The Flying Thunder God Technique? You Actually Know It?

"Nothing major. I just met with the old Third Hokage and discussed something important that concerns my future," Uchiha Yi said, half joking and half serious.

"Your future? Holy crap, Uchiha Yi, don't tell me you've fallen for some girl and want the old Third Hokage to arrange a marriage for you!"

Kiba made a huge fuss, and Akamaru beside him obligingly gave a bark.

"A-arrange a marriage? Yi, is that true?"

Hinata's face instantly turned red, and she stammered nervously.

"Hinata, don't listen to Kiba's nonsense. Yi is only thirteen. It's way too early for marriage proposals. That's simply impossible."

Shino chimed in with a sensible remark.

Although what Uchiha Yi meant by his future wasn't far off from Kiba's wild guess, he saw Hinata visibly relax and decided not to dwell on it.

"Yeah, Shino's right. Kiba, you really are just like that idiot Naruto, talking without thinking. A marriage proposal? How did you even come up with that?"

Uchiha Yi rolled his eyes.

"Damn it! Don't compare me to that idiot Naruto! He and I... uh, since you treated me to ramen, I'll let you off this time!"

Kiba bristled instantly and was about to throw hands, but Akamaru had already bitten his pant leg. He immediately backed down.

"You're just scared Yi will beat you up again!"

Shino delivered the finishing blow.

"Shino, you... ah, I'm full. I'm leaving!"

Unable to stay a moment longer, Kiba turned and ran.

"Wait! We still have to turn in our mission together!"

Shino called after him, then nodded to Uchiha Yi and hurried after Kiba.

"Yi, I'll be going too!"

Blushing, Hinata hurried after the two of them.

I wasn't even finished talking!

Uchiha Yi watched the three retreating figures, utterly speechless.

Oh well. Forget it.

He shook his head lightly, got up, paid the bill, and left.

He had only walked a short distance when he rounded a corner and stumbled upon trouble. Naruto's group of three was facing off against another group-the three Sand siblings, Gaara among them.

Compared with the original story, Uchiha Yi's presence seemed to have pushed Sasuke even harder. The kid had quite a temper now.

"Who are you? Give me your name."

Sasuke addressed Gaara coldly.

"Gaara of the Sand."

Killing intent was already radiating from Gaara. Sasuke's attitude had thoroughly infuriated him.

"You look pretty strong. Let's have a match!"

Gaara's killing intent only stoked Sasuke's fighting spirit.

But just as the two were about to attack, Uchiha Yi suddenly appeared between them.

"Hey, how about you two relax? This isn't a good idea."

Uchiha Yi was absurdly fast. Gaara hadn't even seen how he moved, and it startled him.

"Hmph!"

With Uchiha Yi standing between them, Sasuke knew the fight wasn't happening. He snorted, turned, and left.

Ah, Sasuke really never changes!

Uchiha Yi shook his head inwardly. He was just about to leave when a vicious wave of killing intent erupted behind him.

"You seem strong. What's your name?"

Uchiha Yi turned and saw that Gaara's eyes were already bloodshot. The sight gave him a headache.

He had barely broken up the fight between Sasuke and Gaara, and before he could breathe a sigh of relief, he heard a sinister shout behind him.

"Uchiha Yi!"

Gaara clenched his sand-covered fist, grains grinding from his knuckles as he glared at him and roared.

"Uchiha Yi? I'll remember that. Now die!"

Temari and Kankuro's expressions changed, and they reached for Gaara's arms.

"Wait, Gaara!"

"Gaara, stop!"

But they were a moment too late. Gaara shook off their hands and raised his right hand. The sand beneath his feet surged, sending several streams straight at Uchiha Yi's face.

"Sand Binding Coffin!"

Gaara spoke through clenched teeth, his voice filled with savagery.

"Ugh, what a pain!"

Uchiha Yi shook his head. Just as the sand was about to coil around his ankles, his figure flickered, and in the next instant he stood before Gaara.

"Konoha Whirlwind!"

Thump!

Before Gaara could react, a kick sent him flying. The sand armor on his face cracked instantly, and blood trickled down.

Temari and Kankuro stared, too afraid to move.

"This is bad. Gaara's hurt!" Temari's voice rose sharply.

"Hahaha! Pain! Blood! You really are the prey I've been waiting for!"

Gaara climbed to his feet, growing even more excited. A coarse shell of sand enveloped his body, and madness filled his eyes.

Uchiha Yi frowned. Gaara was even more stubborn than he had expected.

"Die!"

After taking a single kick, the guy had actually summoned a Sand Hand.

"I didn't want to do this, but you insisted on asking for trouble. Don't blame me, then."

Uchiha Yi's gaze turned cold, and he raised his hand to unleash a Fire Release technique.

"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A fire dragon roared and blasted apart the Sand Hand Gaara had summoned. Smoke and dust billowed up instantly.

Under cover of the chaos, Uchiha Yi used the Body Flicker Technique to reach Gaara, punched him into the ground, then planted his foot on him and pinned him down.

His eyes shifted, the three tomoe spinning as he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. His target wasn't Gaara, but Shukaku inside him.

"Shukaku, behave yourself."

Uchiha Yi held nothing back, unleashing the full power of his eyes. A scream that only he could hear came from within Gaara.

Before long, Gaara lost consciousness completely. Shukaku had also been injured by the ocular power and wouldn't be causing trouble for a while.

When the smoke and dust cleared, Temari and Kankuro were still frozen in place. Uchiha Yi tossed the unconscious Gaara in front of them.

"You may be here for the Chunin Ninja Exams, but this is Konoha territory. Visitors need to follow the rules too."

Back home, Uchiha Yi stared at the dense ball of unusual chakra in his hand, interest gleaming in his eyes.

"Well, well, it actually worked? Now that's an unexpected bonus!"

While beating up Gaara, he had deliberately extracted a little Source Chakra from Shukaku. This wasn't ordinary chakra, but a piece of Shukaku's very source.

Shukaku would remain short of the portion he had taken. And by implanting it into a living body through special means, he could create a miniature Shukaku.

He wasn't trying to assemble the Ten-Tails. Although Six Paths Sage Mode was indeed powerful, he believed that once his Limit Sharingan evolved to a higher level, he would definitely gain a Sage Mode of his own.

He was collecting Tailed Beast Chakra simply to see what would emerge if he gathered chakra from all the tailed beasts and cultivated it together.

He raised his hands and formed hand seals. White smoke puffed out, and a Shadow Clone appeared before him.

This was no ordinary Shadow Clone. After more than a month of training, his Super Multiple Shadow Clone Technique had reached level 5. It was a super S-rank ninjutsu, strengthened by the Limit Sharingan and free of side effects.

At level 5, he could create a thousand clones at once, each possessing half his strength. If he created only three, each could reach ninety-five percent of his strength. That was terrifying.

He implanted that bit of Shukaku's source into the Shadow Clone, then sent the clone into the Flying Thunder God Space.

This space had opened up when his Flying Thunder God reached level 5. It measured a hundred meters in length, width, and height-not large, but enough for his needs.

He planned to leave the clone inside for now and slowly research the Tailed Beast Chakra later.

The Shadow Clones Uchiha Yi had created were all grinding skill proficiency at their respective stations. Meanwhile, he was bored out of his mind.

The Third Hokage had originally summoned him because of the Chunin Ninja Exams, but he didn't need to take them. He would be promoted directly to Chunin. Although they were currently at peace, Konoha had never lacked exceptions.

After his return from the Land of Waves, the strength he had been hiding was exposed. After considering it, the Third Hokage had simply decided to grant him the Chunin title ahead of schedule. Summoning him was, frankly, just a formality, so the Chunin Ninja Exams had absolutely nothing to do with him.

As long as the Third Hokage gave him a promotion mission, his advancement to Chunin was a done deal. There was no uncertainty at all. But when it came to how he should deal with the Third Hokage, Uchiha Yi was conflicted.

Save him or not? Although he had lately devoted his efforts to getting Flying Thunder God to level 5 and somewhat neglected his Limit Sharingan, he could still absolutely raise it to level 5 before the Konoha Crush Plan. What did level 5 mean? The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. By then, he would be able to walk all over almost anyone in the early story.

So as long as he intervened, saving the Third Hokage would be easy. But whenever he thought about the Night of the Uchiha Massacre, the resentment in his heart weighed on him. That was the real source of his indecision.

Enough. I'll stop thinking about it and decide when the time comes! Uchiha Yi simply shook off those tangled thoughts, lay down, and went to sleep.

In the middle of the night, while sleeping soundly, Uchiha Yi abruptly opened his eyes. Someone was here!

"Who's there? You've got some nerve coming here. Show yourself!" His voice held no warmth.

"Well, Uchiha Yi, you really have been hiding your strength." A shadow emerged from a corner of the room, covered from head to toe in black, even his face concealed.

"Who are you? What do you want with me?"

Looking at the man's outfit, Uchiha Yi had a pretty good idea.

"You don't need to know who I am. You'd better come with me now, or else..." Before he could finish-whoosh!

Without letting him finish, Uchiha Yi appeared right in front of him and smiled.

"Hey, little rat. Let me take you somewhere nice."

Whoosh! Uchiha Yi vanished with the man. When they reappeared, they were in a wooded mountain area outside the village.

The masked man froze for a second, then immediately leaped backward.

"The Flying Thunder God Technique? You actually know it?" Once he had put some distance between them, his voice cracked.

"That's all it takes? Then how about this?" Uchiha Yi said.

"Y-your eyes?" The masked man panicked completely. He wasn't an ordinary Jonin, but an elite Jonin-and one of the more formidable operatives under Danzo.

But when he saw Uchiha Yi's eyes change from three tomoe to a Five-Pointed Star Pattern, he realized everyone had been kept in the dark.

"The Mangekyō... Sharingan?" His voice went hoarse.

Uchiha Yi said nothing, but the masked man already had his answer. Instead, he grew even more ruthless.

"Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome!" Rumble! The ground burst apart, and masses of earth surged upward, instantly enclosing Uchiha Yi.

The masked man didn't spare it another glance. After unleashing his Earth Release technique, he fled backward for his life. Flying Thunder God alone was absurd enough, but Uchiha Yi had awakened the Mangekyō too? This was no opponent he could handle.

Wait... Flying Thunder God? He suddenly remembered something, and his face went deathly pale.

Whoosh! Sure enough, his vision blurred, and Uchiha Yi was already standing before him.