"Stop!"
Qingyi Lang abruptly flipped over from his handstand workout and shouted at a ninja wearing a Uzumaki Headband:
"The Uchiha Compound is off-limits to outsiders."
As he spoke, Qingyi Lang looked the newcomer up and down, puzzled.
A ninja from the Uzumaki Clan?
Why come here instead of the Senju Compound?
"Hey, could you let them know I'm here?"
The Uzumaki ninja didn't try to force his way in. Instead, he smiled apologetically and said, "I'm here on orders from Lord Mito and Princess Tsunade. They'd like to invite a ninja from your clan named Uchiha Ao to come meet with them."
"Uchiha Ao?!"
Qingyi Lang cried out in surprise. "Those two big shots want to see that guy... What for?
Do you have a letter?"
"Hey, do you know Lord Ao?"
The Uzumaki ninja's eyes lit up. As he spoke, he pulled a scroll from his robe and handed it over, asking eagerly:
"How strong is he? Is he handsome? Does he have a high standing in your clan?"
"..."
Qingyi Lang gave the Uzumaki ninja a strange look and accepted the scroll.
His strength was decent; as for his standing, he was currently nobody special.
And as for whether he was handsome...
What, if he's handsome, are you planning to marry that punk?
Though Qingyi Lang grumbled inwardly, he still took his job seriously. He carefully read through the scroll... Hmm... The name was right, and it bore the seals of the Senju Clan and Uzumaki Mito.
Once he had confirmed it, Qingyi Lang was even more puzzled.
Why did those two want to see Ao?
Tsunade made sense; she was still young, and it wouldn't be strange for them to have crossed paths at the Ninja Academy or somewhere like that.
But Lord Mito? She was a powerhouse no less formidable than someone at Kage Level.
Though he was confused, Qingyi Lang didn't give the messenger a hard time.
"Other than his looks, I can't tell you anything. But I'll deliver your message to him."
"Ah..."
The Uzumaki ninja looked troubled. His orders had been to deliver the message personally to Uchiha Ao.
But he knew the Uchiha Clan's rules and didn't try to force his way in. Instead, he pulled a ten-thousand-tael bill from his robe, slipped it into Qingyi Lang's hand, and ingratiated himself:
"Thanks for the effort, sir. Please let Lord Ao know as soon as possible. Lord Mito and Lady Tsunade will be waiting for him at Lord Mito's residence this afternoon."
Qingyi Lang nodded, accepted the Silver Taels, and agreed.
After watching the Uzumaki ninja leave, he looked at the bill in his hand and murmured:
"I'll give this money to Ao. I've taken advantage of that brat plenty already. I wonder when I'll ever pay him back."
Heh...
Without even realizing it, the gap between us had grown this wide?
Even someone that powerful had taken notice of him...
Qingyi Lang shook his head with a bitter smile, then turned and called to the guard post behind him, "Shuta, cover my post for a while. I'm heading back to the compound to take care of something."
"Sure, go ahead."
At home.
"101, 102, 103..."
Bare-chested, Ao had six iron plates weighing a full ton in total strapped to his back, blue electric arcs flickering over his skin as he diligently worked through a set of Kegel Exercises.
Sweat dripped steadily from his forehead and waist, forming puddles all around him.
He had been in this state for half an hour. More precisely, he had been using Thunder Breathing for nearly forty minutes.
That was because half an hour earlier, he had maxed out his Thunder Breathing progress and reached an entirely new level.
"Haah... Hah..."
Ao panted heavily. Veins began to stand out one after another across his body, a sign that he was nearing exhaustion.
But he didn't give up. Only when the numbers on the screen before his eyes changed did he spring to his feet, lift the six iron plates weighing a full ton with one hand, and set them on the ground.
[Thunder Breathing · Modified 2/200] [B-Rank Ninjutsu: Greatly reduces chakra consumption. Wraps the body in lightning chakra, moderately increasing durability and speed]
"Haah... Nearly half an hour... carrying a ton... and I only... advanced by one point?"
Ao stared at the numbers on the screen and panted as he murmured.
He had just tested it out. Though this new form of Thunder Breathing didn't enhance his body as much as Lightning Release Armor, it far outstripped it in chakra consumption, stamina, and training efficiency.
In just that half hour, he felt his physical abilities had increased more than twofold!
In other words, his Eight Inner Gates had already reached the point where he could open the second gate, Gate of Healing—and do so even in battle!
Ao clenched his fist, felt the explosively growing strength in his body, and summed up:
"Though my overall combat strength still doesn't match that of an Elite Jonin, in terms of Taijutsu, I may have already surpassed most Elite Jonin."
Just then, a stream of information flooded his mind.
It was insight from the recent increase in Thunder Breathing progress, giving him an even deeper understanding of this new Ninjutsu.
A moment later, the first thing he said after opening his eyes was:
"Lightning Release Armor and Thunder Breathing can actually be combined?!"
That was right—the insight had revealed exactly that.
And if the two could be combined, the resulting transformation would be unprecedentedly terrifying!
Just imagine Lightning Release Armor that lasted a long time and boosted speed and strength without weakening. How powerful would that be?
That was only a preliminary estimate. Combining the two would be far more than a simple one-plus-one, and would surely produce other miraculous effects!
Perhaps by then, Lightning Release Armor and Thunder Breathing wouldn't even qualify as mere Ninjutsu anymore.
Lightning God Armor seemed like a more fitting name!
Unfortunately, his Lightning Release Armor progress had barely budged. With his current amount of chakra, even if he used Ration Pills and trained with several tons of weight, he could probably manage only two or three points of progress in a whole day at most.
"Too slow..."
Ao sighed as he felt the chakra reserves in his body, no greater than an ordinary Jonin's.
If only I were a Jinchūriki...
"Ao, are you home?"
Qingyi Lang's voice came from downstairs.
"Hm?"
Ao glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's only a little after one in the afternoon. Why's that punk off work so early today?"
He casually grabbed a white T-shirt from the sofa, pulled it on, and used the Body Flicker Technique to appear in front of Qingyi Lang.
"Whoa, you took a shower in the middle of the day? You're soaking wet."
Qingyi Lang exclaimed as soon as they met. But on closer inspection, Ao seemed even more upright and imposing. The T-shirt, which had been a little loose a few days ago, now stretched tightly over his bulging muscles.
"Holy crap, what happened to you...?"
"What?"
Ao raised his right arm with a cheeky grin, showing off his gleaming bicep.
"Distracted by this body of mine, which is practically a work of art?
Too bad, your dad's straight! You can look, but you can't touch."
"Get lost."
Ao's interruption reminded Qingyi Lang of why he had come. He laughed and scolded him, "Your body's a work of art? Then mine's a divine masterpiece."
As he spoke, he handed over the message. "Here. A ninja from the Uzumaki Clan brought this while I was on duty.
Lord Mito and Princess Tsunade invited you to meet them at Lord Mito's residence this afternoon."
"Lord Mito?"
Ao furrowed his brow. The current Nine-Tails Jinchūriki, and the wife of that late bastard Hashirama.
Why did she want to see him?
A fifty-year-old woman looking for a young man to father her child, offering a hefty reward?
Not that he'd be opposed. In the original story, she had a Hundred Healings Mark between her brows, so perhaps she still looked around thirty...
"...Ahem."
Ao shook off those absurd thoughts and asked:
"Did they say what it was about?"
"No..."
Qingyi Lang shook his head, then added, "But that Uzumaki ninja seemed very interested in you. He kept asking about your strength, your standing, and things like that. He seemed really curious about you."
Another Uzumaki...
Why did this sound a little strange?
Ao looked thoughtfully at the scroll bearing the seals.
Uzumaki Mito... Sealing Technique... Nine-Tails Jinchūriki...
Maybe I could find a solution to my current chakra shortage through her...
Then let's do it!
Before you continue