At a Secret Base on the outskirts of Konoha.
Seven figures sat in a circle on an open patch paved with bluestone slabs.
At the center, an oil lamp burned quietly atop a stone stand, its flame as steady as a clock in the breeze.
Shinji Uchiha sat cross-legged at the head of the group, slowly sweeping his gaze over everyone present.
To his left sat his direct subordinate, Torayoshi Uchiha, whose Three-Tomoe Sharingan shone with a faint crimson gleam in the morning light.
Beside Torai sat Hizashi Hyuga. The veins around his white pupils bulged slightly as he kept his Byakugan activated-at Shinji's specific request.
Shikaku Nara and Inoichi Yamanaka sat to his right. Beside them was Kushina Uzumaki, who was whispering something to Minato Namikaze. Minato nodded slightly, absently twirling a kunai in his hand.
"Thank you all for coming," Shinji began, his voice breaking the morning silence. "We've all seen the results of the Chakra Double Helix Training Method. But what we'll be discussing today is this."
He raised a finger and pointed to his temple.
"Mental energy. Or, in other words, mental strength."
The oil lamp's flame flickered.
"Over the past three months of training together," Shinji continued, "I've collected data from all of you. After practicing the double helix method, Torai's Sharingan usage time increased by seventeen percent, but the growth curve of his ocular power began to flatten in the third month. Hizashi's Byakugan observation accuracy improved by twenty-three percent, but the time he could keep it activated increased by less than ten percent."
His gaze shifted to the other side. "Inoichi, the effective range of your Mind Body Switch Technique increased by five meters, but you mentioned feeling a blockage, as though you 'didn't have enough mental strength,' when trying to control more