"Hm?"
Just as Uchiha Ao was getting worked up, he suddenly sensed something. He sniffed the air.
"What's that burnt smell?"
Crackle!
As he pondered, Uchiha Ao's whole body suddenly seized up. The intense pain made him look as if he were wearing a mask of agony.
A few seconds later, a wisp of black smoke slowly rose from his body.
"Whew..."
He collapsed onto the ground and took a long while to stop twitching.
"Damn, I got so worked up that I forgot I still had Lightning Release Chakra coursing through me...
No wonder there are so many dark-skinned folks in the Land of Lightning. Getting struck by lightning every day would make anyone dark."
After taking a while to recover, Uchiha Ao tried to exhale a breath of stale air, but all that came out was a ring of black smoke.
Still, some of their women were really something.
Blonde, tall, and, most importantly, well-endowed!
He could take a little detour to the Land of Lightning during this mission.
Smack, smack!
Uchiha Ao slapped his cheeks, clearing his mind.
Back to the matter at hand.
This Boob Release—no, Wood Release.
He had to get it!
At present, aside from that one person, no one else probably knew this Ninjutsu.
As he thought, he turned his gaze toward the Hokage Building.
"Since I have to earn this Hokage's attention and trust, then when the assassination attempt comes next month, I can't just survive—I have to do it in style! I have to win spectacularly!"
He was certain that the Hokage had planted an Anbu member beside him. They were there not only to stop him from running away, but also to observe his potential and character.
As for his character, he didn't need to put on an act. He could just be himself.
So the most important thing was to show that he had the strength and potential to be entrusted with important responsibilities!
Tap, tap...
The sound of footsteps came from the roof tiles above.
"Who's there?"
Could it be that Anbu member?
In a flash, Uchiha Ao used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in the street.
He saw a middle-aged man wearing the Uchiha Clan's distinctive High Collar Robe leaping toward the clan compound's plaza. Several other clan members nearby were heading in the same direction.
"Hm?"
Uchiha Ao watched them go, narrowing his eyes. "The Police Force is assembling... Looks like Cloud Village is making a move!"
But none of that had anything to do with him. At his current strength, he probably wouldn't be considered for deployment, whether by the clan or the village.
As long as he stayed away from places where Cloud Village could easily spy on him, he'd be quite safe in the village with the Second Hokage in charge.
"Ao, what are you doing standing here?
Holy shit, did you get struck by lightning?!"
Uchiha Ao's mouth twitched as he turned toward the voice.
It was his old friend, Uchiha Qingyi Lang. He was wearing a High Collar Robe too, and staring at him with a puzzled look.
"You're the one who got struck by lightning! I've become a noble Lede Black Son-in-law!"
"Lede... Black Son-in-law?"
Uchiha Qingyi Lang scratched his head. "What the heck's that?"
"You wouldn't understand even if I told you."
Uchiha Ao hurriedly changed the subject. "Why are you dressed like that? Don't tell me you're part of this operation too."
He knew how strong the other man was. If he went to the front lines, he'd be cannon fodder.
But if his friend died a heroic death, would the emotional shock awaken his Sharingan?
After all, the guy was a dear friend he'd known for a few days! That was a bond!
With that thought, he squeezed out a crocodile tear. "Go in peace. I'll take good care of your little sister for you."
"Get lost! I wouldn't let you take care of her even if you were the last person alive!"
A vein twitched on Uchiha Qingyi Lang's forehead. He snapped, "And who said I was joining the operation? I'm guarding this gathering. Someone else is handling the real operation."
Uchiha Ao suddenly understood. "Oh... So you're guarding the gate again. I was wondering how the Clan Head could be so blind as to pick you."
"Get lost, get lost! And here I was, kind enough to come ask how you were doing!"
Uchiha Qingyi Lang angrily kicked him and left, fuming. "I'm off. You should be careful too. I heard there are a lot of Cloud Village Ninja gathered near the border."
Uchiha Ao rubbed his butt and waved with a smile. "Thanks for worrying about me. I'll buy you a drink sometime."
"Yeah, right. I'd be grateful if you didn't make me buy you Kunai!"
The resentful voice of a certain someone drifted back.
Watching his friend walk away, Uchiha Ao's smile gradually faded, replaced by a worried expression.
"Could my arrival have triggered some kind of Butterfly Effect, causing the First Shinobi World War to happen earlier?!"
He stood there thinking for a moment, then vanished in a flash. After returning home and washing up, he changed into casual clothes and headed toward the village.
"I have to get stronger as soon as possible!"
That afternoon, the sunset was red as blood.
"Hm?"
Not far away, Kakashi Takumi crouched in the shadows, watching Uchiha Ao run upside down through the village while doing Push-ups. His expression was full of confusion.
"A Ninja from the Uchiha Clan is learning Taijutsu instead of Ninjutsu?
What a weirdo..."
After two days of tireless training, Uchiha Ao had finally reached the level of physical fitness needed to open the First Gate of the Eight Inner Gates.
His Thunder Breathing progress had also reached ten points.
The feedback from his Destiny during that time had given him a deeper understanding of Thunder Breathing. That was what allowed his physical strength to keep improving until he met the minimum requirements to open the Gate of Opening.
"Next, maybe I can start grinding progress on the Eight Inner Gates."
I wonder what kind of feedback that'll give me?
Though he was curious, he conserved the Chakra he had left and went to the woods to finish the last two progress points for the Great Fireball Technique.
"Great Fireball Technique!"
As soon as he spoke, Uchiha Ao spat out a five-meter-wide orange fireball, which then crashed into the Lake.
Tsk...
The fireball exploded instantly, sending water flying everywhere. A vast cloud of steam quickly billowed up in front of him and evaporated.
"Phew..."
Uchiha Ao wiped the sweat from his forehead, his expression grim.
"This Technique uses way too much Chakra. Not long ago, it only took a third of my Chakra."
Over the last two days, ever since his progress had reached 95 points, the power of each Ninjutsu he performed had increased visibly.
But today, this single Ninjutsu had used up nearly half his Chakra!
If the Great Fireball Technique didn't change at all when fully mastered, wouldn't using it once drain all his Chakra?
After all, in the world of Naruto, Chakra was closely tied to one's life.
"My current Chakra probably wouldn't even amount to a tenth of a card."
Uchiha Ao looked utterly speechless.
He suddenly realized he'd made the same mistake every transmigrator made.
He'd started thinking of himself as the protagonist.
Naruto and Sasuke from the original story were Sage Second Generations. They had their real dad, the Sage of Six Paths, looking out for them, so they never had to worry about Chakra consumption.
They could throw out a large-scale Ninjutsu as easily as eating a meal.
But he was different. His Chakra was measured in grams. There was no comparison.
Still, inspired by a certain idiot, he'd learned to look for the reason in himself whenever he wasn't strong enough...
"If my Chakra is low, then I'll just pay to fix it!"
With that, Uchiha Ao pulled a Chicken Flavor Ration Pill from his clothes, popped it into his mouth, and crunched it up.
Over the last two days, to keep his training on schedule, he'd used the Silver Taels Kagami Uchiha had given him to buy five Ration Pills for 50,000 taels. He'd set aside three for training and two for missions.
Whoosh...
A moment later, a massive stream of blue Chakra surged from his Dantian, instantly replenishing his Chakra to two-thirds of its previous level.
"This is power!"
Uchiha Ao stretched out both arms and narrowed his eyes in contentment.
After gradually drawing the Chakra back into his body, he strolled to the lakeside, assumed a stance, rapidly formed Hand Seals, and shouted:
"True Great Fireball Technique!"
Boom!
An orange fireball the size of a house appeared out of nowhere, warping the air around it and sending waves of heat rolling out. It slammed straight into the calm surface of the Lake, and a vast cloud of white steam erupted, spreading across an area dozens of meters wide!
The enormous fireball sent waves surging at least ten meters high!
Not far away, Might Duy was approaching the Lake when he saw the white steam rushing toward him. He stood there, dumbstruck.
"What... happened here?!"
Before you continue