Nurturing War Through War

Unlocking the First-Stage Gene Lock was, in essence, forcibly breaking free from the restraints of life's instincts.

Under normal circumstances, a person could not make their muscles erupt with their full strength, much less continue fighting with broken joints and a rigid body.

Because the brain would actively restrict the body.

That restriction was not meant to weaken humans, but to protect life.

Lie Yang had forcibly shattered that layer of protection just now.

Adrenaline had surged violently, his heart had operated beyond its limits, muscle fibers had torn across large areas, and his internal organs had fallen into complete disorder.

For an ordinary person, cardiac shock alone would have been fatal.

The Shadow Clone Technique propped Lie Yang upright and said softly, "Hold on."

Lie Yang did not respond.

His consciousness remained muddled, yet his brows were tightly furrowed.

Several breaths later, his body suddenly trembled.

"Cough!"

A mouthful of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, staining the pillow red.

The Shadow Clone Technique immediately turned him onto his side to keep the blood from blocking his airway.

More blood streamed from the corner of his mouth.

Lie Yang's breathing grew even weaker, and his heartbeat even paused briefly.

The Shadow Clone Technique did not panic.

His chakra was still there.

And its total amount had not decreased by much.

This proved that Lie Yang's chakra pathways had not collapsed.

Chakra was originally the product of spiritual energy and physical energy combined. The life force of Yang Release within it was continuously buffering the damage caused by the Gene Lock.

When ordinary people unlocked the First-Stage Gene Lock, they could only rely on their physique to endure the backlash.

If they endured it, they would complete their transformation.

If they could not, they would die on the spot.

But Lie Yang had an additional layer of chakra protection.

Those severely damaged cells began instinctively devouring the life energy contained within his chakra, repairing torn muscles and stabilizing his chaotic internal organ functions.

The process was still agonizing.

But the risk of death had been greatly reduced.

Time passed bit by bit.

Lie Yang coughed up blood twice more on the bed.

Each time he coughed blood, his aura weakened a little further.

Strangely, the total amount of chakra in his body did not noticeably decline. Only the vitality belonging to physical energy within the chakra was continuously absorbed by his cells.

The Shadow Clone Technique remained by the bed.

It was not until the latter half of the night that Lie Yang's out-of-control heartbeat finally steadied.

His breathing no longer alternated between rapid and slow.

The crimson flush on his skin gradually faded, and his bulging veins slowly returned to normal.

The Shadow Clone Technique reached out and pressed against Lie Yang's neck, feeling his increasingly steady pulse.

"It worked."

The most dangerous stage had passed.

The damage to his internal organs had not continued to worsen, and the cellular failure had been forcibly restrained by the life force of Yang Release within his chakra.

Lie Yang had survived the first backlash.

From this day onward, the First-Stage Gene Lock would no longer be an unknown power that could take his life at any moment. It had become an entirely new foundation that truly belonged to him.

Morning.

The first ray of sunlight slipped through the window crack and fell beside the bed.

Lie Yang slowly opened his eyes.

The instant his consciousness returned, the lingering pain buried deep within his body came flooding back.

His chest felt tight, his internal organs throbbed faintly, and every heartbeat brought a wave of palpitations.

Compared to the excruciating pain that had erupted from the depths of his cells last night, this was nothing.

"You're awake?"

The Shadow Clone Technique sat by the table and turned to look at him.

Lie Yang did not get up immediately.

He closed his eyes and carefully assessed the state of his body.

"How long was I unconscious?"

"One night."

"What about the backlash?"

"It's stabilized."

The Shadow Clone Technique rose and walked to the bedside.

"Your heartbeat, breathing, and internal organ functions have all returned to normal. You've survived the first backlash. There won't be any more fatal danger afterward."

Lie Yang slowly exhaled.

Last night's situation had been even more dangerous than he had expected.

Without chakra to buffer it, he might have died of cardiac shock the instant he exited the Gene Lock.

The ninja chakra system happened to fill the most dangerous gap after unlocking the Gene Lock.

The experiences of two lifetimes allowed Lie Yang to quickly suppress the emotions of surviving a catastrophe.

Death had already passed.

Surviving meant that gamble had succeeded completely.

"How are your eyes?" the Shadow Clone Technique asked.

Lie Yang opened his eyes again.

Eye power surged from the depths of his eyes.

Three slender black markings shaped like wheat grains encircled his pupils, and power far beyond the Three-Tomoe Sharingan rapidly gathered.

The Shadow Clone Technique met those eyes for only an instant before its body instinctively tensed.

"They're stronger than last night."

Lie Yang could clearly sense two entirely different ocular techniques being nurtured within his Mangekyō Sharingan.

His left eye, Shenka.

His right eye, Miro.

They were powers unique to him alone.

The extreme spiritual refinement brought by the First-Stage Gene Lock had completely shattered the limits of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. After his eye power underwent a qualitative transformation, even his perception had become different from before.

Lie Yang raised a hand and pressed it over his eye sockets.

His newly awakened Mangekyō Sharingan had not yet fully stabilized.

His eyes felt noticeably sore and swollen, and the edges of his vision briefly blurred.

The Shadow Clone Technique tore off a strip of clean cloth and handed it to him.

"Don't use them yet."

"Your Mangekyō Sharingan has only just awakened, and your body is still recovering. Give your eyes a few days to adapt."

Lie Yang took the cloth, covered his eyes, and tied it behind his head.

Darkness blocked his vision.

Yet his expression did not change in the slightest.

"Three days."

The Shadow Clone Technique judged, "At most three days, and your body will recover to normal."

"Three days is enough."

"Then we leave today."

The Shadow Clone Technique walked to the window, opened a narrow crack, and observed the street outside.

"The fire last night was too large. Konoha will definitely send people to investigate. Takeno Sota and Ayakawa Yukina have disappeared, and there are no bodies at the scene. Sooner or later, they'll trace it back to you."

"Before the news reaches the border, we'll leave the Land of Fire immediately."

Lie Yang sat up and leaned against the headboard.

"The original plan is canceled."

The Shadow Clone Technique turned around.

"What do you mean?"

"We're not going to the border."

"You're planning to stay in the Land of Fire?"

"That's right."

The Shadow Clone Technique stared at the original body with his eyes covered and remained silent for several breaths.

"This is completely different from the original plan."

The original plan had been to use the A-rank mission to escape Konoha's surveillance, then swiftly leave the Land of Fire from the mission area.

As long as they crossed the border, Konoha's tracking forces would be restricted.

But staying in the Land of Fire now was no different from actively waiting for ANBU and Root to come knocking.

"When I unlocked the Gene Lock, I sensed a change in fate."

Lie Yang's tone was calm.

"Miracle Authority does not grant power for nothing. Every time I break through a limit, it causes a greater disturbance."

"That disturbance will bring crises, and it will also bring pursuit."

The Shadow Clone Technique understood.

"So you don't intend to hide?"

"Why should I hide?"

Though his eyes were covered, Lie Yang's voice was calmer than ever.

"Takeno Sota and Ayakawa Yukina drove me into a dead end, and only then did I unlock the First-Stage Gene Lock."

"Without that pursuit, I would still only be a special Jōnin."

"The people Konoha sends next will only be stronger."

The Shadow Clone Technique drew in a breath.

"You want to use Konoha's pursuers to keep tempering yourself?"

"Nurture war through war."

The Shadow Clone Technique looked at the original body on the bed, still unrecovered and even temporarily keeping his eyes sealed, and the shock in its heart grew stronger and stronger.

The old Lie Yang had already been bold enough.

He had dared to gamble with his own life and use two elite special Jōnin to unlock the Gene Lock.

But at that time, Lie Yang's goal had still been to escape Konoha.

Now, however, everything was different.

After unlocking the Gene Lock, the original body's mindset had undergone a complete transformation.

He would no longer avoid danger.

He would no longer regard pursuit as trouble.

Since fluctuations in fate would inevitably bring danger, then he would meet it head-on and turn every crisis into nourishment for becoming stronger!

"This decision of yours..."

The Shadow Clone Technique paused for a moment, then slowly uttered two words.

"Crazy enough."

Konoha.

The lights in the Hokage Building had not gone out all night.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat behind his desk, with investigation records delivered overnight laid out before him.

Danzo stood on the other side of the desk, his cane planted against the floor, the eye exposed outside his bandages staring coldly at the mission roster.

There were only the two of them in the office.

Hiruzen Sarutobi set down the first report.

"No bodies were found at the scene."

"Nor were there any definite traces left behind by the rogue ninjas."

"Takeno Sota used Earth Release, and remnants of Ayakawa Yukina's Kikaichū were also found."

"As for that fire..."

Danzo took over.

"It was Uchiha Fire Release."

"There are many people capable of using large-scale Fire Release."

"But among the three people carrying out the mission, Uchiha Lieyang was the one most skilled in Fire Release."

Hiruzen Sarutobi did not refute him and merely picked up another report.

"The mission targets have also disappeared. We cannot rule out the possibility that they detected the infiltration in advance and set an ambush."

"Hiruzen, are you still trying to make excuses for the Uchiha?"

Danzo's voice grew colder.

"Takeno Sota once served in the ANBU, and Ayakawa Yukina also received Root training. Two elite Special Jōnin vanished at the same time, yet the scene showed no clear traces of an enemy."

"It was impossible that they hadn't even been able to send a distress signal."

Hiruzen Sarutobi said gravely, "That is all the more reason to get to the bottom of this."

"And how long are we supposed to keep investigating?"

Danzo tapped the ground with his cane.

"Uchiha Lieyang had been acting abnormally from the start of the mission. Not long after the team entered the mission area, a battle broke out, and the entire forest was burned down by Fire Release."

"Takeno Sota and Ayakawa Yukina vanished, and he never returned to Konoha either."

"All the evidence points to him."

Hiruzen Sarutobi looked at the three names on the list.

"Without bodies, we cannot confirm that Takeno Sota and Ayakawa Yukina are dead."

"Without direct evidence, we cannot confirm that Lie Yang defected."

Danzo gave a cold snort.

"Evidence?"

"The Uchiha Clan's dissatisfaction with the village did not begin yesterday. The Konoha Police Force has gained more and more power, and their resentment toward the village has only deepened."

"A Three-Tomoe Sharingan Uchiha suddenly vanished during an A-rank mission and burned away every trace at the scene."

"Is that not enough?"

Hiruzen Sarutobi raised his head.

"Danzo, the Uchiha are also members of Konoha."

"Precisely because they are members of Konoha, they are even more dangerous."

Danzo refused to yield.

"They possess the village's intelligence, wield the Sharingan, and have never truly relinquished their desire for power."

"If Uchiha Lieyang could kill Takeno Sota and Ayakawa Yukina, then he could bring even more of Konoha's intelligence to other ninja villages."

"You have no evidence that he killed the two of them."

"I do not need to prove it."

Danzo clenched his cane, his voice utterly devoid of warmth.

"He is an Uchiha. He vanished during the mission. His Fire Release destroyed the scene."

"That is enough to convict him."