Ever since that awkward time he spent training in Yin Healing Wound Bullet with Tsunade,
the sky over Konoha had, at some point, become veiled in a gloom that was hard to dispel.
The air was thick with tension. The streets, once bustling with people, now seemed somewhat deserted.
Uneasy reports kept coming from the borders. Small-scale skirmishes and probing clashes were spreading like a plague through the regions where the great nations met.
The sandstorms of Sunagakure seemed to carry more aggression, and the thunder of Kumogakure grew increasingly restless. Iwagakure and Kirigakure were also secretly mobilizing their forces.
The shadow of the Third Shinobi World War loomed like a flash flood ready to break, its muffled rumble already audible in the distance.
The lights in the Hokage Office stayed on all night. The mission board at the assignment center had noticeably more A-rank and S-rank missions, while many familiar jōnin faces were appearing in the village far less often.
The gears of war had begun to turn.
Amid the atmosphere of an impending storm, Uchiha Ling finished a day of independent training.
His Sage Art training in Shikkotsu Forest was progressing steadily. Though he was still a long way from entering Sage Mode at will, the trace of Senjutsu Chakra he had fused with his own had already elevated his perception and control of energy to a new level.
However, his jōnin instructor, Tsunade, along with Jiraiya and Orochimaru—the "Sannin" of Konoha—had been urgently dispatched by the Hokage's office to key border regions to oversee the situation and prepare for a possible full-scale conflict.
This meant that Uchiha Ling had temporarily lost his assigned team leader and become a "free" ninja without a permanent squad.
Uchiha Ling stood on the training ground in the Uchiha Compound, gazing at the flowing waters of the Naka River, his eyes deep and thoughtful.
"System, show me my personal status!"
[Host: Uchiha Ling] [Age: 13] [Bloodline: Two-Tomoe Sharingan, Beginner Uzumaki Constitution] [Chakra: 20 cards] [Affinities: Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, Water, Yin, Yang] [Overall Combat Assessment: Jōnin] [Skills: Three Body Technique, Uchiha Style Body Technique, Shurikenjutsu Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique, Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Fire Style: Fire Dragon Technique Hell Viewing Technique, Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique, Haze Clone Technique, Interrogation Genjutsu, Kari-shin Technique, Body Freeze Technique Advanced Chakra Refinement Method, Chakra Control (Proficient), Hand Seals (Proficient) Rasengan (Proficient), Strength of a Hundred (Skilled), Summoning Technique, Shadow Clone Technique (Proficient), Shikkotsu Forest Sage Art (Beginner), Mystical Palm Technique (Skilled), Yin Healing Wound Bullet (Skilled)] [Personal Items: None] [Emotion Points: 23462] [Overall Evaluation: A jōnin-level powerhouse. Tsk—truly terrifying.]
Over the years, Uchiha Ling had saved up all the Emotion Points he earned. Apart from the Chakra he'd gained as he grew older and the jutsu he'd learned after becoming Tsunade's apprentice, nothing else had increased.
Don't ask how he'd managed to save up so many Emotion Points. It was a habit he'd picked up in his previous life, when he'd played Naruto Mobile and saved up coins.
With the Third Shinobi World War fast approaching, Uchiha Ling decided it was time to stock up.
"System, open the shop!" Uchiha Ling rubbed his hands together excitedly.
[Two-Tomoe Sharingan → Three-Tomoe Sharingan: 5000 Emotion Points]
"Sold!" Uchiha Ling wasn't about to count on upgrading to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan himself.
There were so many members of the Uchiha Clan who had been hardened by war and lost loved ones, yet still hadn't awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Uchiha Ling wasn't going to put himself through that.
"Keep going!"
[Three-Tomoe Sharingan → Mangekyō Sharingan: 15000]
Uchiha Ling decided to max out his Sharingan first. After all, once he had the Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd be a bona fide Kage Level fighter.
With Kage Level strength, he could collect plenty of Emotion Points worth 300 each—things like [Despair, Resentment]—during the Third Shinobi World War.
In an instant, a vast, icy flood of Yin Release Chakra, far greater than anything he'd experienced before, surged from deep within the system and forcibly poured into Uchiha Ling's eyes.
His eyes, which had just upgraded to the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, opened involuntarily. The black tomoe spun wildly against their crimson backdrop, twisting, tearing apart, and reforming.
A searing pain shot from his eyeballs straight into the depths of his soul, as if red-hot irons were churning inside his skull.
At the same time, the system simulated emotions so intense they could shake the soul, crashing against his mental defenses like a tsunami.
This was a substitute for the agony of losing a loved one—the pain one had to endure to awaken the Mangekyō.
If the system hadn't cushioned the impact, this wave alone would have been enough to shatter his mind.
Amid the searing pain and emotional maelstrom, the world before Uchiha Ling's eyes twisted beyond recognition. At last, the spinning tomoe stopped and fused, forming a complex pattern unlike any other.
The pattern resembled a blossoming mandala, imbued with spatial ripples, yet also resembled an eye that gazed upon fate, cold and merciless.
When everything finally settled, Uchiha Ling slowly opened his eyes. The world had changed. It was as if a veil had fallen from everything, leaving it clearer—and more fragile.
Uchiha Ling could feel two new and powerful ocular techniques within his eyes.
The Mangekyō Sharingan had been attained.
The pain ebbed like a receding tide. An unprecedented ability to glimpse part of the world's true nature, along with two potent powers poised to emerge, filled his eyes.
Uchiha Ling slowly opened his eyes, and the world appeared completely new to him.
First, he directed his perception toward his left eye.
Its pattern resembled a sacred sapling twined with countless symbols that pulsed with the rhythm of life. At its center was a profound light of chaos, as if it could give birth to all things—Kamumusubi.
With the slightest movement of his mind, a gentle yet immense life force flowed from his left eye, nourishing his whole body. It repaired the minor damage left by his breakthrough, drove away all fatigue, and left him feeling vigorous, as if his vitality were limitless.
He turned his gaze to an experimental rabbit in a cage at the edge of the training ground. With a shift of his thoughts, an invisible force drew upon it. The rabbit's meager life force was instantly stripped away and absorbed into his body, while the animal quickly withered and died.
This bloodsucking ability ensured he could keep fighting for an astonishingly long time.
But its most important life-saving ability was yet to come. Uchiha Ling could clearly sense an ultimate law hidden deep within his left eye: "Life Regression."
When he suffered an attack powerful enough to kill him instantly, this ability would activate automatically.
At that moment, his body would enter a strange state of "false death" in the blink of an eye. All his life force would retreat into his left eye, rendering him immune to the fatal blow. In an extremely short time, he would re-form on the spot or a short distance away, restored to the state he'd been in just before the attack.
It was like having one perfect chance to save himself with a Famous Sword, but this ability consumed a tremendous amount of ocular power and had a cooldown.
Next, he focused his awareness on his right eye.
Its pattern was ferocious, like several purple bolts of lightning tearing across the sky and weaving into a net around a majestic core that resembled the eye of a thunder god. Arcs of electricity leaped across it, radiating an aura of destruction and authority—Takemikazuchi.
When Uchiha Ling poured Chakra into his right eye, the air around him ionized in an instant, crackling and popping. Azure arcs of lightning ran uncontrollably over his skin.
His control over Lightning Release Chakra reached an unprecedented level, as if he were the master of lightning itself.
The true core ability of his right eye, however, was a transformation called "Thunder God Descent."
When he unleashed the technique with all his might, the pattern in his right eye would flare brightly, and countless torrents of lightning drawn from the void would completely envelop him!
During the process, he seemed to become a being of pure lightning and entered a brief state of "absolute invulnerability." While it lasted, he was immune to every form of external attack, and his speed, strength, and Lightning Release were amplified to their utmost limits.
He could use this state to move through any obstacle or unleash a devastating lightning strike.
It was undoubtedly his ultimate trump card for turning the tide of battle, but it placed an enormous strain on his ocular power and body, so he couldn't use it often.
His eyes opened wide. His left eye held an inner glow of life, brimming with vitality and the chance to survive a desperate situation. A hint of lightning glimmered in his right eye, as if he could summon a storm and become an invincible thunder god at any moment.
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