Chakra Control Levels!

Karin!

Yes, she was the best choice to train as his personal medical ninja.

White Dove had kept a low profile and focused on developing himself before, so naturally he hadn't had time to deal with her. But now he had stepped onto the stage, and it was time to bring her in.

Still, he'd have to wait until he'd dealt with the Shisui incident.

Konoha was now facing a storm head-on.

A massive storm stirred up by Shisui's death.

Now that he had the Mangekyo, his combat strength had reached true Kage Level. With his powerful ninjutsu to back him up, White Dove dared to roar, "If not for me, the ninja way would have languished in darkness for eternity!"

At least until those cheat-code freaks grew up and the schemers lurking behind the scenes made their moves, he had nothing to fear from anyone besides the Sannin.

As for "the strongest Hokage hype-man"?

He just had to watch out for the other guy's trump card, the Reaper Death Seal.

So tomorrow, he could officially make his debut on Konoha's stage.

Konoha's a grand stage. Come on in, if you've got the guts!

But before then, he had to get familiar with the Mangekyo, so he'd be able to bring out his full strength later.

Even though he'd only just gotten the Mangekyo, White Dove could already feel that he'd received an enormous boost in every way.

Take his chakra, for example. With the Mangekyo, the same ninjutsu was more powerful, cost less chakra, and was easier to control.

Fwoosh!

A flame ignited in the palm of his right hand, which was covered by a gauntlet reaching to his elbow.

The flame slowly divided into several strands, steady as candles burning in his palm.

It might not look like much, but it involved both "Chakra Nature Transformation" and "Chakra Shape Transformation."

At most, an ordinary Jonin could manage one of the two—and might not even manage that. Only an elite Jonin could do one of them consistently.

The fact that White Dove could control the flames as easily as his own limbs showed just how skilled he was at Fire Release.

As a transmigrator, he'd come up with all kinds of ways to train his chakra control.

Before, he could barely manage this with Fire Release. That put his control at a normal, near-Kage Level, only one level below his Lightning Release.

But after implanting the Mangekyo, he felt that his chakra control had advanced by an entire major level.

For example, right now.

Fwoosh!

The few flickering flames in his palm began to "swim" slowly, as though they were alive, forming a fiery web in his hand.

Yes, this was the "Web Weaving" level in the chakra-control system White Dove had devised himself.

Chakra control!

It was one of the basics of being a ninja. Ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu all required it.

Tree climbing and Water Walking were the most basic levels of chakra control.

But White Dove had a vivid imagination. He'd come up with even more training methods and levels, and advancing at each level could bring a massive boost in strength.

Tree Climbing, Water Walking, Nature Transformation, Shape Transformation, Web Weaving, Form Condensation, Creation!

Those were the seven levels he'd devised.

Tree Climbing and Water Walking corresponded to the chakra control of Genin and Chunin.

Nature Transformation meant "Chakra Nature Transformation," while Shape Transformation meant "Chakra Shape Transformation." Mastering either one marked a Jonin-level command of chakra. Mastering both meant near-Kage-level control.

Next was Web Weaving, which represented Kage-level chakra control.

Form Condensation and Creation represented control at the Super Kage and Six Paths levels.

White Dove had come up with this system after familiarizing himself with chakra and ninja, drawing on what he knew of the story before he transmigrated.

It might not be one hundred percent accurate, but it was definitely far more precise than the Shinobi World's own ranking system.

Now, after implanting the Mangekyo, White Dove could use the same Fire Release with less chakra, greater power, and finer control. It was a complete improvement in every way.

When he'd fought Uchiha Fugaku earlier, Fugaku had been able to keep up with him while he was in Lightning Cloak form because of the boost from his Mangekyo. If Fugaku had only been near-Kage or elite Jonin level, there was no way he could have lasted more than a few rounds.

Incredible!

A feeling that everything was under his control rose in White Dove's heart.

No wonder Uchiha Sasuke had gotten so cocky after awakening the Mangekyo. That feeling of power really could be intoxicating.

Luckily, White Dove wasn't Uchiha Sasuke. He wouldn't lose sight of how vast the world was.

Forget Kage Level—the Shinobi World even had Super Kage-level ninja. There was even a Six Paths-level schemer watching from the shadows. There was no reason to get carried away over mere Kage-level strength.

Besides, this power came from someone else's Mangekyo. It wasn't as if he'd truly reached Kage Level himself.

So White Dove didn't let the Mangekyo's power go to his head.

"Looks like the Uchiha bloodline really does make it easier to wield the Sharingan!"

As he felt the changes the Mangekyo had brought him, White Dove sighed to himself.

Although there was a slight oddness to using these eyes, it was easy to ignore.

For anyone else, the Sharingan wouldn't be so "gentle."

It wasn't as if no outsiders had implanted Sharingan over the years.

The Uchiha didn't have the Caged Bird Seal, and plenty of Sharingan had ended up outside the clan. Naturally, other ninja villages had acquired them.

But the ninja who implanted them all met horrific ends.

The only exception was "Five-Five Split."

Back then, if Uchiha Fugaku hadn't been close to Namikaze Minato, if Minato hadn't been his student, if the Sharingan hadn't been willingly given to him by Obito, and if the Hokage Faction hadn't pressured Fugaku, there was no way Fugaku would have let it happen.

And that was one thing White Dove resented him for.

He'd set a terrible precedent.

It was one thing if nobody had ever successfully implanted a Sharingan before. But after you'd done it, didn't you worry someone else would follow suit?

Danzo's later decision to implant Sharingan might well have been influenced by this.

He might have thought, Kakashi had implanted one and been fine, which proved outsiders could use the Sharingan after all. So why couldn't he?

All in all, Uchiha Fugaku was a terrible clan leader.

Well, before transmigrating, White Dove had thought Fugaku was decent when he watched the anime. But now that he'd transmigrated and become an Uchiha, his position had shaped his perspective.

In any case, he would definitely take back the Sharingan in Kakashi's eye later.

Not only would that restore the Uchiha's lost face, but more importantly, it was a Mangekyo!

It just wasn't time to make a move yet. He'd have to wait until his "New Uchiha" replaced the current Uchiha.

After getting used to it, White Dove left the basement, satisfied, and went back to his bedroom to rest.

Tomorrow was the "main event."

Meanwhile, as White Dove rested, the major ninja clans were abuzz with undercurrents.

Ordinary villagers didn't know about the clash between Uchiha Shisui and Root, but the major ninja clans couldn't be kept in the dark. They were all investigating in secret, trying to learn the truth.

But with Root involved, they naturally found nothing.

The next morning!

The entire Uchiha clan was already in an uproar.

The rumor that Shisui had died at the hands of the village leadership had been brewing all night. Once it was confirmed that he hadn't returned, they believed it outright.

So Uchiha Tenzan, the senior elder of the Dove Faction, paid Uchiha Fugaku an early-morning visit, hoping Fugaku would come forward and confirm what had happened to Shisui.

"...I'll go to the Hokage Building right away. Please calm the clan members down for now, Elder."

Uchiha Fugaku naturally didn't refuse.

Uchiha Tenzan got his promise and immediately agreed.

"Did something really happen to Shisui?"

Uchiha Mikoto looked at her husband with concern, her voice filled with worry.

As the clan leader's wife, she wasn't some empty-headed ornament. She was not only the daughter of the previous clan leader, but also a three-Tomoe Uchiha. Of course she understood that if anything happened to Shisui, there'd be no way to mend the relationship between the Uchiha and the village.

"I don't know, but rumors don't appear out of nowhere. I'm going to the Hokage Building right now!"

Uchiha Fugaku shook his head.

He didn't know whether anything had really happened to Shisui, but the rumor meant something had gone wrong on Shisui's end. Otherwise, all it would take was for Shisui to show his face, and the rumor would fall apart on its own.

With that, Uchiha Fugaku made his way to the Hokage Building, his feelings complicated.

He'd always wanted to mend the relationship between his clan and the village. But if something had happened to Shisui, their "bridge," that meant the village had no intention of letting the Uchiha off the hook. He'd have to make preparations in advance.

The main reason Fugaku had turned completely toward the Hawk Faction and its plans for a coup in the original story was that something had happened to Shisui.

If nothing had happened to Shisui, he would still have hope. But if something had, it meant the Uchiha had only one path left.

Soon, Uchiha Fugaku arrived at the Hokage Building.