Training in the Eight Gates!

Uchiha Shunichi chose his reward. Sarutobi Hiruzen found it somewhat regrettable, but he did not stop Uchiha Shunichi from making that choice.

Deep down, Sarutobi Hiruzen was also somewhat worried about Uchiha Shunichi. Although his judgment was not wrong, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want to see the Uchiha Clan become too powerful.

Even if... only two members of the Uchiha Clan remained now.

After all, the existence of the Mangekyō Sharingan was truly terrifying.

However, Uchiha Shunichi himself did not care much. Or rather, he had already achieved his goal. As for the Flying Thunder God, he could wait until Tsunade became Hokage.

That woman was far easier to talk to than Sarutobi Hiruzen.

After obtaining a copy of the Eight Gates from Sarutobi Hiruzen, Uchiha Shunichi went straight home.

When he returned, Uchiha Sasuke had already prepared the meal. He was eating alone, his expression gloomy as though he was lost in thought.

"What are you thinking about?" Uchiha Shunichi served himself a bowl of rice and spoke as he ate.

"You're back! Can you reveal anything about the mission?" Uchiha Sasuke asked curiously.

"No, there was no mission today. The Third just gave me a Ninjutsu. Unfortunately, it isn't very suitable for you. By the way, who is your Jonin instructor?" Uchiha Shunichi asked.

"A guy named Kakashi Hatake. He looks pretty weak..." Uchiha Sasuke said with some dissatisfaction.

Uchiha Shunichi heard this and said, "That guy is actually quite strong. He might not be able to beat your brother, but the difference isn't that great."

"Actually, he's a genius too, but his luck is terrible. The successive blows he suffered nearly left him unable to recover."

Uchiha Shunichi spoke with some regret.

Hearing that, Uchiha Sasuke immediately recalled the scene of that guy getting struck by a chalkboard eraser and found it hard to believe Uchiha Shunichi's words.

"That... guy? Is he really that strong?" Uchiha Sasuke hesitated.

"Mm. If the Sharingan hadn't limited his development, he should have become even stronger than he is now." Uchiha Shunichi nodded.

Uchiha Sasuke keenly caught the word Sharingan and was immediately startled.

"Sharingan..."

Uchiha Shunichi did not want to explain much, so he merely said flatly, "During the Third Shinobi World War, a fallen Uchiha Clan member left it to him."

Uchiha Sasuke was somewhat disappointed by that answer.

Uchiha Shunichi quickly finished his meal, returned to his room, and began studying how to train in the Eight Gates.

The principle behind this forbidden technique was simple. All one needed was a sufficiently strong body to support the violent chakra, then open the Eight Gates within the body one by one.

However, the foremost requirement for this forbidden technique was a sufficiently strong body. Uchiha Shunichi was already considered a very powerful Taijutsu ninja.

Yet because of the Mangekyō Sharingan, his body could not display the strength it should have possessed.

But... if he disregarded everything else, Uchiha Shunichi should be able to use the Eight Gates. However, by his estimation, the aftereffects would be far more severe for him than for other ninja.

Of course, Uchiha Shunichi had not asked for the Eight Gates merely to gain a last-resort move. His true purpose was to study where the chakra unleashed by the Eight Gates came from.

Even in this world of Hokage, the conservation of energy remained an unchanging iron law. Chakra would not vanish out of thin air, nor would it appear out of thin air.

If he could find where the chakra stimulated by the Eight Gates came from, Uchiha Shunichi's strength would improve greatly.

The next day, Uchiha Sasuke left early without eating breakfast. Uchiha Shunichi had tried to persuade him to eat, but Sasuke would not listen at all.

Uchiha Shunichi's mission was to protect Naruto in secret. Since Kakashi Hatake was with him during the day, there was no need for too many people.

Uchiha Shunichi's assignment was at night, and he also had a partner who would protect Naruto alongside him. Although he did not yet know who that partner was, Uchiha Shunichi could make a rough guess.

Uchiha Shunichi waited at home for a while. When no one came, he began training in the Eight Gates on his own.

The first three Gates were not particularly difficult. As long as one's physique was a little stronger, there would be no problem at all. One only needed to pay attention to the proper techniques during training.

Beginning with the Fourth Gate, the chakra of the Eight Gates became violent. Even Uchiha Shunichi could not control it, and his first attempt at opening the Fourth Gate ended with him injured.

In fact, the Eight Gates contained detailed records of when one needed to stop and when injuries might occur.

However, Uchiha Shunichi was not afraid of injury. He also wanted to use this opportunity to experience the sensation of his Eight Gates meridians being battered by surging chakra.

Unfortunately, Uchiha Shunichi did not discover where the suddenly increased chakra came from during that injury.

However, after personally experiencing that sensation, Uchiha Shunichi quickly found the feeling for opening the Fourth Gate.

As for the Fifth Gate... his current body could not yet withstand opening it.

Training in the Eight Gates was actually quite simple. One merely needed a strong enough body, then become proficient at opening the Gates.

The truly difficult training was Taijutsu training. This was something no Taijutsu ninja could avoid; physical growth could only come through daily exercise.

Because the Eight Gates also recorded many training methods used by Taijutsu ninja, Uchiha Shunichi's training time became much longer that day.

When he arrived at the laboratory as usual, a red light was already flashing inside. A huge mutated experimental rat was nearly breaking free from its reinforced cage.

In truth, this rat could already be considered a ninja rat. But compared to animals summoned by a ninja's Summoning Technique, this kind of rat possessed no intelligence and would only frantically attack everyone around it.

A blade appeared in his hand out of thin air, and Uchiha Shunichi mercilessly beheaded it with a single slash. Crimson rat blood splattered across the cage, frightening the unmutated rats into trembling all over.

The out-of-control rat was merely a failed product. Uchiha Shunichi had no need for such uncontrollable trash.

Taking out two syringes from a highly concealed corner by the wall, Uchiha Shunichi selected another white mouse and mercilessly injected the medicine from the syringes into it...

The white mouse soon began convulsing all over, its body undergoing drastic changes. What had once been an ordinary little white mouse now had chakra appearing within it...