Bloodline Tempering, Sakura Haruno Awakens!

Lu Ming stepped forward and helped Nanami to her feet.

"There's no need to thank me. This is your own potential."

Lu Ming explained the potion's core principle,

"The core of this Bloodline Tempering Potion isn't to grant you power out of thin air."

"Its purpose is to forcibly remove the impurities in your body and refine your Uchiha Bloodline to the utmost degree!"

"You were already an Elite Jonin who had fought your way through mountains of corpses and seas of blood. Your combat experience and foundation were exceptionally solid."

"After the potion refined your bloodline, your aptitude rose dramatically. With all that accumulated potential finally erupting, you were able to break through your bottleneck in one go and enter the Kage Level!"

Nanami was thrilled. She touched her eyes,

"But Clan Head, my eyes... haven't awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan."

"The Mangekyō isn't that easy to awaken."

Lu Ming waved his hand, his expression confident,

"Awakening the Mangekyō requires a special emotional trigger and an eruption of chakra."

"But this potion has comprehensively strengthened your ocular power and physique. Your Three Tomoe have now been refined to their absolute limit."

"You already possess all the potential needed to awaken the Mangekyō! You're only missing the trigger!"

Lu Ming turned around and looked at the two bottles of potion remaining on the stone platform. Burning ambition blazed in his eyes.

"This beginner potion is merely the beginning!"

Lu Ming's voice echoed through the secret chamber,

"Once I gather more medicinal ingredients, I'll refine and upgrade this potion."

"I'll create a flawless bloodline enhancement system for the entire Uchiha clan!"

"I'll make it possible for every member of the Temple to awaken their bloodline potential. I'll cultivate Kage Level experts in batches and mass-produce Mangekyō Sharingan."

"Only by laying this most solid physical foundation can we Uchiha truly sweep across the Shinobi World and rise to greatness once more!"

Nanami listened to this grand blueprint that made her tremble, her emotions surging.

Mass-producing the Mangekyō,

Only Lord Lu Ming would dare to imagine something this insane—and only Lord Lu Ming could make it happen!

At the same time.

Konoha, on a street at dusk.

The afterglow of the setting sun dyed the entire village orange-red. Few pedestrians remained on the streets, making it exceptionally peaceful.

Sasuke Uchiha carried his schoolbag as he walked home from school with Sakura Haruno.

"Sasuke, would you like to be on the same team as me for tomorrow's practical exercise at school?"

Sakura followed closely beside Sasuke, her face flushed as she searched for something to talk about.

Sasuke had both hands in his pockets, his face cold and silent.

His mind was filled with ways to improve his strength as quickly as possible. He had no interest in dealing with such a boring team assignment.

Just as the two of them were about to pass a secluded alleyway,

Whoosh!

A black shadow shot out from the darkness deep within the alley,

Accompanied by the shrill roar of thunder, a long blade wreathed in blue lightning slashed viciously toward the back of Sasuke's neck!

"Who are you?!"

Sasuke was an Uchiha genius, after all, and had extremely sharp instincts.

He turned his head, but his opponent was simply too fast—so fast that he didn't even have time to draw a kunai from his ninja pouch!

Bang!

The back of the lightning blade slammed heavily into Sasuke's neck.

"Urgh..."

Sasuke didn't even have time to cry out before his eyes rolled back and he collapsed unconscious onto the ground.

"Sasuke!!!"

Sakura let out a terrified scream as she stared at the attacker who had suddenly appeared.

He was a burly, dark-skinned ninja, and the forehead protector he wore unmistakably bore the symbol of Kumogakure!

"So this is Itachi Uchiha's little brother? The so-called peerless genius?"

The Cloud Ninja rested the long blade on his shoulder and looked at the unconscious Sasuke, letting out an extremely arrogant sneer,

"Pathetic. He couldn't even block a single move from me."

"And the Raikage actually sent us to capture and test this kind of trash? What a waste of time."

As he mocked Sasuke, the Cloud Ninja reached out his large hand, preparing to pick him up and carry him away.

"You bastard! Take your filthy hands off Sasuke!"

Sakura was burning with rage.

She completely ignored the disparity in strength between them, drew a kunai, and stood in front of Sasuke.

"Oh? This little Konoha girl has quite some nerve."

The Cloud Ninja looked at Sakura with utter disdain,

"If you know what's good for you, get lost. I'm in a good mood today, so I won't kill civilians. But if you keep blocking my way, I'll cut you down too!"

"I won't let you take Sasuke!"

Sakura gritted her teeth as the fury in her heart and her desire to protect Sasuke climbed to their peak.

Under the stimulation of this extreme anger,

The violent power hidden deep within Sakura's blood was completely ignited!

Yesterday evening, Lu Ming had suddenly sought her out.

Without giving her any explanation, he had shoved a bottle of dark-red potion into her hands and ordered her to drink it.

Sakura would never forget the agony she had endured the previous night, which had made her wish she were dead.

But after the pain faded, she was horrified to discover

that her physical constitution had undergone a complete transformation, and an immense, chilling chakra had appeared within her body.

It was the Bloodline Tempering Potion Lu Ming had given her.

Sakura had no Uchiha bloodline,

but the potion had somehow produced an extremely bizarre mutation within her body, greatly purifying her dormant genes.

"Ahhhhhhh!"

Sakura let out a roar filled with pain and fury as she raised her head and glared at the Cloud Ninja before her.

Hum!

Under the Cloud Ninja's horrified gaze, Sakura's originally emerald-green eyes transformed into a blood-red crimson!

Three black tomoe spun rapidly within her irises, radiating a terrifying pressure that made one's blood run cold!

"What?!"

The Cloud Ninja staggered back two steps, his eyes nearly bulging from their sockets.

"You've got to be kidding me! Three-Tomoe Sharingan?!"

"You pink-haired brat aren't even an Uchiha! How could you possibly have the Sharingan?!"

The Cloud Ninja was utterly bewildered.

The intelligence had never mentioned that some random civilian girl from Konoha could awaken the Sharingan!

"Die!"

Sakura gave him no time to think. She pushed off with both legs and charged forward, her kunai stabbing straight toward the Cloud Ninja's throat.

"Don't get cocky, brat!"

The Cloud Ninja flew into a rage. He was an elite of Kumogakure, after all.

How could he possibly be frightened by a little girl who had only just awakened her eyes?

He swung his long blade and slashed toward Sakura's waist!

However, under the Three-Tomoe Sharingan's overwhelming perception,

the Cloud Ninja's swordsmanship, originally as fast as lightning, was full of openings in Sakura's eyes.

Whoosh!

Sakura merely shifted her body slightly,

and the long blade swept dangerously past the tip of her nose without touching even a single strand of her hair.

Immediately afterward, Sakura struck back with her kunai,

slashing viciously across the Cloud Ninja's arm as blood sprayed into the air.

"Argh!"

The Cloud Ninja retreated again and again in pain, clutching his bleeding arm with an extremely ugly expression.

"Damn it! I was actually wounded by a little girl!"

Feeling that he had suffered immense humiliation, the Cloud Ninja glared at Sakura's crimson eyes and let out an enraged roar.

"Lightning Release Chakra Mode—Activate!"

Violent blue lightning erupted from the Cloud Ninja's body,

forming a layer of tangible lightning armor that wrapped around him completely.

The ground around them was blasted black by the lightning, and shattered stones flew everywhere!

"Let's see if those eyes of yours can still keep up with my speed now!"

The Cloud Ninja gave a sinister grin as the ground beneath his feet exploded.

His speed surged several times over in an instant.

His entire body transformed into a bolt of blue lightning and appeared directly before Sakura.

His fist, wrapped in raging thunder, carried a deathly aura capable of destroying anything in its path as it smashed viciously toward Sakura's head!

The Three Tomoe in Sakura's eyes spun wildly.

She saw it!

The Sharingan's overwhelming perception clearly captured the trajectory and impact point of the Cloud Ninja's attack!

But—

"Move! My body... dodge, now!"

Sakura screamed in despair.

Her opponent was simply too fast—fast beyond the extreme!

Even though her eyes could predict the trajectory of the punch in advance,

her newly enhanced physique was completely incapable of dodging in such a short time!

Her vision had kept up, but her body couldn't follow at all!

The violent wind from the lightning-charged fist already scraped painfully against Sakura's cheek, and the threat of death completely enveloped her.