Uzumaki Rika

Of course, he knew that was impossible. The creator of this technique was unknown, and its origins were extremely ancient.

The key to the Spirit Transformation Technique was turning one's spirit into a spiritual body. Once that step was complete, the technique was considered mastered.

After that, all that remained was to use it skillfully and steadily improve one's proficiency.

It wasn't all that different from other ninjutsu.

"This technique seems quite suited to members of the Uchiha Clan who have awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan." After giving it a brief try, Uchiha Akira nodded in satisfaction.

In his view, the Spirit Transformation Technique really was well suited to Uchiha Clan members with the Mangekyō Sharingan.

There was no doubt that the Spirit Transformation Technique was a Yin Release secret technique, placing it in the same domain as the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

Moreover, after awakening their eyes, Uchiha Clan members also experienced a corresponding increase in their spiritual strength, though that wasn't its primary aspect.

Even so, after awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Clan members were certainly far stronger than ordinary people in terms of spiritual strength.

Compared to other shinobi, members of the Uchiha Clan had a much greater chance of mastering the Spirit Transformation Technique.

After Minato Namikaze became the Fourth Hokage, small-scale conflicts still broke out from time to time in the Shinobi World, but overall, peace had returned.

Although the Five Great Shinobi Nations had not formally signed a peace treaty, full-scale wars had come to an end, and everyone had entered a period of recovery.

Time passed in a flash, and the end of Konoha Year 50 arrived.

After relentless training, Uchiha Akira had more or less mastered the Strength of a Hundred secret technique. After sparring with his clan members a few times, he had grown quite adept at using it.

The Spirit Transformation Technique was difficult to learn, but Uchiha Akira had at least grasped its basics and could already turn his spirit into a spiritual body.

Though he still lacked skill in using it, he had nonetheless managed to master the technique.

Of course, he had yet to learn how to use the Spirit Transformation Technique's various abilities, such as splitting and regenerating his spiritual body, sensing with it, and imbuing it with chakra.

With the year's end approaching, Uchiha Akira planned to go to Kusagakure and bring Uzumaki Rika back.

According to the Ninja Cat's intelligence, Uzumaki Rika was the name of the Uzumaki Clan woman in Kusagakure.

Uchiha Akira believed that Uzumaki Rika was almost certainly Karin's mother.

Uchiha Mikoto was nearly three months into her second pregnancy.

Karin was a month older than Sasuke, and according to the Ninja Cat's intelligence, Uzumaki Rika had indeed conceived a month earlier than Uchiha Mikoto.

It would be best to bring her back to Konoha now, while she could still move around fairly easily.

Once the baby was born, bringing her back would be much more difficult.

Moreover, according to the Ninja Cat's intelligence, Uzumaki Rika was in a rather poor situation.

At first, things hadn't been too bad for her in Kusagakure, since her husband was a Chunin from the village.

With someone looking after her, even though she was being used as a living medicine source, she had managed to get by.

But two months ago, her husband had died in an accident.

Things had taken a turn for the worse after that.

Especially recently, people had learned that she could heal injuries by letting others bite her.

Now, Uzumaki Rika had practically become a living blood bag in Kusagakure. At this rate, she wouldn't survive much longer.

Life force couldn't come from nowhere.

Uchiha Akira suspected that the ability essentially redistributed life force.

A person's life force was limited. Giving away a little was fine, and it could be replenished.

But losing a large amount would certainly put her own life at risk.

Therefore, Uchiha Akira decided to step in and bring her back.

Minato Namikaze was in power now, and the Uchiha Clan's situation in Konoha was considerably better than it had been under the Third Hokage. There weren't as many restrictions.

As Minato Namikaze gradually gained control of the Hokage's authority, Danzo's Root had pulled back across the board, and its activities had dwindled as well. They were no longer so active.

It was impossible for Uchiha Akira to leave the village without anyone noticing. Several of Konoha's top officials knew he had left.

Without Hashirama Senju Cells transplanted, he couldn't use Kamui recklessly. A few uses might be enough to ruin that eye.

Kusagakure was a small shinobi village, nowhere near as prosperous as Konoha. One could see from one end of it to the other.

The streets were extremely old, as if they hadn't been repaired in decades. The village seemed decades behind the times, with not a trace of modernity.

The people walking along the streets wore tattered clothes and had dull eyes, giving them a lifeless air.

Suddenly, a flurry of footsteps sounded. Four shinobi wearing Kusagakure Forehead Protectors rushed through the village gates, carrying several people who were barely alive.

As soon as they entered the village, they began shouting, "Hurry! Someone's injured! Go bring that red-haired woman here!"

Amid the commotion, passersby turned to look at them.

"Injured again? They really are careless!"

"That little bit of damage is nothing. With that woman around, one bite and it'll be completely healed. It won't even take a minute!"

"Heh, ever since we got that woman, we haven't needed to be so cautious on missions. As long as we don't die on the spot and make it back to the village, we'll survive!"

"Exactly. That red-haired woman is a treasure to our village!"

The people on the street chatted among themselves, then turned their gazes toward a house in the corner, locked with a huge padlock.

After a flurry of activity, the men carrying the wounded opened the locked house.

Inside, a young woman with long red hair and ragged clothes sat on the edge of the bed.

Her face was numb, her eyes vacant and lifeless, as if she had lost her soul.

Chains restrained her hands and feet, binding her inside the room.

Her exposed, pale arms were covered in bite marks.

When she saw people enter, the red-haired woman trembled and shrank back in terror, as if trying to curl up in the corner.

"What are you hiding for? Huh?" The man who had opened the door grinned viciously and shouted, "Get over here already! Be sensible, and don't make us do it ourselves!"

At his words, the red-haired woman shakily got to her feet and inched toward them.

"Hmph!" Seeing her like this, the man who had opened the door flashed a cold look.

He grabbed the chain fastened to the wall and yanked it hard.

"Ah..."

The red-haired woman cried out in alarm, was pulled to the floor, and then dragged over in front of them.

The man grabbed her clothes and pulled her arm over to a wounded man sitting on the ground.

Just then, a plump orange cat jumped in through the window, appearing right in front of them.

Its yellow eyes swept over everyone in the room, its chubby face full of disdain.

The Kusagakure shinobi were about to chase it out when the sound of footsteps came from outside.

Hearing them, the men hurriedly looked toward the door.

Then a pair of scarlet Sharingan appeared before their eyes.

With several thuds, all seven people in the room collapsed.