Konoha,
The Uchiha Clan Compound,
In a certain courtyard,
Uchiha Chen was smiling as he saw Tsunade out. Only after she had left did he close the gate.
The smile faded from his face. Uchiha Chen walked into the courtyard and sat down on a chair, his expression thoughtful.
It had been over half a month since he returned to Konoha.
In the first few days, Tsunade treated him, and with the terrifying healing ability of the Self-Healing Technique, Uchiha Chen's injuries had completely healed.
As for the weakness caused by excessive chakra use, even after several days of rest, he still hadn't fully recovered. He had to admit, chakra recovered far too slowly!
Uchiha Chen couldn't help complaining.
After a while, Uchiha Chen suddenly opened his eyes wide. A gleam flashed through them as he murmured,
"Tsunade still suspects me, but it's nothing to worry about."
Although his injuries had completely healed, Tsunade still occasionally found an excuse to examine him with various instruments, claiming she was worried he might have some hidden injuries.
Uchiha Chen could guess what Tsunade was thinking, so he cooperated with all her "examinations." After all, he was confident she wouldn't find anything.
Thinking of the puzzled look on Tsunade's face as she furrowed her brows just now, Uchiha Chen couldn't help letting the corners of his mouth turn up.
"My body may have recovered, but I'm still far too weak. A Chunin's strength isn't nearly enough to survive in this world.
What a shame I'd already become a Chunin when I crossed over. If only I'd been a Genin instead."
After all, everyone knew that Konoha's Genin were the Naruto World's ceiling when it came to combat strength.
"Even though I awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, I still have far too little chakra. I used Tsukuyomi just once, and I'd already exhausted too much chakra!"
At that moment, Uchiha Chen couldn't help thinking of the future Kakashi Hatake, who would share his predicament.
He wondered if Hatake Kakashi had received Uchiha Obito's Sharingan yet...
Uchiha Chen didn't dwell on it. He shook his head; he wasn't in a position to worry about anyone else.
After all, he wasn't safe now, nor would he be in the future. And being a member of the Uchiha Clan only made things more dangerous.
The Uchiha Clan had two madmen: Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi. On the eve of the Uchiha Clan's coup, they would wipe out the entire clan. What a hellish start!
From the original owner's memories, Uchiha Chen knew it was already the year 50 of Konoha, and the Third Shinobi World War would soon be over.
That also meant there were only a few years left until the night the Uchiha Clan was massacred.
If events followed the original story, Namikaze Minato would take over as Fourth Hokage. Then the original protagonist, Uzumaki Naruto, would be born, and the Nine-Tails Incident would break out. Minato and his wife would both die in that battle.
The Nine-Tails Incident happened because certain people were pulling strings behind the scenes, leading Konoha to suspect the Uchiha Clan. The clan was then subjected to suspicion and ostracism, which indirectly strengthened its resolve to rebel.
"If Minato and his wife hadn't died in the Nine-Tails Incident, perhaps the Uchiha Clan wouldn't have staged a coup."
Uchiha Chen stroked his chin and mused.
In the original story, Namikaze Minato and Uchiha Fugaku, the Uchiha Clan's leader, were friends. If Minato hadn't died, perhaps the Uchiha Clan wouldn't have been ostracized, making a coup far less likely.
So, if he wanted to change the fate of Minato and his wife in the Nine-Tails Incident, he needed to become powerful.
If he couldn't change their fate, he would have to increase his strength as much as possible over the next few years. Even if he couldn't stop the Uchiha Clan's coup, at the very least, he had to survive Uchiha Obito and Uchiha Itachi.
No matter which path he chose, he needed great strength as a foundation.
But there was no way he could become strong enough to take on Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito together in just a few short years by following this world's usual methods of cultivation.
So he had to find another way.
His greatest advantage was his heaven-defying Max-Level Comprehension!
His greatest weakness right now was his meager chakra reserves.
The Chakra Refinement Method, passed down through the Ninja World since ancient times, appeared in his mind. He began following its instructions and refining chakra.
Just as Uchiha Chen had expected, the results were poor!
Drawing on his previous experience creating a technique, Uchiha Chen already had an idea. He would use his max-level comprehension to create a Chakra Refinement Method suited to him!
He continued refining chakra.
Refining chakra meant extracting the energy of one's body and spirit, mixing them together, and ultimately producing chakra.
Uchiha Chen devoted himself completely to observing the chakra-refinement process.
An hour later...
[By continuously observing the chakra-refinement process, you have gained a deep understanding of the Chakra Refinement Method. You have reached enlightenment and created the Advanced Chakra Refinement Method.]
"Advanced Chakra Refinement Method? Let's test it out!"
Uchiha Chen raised an eyebrow. Without changing his posture, he closed his eyes and began practicing the Advanced Chakra Refinement Method.
A few minutes later, Uchiha Chen opened his eyes again.
"The speed of chakra refinement is at least ten times faster than before. As expected of Max-Level Comprehension. But this still isn't enough!"
Uchiha Chen closed his eyes once more and continued practicing the Advanced Chakra Refinement Method.
Five hours later...
[You have gained a deep understanding of the Advanced Chakra Refinement Method. By continually contemplating it, you have reached enlightenment and created the Innate Breathing Technique, a method for cultivating Senjutsu Chakra.] [Innate Breathing Technique]: Absorb perfectly balanced physical and spiritual energies, combine them with Natural Energy, and form Senjutsu Chakra.
"Senjutsu Chakra? And perfectly balanced, too! Doesn't that mean I can enter Sage Mode?!"
Uchiha Chen's eyes lit up. Sage Mode was practically one of the most powerful combat modes in the Naruto World. He couldn't believe he'd obtained it so easily!
Truly, what an incredible cheat!
Although this wasn't his first time using his cheat, Uchiha Chen was still deeply shocked. He'd never expected to create a Senjutsu Chakra cultivation method outright!
Even in his excitement, Uchiha Chen didn't forget to immediately practice the Innate Breathing Technique and see how it worked.
In an instant, Natural Energy surged in from every direction, rushing into Uchiha Chen's body.
"Excellent! Excellent! The Innate Breathing Technique really is incredible!"
Uchiha Chen could clearly feel his body changing. The weakness caused by his earlier chakra depletion was gradually disappearing!