Rumors

The moment Chakra surged within Uchiha Yuan's body, the bird perched atop his head suddenly took fright and flapped away.

At the same time, a striped venomous snake lurking in the nearby grass, which had been stalking the bird, had silently crept close and was climbing up the surface of the rock when it was sent flying by the sudden burst of air.

Flame-like, brilliant radiance erupted around Uchiha Yuan. Visible ripples spread through the air one after another, while the rock beneath him continuously cracked under invisible pressure, fissures spreading across its surface.

After some time, the powerful airflow surrounding Uchiha Yuan, expanding and contracting like breathing, suddenly dissipated.

The flames around Uchiha Yuan's body all withdrew into him, and a golden mark appeared between his brows.

This golden mark gave Uchiha Yuan an imposing presence even without anger, his entire body radiating a sacred, lofty, and mysterious aura.

There were three hundred and sixty major acupoints throughout the human body. The point between the brows was the most mysterious, connecting the mind and soul. It was called the Ancestor Aperture.

After several years of cultivating his mind and soul with the secret technique Sage Art: Ultimate Evolution, Uchiha Yuan had finally opened a wondrous and strange spiritual space within his Ancestor Aperture—the Sea of Consciousness.

Two beams of golden light shot forth as Uchiha Yuan slowly opened his eyes. At the same time, the golden mark between his brows quietly vanished.

In his perception, a small glowing pool had appeared within the Sea of Consciousness.

The Chakra extracted by ninjas was stored within their bodies. Yet in Uchiha Yuan's spiritual inner vision, the Chakra surging through his body resembled countless streams of light moving through his meridians before finally flowing into the Ancestor Aperture between his brows.

When he had first seen the golden mark between his brows, Uchiha Yuan had immediately thought of Princess Tsunade's Hundred Healings Jutsu.

It seemed that the Hundred Healings Jutsu also made use of the development of the Ancestor Aperture between the brows.

"The essence of Chakra is life essence. Extracting Chakra means squeezing out life essence; that is why ninjas die when their Chakra is exhausted.

"None of the major Ninja Clans allow children to extract Chakra too early, because extracting too much Chakra will absolutely damage a child's foundation. Unless they have various secret medicines to assist their cultivation and replenish their bodies in time."

"However, I am different. The Sage Art secret technique I cultivate is not part of the ninja system.

"The ninja system is essentially the development of one's own bloodline power, whereas cultivating Sage Art continuously strengthens oneself until it triggers a qualitative transformation."

"Every time ninjas extract Chakra, they feel hungry and need to eat large amounts of food to replenish their energy.

"But I do not feel even the slightest hunger, because Natural Energy replenishes my body.

"The process of extracting Chakra for me is the process of refining the Natural Energy in my body. And as my body's attributes improve, the efficiency with which I absorb and refine Natural Energy also continues to increase."

"To put it simply, ninjas in the Ninja World are like chunks of ore. Some are lean ore, while others are rich ore; how much oil can be squeezed out is decided from the start.

"But I am different. I continuously absorb Natural Energy to strengthen myself, making the oil I squeeze out of higher quality and the energy unleashed by its combustion more powerful.

"Until, through constant refinement, I finally become Uranium Ore, possessing the power to destroy heaven and earth."

Uchiha Yuan silently pondered this as he examined the data on his personal Attribute Panel, reflecting on this cultivation session.

A short while later, he stood and leaped down from the rock, preparing to begin today's Straight Punch Thrust training.

After taking only a few steps, he suddenly stopped and picked up a brightly colored striped dead snake from the ground.

The Snake Corpse was in a miserable state, torn to pieces, its bones and flesh separated.

It bore several distinctly different wounds, including marks resembling those left by sharp blades shredding it apart, as well as charred remains from intense flames.

In the days that followed, Uchiha Yuan extracted Chakra and then began Straight Punch Thrust training, repeating the cycle without pause.

During this time, Uchiha Eiji delivered a C-rank ninjutsu scroll for Flame Bullet, as stipulated by their wager.

However, when they met this time, he did not attempt to challenge Uchiha Yuan a third time. Still, Uchiha Yuan could see defiance and fighting spirit in his eyes.

His third challenge would likely not be long in coming.

The lower the rank of a ninjutsu, the simpler it was to perform, the less Chakra it required, and the easier it was to observe and analyze.

By studying and analyzing other low-rank ninjutsu, Uchiha Yuan had already gained some understanding of ninjutsu structure and execution.

Now, through learning Flame Bullet, he began observing and studying the changes in Chakra's form and nature when a ninjutsu was activated.

Time swiftly passed amid Uchiha Yuan's research. In the blink of an eye, the village's reconstruction was nearing its end.

At the same time, the repaired Ninja Academy resumed classes.

The entrance to the Ninja Academy was bustling with noise, crowded with parents seeing their children off to school.

Uchiha Yuan arrived at the Ninja Academy alone, while members of other Ninja Clans occasionally came into view.

Those with white eyes that looked as though they had cataracts were from the Hyuga Clan.

Those with face paint and dogs were from the Inuzuka Clan.

Those who were large and fat, constantly eating snacks, were from the Akimichi Clan.

Hmm, when had these people wearing sunglasses arrived nearby? Uchiha Yuan could not help but spare the Aburame Clan members a few extra glances.

In his perception, the Aburame Clan members carried many mottled, densely packed, tiny auras.

While Uchiha Yuan observed the others, many unfriendly gazes from both sides of the road were also secretly watching him. Some deliberately hushed conversations reached his ears.

"Have you heard? On the night the Demon Fox ran amok, not a single one of those Police Force bastards came out."

"Yeah, I heard that too. What a bunch of hateful people. They usually look down their noses at us and treat us all so viciously, but when we actually need them to protect us, they all disappear."

"The Uchiha Police Force are all cowards! Bastards! I did not see a single one of them on the night the Demon Fox ran amok. If they had shown up to stop the Demon Fox, maybe my older brother would not have died."

"Now their clan grounds have been driven to the edge of the village. This is the village's punishment for them. They deserve it!"

"Lord Hokage is still too merciful. He should disband such a useless Police Force."

"Exactly. If you ask me, the Uchiha do not deserve to control the Police Force. Everyone hates those arrogant, rude bastards."

"Hmph. If you ask me, the Uchiha Clan should compensate the village for all the losses caused by the Demon Fox's rampage."

Listening to the whispers around him, Uchiha Yuan's gaze shifted slightly, and a mocking smile appeared at the corner of his lips.

So it has begun. Half of the Uchiha Police Force's members are still fighting on the battlefield against Kirigakure, yet they are already so eager to suppress and smear the Uchiha Clan.

What a familiar scene. But the Uchiha are not the Konoha White Fang.

Uchiha Yuan thought to himself.

At that moment, he recalled the flood of slanderous rumors against White Fang that had suddenly emerged in the village before the White Fang incident.