water. He didn't know if it was because he had become better behaved, or if the Sandaime felt he was controllable, but no one was monitoring him anymore. Even at school, no one pushed him in the hallways, no one carved words on his desk, and no parents came to the school to complain. Nothing happened. Naruto went to school every morning, sat in the window seat in the last row, and watched the cherry blossoms outside go from blooming to falling, and the buds on the branches turn from yellow-green to deep green. At noon, he sat alone in a corner of the playground eating bread—the bread was bought by himself, using money exchanged from points; it wasn't much, but it was enough to eat. After school in the afternoon, he walked home alone.No one spoke to him, and no one looked for trouble with him.There was simply nothing.Hinata would still peek at him secretly. Every single day. During class, when the teacher turned to write on the blackboard, she would quickly tilt her head and use the corner of her Byakugan's vision to sweep over the back row. Her movements were very fast, so fast that even the students sitting next to her didn't notice. But Naruto knew—he had an inner core and the Nine Yang Divine Skill, so his perception was much more sensitive than that of ordinary people. Every time Hinata's gaze fell on him, he could feel it.One evening half a month later, Naruto returned home, sat on the edge of his bed, and opened the system panel.[justice execution system]Host: Uzumaki NarutoAge: 6 years oldPoints: 4000Nine Yang Divine Skill: Fourth Pattern (Progress 42%)Mastered Ninjutsu: Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, Transformation TechniqueSpecial Status: Nine-Tails Seal (Eight Trigrams Seal)Naruto stared at that number for a while. Four thousand points was what he had saved up bit by bit over more than three months. About twenty points every day, sometimes just a few, not too much and not too little, like ants moving house, carrying it back grain by grain. Now these "ants" had accumulated into a small mountain.He had saved for so long—his Nine Yang Divine Skill was stuck at the fourth pattern, with a progress of forty-two percent, neither here nor there. He needed to push it up in one go."System, purchase one hundred Cultivation Scrolls."[Confirm purchase of Cultivation Scroll × 100, consuming 1500 points. Remaining points: 2500.]One hundred Cultivation Scrolls lay neatly in the System space, like a hundred folded sheets of white paper. Naruto took a deep breath and invested them all into the Nine Yang Divine Skill.Then, he closed his eyes.BOOM—It was as if a door that had been tightly closed for a long time was suddenly pushed open. Natural Energy surged in from all directions—not the slow, steady seepage from before, but an overwhelming flood. His skin, his pores, his breath, and every one of his cells were frantically absorbing the surrounding Natural Energy, like the earth after a three-year drought finally welcoming a rainstorm.The inner core in his Dantian began to rotate frantically.The fourth pattern lit up, and golden light burst out from the lines, illuminating the entire Dantian. Then, the fifth pattern began to appear—not growing slowly, but as if it were being carved on by someone with a knife, stroke by stroke, clear and deep. The moment the fifth pattern took shape, the inner core suddenly expanded, growing from the size of a soybean to the size of a peanut.The sixth pattern. The seventh pattern. The eighth pattern.The appearance of each pattern was accompanied by a vibration, and each vibration made his body tremble along with it. The warm air currents were no longer small streams but surging rivers, crashing through his Meridians and forcing open countless channels that had never been used before. Those channels were like dried-up riverbeds, now being filled by the flood, making a rumbling sound.His bones were growing—he could hear the cracking sound between his joints, like bamboo shoots sprouting. His muscles were becoming denser—every muscle fiber was being wrapped, compressed, and strengthened by Natural Energy. His skin was changing—his originally sallow complexion turned into a healthy creamy white, his pores shrank, and a faint luster appeared on the surface of his skin.Then, the ninth pattern appeared.The final pattern did not grow from the surface of the inner core but emerged from within it—like a sleeping Dragon rising to the surface from underwater. Nine patterns circled the surface of the inner core, each one a complete spiral line from top to bottom, not crossing each other, parallel and orderly. The moment the ninth pattern formed, the inner core let out one final roar—That sound was not the tolling of a bell, but a Dragon Roar.Deep, long, and resonating through his entire body. His bones, muscles, Meridians, skin, and even his hair resonated with the inner core at that moment. The nine patterns lit up simultaneously, and golden light radiated from his Dantian, passing through his skin and casting a warm glow in the room.Then, everything went quiet.The inner core floated quietly in the center of his Dantian. It was no longer the size of a "soybean" or a "peanut"—it had become a marble-sized golden bead with nine clear spiral patterns on its surface, each slowly rotating like nine golden snakes swimming around the same bead. The inner corewas filled with Natural Energy, as thick as liquid amber, slowly flowing, settling, and compressing.Nine Yang Divine Skill, Nine-Patterned Perfectionreached.He looked down at his body—and he was stunned.He had grown taller, and not just by a "little bit," but a significant amount. His originally loose clothes were now tight, the sleeves had shrunk to the middle of his forearms, and the pant legs hung above his ankles, revealing a section of his lower legs. His arms were no longer like dry twigs but had a thin, firm layer of muscle. His palms had grown larger, his fingers longer, and his fingernails were pink with a healthy luster.He got off the bed, walked to the washbasin, and looked into the mirror with the cracked corner.The boy in the mirror... did not look six years old.He looked like an eight or nine-year-old child. His golden hair was brighter than before, gleaming like the sun under the light. His blue eyes were deeper than before, like two bottomless lakes. There was more flesh on his face, his cheekbones were no longer prominent, and his chin was no longer sharp. His skin was a healthy creamy white, his lips were pale pink, his nose was straight, and his eyebrows were slightly thicker than before.He looked even better than a normal child. After the Nine Yang Divine Skill reached Perfection, his body had been thoroughly nourished by Natural Energy. It wasn't a feeling of being "strong" or "mighty," but rather a... natural, effortless feeling. Like a pebble that had been washed by river water for thousands of years—smooth, solid, without any sharp edges, yet you knew it was harder than any other stone.He looked at himself in the mirror and remained silent for a long time.Then he looked away and sat back on the edge of the bed. There were still two thousand five hundred points left. Two thousand five hundred—two Random Gift Packs would cost two thousand, leaving five hundred."System, purchase two Random Gift Packs."[Confirm purchase of Random Gift Pack × 2, consuming 2000 points. Remaining points: 500.][Opening Random Gift Packs...][Opening the first gift bag... Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.][Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms Description: A palm technique of extreme hardness and yang, with a total of eighteen forms. Each form requires a vast amount of Internal Energy to drive. System-optimized version: Can be driven by Natural Energy, with power proportional to the amount of Natural Energy invested. The lower the consumption, the lower the power; the higher the consumption, the higher the power. No upper limit. Directly injected into the host's consciousness; the host is now at the entry-level.][Opening the second gift bag... Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Breath Concealment Art.][Breath Concealment Art Description: A Cultivation Technique to conceal one's presence. After reaching Perfection, one can completely conceal all of their aura without leaking a single bit. System Comment: Even if I am right in front of you, you won't know how special I am. Directly injected into the host's consciousness; the host has initially mastered it and is at the entry-level.]Naruto looked at the two lines of text on the panel, and his heart skipped a beat.Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms.He had seen this name in the memories of that transmigrator—it was a martial art from a novel called Demi-Gods and Semi-Devils, extremely hard and yang, the number one palm technique in the world. With one palm strike, even a Dragon could be brought down. Furthermore, the Systemsaid it could be driven by Natural Energy, and its power had no upper limit.In other words, the more Natural Energy he invested, the greater the power of the Eighteen Subduing Dragon Palms would be.He looked down at that pigeon-egg-sized golden inner core in his Dantian—it was packed full of Natural Energy, as thick as amber. If he poured all of this energy into a single palm strike... what would happen?He didn't know. But he felt it was best not to try it in the Village.Then there was the Breath Concealment Art."Even if I am right in front of you, you won't know how special I am." The System's comment was very interesting. The use of this Cultivation Technique was not for fighting, but for hiding. Hiding himself so that no one could see his depth. The Sandaime wouldn't see it, the Anbu wouldn't see it, and no Ninja would see it either. As long as he didn't make a move, he would just be an ordinary child in the eyes of others.This was exactly what he needed.His current physical changes were too great—in three months, he had grown as much as others did in two years, his skin had improved, his hair was brighter, and he looked like a completely different person. If discovered, it would certainly attract attention. But if he learned the Breath Concealment Art, he could "hide" these changes—not make them disappear, but make it so others couldn't see them."System, use the remaining five hundred points to buy Cultivation Scrolls and invest them all into the Breath Concealment Art."[Confirm purchase of Cultivation Scroll × 33, consuming 495 points. Remaining points: 5.][Cultivation Scroll used. Designated technique: Breath Concealment Art. Cultivation duration: 33 years. Please remain relaxed; the cultivation process will be completed within 30 seconds.]Thirty seconds passed.Naruto felt something change in his body—not a change in the inner core, nor a change in his Chakra, but a more subtle, harder-to-describe change. It was like a thin, transparent veil hanging down from the surface of his body, enveloping him completely. The veil was very thin, as thin as a cicada's wing, but it could block all of his aura inside—the aura of his Chakra, the aura of his inner core, the aura of the Nine-Tailed, and even the sounds of his breathing and heartbeat were all wrapped up by that veil, without a single bit leaking out.He tried to "retract"—the veil tightened slightly, and his aura became even more hidden.He tried to "release"—the veil loosened slightly, and his aura leaked out just a little bit, but it only changed from a "stone" to a "blade of grass," still a completely unremarkable existence.Breath Concealment Art, Perfection. Retracting and releasing at will.Naruto sat on the edge of the bed, took a deep breath, and then slowly exhaled.His current state—In his Dantian, there was a Nine-Patterned Inner Elixir, packed with Natural Energy like a fully charged battery. His body had been nourished by the Nine Yang Divine Skill for nearly four months—the first pattern for a month, the second pattern for a month, the third pattern for a month, the fourth pattern for half a month, and then today's surge from the fourth to the ninth pattern in one go. Every improvement of the inner core nourished his body, and today's wave was the most intense.He stood up, walked to the mirror, and looked at himself inside.One meter twenty? One meter thirty? He wasn't sure. But he knew he was already half a head taller than children his age. His shoulders were broader than before, his back was straight, and his whole person looked much more energetic.He tried running the Breath Concealment Art—the thin veil hung down from the surface of his body, wrapping up all of his aura. The boy in the mirror was still that boy, with golden hair, blue eyes, and creamy white skin. But that "special" feeling about him disappeared. He looked like an ordinary, healthy, eight or nine-year-old boy. No one would notice him, and no one would give him a second look.This was exactly what he wanted.He turned off the light in front of the mirror, walked back to the bed, and lay down.The pillow was still just as flat, the bedboard was still just as hard, and the blanket was still just as thin.Four thousand points, not a single one wasted.He closed his eyes and felt the rotation of the inner core in his Dantian. The nine patterns were slowly turning, and with each rotation, a trace of Natural Energy was released, flowing through his Meridians to his entire body to nourish it.He rolled over and wrapped the blanket a little tighter.The moon outside the window was still just as round, and the moonlight shone through the gap in the curtains, painting a bright circle on the ceiling. He looked at that circle and slowly fell asleep
