Insight Tracking · First Human Refinement

Late at night, inside Uchiha Hara's cottage.

He practiced Yang-style Tai Chi again and again, his blood and vitality slowly circulating with the flow of his movements.

Thanks to the astonishing bodily control granted by [Cat's Coordination (Green)], both his understanding of martial principles and his use of his body had risen to a new level.

The Cat's Life Imprint, which had originally been expected to take much longer to digest, was completely absorbed and fused after four hours of efficient exercise.

At that moment, he felt that his dynamic vision, neural reaction speed, balance, instantaneous explosive power, and ability to change direction had all undergone a qualitative leap.

This improvement did not directly increase his strength. Instead, it optimized his "output techniques."

It was like in games from his previous life: the same hero was an entirely different thing in the hands of a Bronze player and a professional player.

His basic stats, namely his essence, might not have increased much, but his actual combat strength—especially his ability to dodge, parry, and strike with Precision—was absolutely incomparable to before.

Before going to sleep, Uchiha Hara ate the Fish Blood Essence and Fish Soul Essence he had just refined, intending to refine them while he slept.

Then he saw that his Enhanced Stamina talent had changed from two white ones into one green one.

Thinking of the Blood Essence he had just consumed, which should have given him another Enhanced Stamina (White), it was apparent that the advancement mechanism for talents was that three talents of the same name could fuse and upgrade into one higher-level talent.

The next morning, in the classroom.

Perhaps because he had fused with Cat's Coordination and his perception had improved, Uchiha Hara keenly sensed something unusual the moment he sat down.

It seemed that a gaze was clinging intermittently to his back.

At first, he thought some little girl was secretly watching him. After all, this face of his stood out far too much in class.

But relying on his enhanced perception and the sharp instincts brought by Cat's Coordination, he covertly glanced sideways and discovered that the one spying on him was actually a boy—Kiryu Daiki.

Uchiha Hara had some impression of him. He was a somewhat quiet civilian student, but tall and powerfully built. He sat behind Asuma's group.

"Why does this guy keep staring at me?" Uchiha Hara did not let his thoughts wander in that direction. After all, that sort of thing did not seem to be popular in the Ninja World.

He sat behind Asuma. Could he be one of Asuma's people?

But he had not seen him interact with Asuma either!

Throughout the morning's academic classes, he immersed himself in his books while keeping part of his attention on him.

That feeling of being watched came and went, but it was always there.

He also noticed that his reading speed and comprehension seemed to have improved due to his concentrated mental power and faster reactions, but what concerned him more at the moment was that malicious gaze.

The afternoon practical class still consisted of running, taijutsu forms, and Shuriken Throwing.

What surprised Uchiha Hara slightly was that Asuma Sarutobi was unusually well-behaved today and did not come looking for trouble again. He did not know whether Kurenai Yuhi had privately said something to his father or to Asuma himself.

However, Kiryu Daiki's spying became even more obvious.

Even while standing in formation, Uchiha Hara could feel that gloomy gaze, carrying a certain calculation and hostility, firmly locked onto him.

"Is he one of Danzo's people?" Uchiha Hara quickly judged in his heart.

With such personal emotion behind the surveillance, there seemed to be no one else besides Root!

But could Root extend its reach into the Ninja Academy?

Well, not necessarily impossible!

"So, do they want to capture me, or kill me? But that makes no sense. The talent I've displayed is completely ordinary. Why did they decide to watch me??"

For a moment, Uchiha Hara felt incredibly tense, as if he would not be able to sleep peacefully until he figured out the reason.

After school, he sent Kurenai Yuhi home first as usual.

When they parted, he keenly noticed a figure not far behind him swiftly disappear around a street corner.

As expected, he followed me. Uchiha Hara sneered inwardly and decided not to wait passively any longer.

Rather than heading straight home, he deliberately took a detour toward the lower reaches of the Naka River. Passing through layers of woodland, he arrived at a secluded river bend near the edge of the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

Though it was not technically part of the Uchiha Clan Grounds anymore, it bordered the territory, so ordinary villagers and ninja rarely came here to avoid suspicion.

The Uchiha clan also had better training grounds within their territory, so no one came here to train either.

He had discovered this place while refining water flow over the past two days. It was a secret base that belonged to him alone.

When he reached the riverbank, he stopped, turned around, and calmly spoke toward the empty path behind him. "Come out, Kiryu Daiki. You've followed me all this way. Aren't you tired?"

A rustle came from behind the bushes. Kiryu Daiki brushed leaves from his head and crawled out awkwardly, surprise flashing across his face at being exposed before it was swiftly replaced by ferocity.

"Uchiha Hara, you really know how to pick a place!" Kiryu Daiki approached with a vicious grin. "It's quiet here, perfect for teaching you a lesson!"

"Teach me a lesson?" Uchiha Hara's expression did not change, though a vague guess surfaced in his heart.

Teaching someone a lesson meant inflicting a certain punishment without endangering their life.

That did not seem like Root's style. If Root had acted, they would either be inviting someone or killing someone.

Curiosity tinged Uchiha Hara's voice. "How do you plan to teach me a lesson?"

"Hmph!" Kiryu Daiki pulled a kunai from his ninja tool pouch. "First, I'll break your legs, then carve a few cuts into that pretty-boy face of yours! Let's see whether those girls in class still gather around you then!"

Uchiha Hara's gaze turned slightly cold as he continued asking, "So you like Kurenai Yuhi too? Or does someone you follow like Kurenai Yuhi? Who sent you? Asuma Sarutobi?"

"Young Master Asuma wouldn't stoop to making me deal with trash like you over a woman!" Kiryu Daiki was still just a child, and he immediately revealed his origins. His tone grew excited. "I'm doing this myself! As long as I teach you a lesson, Young Master Asuma will definitely value me and promote my father! This is all for my future!"

"So this has nothing to do with Asuma. You acted entirely on your own?" Uchiha Hara was taken aback and hurriedly confirmed.

"So what if I did! One person is enough to deal with a dead last like you!" Kiryu Daiki roared as he charged forward with his kunai. His movements were considered swift among ordinary students.

However, even though his Sharingan had yet to awaken, Kiryu Daiki's movements were still full of openings and pitifully slow in the eyes of Uchiha Hara, who possessed [Cat's Coordination (Green)].

Uchiha Hara shifted slightly on his feet, his body gliding half a step sideways at a light angle that nearly defied common sense, narrowly avoiding the kunai's direct thrust.

At the same time, his right hand shot out like lightning, precisely gripping Kiryu Daiki's knife-wielding wrist and twisting and pulling with the momentum!

"Eh!"

Uchiha Hara had used a grappling technique from Tai Chi. By all rights, that move should have been enough to subdue Kiryu Daiki.

But he discovered that Kiryu Daiki was astonishingly strong. He could not suppress him at all.

Sensing the gap in strength, Uchiha Hara instantly changed moves. He first pinched Kiryu Daiki's pulse point with his fingernails, and Kiryu Daiki's grip on the kunai immediately loosened.

Uchiha Hara snatched the kunai with his other hand, then raised it and slashed twice. The major arteries in both of Kiryu Daiki's arms were cut open!

Accompanied by Kiryu Daiki's miserable scream, blood instantly dyed the grass red.

But Uchiha Hara did not stop. After cutting the arteries, he switched to a reverse grip on the kunai, then struck with his fingers together like a blade, instantly chopping into the artery on Kiryu Daiki's neck.

Kiryu Daiki's eyes bulged violently. His voice cut off, and his whole body went limp as he collapsed to the ground, left only with painful convulsions and an incredulous gaze.

"No... impossible... How could you..." Kiryu Daiki's face twisted from agony and lack of oxygen as he spoke in broken fragments. "You... hid your strength... You must have... some scheme..."

Uchiha Hara ignored him and looked down coldly. "This is the edge of the Uchiha Clan Grounds. Even if I kill you, no one will know. I'll ask one last time: who ordered you here?"

As he spoke, the sharp kunai lay across Kiryu Daiki's throat.

His eyes were ice-cold, devoid of any emotion.

Kiryu Daiki finally realized that he might die.

He was only a first-year Ninja Academy student. What unyielding will could he possibly have? Frightened by Uchiha Hara, he immediately spilled everything like beans from a bamboo tube.

He truly had not lied—he was merely a fool eager to curry favor with the powerful and clever in his own mind. No one had ordered him to do this.

Moreover, no one knew he had been following Uchiha Hara—not only Asuma, but even his parents.

Because he had wanted to claim credit from his parents after getting the job done.

Looking at Kiryu Daiki curled into a ball on the ground from fear and pain, hesitation flashed through Uchiha Hara's heart. He did not want to kill anyone. The education from his previous life had given him an instinctive aversion to taking a life.

But reason swiftly gained the upper hand.

This person knew the secret that he had hidden his strength. He also bore tremendous malice toward him and was loyal to Asuma—or rather, to the Third Hokage.

If he let him go today, he might bring even greater trouble tomorrow.

Uchiha Hara had no habit of placing his hopes in the mercy of others.

In this cruel Ninja World, showing mercy to one's enemies was cruelty to oneself.

"In your next life, don't do something this stupid again."

Uchiha Hara hesitated no longer. He bent down, picked up the unconscious Kiryu Daiki, and walked step by step into the frigid Naka River.

Once the water had submerged them both, he moved his thoughts.

"Collect!"

Kiryu Daiki instantly vanished from his arms, taken into the Demon Refining Pot's space.

He was certain that Sarutobi Hiruzen would not be secretly watching a mere Ninja Academy student like him, but just in case, he still could not openly put someone into the Demon Refining Pot.

"Refine!"

There was no light and no sound, but in Uchiha Hara's perception, a life was completely extinguished in an instant, transformed into the most primordial energy.

[Obtained Blood Essence (Human) x1]

[Obtained Soul Essence (Human) x1]

Uchiha Hara returned to the shore and formed hand seals with one hand. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

A basketball-sized fireball burst from his mouth, burning the bloodstained grass into a patch of white ash.

Then Uchiha Hara jumped into the water again and drifted downstream, returning to his little home in the Uchiha Clan Grounds.

After swallowing the Blood Essence and Soul Essence, Uchiha Hara silently felt the feedback from the refinement.

Unlike the tiny gains from refining animals, the effect this time was astonishing!

It felt as though his body and spirit had swallowed some supreme tonic, directly strengthening by a huge amount!

He immediately checked his panel:

[Individual Status Panel]

Essence: 1.104 (+0.1)

Vitality: 1.053 ((1.104+1.103)/2 ≈ 1.1035)

Spirit: 1.103 (+0.1)

[Talents]

Enhanced Perception (White)

Enhanced Stamina (Green): (advanced through the fusion of three white stamina talents) Physical recovery and sustained combat ability greatly improved.

Cat's Coordination (Green)

Steel Bones and Iron Muscles (Blue): Born with exceptionally strong bones, with density far beyond that of ordinary people. Physical defense and bodily load-bearing capacity are greatly enhanced, making this an excellent aptitude for taijutsu training.

[Chakra Attributes]

Fire (Innate) Earth (Acquired)

"The increase in essence and spirit brought by one person is actually equivalent to the effect of ten animals..." Uchiha Hara felt the surging growth of life energy and soul power inside his body, along with the solidity deep in his bones, as though they had been tempered a thousand times. He was deeply shaken.

This was not merely a difference in quantity. It was a leap in quality.

The essence of human life and the origin of the human soul were extremely compatible with him. They could be perfectly absorbed with almost no need for conversion.

And the talents and attributes he obtained were even more direct and useful!

This Kiryu Daiki actually possessed the blue Jonin-level taijutsu talent [Steel Bones and Iron Muscles]!

No wonder the grappling technique he had only just learned had not been enough.

If not for his crooked heart and impatience for quick success, he might not have failed to become a taijutsu expert in time.

Furthermore, refining humans could actually grant chakra attributes as well.

One had to know that these things were innate. Though they could also be cultivated afterward, doing so consumed an enormous amount of time.

Spending seven or eight years on a single new attribute was commonplace!

Yet for him, he only needed to refine one person to obtain it!

Didn't that mean he only needed to refine another five people to complete all seven attributes?

Uchiha Hara slowly clenched his fist, feeling an unprecedented sense of power and the solid foundation within his body.

If the effects of refining humans far surpassed those of animals...

This discovery was like a stone dropped onto the surface of a lake, sending complicated ripples spreading through his heart.