The White Snake Sage looked Uchiha Chuanyu over with delight.
His skin was still pure white, with no changes at all!
"Good! Good! Excellent!"
"Ryūchi Cave has finally produced a genius!"
Chuanyu scratched his head, embarrassed.
"Grandma White Snake, what's the true meaning of the first stage?"
The White Snake Sage took a puff from her pipe, looking content.
Then she walked over to Chuanyu and gently patted his shoulder. "Try your ninjutsu..."
Chuanyu didn't think much of it.
He lowered his left hand.
A rainbow-colored Raikiri instantly appeared in his palm!
"Th-this is?!"
Chuanyu's face filled with a shock he'd never felt before.
At the same time,
he could clearly sense that Raikiri had completely transformed!
"This is the wonder of Sage Mode..."
Grandma White Snake smiled kindly.
She looked at Chuanyu's face.
The more she looked at him, the more she liked him.
"Let me explain it this way..."
"The senjutsu nature you've developed is a little different from ours..."
"While absorbing and refining it, you can also change the nature of your chakra..."
"If I'm not mistaken, you have all five chakra natures, right?"
She could tell at a glance how many chakra natures he possessed.
No wonder she was the White Snake Sage...
Chuanyu nodded slightly.
"Then I was right..."
"The lightning-style ninjutsu you released was covered in Senjutsu Chakra..."
"And it incorporated other chakra natures..."
Grandma White Snake couldn't hide her delight.
His Senjutsu Chakra had undergone a qualitative change.
Whenever he released a ninjutsu, he could combine it with several chakra natures and transform them into senjutsu!
Chuanyu sucked in a sharp breath!
That meant he could use Senjutsu Chakra to release a ninjutsu combining all five natures at once!
That was what gave the Raikiri in his palm its rainbow-colored glow...
Who could possibly withstand that?
"But don't celebrate too soon..."
"Your constitution is quite rare..."
"Now that you're a disciple of Ryūchi Cave, I'll protect you..."
"Until you reach the Second-Stage Sage level..."
"I won't let you leave..."
"So stay here and make yourself at home..."
The White Snake Sage turned and waved her hand.
Ichikishimahime immediately understood and walked over.
"You'll supervise him..."
"Once he reaches the second stage, let him leave..."
Ichikishimahime glanced at Chuanyu, then nodded.
"Understood..."
"Don't even think about escaping..."
"This entire cave is my body..."
"If I catch you thinking about it..."
"Even with all your talent, I'll eat you!"
"You may go..."
The White Snake Sage transformed back into a giant snake and coiled herself on the head of the bed.
As he watched her slowly close her eyes,
Chuanyu bowed directly to the White Snake Sage.
"Come on..."
"Let's go to the stone chamber next door..."
With that, Ichikishimahime led them away.
Chuanyu knew
that he had now reached the first stage.
If he wanted to break through to the second stage, he would have to refine twice as much Senjutsu Chakra.
The refining process would take longer, too.
Even with the system,
it would take at least a year to fully reach the second stage of senjutsu.
That meant
he only needed to return before the night of the massacre.
Then everything would be fine.
Inside the dim chamber,
Chuanyu sat alone.
Senjutsu Chakra was extremely dense here.
After breaking through to the second stage, he could also absorb and store a large amount of Senjutsu Chakra to help him reach the third stage.
"Danzo..."
"Just you wait. I'll take your life!"
In the silent darkness, Chuanyu slowly closed his eyes.
The Root of Konoha.
Danzo was leisurely sipping his tea.
Seated across from him
was Hyuga Hiashi, head of the Hyuga Main Family.
"Hiashi..."
"I heard something embarrassing happened to your Hyuga Clan some time ago. Is that true?"
Danzo spoke slowly.
A sliver of his right eye showed through his narrowed eyelid.
He stared intently at Hiashi.
He wanted to see whether Hiashi would tell the truth.
At the mention of it, Hiashi looked embarrassed.
"Lord Danzo..."
"You even know about something like that..."
"May I ask who told you?"
Danzo smiled faintly. "In Konoha, Root takes root in everyone's heart."
"Even after they die..."
Chuanyu had once appeared in the Anbu's records.
Though he'd only been on Kakashi's team,
Danzo had bribed a ninja in the squad.
In the end, he'd managed to obtain some information about Chuanyu.
"Hiashi, you need to understand."
"This matter concerns Konoha's security."
"I'm sure your Hyuga Clan would like to do something for Konoha at a time like this..."
Danzo's hint was clear.
Relations between the Uchiha and the village were growing increasingly strained.
If Hiashi could offer help now,
he would undoubtedly earn great merit.
The Hyuga Clan had been quiet for too long.
It was time for them to step into the spotlight...
After thinking it over,
Hiashi decided that, though it was embarrassing,
it was nothing compared to the interests of the entire Hyuga Clan.
"Then I'll tell you..."
"The child was an aberration born to a clan member named Hyuga Natsu and the former Uchiha Clan Head."
"Like you, Lord Danzo, we believed the Uchiha were an evil clan..."
"So we kept the matter hidden at the time..."
"But we never acknowledged that the child had Hyuga blood..."
"In the end, it was Kagami Uchiha who granted him a clan name..."
"But the former clan head ordered that he couldn't return to the Uchiha unless Kagami Uchiha died..."
"Only after Kagami's death was the child brought to the Uchiha..."
When Hiashi finished speaking, he sighed helplessly.
It seemed this would always remain a source of shame for the Hyuga in his heart.
Danzo furrowed his brows.
A sharp glint flashed in his right eye.
"Kagami Uchiha's child..."
"So he's Uchiha Shisui's half-brother..."
"What's the child's name?"
Hiashi thought for a moment, then answered seriously. "Uchiha Chuanyu."
Danzo already had a good idea of what was going on.
The remaining eye must be in Uchiha Chuanyu's hands.
"The Uchiha have kept their secrets well..."
"Hmph..."
"This time..."
"I'll obtain the full power of those eyes..."
Danzo rose and looked at the gentle sunlight beyond Root.
He seemed to be basking in it.
After spending so many years struggling beneath Konoha,
he could finally stand in the sun...
"Lord Danzo..."
"And what about me...?"
Hiashi hurriedly reminded Danzo.
He knew he needed to choose the right side now.
In his eyes, the Uchiha Clan Massacre was already inevitable.
And after that, it would be the Hyuga's time to shine!
"Hiashi, put your mind at ease..."
"Soon, your Hyuga Clan will be able to represent Konoha..."
Hiashi was overjoyed.
"Rest assured, Lord Danzo!"
"If you need anything, I'll do everything I can to help!"
In an alley in the Uchiha district,
Itachi carried Sasuke on his back as he slowly headed home.
Chuanyu had been gone for three days.
He had a vague feeling...
that something bad was about to happen...
Before you continue