Introspection

After arranging for the two ninja cats to depart, Uchiha Ren retrieved the bubble containing the Spirit Mediumship Cultivation Method from his Sharingan space.

The space before him rippled like water, and the bubble, upon making contact with the outside world, instantly burst, causing a book to fall into his palm.

This process of opening space and retrieving items bore a slight resemblance to Space Jump; both involved an object moving through space to reach a different coordinate.

However, as the master of this space, Ren felt something far more profound—it was more like a process of "unfolding" an object from a higher dimension and anchoring it into the reality of this dimension.

Yet, even Ren did not understand the underlying principles; it was like looking at flowers through a mist.

It was much like how he could control his own body but struggled to understand the encoding and operational mechanisms of every gene within it; knowing that it worked did not necessarily mean knowing why it worked.

"Once my comprehension of space deepens in the future, I will surely gain new insights."

Ren collected his thoughts, suppressing his distractions, and lowered his gaze to open the Spirit Mediumship Cultivation Method in his hands.

Thanks to the blessing of the Companion Stone Gate, he could intuitively understand the languages and scripts of all worlds; otherwise, a cultivation manual from another realm would truly be an indecipherable heavenly book.

If he couldn't even read it, let alone have a reference point, how could he possibly learn it?

This wasn't a video game world where one could learn a skill with a single click after picking it up.

"Even with a grasp of the general meaning and the ability to draw parallels across knowledge systems, actually learning and mastering the basics is even more difficult than the magic of Frieren or the Overlord."

After reading through it several times with great difficulty, Ren closed the book, rubbed his slightly throbbing temples, and a trace of helplessness flashed in his eyes.

The book was filled with obscure Taoist terminology, a complex system with subtle, profound principles that were far harder to enter than straightforward magic incantations or the sweeping, open movements of swordsmanship.

"I'll go to the family library tonight; I hope there are some basic books on things like Onmyoji."

As someone with almost zero foundation, Ren didn't want to force his way through this Spirit Mediumship manual.

This localized, modified Taoist cultivation system—which leaned closer to Onmyoji and divine teachings—could not be learned through effort alone.

Without a certain knowledge base, failing to understand the true meaning and accidentally turning a righteous path into a crooked one would be a disastrous mistake.

"If that doesn't work, I'll have Ayan arrange for the ninja cats to go to the Land of Demons."

In the Naruto movie Naruto Shippuden: The Lost Tower, the priestess of the Land of Demons, who passed her position down through generations, possessed the ability to seal demons and predict the future.

This was vastly different from the chakra of ninjas or the senjutsu of the three great sage lands; Ren suspected this might be a remnant of Onmyodo.

Whether it was a legacy of bloodline or the result of a priestess's cultivation, he would have to investigate it thoroughly.

"And there are the collections of the nobility from the various great nations... I'm a bit short on manpower. It looks like I'll need to find a merchant once I leave Konohagakure."

Ren raised his eyes to look at the sky; the sun was slowly sinking, and its warm yellow light spread a soft, rosy glow across the horizon.

The surface of the Naka River shimmered under the setting sun, and an evening breeze swept through the forest, ruffling the boy's ink-black short hair.

His hair lifted slightly across his forehead, revealing a smooth brow and sharply defined brow bones, his dark eyes filled with leisure and comfort.

Ren was in no rush to return.

He was not a transmigrator with a sign-in system or a family system.

In this supernatural world where great power belonged to the individual, Ren had a clear understanding—

All authority, in the final analysis, was merely a tool to serve one's own strength.

After years of management, Ren had methodically handed over the complex affairs of the clan to Uchiha Yashiro, Tekka, and Taohuo.

Yashiro was his deputy, faithfully executing his will.

Tekka sat firmly in the Konoha Military Police Force, and Taohuo was deeply embedded among the clan's ninjas; they were like his arms, implementing his will within the Hawk Faction.

The delegation of power allowed Ren to gain more support from the Hawk Faction while also granting him more time for cultivation.

Once he defeated the strongest jonin in the Hawk Faction and attained Kage-level strength, the Uchiha Hawk Faction's recognition and support for him naturally reached its peak.

Fist power is authority!

"This peaceful and quiet life is likely the final stillness before the storm arrives."

Ren knew clearly that there was little time left before the Uchiha clan was officially drawn into the vortex of the Third Shinobi World War.

He curled his fingers and slowly drew the specially crafted chakra longsword from his waist.

The bright blade flowed with a cold, clear luster under the sunset, like a condensed cold spring.

With a light tap of his toes, his figure split instantly.

The Nine Styles of Wind-Riding poured forth from his hands—at first, it was like a spring stream washing over jade, the blade wind light and lingering; then it transformed into the lonely smoke of the desert, the strikes carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air.

When the final style, "Skanda Typhoon," was unleashed, the entire riverbank was shrouded in invisible wind blades; where the gale passed, the grass was flattened, and the crisscrossing furrows carved into the ground were deep enough to see the bottom.

By the time he sheathed his blade, the twilight had deepened, and only the sound of the Naka River's flowing water became clear once more.

"By combining the 'shape transformation' and 'nature transformation' of chakra with the essence of the Breath of Wind, and then integrating them into Uchiha swordsmanship, this fusion is enough to stand among the leaders of the great ninja villages of this era!"

"I wonder who is stronger between me and the Third Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura?"

The eighteen-year-old Ren stood by the river with his hands behind his back, his sleeves fluttering in the rising wind, whispering softly as he watched the final glimmers of light on the Naka River.

In the real world of Naruto, there were no such things as quasi-Kage, Kage-level, strong-Kage, or super-Kage strength rankings.

The appearance of such levels was merely to categorize various characters into different tiers.

True strength is only ever revealed when blades meet.

However, the power scaling from the fanfiction novels of his past life was indeed much more convenient.

At least, Ren had a relatively complete understanding of the current combat strength within Kirigakure.

He had a rough comparison between his own strength and the enemies he would soon face.

He needed to become stronger!

"If the Wind-Riding Sword Technique is to advance further, it must either be fused with sage mode or combined with other elemental chakra to form a Kekkei Genkai."

The former required the assistance of the three great sage regions of summoning beasts, and rather than pinning his hopes on those spirits with their own hidden agendas, it would be better to wait for Ayan to evolve into Sage Ruyan.

As for the latter, Ren was currently contemplating the combination of wind and fire, or wind and lightning, but he had no leads for the time being.

If all else failed, he planned to make a move on the "most beautiful back in the ninja world," Pakura, who possessed the wind and fire combination known as Scorch Release.

Rather than letting that woman be betrayed by Sunagakure and die at the hands of Kirigakure.

It would be better for him to scavenge her corpse.

"There are also two secret techniques of the Sharingan that have been localized from the magic world."

"Whether it's offense, defense, shifting, or support, with all my strength combined, can I dance?"