Cultivating Qi

Amada listened to Danzo's remarks and noted that Danzo's hostility toward the Uchiha clan was far more profound than he had imagined.

That undisguised hatred seemed to be rooted deep within his very bones.

Perhaps the annihilation of the Uchiha clan was not the work of Uchiha Itachi alone.

This thought suddenly surfaced in Amada's mind.

He recalled the tragic massacre of the Uchiha clan in the future.

Although it appeared on the surface to be the work of Uchiha Itachi, was there a deeper conspiracy lurking behind it?

Did Danzo and Root play some sort of role in it?

Thinking of this, a chill could not help but creep into Amada's heart.

To avoid becoming a casualty in the Uchiha massacre, Amada's only way out was to improve his strength with all his might.

Only by becoming strong enough could he cope with every risk.

After returning home, he walked straight to the basement.

There, he had already inscribed the Qimen Bagua Array according to the records in the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements.

The patterns of the array were complex and profound, with every line seemingly containing the ultimate truths of heaven and earth.

Amada sat cross-legged in the center of the array, closed his eyes, and calmed his mind.

He began to attempt to resonate with heaven and earth according to the cultivation method in the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements.

"Heaven and earth as the furnace, creation as the craftsman; gather qi into a sea, transform the void into reality..."

Amada recited the cultivation mantra silently in his heart.

His mind gradually entered an ethereal state, as if he had merged into one with heaven and earth.

"Heart like still water, intent like a soaring dragon; contain the universe within an inch, refine all things within one's own body..."

As the mantra deepened, a faint golden light began to emerge around Amada's body.

The light circled his body like flowing water, moving slowly until it finally flowed into his body along his meridians.

Time slipped away quietly during his cultivation, and Amada was completely immersed in this mysterious state, forgetting the disturbances of the outside world.

It was not until dawn that he woke from his cultivation, surprised to find that he had fallen asleep unknowingly during the process.

Immediately, he felt a trace of warmth emanating from his dantian.

Joy surged in his heart, and he carefully sensed the changes within his body.

Sure enough, there was a faint yet distinct stream of heat in his dantian, as if a seed were quietly sprouting.

"Success! Is this 'Qi'?"

Excitement welled up in Amada's heart.

This stream of heat was exactly the "Qi" described in the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements, a power even more mysterious than chakra.

Although it was still very weak, it meant that he had taken the most critical step.

Amada stood up and stretched his body, discovering that despite cultivating for the entire night, his spirit was exceptionally full, feeling even more refreshed than if he had slept.

Next is constant accumulation.

Amada planned silently in his heart.

He decided that from this day on, he would use cultivation to replace sleep while continuing to study the other contents of the Divine Mechanism Hundred Refinements.

Walking out of the basement, Amada looked up at the rising sun.

"I may not be able to change the fate of the Uchiha, but I will never become one of its sacrifices."

Amada whispered.

A few days later, in a forest within the Land of Fire, a ninja was fleeing in a disheveled state.

He wore a Konoha forehead protector, but a deep scratch ran across it, indicating that he was a missing-nin.

His breathing was rapid and his footsteps were chaotic; clearly, he had been running for a long time, and his stamina was nearing its limit.

Suddenly, the sound of something piercing the air came from behind, and countless shuriken descended upon him like a rainstorm.

The missing-nin gritted his teeth, his kunai moving rapidly to deflect the incoming shuriken one by one.

However, he did not notice that one of the shuriken was wrapped in a faint flash of lightning.

"Clang!"

The moment he blocked that shuriken with his kunai, the light of the Lightning Style erupted, spreading along the kunai to his entire body.

"Ah—!"

The missing-nin let out a miserable shriek, his body instantly paralyzed by the Lightning Style, emitting wisps of blue smoke before he collapsed helplessly to the ground.

Just then, two figures darted out from the woods; it was Asuma and Kurenai.

Asuma stepped on the missing-nin's back to hold him firmly in place, while Kurenai quickly bound him with rope.

Amada leaped lightly from the tree and walked up to the rogue ninja:

"Everything was going fine, so why did you have to become a rogue ninja?"

The rogue ninja struggled a few times, but finding he could not break free, he could only grit his teeth and say:

"How could you people understand? The suffering of low-level ninjas like us. I've just had enough—enough of this hopeless life!"

Asuma frowned, tightening his grip slightly:

"No matter what your reasons are, betraying the village is still betraying the village. You must pay the price for your actions."

The rogue ninja let out a cold laugh, his eyes filled with resentment:

"The price? Heh, what has the village ever given us? Besides endless missions and sacrifices, what else is there? I just wanted to live for myself for once!"

Amada looked at the rogue ninja and sighed, saying nothing more.

The three of them escorted the rogue ninja back to Konoha.

After handing him over to the Anbu, the mission officially concluded.

Ever since he was promoted to Chunin, Kushina-sensei had begun letting him lead teams on various missions.

Asuma stretched his back and said with a smile:

"Finally over. This mission went pretty smoothly."

Amada said calmly:

"It's mainly because the target this time was only a Genin, so the mission difficulty wasn't very high."

A look of confusion appeared on Kurenai's face.

She frowned and asked in a low voice:

"What did that rogue ninja mean by 'low-level ninja'? Aren't we all the same kind of ninja? Why would he feel it's unfair?"

Amada glanced at Kurenai, feeling a sense of helplessness in his heart.

He knew that the environments in which Kurenai and Asuma grew up made it difficult for them to understand the plight of those at the bottom.

He sighed:

"This question... it's not easy for me to explain. You can ask your father when you get back; he should be able to give you an answer."

Kurenai nodded, and although she still had doubts, she did not press the matter further.

The backgrounds of Kurenai and Asuma determined that their ninja careers would be different from those of ordinary ninjas.

Asuma was the son of the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, while Kurenai was the daughter of the head of a Konoha genjutsu clan.

Given these backgrounds, the village naturally provided them with more protection and care.

Their missions were usually not overly dangerous, and they were even assigned elite Jonin as instructors to ensure their safety.

However, for those ordinary ninjas without such backgrounds, the situation was completely different.

They were often assigned high-risk missions, some of which even had extremely high mortality rates.

These ninjas had to risk their lives to carry out missions for the sake of the village, yet the rewards they received were far from commensurate with their efforts.

This unfair treatment was precisely the reason why many low-level ninjas felt such despair and anger.