Chapter 41

"As long as I found the Child of Prophecy and taught him well, he would definitely change the entire Ninja World!"

"Even if he couldn't achieve complete peace, he could at least bring the Ninja World onto a better path!"

"I believed that!"

Jiraiya repeated those words to himself over and over.

They had become one of the pillars keeping him going.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Konoha.

The afternoon sunlight slanted through the window as Uchiha Yan knocked on Kushina's door.

The moment Kushina opened it, she froze. Then her eyes lit up, and she eagerly pulled him inside.

"Oh, Yan! You finally came! Get in here, I just happen to have a few questions for you!"

But as soon as the words left her mouth, she suddenly stopped and tilted her head, looking Uchiha Yan up and down.

She even circled around him once, her brows knitting slightly.

"Hm? No, no, something's off."

"What's off?"

Uchiha Yan smiled faintly. He knew exactly what she had noticed.

Because he had deliberately released a trace of his Uzumaki Physique aura.

Kushina leaned closer and lightly sniffed him.

"Your aura... it feels a little different. It feels so familiar!"

Her eyes widened as though she had realized something. She grabbed Uchiha Yan's arm, her voice trembling with excitement.

"Did you succeed? That Uzumaki Sage Body... did you figure it out?"

"Hehe, that's exactly it!"

Uchiha Yan's lips curled up in a smug grin.

If he and Kushina had not set up a Soundproof Barrier beforehand, he would not have dared to say something like that so openly.

"Really?"

Kushina's eyes went wide with delight, and she threw herself into his arms. "You're amazing! You actually pulled it off! Is there anything you can't do?"

Uchiha Yan smiled and gently flicked the tip of her nose. "Yeah. I can't give birth."

Kushina's face instantly turned red. She hurriedly buried her head against his chest and lightly punched him. "You jerk, you're teasing me again! You're still a long way from having anything to do with giving birth!"

"All right, all right."

Uchiha Yan stopped teasing her. He pulled her out of his arms and rubbed her head. "I came today to teach you the Uzumaki Sage Body Cultivation Method I developed, along with the cultivation method for its accompanying bloodline ability—the Mind's Eye of the Kagura."

"Close your eyes and focus."

Kushina obediently closed her eyes.

Uchiha Yan raised a finger and gently tapped her forehead, directly transmitting both cultivation methods to her with spiritual power.

Kushina hurriedly processed the information. Only after quite a while did she open her eyes again, her face full of excitement. "That's great! With these two cultivation methods, I can speed up the growth of my Sage Body!"

"And I've heard the elders of my clan mention the Mind's Eye of the Kagura before. Only those with a sufficiently pure Uzumaki Bloodline could possibly awaken it. I was unlucky and never awakened it, but I never expected you to develop a cultivation method for it too."

She truly did not know how to praise Uchiha Yan anymore.

Even the word "monster" was not enough to describe him.

"Oh, right!"

Kushina suddenly thought of something and looked at him curiously, her head tilted. "Yan, now that you have an Uzumaki Sage Body too, does that mean you count as one of the Uzumaki Clan?"

Uchiha Yan shrugged. "If you think so, then sure."

Kushina leaned closer with a mischievous smile, deliberately teasing him. "You made it with my blood, right? Doesn't that mean you have my bloodline inside you? If that's the case... hehehe..."

Thunk!

Before she could finish, she received a chop on the forehead.

Uchiha Yan rolled his eyes irritably. "What, are you trying to become my mother or something?"

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I extracted a thread of Uzumaki Bloodline essence from your blood, condensed it into an Uzumaki Bloodline Seed, and only then succeeded in cultivating it. It doesn't contain your bloodline at all. Hmph!"

What was this girl even thinking about?

Could it be that she actually wanted his body to carry her blood?

"Huh?"

Kushina covered her head and blinked blankly. "So that's how it was?"

She felt a little disappointed inside.

But on second thought, that was probably better. At least there would not be any strange complications if she and Yan got together in the future.

Thinking that, Kushina secretly glanced at Yan.

"All right, get cultivating."

Uchiha Yan urged her, "You have Uzumaki Clan blood in your body. Use your bloodline power to condense a seed. In the early stages, you can rely on your own bloodline to ripen it."

"If you follow this path, your Uzumaki Sage Body can reach mastery in two years at most."

"And don't forget to put serious effort into the Mind's Eye of the Kagura as well. It's an excellent sensory ability. Learning it will only benefit you."

He had not forgotten the hidden danger surrounding Kushina.

He was not sure whether Hidden Cloud would still come to abduct her after his interference.

But his instincts told him that it was probably inevitable.

After all, the Third Hokage and Danzo seemed to have had a hand in it.

There was never anything wrong with preparing in advance.

"To prevent any accidents, I need to spend more time studying ninjutsu and raise my combat strength further."

"I also need to complete my combat system."

At present, his strongest ability was Spiritual Illusion Technique, with taijutsu coming second.

That was far from enough.

"Got it. I'll remember."

Kushina nodded seriously after hearing him out.

She understood that Yan was thinking of her.

After that, Uchiha Yan explained some of Kushina's questions regarding sealing techniques, the Soul Refinement Art, and the Basic Body-Tempering Technique.

He also practiced taijutsu and sparred with her for a while before leaving.

For the following days, Yan devoted most of his energy to studying and researching ninjutsu.

A day passed.

[You underwent intensive training in the Monster Strength Technique. With your exceptional comprehension and control over Chakra and your body, your progress was extremely rapid. The Monster Strength Technique has reached perfection.]

[You expanded your research based on the Monster Strength Technique and gained an insight, creating Ninjutsu Body Art: Eight Extremes Collapse.]

[Ninjutsu Body Art: Eight Extremes Collapse]: A nintaijutsu derived from the Monster Strength Technique. When cultivated to perfection, it allows the user to control Chakra and unleash eight layers of terrifying impact force, each layer fiercer than the last.

Boom!

Uchiha Yan slammed his fist into a metal wall.

Cracks instantly spread across the wall from the center of his fist.

Iron dust showered down.

When he probed it with spiritual power, he discovered that the wall's interior had already been ravaged beyond recognition.

"Not bad."

Uchiha Yan nodded in satisfaction, thoroughly pleased with its destructive power.

By his estimate, even a Kage Level expert would be finished on the spot if they took that punch head-on.

Five days passed.

As Uchiha Yan looked through the information emerging in his mind, even he was somewhat astonished.

[Body Flicker Technique has reached perfection. It can now be activated without hand seals, greatly increasing neural reaction speed. You have also comprehended Body Flicker.]

[After further research, you gained another insight and developed the cultivation methods for Flash Step and Uchiha Six Forms: Shave.]

[By combining Body Flicker Technique, Flash Step, Shave, and the force-generation techniques of Eight Extremes Collapse, you have also developed Moon Step and Flash: Burst Step.]

[Flash Step]: More than twice as fast as ordinary Body Flicker Technique, but requires control over Chakra and sufficient meridian strength.

[Uchiha Six Forms: Shave]: Uses force more ruthlessly and is at least twice as fast as ordinary Body Flicker Technique, but demands formidable physical fitness.

[Uchiha Six Forms: Moonwalk]: An extended version of Shave. Once mastered, it allows the user to run through the air.

[Flash: Burst Step]: A savage upgraded version of Flash Step combined with Shave, incorporating the concept of Eight Extremes Collapse's multiple bursts. This is a move only lunatics would dare touch. Its demands on Chakra, bodily control, meridians, and physical strength are absurdly high. Don't try it unless you're a genius.

"Tsk."

Uchiha Yan clicked his tongue as he absorbed the details of these four movement techniques.

This time, his gains were truly enormous.