"What's wrong?"
"Nothing."
The words reached Samui's lips, but when she thought of her younger brother's face, she swallowed them back.
In the end, she simply excused herself and left the secret room.
If she told Samodo and the higher-ups about that sentence, they would immediately realize that the important part wasn't the words themselves, but that Yotsuki Seiji was deliberately using the situation to his advantage.
Even if she hadn't said that sentence…
Seiji would have found another reason.
At its core, he was simply unsatisfied with the benefits he currently had and wanted to obtain more advantages.
And the higher-ups, as long as it stayed within acceptable limits, would certainly satisfy him step by step…
All for the sake of the Uchiha bloodline limit.
If one day Seiji truly returned to Kumogakure, then she herself would carry a political stain for having said something harmful to unity.
It could even affect her younger brother's future.
He had only just become a ninja not long ago.
His future was bright.
Samui suddenly felt restless and troubled.
Why did it have to be her who was responsible for Seiji's case?
And why had Seiji set his sights on her?
Uchiha District — Seiji's Home
Moonlight poured into the courtyard.
Seiji slid open the paper door and stepped inside.
In his hand were two ninjutsu scrolls.
With the help of the traits [Reading Absorption (White)] and [Basic Memory (White)], Seiji quickly understood the text written on the scrolls and memorized the entire content.
The previously obtained Lightning Release: Lightning Finger had also long been memorized.
However, he had not yet practiced it.
Tonight would be the first time he trained Lightning Release ninjutsu.
During the past six days, Seiji had been learning E-rank techniques from scratch.
Thanks to the foundational training of tree climbing and the assistance of [Muscle Memory (White)], he had already mastered the minimum chakra control required for E-rank techniques.
The next step was to move from tree climbing to walking on water.
Seiji began extracting chakra from his body.
Threads of chakra flowed from his cells and circulated through his chakra pathway system.
No matter what ninjutsu it was, it required chakra as its driving force.
Even pure taijutsu techniques like the Eight Gates Formation still required chakra to activate.
According to the official databook Rin no Sho, the combination of physical energy and spiritual energy produced by the body's 130 trillion cells is called stamina.
And stamina was essentially chakra.
However, to use ninjutsu, stamina had to first be converted into chakra.
That was why when someone completely ran out of chakra, they died.
In simple terms…
They had exhausted themselves to death.
In the ninja world, every living being possessed chakra.
Even flowers, trees, birds, and animals had chakra.
Starting from Boruto, the concept of planetary chakra was introduced.
Boruto's self-created technique Rasengan: Uzuhiko used that concept.
By injecting chakra into someone's body, the chakra would rotate along with the planet's rotation.
As long as the planet continued spinning, the Rasengan would never stop rotating.
It was currently the most destructive form of Rasengan ever shown.
Of course…
Those things were still very far away from Seiji.
He raised his right hand and extended his index and middle fingers.
The neutral chakra inside him gradually transformed into Lightning Release chakra.
Among Seiji's chakra attributes were:
• Lightning
• Fire
• Yin
• Yang
Because of this, he had a natural advantage in learning Lightning Release techniques.
Tiny electric currents slowly spread through the muscles beneath his skin.
A tingling numbness appeared in his fingers.
Seiji endured the sensation and carefully continued controlling the chakra.
Time passed quietly.
The night grew deeper.
Outside the courtyard, the shadows of the trees swayed with the wind, rustling softly.
Suddenly—
A voice echoed inside his mind.
"You have obtained the trait: [Apprentice Lightning Release Ninja (White)]."
Trait: Apprentice Lightning Release Ninja (White)
Requirement:
Successfully use a Lightning Release ninjutsu once.
Progress: Completed.
Effect:
Your talent in Lightning Release nature transformation increases by 10%.
Note:
This trait can be further upgraded.
Upgrade Path:
Combine Muscle Memory (White) and Strong Physique (White) to evolve into Lightning Release Genin (Green).
Seiji quietly listened to the voice in his mind.
At last, he had gained some understanding of how advancement worked.
Most likely, once he fulfilled most of the conditions, the system would reveal the evolution path.
"Apprentice…"
That probably referred to his current level.
As a ninja academy student, he was essentially still in the stage of ninja trainee.
"Strong Physique… that probably means improving my physical condition."
Seiji looked at his body.
Compared to before, it had already become slightly stronger.
He already had an idea of what to do next.
Even a white-grade trait increased talent by 10%.
When it reached green quality, the boost would probably be even greater.
After a short moment, Seiji opened the scroll in his hand.
He was preparing to practice his second Lightning Release technique.
Lightning Release: Lightning Finger was an offensive technique.
As long as it could be released successfully, it was enough.
Instead, Seiji planned to focus his effort on the second Lightning Release technique, strengthening his body at the same time.
For any ninja, the deeper their understanding of a technique and the higher their proficiency, the greater the power they could unleash.
For example—
When Sasuke first learned Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, the size of the fireball was completely different from when he mastered it later.
"Alright…"
"Let's begin training Lightning Release: Iron Body."
Hokage Tower
"Hiruzen, Uchiha Seiji must be monitored at all times."
Shimura Danzo spoke coldly.
More than a month ago, members of the Uchiha clan had found Seiji and brought him back to Konoha.
Since then, investigations had been conducted to confirm whether he was a spy.
"Danzo, didn't you already send your best Root spy to observe him?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi tapped his pipe and exhaled a cloud of smoke.
Gradually, the entire Hokage office filled with smoke.
Danzo frowned slightly.
According to the report from Yakushi Nono, based on micro-expression observation, Seiji truly was not a spy and had never done anything harmful to Konoha.
But Danzo still wasn't reassured.
Not being a spy…
didn't mean he possessed the Will of Fire.
An Uchiha brat who was born with evil tendencies, and who also carried the blood of those Kumogakure bandits—
Just how twisted would such a person become?
An unstable element like that needed to join Root and receive the Cursed Tongue Eradication Seal to ensure loyalty.
"Hiruzen."
"Give Uchiha Seiji to me."
"I will erase his past and make him a new ninja of Konoha."
"No."
Hiruzen rejected the suggestion without hesitation.
"The Uchiha clan is already in a delicate relationship with the village. This would only provoke their dissatisfaction."
As a veteran of both the First and Second Great Ninja Wars, Hiruzen could sense the signs of an approaching storm.
Kumogakure was rapidly building military power.
The danger of expansion was obvious.
Konoha had only recovered its strength a few years ago.
If another war broke out…
He had a feeling it would be even more intense than the previous one.
How could he provoke the Uchiha clan's anger at a time like this?
Their ninja were a vital military force of the village.
"Hiruzen!"
Danzo raised his voice.
"Enough, Danzo."
Hiruzen put down his pipe.
"I am the Hokage."
In his eyes…
Danzo's sense of the bigger picture was simply too poor.
End of Chapter