Life in Kumogakure was incredibly dull.
The Fourth Raikage had been very welcoming when Qingye arrived, immediately summoning a large group of kunoichi. He seemed intent on building another Uchiha Clan in Kumogakure!
And so Qingye began a monotonous life of drilling one woman after another, day after day.
Sometimes Qingye would sigh. If nothing unexpected happened, this was probably how his life would go—he might spend the rest of it as a stud.
Then something unexpected happened.
After several peaceful years, the mysterious Masked Man came looking for him for some reason.
With only a Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Qingye was no match. He was soon defeated and left gravely injured, on the verge of death.
"Those are some nice eyes. I'll take them off your hands."
As the Masked Man's hand reached toward his eyes, Qingye was filled with resentment, but he had no strength to resist.
"Ah!!!"
Qingye jolted awake, clutching his eyes.
His head was drenched in cold sweat, and he was breathing in short, ragged gasps. The sensation of his eyeballs being forcibly gouged out still seemed to linger in his mind. It took a long while for him to come back to his senses.
"Was that a dream...?" Qingye murmured.
What had he been doing just now?
Right—the system's Bloodline Enhancement!
Had that been a dream the system had simulated to help him awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan? But it had felt far too real!
The events in the dream had certainly followed the logic of his own actions.
Without the system's cheats and the strength to help the Uchiha escape their clan's destruction, he really had considered defecting to Kumogakure and becoming a stud!
Qingye had heard the clan's Great Elder say that, during the Warring States period, the Uchiha Clan had enjoyed close ties with the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning.
He could use that connection to get in touch with Kumogakure, fake his death, and become a stud there. A different way of life wouldn't be a bad option!
Why bother getting caught up in an internal struggle with that bunch of so-called geniuses in Konoha?
Wasn't it much better to spend his days discussing billion-ryo business deals with the lovely ladies of Kumogakure?
"But in the end, Uchiha Obito still had his eye on me..."
Qingye couldn't help shaking his head. Sure enough, without strength, he was helpless.
After taking a moment to calm down, the negative emotions from the dream gradually faded. Only then did Qingye come back to himself and take stock of his body.
The first thing he noticed was the explosive increase in his Chakra!
He checked his status panel.
[Stats: Spirit 9, Stamina 8, Strength 6, Speed 9, Ninjutsu 8, Hand Seals 7, Genjutsu 9, Intelligence 9]
His total had reached 65!
"What?!"
Qingye stared in shock.
Spirit, which represented Chakra, had increased by 2 points. Strength and Speed, which reflected his Taijutsu, had each increased by 1 point. Ninjutsu and Hand Seals had also each increased by 1 point, as had Genjutsu.
Spirit 9, Speed 9, Genjutsu 9!
Was the Mangekyo Sharingan's enhancement really this huge?
No, that wasn't right!
It wasn't just the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Even before he fell into the dream, his Chakra capacity had been steadily increasing. By the time he passed out, he had already surpassed four cards of Chakra!
When he asked, the system explained that the first part had enhanced his bloodline. With his original bloodline, he wouldn't have been able to awaken the Mangekyo at all.
During this stage, his talent had also been enhanced across the board. Spirit had increased by 1 point, as had Strength and Speed, Ninjutsu and Hand Seals.
After that, the system had used the simulated dream to stimulate him into awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, further increasing his Chakra.
At the same time, awakening the Mangekyo had boosted his Genjutsu.
That was the power of the Mangekyo's stats!
"Chakra only went from Spirit 7 to Spirit 9? Surely that can't be all?"
Qingye did a rough estimate. Compared to the one card of Chakra he'd had at Spirit 6, he now had about ten times as much.
Did Spirit 9 mean ten cards of Chakra?
Spirit 6 meant one card, Spirit 7 was around two cards, and Spirit 9 was about ten... How exactly did Chakra capacity scale with Spirit? Was it logarithmic?
Then how much Chakra would Spirit 10 give him? A hundred cards, like Naruto?
Or was Naruto's Spirit 10 because the official guidebook capped its stats at 10?
"Ten cards of Chakra. Mangekyo Sharingan!"
Qingye finally understood what it felt like to be on top of the world.
Looking at the five-pointed star pattern in his crimson eyes in the mirror, he felt the Sharingan's ocular powers surge as it evolved from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to the Mangekyo.
Information about his Mangekyo Sharingan's abilities also appeared in his mind.
His left-eye ability was Susanoo.
It amplified his strength, from his physical power to the potency of his Ninjutsu, even increasing Susanoo's own strength. The boost applied across the board!
The amplification started at two times.
If he doubled the Chakra consumption, the multiplier would increase even further.
His right-eye ability was Kotoamatsukami.
It allowed him to foresee possible futures within the next five minutes. He could choose an outcome from among those futures and steer events toward the worldline he wanted!
His left eye gave him the numbers; his right eye gave him the means.
Qingye even felt like shouting, Damn it, Old Madara, you've been keeping an eye on me and enjoying yourself, haven't you? Come out and fight me!
"Ahem. Getting carried away..."
Uchiha Madara could stay paired off with Uchiha Obito.
Those two were the tragic lovers who truly belonged together. Qingye would leave them to it.
Even though Uchiha Madara was already very old, if he really brought the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path down on you, even a demigod would have to run!
Before he'd even had time to enjoy his new powers, that familiar, invisible restraint suddenly returned.
His physical and spiritual energy began to drain, and soon his Chakra was restricted to one card.
[Talent Enhancement (Mangekyo Sharingan) complete.] [Total repayment period for this loan: one year.] [Ninjutsu Learning module unlocked. You must repay this Chakra Loan in full before taking out another loan.] [After taking out a loan, the host's Chakra capacity will be reduced. The reduced portion will be used to repay the Chakra Loan. The host may choose to defer repayment. If repayment is deferred, Chakra capacity will be restored, and the repayment deadline will be extended accordingly.] [Once this Chakra Loan has been fully repaid, the system will unlock a new feature.]
There was a new feature, too?
Qingye pressed the system for details, but it offered no further explanation.
He checked the Ninjutsu Learning module and skimmed through the techniques he could borrow Chakra to learn.
The Flying Thunder God Technique was even on the list!
Unfortunately, he'd just used a Chakra Loan to complete his Talent Enhancement. Even if he wanted to learn the Flying Thunder God Technique, he'd have to wait a year.
Feeling his Chakra capacity restricted to one card, Qingye immediately thought, "System, defer repayment."
[Chakra capacity restored.]
His one-card Chakra capacity returned to ten cards in an instant.
Minato Namikaze's team had arrived. The battle would probably begin within a day or two.
He had to get familiar with the power of his Mangekyo Sharingan as soon as possible.
He reached over and picked up a small bottle from the side table, smearing some of the blood inside onto his palm. "Summoning Technique!"
"Meow?"
The black cat Nine Lives had been racing around at home in the middle of the night when he was suddenly summoned. It tilted its head.
"Nine Lives, go back and bring me the Great Fire Destruction scroll."
He released the Summoning Technique.
A short while later, he performed the Summoning Technique again. The Ninja Cat courier had delivered right on time, bringing him the Great Fire Destruction scroll.
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