The Hunger for Power

The earth had been cleaved open into a bottomless ravine. Wrapped in a tailed beast cloak, Blue B had been split evenly in two.

When a tailed beast was extracted, its Jinchuriki would die.

Likewise, as long as the tailed beast had not escaped its seal, the Jinchuriki's death also meant the tailed beast's death.

The slowly flowing Crimson Chakra was like blood.

Standing beside Blue B's corpse, Kagami Uchiha looked like a demon devouring blood.

Blue B had only just died, and there was still a massive amount of Tailed Beast Chakra inside him.

Back when they fought the Four-Tails, Minato and the others had already discovered that they could absorb Tailed Beast Chakra. There was no need to hide it anymore.

If anyone asked, they would just say it was because of the Sharingan. They did not have one anyway.

"Did you... did you really just kill the Jinchuriki like that...?"

Jiraiya and the others used the Body Flicker Technique to rush over, their expressions filled with disbelief.

The battle had not lasted long at all. They had not even seen Kagami Uchiha use any ninjutsu.

They could only vaguely hear him saying something. Aside from that, all they had seen was him dodging and weaving around.

Then.

Without warning.

With only a single slash, he had cut the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki in half!

Even his own teacher, Sarutobi Hiruzen, could not have done something like that!

Kagami Uchiha had no intention of explaining. This battle had not been won through an overwhelming difference in power.

From beginning to end, he had relied on underhanded tricks, precisely manipulating the emptiness in Blue B's heart.

When words could shake an enemy, Kagami Uchiha did not mind becoming a chatterbox.

Looking at the corpse on the ground, Jiraiya did not dwell on Kagami Uchiha absorbing the Chakra. He merely frowned and sighed.

"Kagami, you were too impulsive. If we had attacked together, we might still have been able to capture the Eight-Tails Jinchuriki alive."

"Now that he's dead... Cloud Village won't let this go."

"Teacher, you're wrong."

It was Minato who refuted Jiraiya.

His gaze was firm and his voice steady. "Cloud Village killed our comrades first. We should be the ones who refuse to let this go!"

He had already noticed the battered corpses of the Leaf Ninja at the edge of the battlefield.

The intelligence they had received also stated that Cloud Village had been the first to invade the Land of Fire.

"I know..."

Jiraiya's expression turned bitter. "I know... I just... hate this kind of endless war..."

"If there's peace at the end of the war, I'll fight to the very end." After saying that, Minato flashed a brilliant smile.

Seeing the enormous amount of Chakra being absorbed by Kagami Uchiha, Minato cautiously asked, "How are you feeling?"

There was a similar Sealing Space inside Kagami Uchiha's body. Sukuna was imprisoned behind one door, while the other side could be used to store this Tailed Beast Chakra.

Only "three cards" of Nine-Tails Chakra remained in one corner, while several dozen cards of Four-Tails Chakra were placed to the side.

The Eight-Tails Chakra he was absorbing now amounted to roughly two hundred cards.

The Eight-Tails' primary attributes were Water Release and some special abilities, making it quite valuable for research.

When all was said and done, tailed beasts were products of Yin-Yang Release.

Each type of Tailed Beast Chakra could deepen Kagami Uchiha's understanding of the Yin-Yang Release Technique a little further.

If his understanding became deep enough...

He had even begun to imagine directly obtaining Eternal Mangekyo Eye Power!

Kagami Uchiha could not do what Orochimaru did—grow the Eight-Tails' Horn from a mere scrap of skin—but he did not need such complicated steps.

The Sharingan was the pinnacle of Yin Release, and he had touched the essence of Chakra through Black Flash.

To put it simply, Orochimaru's research could reach the cellular level, while he could perform analysis at the molecular level!

Tsk, tsk. Orochimaru, lament the tragic fate of being born without the Sharingan.

Settling his thoughts, Kagami Uchiha turned to look at the others.

"I told you long ago. It's only a tailed beast."

"Only a lecherous old man like Jiraiya can't deal with one."

Wham!

Caught completely off guard, Kagami Uchiha took a heavy punch to the head.

What incredible speed!

What tremendous power!

It hurt!

Who was it?!

Ah... Kushina.

"What are you doing?"

Kagami Uchiha clutched his head and shouted angrily. That woman's punch was even heavier than Raikage Candidate A's current one.

As expected of an Uzumaki Descendant, a woman who could suppress the Nine-Tails even on the brink of death.

Kushina clenched her fist, her red hair whipping around like a tail.

"It took me so much effort to suppress the Nine-Tails! The way you put it makes me sound just like that lecherous old man!"

That lecherous old man did not dare say a word.

Kagami Uchiha first assessed the difference in strength between himself and Kushina.

It felt as though he was not entirely without a chance of fighting her.

But if they fought, Minato would definitely help Kushina.

Hmm... he could not beat them as a team.

One had to understand that although Kagami Uchiha usually seemed unapproachable toward outsiders,

within the Uchiha clan, the old men and women all considered him a well-behaved, smiling, sensible child.

When Obito's grandmother had still been alive, she had never believed Obito whenever he complained that Kagami bullied him.

Kagami Uchiha's smile did not look fake at all. It was sunny and warm, just like Minato's.

"The Nine-Tails is different, of course. It's a tailed beast that even the First Hokage had difficulty sealing. In my opinion, its strength surpasses that of all the other tailed beasts combined."

"So when I evaluate tailed beasts, I don't count the Nine-Tails. Kushina, you misunderstood me."

The difference between Kagami Uchiha and Sasuke, the future representative of Uchiha beauty, was that Kagami knew when he could put on an act and when there was no need to.

Yielding when appropriate was not shameful.

A man had to know how to bend and stretch.

Seeing Kagami Uchiha's warm smile, Kushina relaxed her fist.

See? Although he gets smug sometimes, he's still a sensible child.

And he said something about Uchiha Madara... That Nine-Tails is such a liar!

She raised her hand and gently rubbed Kagami Uchiha's head.

"You should call me Big Sister Kushina!"

"If you want to talk, then talk. Don't touch my head!"

Kagami Uchiha had finally managed to suppress his anger, but he almost lost his temper and flushed red as he slapped Kushina's hand away.

"What a childish temper. What's wrong with patting your head once?"

Minato watched the two of them, who were about to start arguing, with a wry smile. He felt that Kushina was even less mature than Kakashi. At least Kakashi knew how to coax Kagami.

He cautiously pulled Kushina a little away. "If Kagami doesn't like it, then don't do it. You don't like people giving you nicknames either, right?"

Hearing Minato's words, Kushina seemed to realize that she had been in the wrong.

She moved close to Kagami Uchiha with complete familiarity and leaned against his shoulder.

"Alright, brat! Don't be angry. I'll treat you to barbecue when we get back to the village!"

"Your big sister has plenty of money, you know!"

Kagami Uchiha curled his lip disdainfully. "I own an entire street in the Uchiha Clan Compound!"

Those were all Elder Shenhuo's accumulated assets, and they had already been registered under his name.

"Oh? I own an entire street in the Leaf Commercial District!"

Tch, so what? It would still be destroyed when the Nine-Tails rampaged later.

Jiraiya quietly pulled Minato aside.

He leaned close to Minato's ear and spoke in a very soft voice.

"Um... Minato... how far have you and Kushina gotten?"

"You know, Teacher... Whether it's traveling or gathering material, it all costs a lot of money..."

Maruboshi Kosuke was a very quiet spectator, smiling as he watched the new generation of Konohagakure in his eyes.

In his view, even Kagami Uchiha was merely cold toward enemies. He still cared about his comrades.

The four of them had been working as a team for over half a month and had completed their initial adjustment.

Looking at the three of them, Maruboshi Kosuke felt as though he were seeing the Sannin of the past.

Minato had a better personality than Jiraiya, Kagami was as stern as Orochimaru, and Kushina went without saying. She and Tsunade were distant relatives and were as close as sisters.

Sure enough... wherever the leaves of Konohagakure danced, the fire would burn forever!

Seeing that the atmosphere had relaxed, Maruboshi Kosuke knocked on the iron pot he carried on his back.

"Are you hungry? How about I cook? We can eat while we talk."

"Sure, sure! I haven't tasted Uncle Kosuke's cooking in ages!" Jiraiya immediately became enthusiastic.

During their time stationed there, they could only have a proper meal every few days. They often had to fill their stomachs with Ration Pills, and their mouths were practically crying out for flavor.

They were all ninja. Even Kushina, who had not gone on many missions, had seen plenty of corpses.

There was nothing unnatural about eating beside one.

"I brought a bento."

Taking a bento from the small backpack behind him, Kagami Uchiha walked to the side and began eating alone.

The others said nothing, pretending they had not seen it.

At first, Kushina truly did not understand Kagami Uchiha's antisocial behavior, while Maruboshi Kosuke thought Kagami Uchiha looked down on his cooking.

That was, until they saw what Kagami Uchiha was eating...

The Uchiha Medicinal Bath did not merely involve soaking in medicinal herbs. Some of them had to be taken internally as well.

Kagami Uchiha's bento had no color, fragrance, or flavor to speak of. It was nothing but a packet of medicine.

Kushina refused to believe it and snatched a little to try. That stuff was even harder to swallow than Ration Pills!

Minato and Jiraiya had known about this for a long time, so they were not surprised that Kagami Uchiha possessed such strength.

They simply did not understand... why Kagami Uchiha was so hungry for power.