Spring, year seven of Konoha.
The weather was still cold enough to make the gaps between people's bones ache.
The news crashed through Elder Xuan's door at dusk. When Uchiha Lei burst in, he was covered in blood and could barely stand, his face drained of color like a dead man's.
"The border... those Tsuchigumo bastards..." Bloody foam bubbled from the corner of his mouth with every word. "They used Raging Hair Heaven... the elder... barely escaped with his life... in the secret chamber behind the ancestral hall..."
With a crash, the medicine bowl in Liuli's hands fell to the floor and shattered.
Yinglang had been standing beneath the veranda, holding his wooden training sword. When he heard "Tsuchigumo" and "Raging Hair Heaven," his mind rang.
The wooden sword cracked with a snap.
The Tsuchigumo Clan. They had nothing whatsoever to do with Konoha at this point. A small clan holed up along the border dared attack an Uchiha elder? And even used their ultimate forbidden technique?
Who the fuck gave them the nerve?
He closed his eyes, the scattered memories of his previous life racing through his mind. By the time he opened them again, no one remained beneath the veranda.
Inside the secret chamber behind the ancestral hall, the smell of blood mixed with medicinal herbs stung the nose.
Uchiha Gen lay on a couch, the bandages around his chest soaked dark red with blood. His face was as white as paper, and he breathed out without drawing breath in. Three medical ninja surrounded him, the chakra light on their hands flickering as sweat trickled down their temples.
"The chakra from that forbidden technique has eaten away at his entire chakra network..." The lead medical ninja's voice trembled. "His internal organs are badly damaged too..."
The door opened, and Yinglang walked in. Everyone in the room froze for a moment.
The boy was not yet six this year, but he had grown so quickly that he already looked like a boy of nine or ten. Now his face was utterly expressionless, his dark eyes as cold as a frozen, deep pool.
He walked to the couch and dropped to one knee.
Uchiha Gen shifted his eyes toward him with difficulty. His lips moved, but no sound came out.
"Elder Xuan," Yinglang began, his voice frighteningly level, "not many people in the clan knew the route and timing of this trip, did they?"
Uchiha Gen's eyelids quivered.
"The Tsuchigumo have no ties to Konoha right now. Ambushing you gains them nothing. It only invites retaliation from the Uchiha." Yinglang continued at an unhurried pace, but every word stabbed like a shard of ice. "Unless someone promised them an enormous reward. Or... someone gave them orders they dared not disobey."
He raised his eyes and looked straight at Uchiha Gen. "Who in the clan wants you dead the most? Who is closest to Konoha, especially Tobirama Senju? Who dreams of clearing the obstacles out of the way so he can bundle up the entire Uchiha Clan and deliver it to the Senju Clan's doorstep?"
The secret chamber fell deathly silent.
Uchiha Lei spoke hoarsely. "Young Master Yinglang! You can't throw accusations like that around-"
"Throw accusations around?" Yinglang tugged at the corner of his mouth in a smile without a trace of warmth. "Uncle Lei, you've followed Elder Xuan for so many years, through one brush with death after another. Some dogs will turn around and bite their old master to death just to wag their tails for a new one."
He looked back at Uchiha Gen, lowering his voice, every word clear. "Yuanguang Uchiha."
Uchiha Gen's chest heaved, and another patch of blood spread across his bandages. The medical ninja hurried forward, but he stopped them cold with a look.
Only after a long while did Uchiha Gen force a hoarse sound from his throat. "...Evidence."
"Evidence?" Yinglang stood. "Evidence is for people who still follow the rules and have some shame left. What evidence do we need for a mad dog that's already bitten its master and wants to drag the whole family off to become guard dogs?"
He walked to the center of the secret chamber with his back to everyone, his voice echoing between the stone walls:
"Elder Xuan was ambushed, gravely wounded, and looks unlikely to survive. What's Yuanguang doing right now? Probably preparing to take over your affairs while 'overcome with grief,' then 'righteously' propose that we bind ourselves more tightly to Konoha to prevent 'another tragedy.'"
"Once everyone in the clan is panicking, he can smoothly take the seat of power, pull the Uchiha's bones out one by one, smash them, boil them into soup, and respectfully serve it to Tobirama Senju, saying, 'Have a taste. It's still hot.'"
He turned around, the cold gleam in his eyes sharp enough to kill. "So we can't wait."
Uchiha Gen stared hard at him. "What... do you intend to do?"
Yinglang reached inside his clothes and drew something out-a saber. Its blade was straight, its design ancient and simple, carrying an indelible killing aura steeped in the battlefield. In the secret chamber's dim light, the blade gave off a cold, iron gleam.
This was the Qi Family Saber Uchiha Yinglang had won in a system draw seven days earlier. A saber for killing Japanese pirates.
"I picked this saber up at a secondhand stall seven days ago." He casually invented an origin for it, then flicked his wrist, making the blade quiver with a hum.
Immediately afterward, his aura changed.
A heavy, solid wave of chakra spread from his body-its strength stood unmistakably at the threshold of jonin! Yet something else was entwined within that chakra, something impossible to describe, sharp and keen, with a reckless aggression, like an unsheathed blade radiating cold.
"You..." Uchiha Gen startled, pulling at his wounds and coughing so hard it seemed to tear his lungs apart.
Yinglang drew the saber back, knelt on one knee again, and held it up in both hands.
"Elder Xuan, when I was four, I found a tattered piece of animal hide while playing on the mountain behind the clan grounds." His voice remained level, as though he were talking about someone else. "It recorded a forbidden technique called the Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique. I've been practicing it in secret all these years."
He lifted his head, meeting Uchiha Gen's shocked gaze without flinching. "Whatever ability I have today is all thanks to it. But every move takes a piece of my lifespan. A few days at least, several months or years at most... If I use the final move, I'll die on the spot, and my soul will go straight to the Pure Land."
"If you want to grow stronger, you have to give something in exchange."
To make them believe him, he rose and walked to a corner of the secret chamber. A stone mortar used to weigh down medicinal ingredients stood there, carved from bluestone and extremely heavy-at least three or four hundred jin.
Yinglang set the Qi Family Saber aside. He formed no hand seals, nor did he appear to be molding chakra. He merely lowered his stance slightly, spread the five fingers of his right hand, and held them just above the stone mortar, giving a low shout:
"Dragon-Slaying Breathing, first form: Dragon Claw Strike."
Before his words had faded, his five fingers plunged down!
Thud!
It was not the sound of metal striking stone, but the dull impact of five fingers gouging straight into bluestone! Stone dust burst upward as his fingers sank all the way to their bases. Then he put his waist and back into it and heaved outward-
Crash!
Using only the strength of his fingers, he tore the stone mortar weighing hundreds of jin off the ground and sent it tumbling into the opposite stone wall, leaving a web of cracks!
Not a sound remained in the secret chamber. The medical ninja stared dumbfounded, Uchiha Lei's mouth hung open, and Liuli clamped both hands over her mouth.
Uchiha Gen stared blankly at the shattered mortar, then at Yinglang's slowly withdrawing hand, its skin not even broken, before finally returning his gaze to that face, which had long since lost every trace of childishness.
"You're... not even six this year." Uchiha Gen's voice was terribly hoarse. "But you look nine or ten."
"Yes." Yinglang admitted it readily. "Ever since I started practicing this breathing style, my body has grown quickly. I reckon it's a side effect of overdrawing my life force and forcibly accelerating my growth."
He knelt properly again and offered the saber in both hands. "Elder Xuan, with you this badly injured, Yuanguang will definitely seize the chance to make trouble. Let me temporarily take your place and stabilize the situation. Within our ranks, I'll use the title of 'inheritor of a forbidden technique' and my strength to suppress anyone harboring ambitions. Outside our ranks, I'll contact the other elders and expose the whole rotten business of Yuanguang colluding with outsiders to murder his own clansman!"
Uchiha Gen's chest heaved violently. Only after a long while did he slowly say, "What... are you planning to do?"
"First, use the attack on you to direct the fire toward Yuanguang. We don't need ironclad proof, just a seed of suspicion in every elder's mind-why was Elder Xuan ambushed on a secret trip? Who knew his route? Who wanted Elder Xuan dead the most?"
"Second, show our strength. At the elders' meeting, I'll use this Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique to make them open their eyes and see-Elder Xuan's faction isn't finished! We're not pushovers anyone can squeeze as they please!"
"Third, win people over. Yuanguang has spent these years currying favor with Konoha and suppressing our own people. Some have long disliked him. As long as someone takes the lead, there are bound to be people willing to join us."
He raised his head, the killing intent in his eyes icy. "Most importantly-we have to be fast! So fast that while he's still dreaming of monopolizing power and taking the Uchiha over to Konoha, our blade is already chopping into his neck!"
Uchiha Gen closed his eyes, his chest rising and falling violently. After a long while, he released a long breath tinged with the smell of blood.
"...I need to rest and recover. For now, make the decisions for me on clan affairs, especially... dealing with Yuanguang."
He opened his eyes, sweeping his gaze over Uchiha Lei and Liuli before fixing it on Yinglang, enunciating each word:
"Be careful."
Yinglang drew back the saber and bowed. "Rest assured."
He rose and left the secret chamber. Outside, the night was thick as ink, and the spring chill burrowed into his bones.
He tightened his grip on the Qi Family Saber. Within him, dragon essence vast as an ocean circulated slowly, while the fabricated chakra fluctuations, set precisely at the threshold of jonin, remained steady. The corners of Yinglang's mouth curved into an icy arc.
Today, I'll show certain people what it means for the mantis to watch the cicada while the oriole waits behind.
Before you continue