Sasuke trained with Shadow Clones, his image visible inside the crystal ball. Watching him, Sarutobi Hiruzen had begun to slowly work out a plan to make Sasuke give up the Uchiha Clan's fertile lands.
"If he's been influenced by the Will of Fire, he should agree to my terms. My Sarutobi Clan is the strongest. Hyuga, you're next!"
After closing the crystal ball's view, Sarutobi Hiruzen stared intently at the Sarutobi Clan crest in the distance and fell into thought.
Sasuke had no idea what Sarutobi Hiruzen was thinking. Even if he had, there was nothing he could do about it—not when he wasn't strong enough yet!
For the next month, Sasuke trained with Shadow Clones. He collapsed from exhaustion every day when he ended the training, but the results were excellent. Sasuke was growing stronger with every passing moment!
The Ninja Academy would open tomorrow. After getting up early that morning, Sasuke didn't train. Part of him wanted to relax, and part of him knew that without revealing his Sharingan or his B-rank Fire Release Ninjutsu, there was no way to improve any further.
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If his Sharingan were exposed, both Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō would take notice of him. The same went for advanced Fire Release Ninjutsu.
If he wanted to live peacefully in Konoha for a few years, Sasuke felt it was best to be cautious!
Over the past few days, Sasuke had gathered the Uchiha Clan's remaining belongings. The situation was worse than he'd imagined. They had only one B-rank Fire Release technique, Gōka Messhitsu; not a single Lightning Release technique; one C-rank Wind Release technique, Daitoppa; and no Water Release techniques either. This only deepened Sasuke's hatred for the Anbu and Root.
As for Earth Release, Sasuke had no use for it, so he left the three Earth Release scrolls alone.
[Host: Sasuke] [Bloodline: Uchiha] [Chakra: Elite Jonin] [Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan] [Releases: Fire, Lightning, Wind, Water] Basics: [Shurikenjutsu: 2000/2000] [Uchiha Kenjutsu: 1000/1000] [Three Basic Techniques: 800/800] [Body Flicker Technique: 50/50] [Shadow Clone Technique: 500/500] [Hand Seal Speed: 600/2000] Fire Release: [Nature Transformation: 1000/10000] [Gōkakyū: 200/200] [Hōsenka: 200/200] [Ryūka: 200/200] Wind Release: [Nature Transformation: 100/10000] [Daitoppa: 200/200] Sharingan: [Insight: 100/1000] [Copy: 0/1000] [Genjutsu: 500/1000] [Magen: Kasegui: 100/1000]
Looking at his status panel, Sasuke was pleased, but also a little worried. He had far too few techniques. For now, he could stay ahead of his classmates, but once they began drawing on their clans' legacies, he'd be nothing. After all, the so-called Will of Fire had taken his clan's legacy away!
"After graduation, only that idiot Naruto will know fewer techniques than me, right? Wait! Naruto? Rasengan?"
Thinking of Naruto reminded Sasuke that the Rasengan was a pretty good technique!
"Forget it. How would I explain suddenly learning the Rasengan?"
Just as Sasuke realized he might be able to learn the Rasengan, he saw that he had no way to explain where it came from. Even if the Third Hokage believed it was a coincidence, the troublemaker Shimura Danzō might not.
"Looks like I can only work on my Nature Transformation for now. I'll try to max out both Lightning and Fire before I graduate from the Ninja Academy!"
With a plan in mind, Sasuke went to the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine. It was where the Uchiha had worshipped, and after the Night of the Uchiha Massacre, it had also become their graveyard.
Sasuke had come to see whether Shenlian would work on the corpses of the long-dead. After all, if he had to kill people himself to gain General Proficiency, it would be incredibly difficult. He hadn't even graduated from the Ninja Academy yet!
When he reached the shrine and saw the densely packed tombstones before him, Sasuke immediately felt oppressed.
Standing before one of the graves, Sasuke activated Shenlian. A pitch-black eye, visible only to him, slowly emerged and circled above the tombstone.
A few minutes later, Sasuke glanced at his empty inventory and gave a helpless scoff. As expected, it didn't work!
Just then, Sasuke suddenly noticed the black eye drawing a clump of dark material from the tombstone. He was taken aback. What was that supposed to be?
"Well, I've got nothing better to do. Let's see what I can get!"
Though he didn't know what he'd just obtained, Sasuke still wanted to see the result. After collecting for half a day, he finally saw something appear in his inventory!
[Uchiha Bloodline Crystal: Can be used to purify bloodlines!]
"Bloodline Crystals. Looks like there's a chance I can raise my bloodline to Indra's level!" Sasuke's lips curled into a faint smile as he looked at the crystal. Then he continued having the black eye absorb the Uchiha Clan's bloodline.
After all, he was the last Uchiha. These were gifts left to him by his predecessors. As for Uchiha Obito, in Sasuke's eyes, he was a complete waste of space. Sooner or later, Sasuke would make him pay!
As for Uchiha Itachi, Sasuke's feelings toward him were complicated. He knew Itachi had done it for his sake, but whenever he thought of how Itachi had killed their clan, he felt he couldn't forgive his "good older brother"!
After a day's work, Sasuke had obtained two Uchiha Bloodline Crystals. He had no idea how much they could improve his bloodline, but he'd only covered a fifth of the enormous graveyard.
"Ten Uchiha Bloodline Crystals. If only they could unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan outright!"
That evening, Sasuke looked at the Bloodline Crystals in his inventory, then at the vast graveyard. Muttering to himself, he headed home.
Tomorrow was his first day at the Ninja Academy. He hoped nothing would go wrong. Lying in bed, Sasuke waited for the day to come.
"If my bloodline really reaches Indra's level, will I unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan right away?" Night fell, but Sasuke tossed and turned, unable to sleep. After all, the Mangekyō Sharingan was the first step in his plan!
If he failed here, would he have to wait until he and Itachi fought a Pacific War to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan? No, that didn't make sense either. He already knew the truth behind Itachi's actions, so there was a good chance he wouldn't awaken it that way!
"Forget it. I'll take it one step at a time." After one last look at the stars outside, Sasuke slowly closed his eyes.
One month of terrifying growth, crystals from Naka Shrine, bloodline elevated to Indra's level, all for the Mangekyō Sharingan!
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