Dangkang Becomes a Domestic Pig

This training assignment had been requested by Uchiha Obito. When he firmly demanded that it end, the assignment came to an end as well.

Rin and Shinichi had gained a great deal from the training and were deeply dissatisfied with Obito's decision. But the two of them had only tagged along to benefit from the training, so they had no standing to voice their displeasure.

Thus, Obito Squad ended this training early, and Uchiha Yu received the mission payment issued by the clan head ahead of schedule. He was quite satisfied with that.

However, Uchiha Shisui chose to continue training with Uchiha Yu. He even took things a step further and started mooching meals at Yu's house.

Uchiha Yu, whose entire body was full of secrets, did not object. Even Miwa Masayo, who hated outsiders, raised no objections.

It could not be helped. Shisui was the white glove Uchiha Yu had chosen. He wanted as much time as possible with the boy, so that he could subtly shape Shisui's worldview.

Besides, Uchiha Shisui gave far too much.

For every meal he ate, Uchiha Yu earned enough money for three of his own meals.

Uchiha Shisui was very polite and deeply respectful toward both Miwa Masayo and Uchiha Yu. He had no awareness whatsoever that he was their biggest benefactor. Instead, he voluntarily helped with all kinds of household chores.

Whenever he saw something damaged, he simply bought a replacement. If the furniture or house was old and worn, he immediately hired carpenters to repair it.

After this happened three or five times, Miwa Masayo tacitly allowed Shisui to come and go freely within her territory.

The power of money was terrifying indeed.

Uchiha Yu liked Shisui very much. He was a naturally kind person, blessed with exceptional talent but gentle and reserved in temperament. He carried the Uchiha clan and the village in his heart and possessed a spirit of self-sacrifice.

Most importantly, Uchiha Shisui pursued light and ideals, yet he could accept imperfect outcomes. He had no extremist tendencies.

Oh, and he had an exceptionally tight mouth. After receiving Uchiha Yu's instructions, he truly did not tell Fugaku, Setsuna, or the others that he was continuing to study with Yu.

This was the ideal student.

To find a talented pupil and teach him was one of life's greatest pleasures.

But teaching a genius was not without its troubles. For example, Shisui learned too quickly, taking up too much of Uchiha Yu's time and delaying his progress on the Immortal Path.

Considering that the Third Shinobi World War was imminent and that Uchiha Yu could be summoned to the battlefield at any time, he made a decision.

Uchiha Yu brought Shisui to the Archive Room and took out the twenty-four large scrolls he had compiled, completely redirecting the four-year-old Shisui's attention.

When cultivating a genius, one should cultivate his ability to learn independently, rather than simply stuffing knowledge into him like force-feeding a duck.

It definitely was not because he was lazy.

Uchiha Yu's life finally returned to normal. Every morning, he went out for weighted runs to temper his body. After returning, he practiced standing meditation to refine his mind. In the afternoon, he answered Shisui's questions and checked his cultivation progress, then cooked enough delicious food to fill two people and one cat.

Miwa Masayo's Senjutsu cultivation was progressing quickly. It was said that she had already grasped crude Senjutsu and was secretly intensifying her practice and refining it.

The Tabby Cat had done an excellent job keeping her Senjutsu secret. Even Uchiha Yu did not know exactly what it was, but he could be certain it was fire-element Senjutsu. She had become a Cat Sage under Uchiha Yu's influence, and at the time, the environment contained only Fire-Attribute Natural Energy. She could only become a fire-attribute sage.

This was a good thing. The toads of Mount Myoboku leaned toward water, the great snakes of Ryūchi Cave clearly leaned toward earth, and the slugs of Shikkotsu Forest obviously possessed wood.

Miwa Masayo's choice of fire meant that future disputes over the Immortal Path would not be so intense. The Cat Castle would not develop irreconcilable, sharp conflicts with the Three Great Sage Regions because of conflicting fundamental power attributes.

Whenever Uchiha Yu thought of the Slug Sage of Shikkotsu Forest, he felt curious and wanted to investigate.

In the Ninja World, there was not only no ready-made Wood Style chakra, there was not even wood-attribute Natural Energy. How had that sage mastered wood-attribute Senjutsu?

Uchiha Yu's first step had been fire, which matched his chakra attribute.

After the Hundred-Day Foundation Establishment, he naturally absorbed Earth-Attribute Natural Energy and even nurtured Earth Style chakra. This perfectly fit the Five Elements theory that fire gave rise to earth.

Following that reasoning, the next step should be earth giving rise to metal, and the Natural Energy he absorbed next should be Metal-Attribute Natural Energy.

But the Ninja World had no Metal-Attribute Natural Energy, nor did it even have Gold Release chakra. The closest thing was the extremely rare Steel Release Kekkei Genkai, but that was the result of an Earth Style mutation.

Uchiha Yu did not know what he should do next. He had even considered starting with chakra—first mastering Steel Release, then working backward to obtain metal-attribute Natural Energy.

The problem was that Steel Release itself was a Kekkei Genkai even rarer than the Sharingan. He did not even know who possessed Steel Release. All he knew was that Iwagakure in the Land of Earth had a Steel Release inheritance.

Such crude intelligence left him with absolutely no place to start.

Uchiha Yu's trouble was that his cultivation had undergone a new change. The main channel through which Natural Energy circulated was beginning to show signs of expansion. Natural Energy did not flow through the meridians at a constant rate. It rose and fell, sped up and slowed down, with an intensely strong rhythm. Recently, at its fastest and most pressurized point, Uchiha Yu had vaguely felt the restraints on his meridians loosen.

He guessed this was a sign that the first stage of Foundation Establishment was about to be complete. Then came the question of whether completing the first stage would cause him to absorb a new attribute of Natural Energy.

According to Five Elements theory, the Metal-Attribute Natural Energy that should be added did not exist. Water-Attribute Natural Energy made no sense. Could it be Lightning-Attribute Natural Energy instead?

It was not impossible. In Taoist School theory, ice, wind, and lightning were the three variant spirits, evolved from the substances of the Five Elements. Ice condensed from water, wind rose from wood, and lightning transformed from metal.

If that was the case, it would be perfect. Lightning-Attribute Natural Energy could take metal's place and likewise complete the cycle of mutual generation and restraint among the Five Elements.

Ah, that still felt a little strange. If lightning replaced metal, could it restrain the wood represented by wind?

No, absolutely not.

In the Ninja World, Wind Style chakra truly countered Lightning Style chakra completely. The same evolution could not possibly reverse itself when it came to Natural Energy. There could be no such logic.

For the next stage, which was no longer far away, Uchiha Yu had nothing to refer to. He could only passively wait for the breakthrough to arrive, then decide what to do based on the specific circumstances afterward.

He knew it was gambling with his life, but he had no solution. He could only forcibly suppress his worries.

That was why Uchiha Yu had been so troubled lately.

No, why am I so troubled?

And when dealing with Obito earlier, why did I have such high expectations of him, then use violence to throw him onto the river when I was disappointed?

That isn't my personality!!

Could the Heart Monkey have unknowingly grown again without me noticing at all?

Uchiha Yu shuddered and hurriedly sank into the depths of his mind to inspect his Heart Monkey.

It had grown a little, but it still looked like a gentle and lovable Golden Snub-nosed Monkey. It sat obediently at the position of his heart meridian, showing no signs of causing trouble.

Before he could relax, another enormous mental form entered his mind's eye. It was that Dangkang.

No, it could no longer be called a Dangkang. It had already turned into a fat, domestic pig.

Greedy, cowardly, yet easily enraged.

So it isn't only the Heart Monkey that can drive the Will Horse. The Spleen Pig can do it too.

Under the Heart Monkey's control, I become restless, irritable, and quick-tempered. Under the Spleen Pig's control, I become greedy, conservative, and intolerant of defiance.

No wonder I got so angry at Obito. His earlier performance stirred up excessive expectations in me. When he offended me, I not only gave him extra punishment, but also cut off contact without hesitation.

Interesting. The next mental form should belong to the lungs. What animal will it be?

Right, the Spleen Pig is out of control. How should I suppress it?