Early morning, the Uchiha Clan Head's courtyard.
The morning mist had yet to lift. Three copper bells shaped like tomoe hung silently, seeming on the verge of ringing in the breeze that swept through the courtyard.
Uchiha Qiongyue sat cross-legged on the tatami, sipping tea and enjoying the beauty of the early morning.
Whoosh!
A figure suddenly appeared, breaking the brief calm.
Uchiha Qiongyue seemed unsurprised by his arrival. He raised his eyes slightly, brought the teacup to his lips, and asked mildly:
"Ah, Kagami. Aren't you on duty today? What brings you to my little courtyard?"
"Clan Head."
Kagami Uchiha wore a standard flak jacket and carried a katana on his back. He bowed.
"There's been trouble at the border. The Hokage asked me to inform you. Please prepare in advance according to the number of people being assigned from our clan."
"Oh?"
Uchiha Qiongyue's hand paused slightly as he lifted his cup, and a hint of displeasure crossed his face.
As the head of a clan, he had to wait for a junior member of his clan to come and pass on the news before he could learn of it.
Ever since Tobirama Senju had taken office, the doors to the high-level meetings had never opened to the Uchiha again.
"What exactly is happening at the border?" He suppressed his displeasure, keeping his voice steady.
"I'm not sure. I just received the news myself," Kagami Uchiha replied, shaking his head.
Seeing no sign that he was pretending, Uchiha Qiongyue let out a long, pent-up breath and forced a smile.
"In that case, I'll draw up a list shortly and 'personally' submit it to the Hokage."
"All right."
Kagami Uchiha was already used to his sarcastic remarks. Having completed his task, he turned to leave.
"Wait."
Uchiha Qiongyue suddenly called after him, then asked as if in passing, "Kagami, how many people are the Hyuga and Sarutobi clans sending for this mobilization?"
Then he smiled and added an explanation:
"After all, we're a major clan. It'd be embarrassing if our numbers fell short of those small clans."
"..."
Kagami Uchiha stood where he was, silent for a moment. Perhaps realizing that this information would become public sooner or later, he finally answered:
"I heard they're sending the same number as the Uchiha Clan. The two Clan Heads have gone to the Hokage to complain about it more than once.
"But the Hokage said that the Senju Clan would be sending at least as many people as we were. That was the only reason the two of them reluctantly agreed."
"At least as many?"
Uchiha Qiongyue's hand shook as he held his teacup. The faint smile on his face vanished, leaving it dark as a stormy sea.
By now, he understood perfectly well that Tobirama Senju had played him for a fool.
Even if he sent more clansmen afterward, outsiders would see it as a reluctant response to the Senju Clan leading the charge.
If he reduced the numbers, it would look like weakness and disregard for the bigger picture.
What a ruthless move.
"Clan Head."
Kagami Uchiha seemed to realize something too. He turned back and bowed.
"Please don't include Sou in the list for this mobilization. When I saw him yesterday, he still looked weak. It seemed like he hadn't fully recovered...
"I just passed by his house, and he still hadn't gotten out of bed. I suspect he still has hidden injuries.
"I know you have some misgivings about me. In exchange, I'll do my best to protect our clan members on the battlefield."
He understood better than anyone just how many Ninja Cloud Village was sending. To describe it in a few words, it was a Shinobi World War on a massive scale.
If Uchiha Ao were sent to the front lines, he wouldn't even survive an encounter battle with his current strength...
Still in bed? With an attitude like that, he expected to join the Police Force?
Uchiha Qiongyue's mouth twitched. All the anger that had just built up inside him now turned toward Uchiha Ao.
"Ugh..."
But he didn't want to lose his composure in front of Kagami Uchiha, so he took a deep breath and forced down his anger. His voice low, he said:
"I'll consider what you said."
"...Thank you."
With that, Kagami Uchiha's figure faded away like mist, leaving the courtyard as if no one had ever been there.
The wind still swept through the courtyard, and the three copper tomoe bells remained silent.
Uchiha Qiongyue stared intently at the still bells, then slowly raised his head. His gaze seemed to pierce through the rooftops and pin itself to the distant Kage Rock.
"Heh... hehehe..."
A low, cold chuckle escaped his throat. It began as a faint sound, then grew louder and louder, turning into near-maniacal laughter.
"Ha... hahaha!"
After a while, his laughter stopped abruptly. His face twisted as he glared toward the Hokage Building, forcing the name out through clenched teeth:
"Senju... Tobirama..."
At home.
Bzzzt...
Uchiha Ao stood in the middle of the living room, fists clenched. Lightning Release Chakra, threaded with tiny arcs of electricity, cloaked his entire body. His black hair stood on end from the static, surrounded by a blue-white glow in the flashing light.
He lowered his head slightly, sensing every inch of his body. Most of him felt numb and sore, but at the same time, he felt lighter and stronger than ever before.
As he did his best to maintain this state, several simple lines of text quietly appeared in his field of vision:
[Thunder Breathing 0/100] [D-Rank Ninjutsu: Slightly stimulates cell activity and marginally increases the body's speed, strength, and defense]
"Finally, I did it!"
Uchiha Ao let out a long breath, suppressing his excitement as he carefully felt the changes in his body.
"Just covering myself in it makes my body feel much lighter, and my punches are stronger. My muscles feel noticeably tighter too... A rough estimate puts my overall physical abilities at least twenty percent higher!"
But... Thunder Breathing was just him covering his body with Lightning Release Chakra. Did that really count as a self-created Ninjutsu?
He carefully recalled how it had felt while he was working it out. As he experimented, the insights from his Destiny seemed to guide him, allowing the chakra to adhere to his body while his internal pathways gradually took shape.
Perhaps that was the real reason he had managed to create a Ninjutsu himself...
"The feedback from my Destiny is even more powerful than I imagined."
But this effect only came from the boost of Lightning Release Chakra. The Eight Inner Gates could do that too. What he wanted was the effect of strengthening his body.
With that in mind, he kept the Lightning Release Chakra covering his body, lowered himself to the floor, and started doing push-ups.
One, two...
When he reached a hundred, the number on the panel ticked up:
[Thunder Breathing 1/100]
The instant the panel changed, he could clearly feel his body grow just a tiny bit stronger.
It worked!
While maintaining Thunder Breathing, his cells divided faster, making the same exercise several times more effective than it would have been under normal conditions.
What would happen if he trained Thunder Breathing until it was fully mastered?
Would he approach the Raikage's Lightning Release Armor?
Or would he forge an entirely different path?
Just then, a surge of feedback from Thunder Breathing flooded in.
Uchiha Ao quickly closed his eyes, carefully sensing the trickle of insights and experience about controlling Lightning Release Chakra flowing into his mind as his progress increased.
For example: how to convert chakra more efficiently, how to distribute the electric arcs more evenly to reduce consumption, and how to stimulate specific cells more precisely for a sudden burst of power...
A moment later.
Uchiha Ao slowly opened his eyes. A flash of lightning seemed to gleam in his gaze.
"Sure enough, it's not that simple. Cell division has its limits. Even though training in this state is several times more effective than usual, I can only maintain it for an hour a day.
"Any longer, and my cells will break down, unless..."
As if a thought had just struck him, he suddenly looked toward the statue of the First carved into Kage Rock.
"Unless I turn my own cells into First Hokage Cells!"
Uchiha Ao's eyes lit up at the thought, but he reconsidered and dismissed it almost immediately.
Setting aside the question of where he could get First Hokage Cells, even if he found some, it was anyone's guess whether his body would accept them.
His Destiny had made his body like a Walmart shopping bag, able to handle any Ninjutsu, but cell transplants were clearly another matter.
If his body couldn't accept them, the powerful vitality of Hashirama Cells might instantly transform him into an immobile tree.
Then he wouldn't just be unable to use Wood Release; he might have to wait until someone needed to pee and relieved themself beside him just to get a sip of water.
Besides, they wouldn't be his own cells. Even if the transplant worked, there was no telling how much use he'd get out of them.
Only what truly belonged to him could reach its full potential.
Wait!
His own...
Uchiha Ao seemed to realize something. He slapped his thigh, his face alight with excitement.
Wood Release, Wood Release...
Hashirama hadn't become so powerful all at once. He had created his own unique Kekkei Genkai and mastered Wood Release Ninjutsu before his cells became the one-of-a-kind Hashirama Cells known throughout the world.
"Then if I master Wood Release Ninjutsu, won't I get the same result?!"
Before you continue