Indecision

In the original story, aside from the protagonist Hokage, who else could use Multiple Shadow Clone so recklessly?

Besides his own soul and will, Hokage also carried Indra's will, Kurama, Kushina, and Minato. Altogether, he was basically a rainbow dumpling.

Uchiha Yuan did not enjoy that kind of treatment, and as the developer, every step he took was exceptionally dangerous.

"Then there's the Body Flicker Technique. While applying Chakra to my legs, continuously stomping the ground within a second can double my speed. With practice, it can increase even further. At its peak, I might even be able to step on air. Of course, that part is still theoretical. Right now, I can only increase my Body Flicker speed threefold at most."

After listening to Uchiha Yuan explain the advanced directions of the Three-Body Technique, the two brothers exchanged a glance, their eyes full of amazement. They had not expected the Three-Body Technique's advanced effects to be so powerful, nor its feasibility to be so high.

"Next is that ball I used when sparring with Big Brother just now."

Uchiha Yuan extended a hand and slowly gathered a Rasengan in his palm.

"I call it the Rasengan. As the name suggests, it forms a central anchor point in the palm, then releases Chakra to continuously spin around that anchor in irregular rotations."

Once he had formed the ball, Uchiha Yuan pressed it into the ground with the back of his hand. Dirt flew everywhere, and a huge pit was gouged out in moments.

"This ninjutsu has tremendous single-target destructive power, but it also has a side effect: it damages the cells in the arm."

As he spoke, he pulled up his sleeve, revealing an arm that was smooth and flawless, without the slightest scar.

Madara and Izuna immediately gave him suspicious looks.

"Ahem. My control is relatively strong, so I've already eliminated the side effects. This ninjutsu also has an advanced version."

Uchiha Yuan looked around for a suitable practice target. Finding none, he could only turn toward an open area.

Big Ball Rasengan!

A Chakra energy sphere a meter in diameter, even larger than Uchiha Yuan himself, shot forth. With no target to use as a reference, he could only press the technique down toward the ground again.

Rumble!

The power of that strike gave Madara and Izuna a fright, and they hurriedly leaped away in opposite directions.

The moment the ninjutsu's power subsided, they rushed over to inspect it. When they saw the damage caused by that enormous sphere, they both drew in sharp breaths.

"Is this ninjutsu hard to learn?" Izuna asked eagerly. "Can I learn it too, little brother?"

"It isn't hard. Anyone with passable Chakra control can learn it, and this is a true hand-signless ninjutsu."

"Good, good, good!"

Hand-signless ninjutsu was a rare treasure among ninja, often capable of producing incredible effects at crucial moments.

"This Rasengan can also incorporate Chakra nature transformations in its later advanced stages, such as Wind Ball and Fire Ball. They're both very powerful."

Uchiha Yuan did not demonstrate those balls, because such ninjutsu already belonged to the S-rank. Not only were they exhausting to use, they were harmful to the body. He did not have the Nine-Tails to heal his injuries.

Afterward, he continued discussing his views on the Summoning Technique and its development prospects.

Summoning Technique (Release) + Substitution Technique + Chakra Mark = Flying Thunder God (teleporting others)

Summoning Technique (Reverse) + Chakra Mark + sensory ninjutsu = Flying Thunder God (teleporting oneself)

...

After talking himself nearly hoarse, Uchiha Yuan had practically spelled it out to Izuna, telling him to be wary of the Flying Thunder God.

Yet the two brothers did not think of that at all. Instead, they were utterly immersed in Uchiha Yuan's imaginative ninjutsu theories.

"Little brother! You really are a genius!"

"Hehe, I'm not that great."

In truth, Uchiha Yuan still had more he wanted to say, but he feared overdoing it. Besides, there might not necessarily be no one else watching them from the shadows.

Black Zetsu had always been keeping an eye on Asura's reincarnation. Madara was likely under constant surveillance, and Black Zetsu's meddling could be seen in many matters. Uchiha Yuan had no choice but to be cautious.

As the sun set, another pleasant day came to an end. Snow had fallen continuously throughout the winter, and even by the end of January, the weather was still very cold.

Dressed in only a thin robe and holding a cat in his arms, Uchiha Yuan walked along a quiet path.

He had come out to clear his mind and organize his thoughts. His strength had currently reached a bottleneck. Logically, his next step should have been developing taijutsu, but taijutsu required powerful self-discipline, and his lazy nature rebelled against such discipline.

Should I develop the Eight Gates, Eight Trigrams Taiji, or Ultra Instinct? Wing Chun... Bajiquan...

There were simply too many forms of martial arts on Earth, and Uchiha Yuan fell into a fit of indecision.

Although the Eight Gates offers greater combat power, it's a forbidden technique that unleashes strength through life itself. If I develop it based on that template, I could later advance it into Kaioken from Dragon Ball. But that wouldn't provide much of a boost in my normal state. Besides... it would require a great deal of time and potential to improve my physical attributes.

Uchiha Yuan absentmindedly stroked the cat's head as he wandered down the snow-covered road. Before he realized it, he had arrived at a frozen stream.

Ice? A Bloodline Limit?

Seeing the frozen river, inspiration suddenly struck him. Aside from normal ninjutsu, there were also Ice Release, Flame Release, Scorch Release, Bloodline Snare, and more.

This template isn't bad either...

Huh?

As he pondered, the sound of wind by his ear changed ever so slightly. Uchiha Yuan's sensory abilities were only average, but his enhanced cells had made his five senses sharper.

Someone upstream?

With a hint of curiosity, Uchiha Yuan slowly headed upstream. He wondered who would be bored enough to wander around in such freezing weather.

Upstream of the creek.

Madara and Hashirama sat directly on the frozen river, drinking together like old friends. No outsider would have imagined that their clans bore a blood feud.

"Hashirama, the plan is nearly halfway complete. I've beaten half the ninja clans in the Land of Fire into submission. At most, I'll need another three years before the Uchiha name spreads across the Shinobi World once more."

"Peace is not far away. A thousand years of chaos will end in the hands of the two of us."

Madara took a sip of Sake, but there was not the slightest hint of joy on his face.

"After gathering the ninja clans together, how do you plan to manage them?"

"Hmm... I want to establish a unified regime, like the Daimyo, and bind everyone into a single whole."

"The Daimyo? That guy is still dealing with rebellions right now. Do you think that method will work?"

"It doesn't matter. The rebellions happened entirely because of poor management and the lack of absolute military suppression. But we're different..."

The two exchanged smiles, as though everything had been understood without words.

"Big Brother? Hashirama Senju?!"

Uchiha Yuan stepped across the ice and appeared silently not far from them, startling both men.

Madara's expression stiffened as though he had been caught in bed with someone.

"What are you two doing here?"

Uchiha Yuan wanted to laugh, but he still asked knowingly.

"I smell conspiracy~"