Chapter 41

"Once I find the Child of Prophecy and teach him well, he'll definitely be able to change the entire Ninja World!"

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

"I believe 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, Xuan! You're finally here! Come in, I just happened to have a few questions for you!"

But just as the words left her mouth, she abruptly stopped and tilted her head as she looked Uchiha Yan up and down.

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

"Hmm? No, something's off."

"What's off?"

Uchiha Yan smiled, knowing full well what she had noticed.

Because he had deliberately released a trace of his Uzumaki constitution's aura.

Kushina leaned closer and lightly sniffed.

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

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

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

"Hehe, that's exactly it!"

The corner of Uchiha Yan's mouth curled up, his grin rather smug.

If he and Kushina had not set up a soundproof barrier beforehand, he would not have dared to say something like that out loud.

"Seriously?"

Kushina's eyes went wide with delight, and she threw herself into his arms. "You're incredible! You managed even that? Is there anything you can't do?"

Smiling, Uchiha Yan reached out and gently flicked her nose. "Yeah. I can't give birth."

Kushina's face instantly flushed 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 being able to give birth!"

"Alright, alright."

Uchiha Yan stopped teasing her, pulled her out of his arms, and casually ruffled her hair. "I came today to teach you the Uzumaki Sage Body cultivation method I developed, along with the cultivation method for its corresponding bloodline ability—Kagura's Mind's Eye."

"Close your eyes and focus."

Kushina obediently closed her eyes.

Uchiha Yan raised a finger and lightly tapped her forehead, directly transmitting both cultivation methods through spiritual power.

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

"Also, I heard the clan elders mention Kagura's Mind's Eye before. Only people with sufficiently pure Uzumaki bloodlines have a chance of awakening it. I was unlucky and never awakened it, but I never expected you to develop even a cultivation method for it."

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

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

"Oh, right!"

Kushina suddenly thought of something and tilted her head curiously at him. "Xuan, 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 grin. "You made it using my blood, right? Doesn't that mean you have my bloodline inside you? If that's the case... hehehe..."

Thump!

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

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

"Sorry to disappoint you. I extracted a strand of Uzumaki bloodline essence from your blood, condensed it into an Uzumaki bloodline seed, and only then cultivated it successfully. It doesn't contain your bloodline at all. Hmph!"

What was this girl even thinking?

Could she really be hoping that her blood flowed through him?

"Huh?"

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

She felt a little disappointed.

But on second thought, it was probably for the best. At least it would prevent all sorts of weird complications if she ended up with Xuan in the future.

Thinking that, Kushina secretly glanced at Xuan.

"Alright, hurry up and cultivate."

Uchiha Yan urged her, "You have Uzumaki Clan blood in your body. Use your bloodline power to condense a seed, then nurture it with your own bloodline in the early stages."

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

"Oh, and you need to work hard on Kagura's Mind's Eye too. It's an excellent sensory ability. Learning it will only benefit you."

He had not forgotten that Kushina still had a hidden danger hanging over her.

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

But his instincts told him it was highly likely.

After all, the Third Hokage and Danzo seemed to have a hand in this behind the scenes.

There was never anything wrong with preparing in advance.

"To guard against unexpected situations, I need to spend more time studying ninjutsu and raise my combat strength further."

"I need to round out my combat system too."

At present, his strongest skill was spiritual genjutsu, followed by taijutsu.

That was far from enough.

"Alright, I understand."

Kushina nodded seriously after hearing him out.

She understood that Xuan was thinking of her.

After that, Uchiha Yan explained some of Kushina's questions about sealing techniques, the Soul Refinement Art, and basic body-tempering techniques.

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

Over the following days, Xuan poured most of his energy into learning and researching ninjutsu.

A day passed.

[You have deeply cultivated the Monster Strength Technique. With your exceptional comprehension and control over chakra and your physical body, your progress has been extremely rapid. The Monster Strength Technique has reached perfection.]

[You expanded upon and researched the Monster Strength Technique, gained an insight, and created Ninjutsu Body Art: Eight Extremes Collapse.]

[Ninjutsu Body Art: Eight Extremes Collapse]: A ninjutsu body art derived from the Monster Strength Technique. Once cultivated to perfection, it allows the user to control chakra and unleash eight layers of terrifying impact, each one more powerful than the last.

Boom!

Uchiha Yan punched a metal wall.

Centered around his fist, the wall instantly cracked apart.

Iron dust streamed down.

When he probed it with spiritual power, he found that the inside of the wall 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 die on the spot if they took that punch.

Five days passed.

As Uchiha Yan looked through the information flooding into his mind, even he was a little surprised.

[The Body Flicker Technique has reached perfection. It can now be activated without hand seals, greatly improving neural reaction speed. You have also gained insight into Body Flicker.]

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

[By combining the Body Flicker Technique, Flash Step, Shave, and the force-generation techniques of Eight Extremes Collapse, you have also created Moonwalk and Explosive Flash Step.]

[Flash Step]: More than twice as fast as an ordinary Body Flicker Technique, but it places demands on chakra control and meridian strength.

[Uchiha Six Forms: Shave]: A more intense application of force, with speed at least twice that of an ordinary Body Flicker Technique, but it requires sufficient physical strength.

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

[Explosive Flash Step]: A wild upgraded version of Flash Step combined with Shave, incorporating the concept of Eight Extremes Collapse's layered bursts. This is practically a technique only madmen would dare touch. It has absurdly high requirements for chakra, body control, meridians, and physical strength. Don't attempt it unless you're a genius.

"Tsk."

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

This time, his gains were truly substantial.