Entering Kage level, the divisions of Kage level

Konoha Year Seven, spring.

Late at night, beneath Yinglang's home on the edge of the Uchiha Clan Compound.

This had originally been an ordinary cellar for storing odds and ends. After moving in, Yinglang had Yutian bring a few absolutely trustworthy people to secretly dig two more levels beneath it. They reinforced it simply with Earth Release and made it into a concealed training ground. It was not large, but it gave him enough room to work.

At that moment, he stood in the center, bare-chested, wearing only black training trousers. No lamps were lit. A few pieces of fluorite in a corner cast a cold white glow, barely illuminating the space. The lingering damp smell of freshly turned earth filled the air, mingling with the heat steaming off his body.

Five days had passed since he awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan in the Hokage Office.

For those five days, he went about his usual business during the day: dealing with the elders, handling clan affairs, and paying his respects to Elder Xuan. Everything continued as usual. Only late at night, when all was quiet, did he come down here.

There were changes he needed to understand. There was power he needed to reassess.

He slowly closed his eyes, making his breaths light and long. Within him, the dragon essence seed he had been nurturing floated quietly. Every pulse sent vast, warm currents washing through his limbs and body, nourishing every inch of muscle, bone, skin, and membrane. This was his foundation, his own "qi," something far more fundamental than chakra.

With a slight shift of thought, the pure, condensed layer of "jonin-level" chakra he used as a disguise also circulated steadily along its established pathways. This was the surface, the shell he showed outsiders.

Finally, there were his eyes.

Even with his eyes closed, he could clearly "feel" a presence deep within his eyeballs that was utterly different from before. Scorching, profound, and possessed of a certain cold vitality. Three pitch-black tomoe seemed branded into his consciousness, slowly rotating. Every turn stirred a deeper, vaster Spiritual Energy—the yin power belonging to the Uchiha bloodline.

The tremor and immense increase in power he had felt upon awakening the three tomoe had not subsided over these five days. Instead, through repeated quiet cultivation and adjustment, they had settled and seeped into his bones.

Before, dragon essence had been dragon essence, chakra had been chakra, and the Sharingan had been the Sharingan. Each followed its own path. Though they could work together, there had always seemed to be a barrier between them.

Now, things were different.

The three tomoe brought more than a leap in perception and those few signature genjutsu. They were more like a key, or a bridge, fully awakening and connecting the cold, formidable Spiritual Energy deep within the Uchiha bloodline. And... that power had begun to resonate in some mysterious way with the dragon essence seed in his dantian.

The yin-release Spiritual Energy no longer merely clung to his eyes. It slowly flowed throughout his body along some ancient, obscure pathways, meeting and intertwining with the surging warmth of dragon essence. There was no conflict. Instead, like two metals of different properties cast into a furnace, under intense heat and pressure, they began slowly but inexorably to... fuse.

Dragon essence was supremely yang and pure, nourishing the flesh, vast and inexhaustible.

The Sharingan was supremely yin and uncanny, tempering the spirit and perceiving the subtlest details.

Yang and yin, body and spirit-two equally powerful yet fundamentally different forces were undergoing changes even Yinglang had never anticipated, harmonized and linked by the three tomoe.

He could feel his muscle fibers becoming tougher. Filled with explosive strength, they also possessed a strange "suppleness" and "precision," allowing minute control over his power. His bone density was increasing, his organ function improving, and his five senses were frighteningly sharp. Even his thinking had become much faster. With a turn of thought, he could complete countless tactical combinations, circulation routes for chakra and dragon essence, and even analyses and projections of the situation before him in a flash.

This was not simply one plus one.

This was a qualitative transformation.

Yinglang opened his eyes. The dark basement was as clear as daylight to him. He could even see dust suspended in the air drifting downward at an exceedingly slow pace. He raised his right hand and loosely curled his fingers.

He used no dragon essence and extracted no chakra. With only a thought, he summoned that strange, newborn power that fused the yang strength of dragon essence with the yin softness of the Sharingan, gathering it in his palm.

"Hmm..."

The air in his palm gave a low vibration, faintly distorting. A formless yet substantial mass of energy, somewhere between the tangible and intangible, slowly took shape. It lacked chakra's vivid color and dragon essence's vast warmth. Instead, it was a murky gray-white, with what seemed like fine black-and-red electrical flashes flickering within. It radiated an aura that was dangerous, restrained, yet extraordinarily condensed.

Yinglang could clearly "sense" the terrifying power within this mass of energy-it possessed both dragon essence's overwhelming physical destructive force and the sinister properties of Sharingan power that corroded the spirit and dismantled the will.

"So this is... my strength now." Murmuring to himself, he turned his wrist and gently pressed the energy against the ground.

There was no crash, no cloud of dust.

The bluestone slab beneath his palm silently turned to powder. It had not shattered; it had completely broken down into the finest particles, collapsing into a palm-shaped depression with smooth edges. The stone dust at the bottom and edges was as fine as though the most delicate millstone had ground it a thousand times.

Yet the skin of Yinglang's palm had not even reddened.

He withdrew his hand and studied the palm print, his gaze deep.

Over the past few days, he had not only been adjusting to his power. He had also been reorganizing and reassessing his level of strength.

The Shinobi World's power tiers had always been vague. Yinglang had long since formed more detailed divisions in his mind.

Weak Kage: someone who had just reached the threshold of Kage level, with at least one aspect-chakra, taijutsu, or ninjutsu-meeting the standard, but who might have obvious weaknesses or lack combat experience or the right mindset. They could crush ordinary jonin but were liable to suffer against veteran Kage-level fighters. Examples included the leaders of certain small shinobi villages, or some top elite jonin in major villages who still lacked experience.

Ordinary Kage: the general standard of the "Kage" of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. They had no obvious shortcomings in chakra, taijutsu, ninjutsu, genjutsu, or combat intelligence, and possessed unique, powerful ninjutsu or kekkei genkai. Able to handle threats on a national scale independently, they were their villages' true anchors. Kakashi in his normal state, the Fourth Kazekage, and Tsunade without activating Strength of a Hundred were probably all at this level.

Strong Kage: outstanding even among ordinary Kage, with a more exceptional ability in some area or greater reserves. Examples included Jiraiya, who excelled at senjutsu, Orochimaru, the future Third Hokage in his prime, and the future Fourth Raikage. They could hold a considerable advantage over ordinary Kage.

Peak Kage: a level that touched the ceiling of mortal shinobi. Very few reached this tier, and every one possessed terrifying strength capable of changing the course of a major war. Examples included Sasuke just after obtaining the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Uchiha Itachi with the Mangekyō, Tobirama Senju with his mastery of Flying Thunder God and forbidden techniques, and Nagato after obtaining the Rinnegan. A qualitative gap separated them from strong Kage.

Super Kage: completely transcending the ordinary concept of a "Kage" and reaching the level of a demigod. Hashirama Senju with complete mastery of Sage Mode, Madara Uchiha with the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and Perfect Susanoo, Naruto as a perfect Nine-Tails jinchuriki, and Nagato with the Rinnegan. This tier already involved higher forms of power such as natural energy and Yin-Yang Release.

Above Super Kage was Six Paths level. That was the domain of true gods, involving the power to create and destroy worlds. For the time being, it was not something he needed to consider.

As for Naruto and Sasuke after they later obtained Six Paths power, they could only count as Half-Step Six Paths.

Then which tier am I at now?

Yinglang straightened and walked to one side of the training ground. Five specially made wooden posts stood there in a row, made from extremely tough old timber from deep in the mountains. Their surfaces were also covered with a protective layer of "qi" he had been experimenting with.

He stopped. Without taking any elaborate stance, he simply drove a punch straight at the first post.

He did not use the Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique or the power of the three tomoe. He did not even deliberately draw on the full strength of that newborn "qi." It was nothing but pure physical strength, combined with a trace of dragon essence's passive enhancement of his body and the most precise control over every ounce of bodily power granted by the three tomoe.

His fist moved without a sound.

But the instant it touched the post-

Bang!!!

An incredibly deep explosion rang out! The entire underground training ground seemed to shake! The specially made post, which required two people to encircle and could withstand a jonin's full-force attack without being destroyed, erupted with countless spiderweb cracks at the point of impact. They spread across the entire post before, with a crash, it burst into finger-sized chunks and splinters! They rained down, covering the floor.

Yet when the recoil traveled up Yinglang's arm, it only made his body sway slightly. He barely felt any soreness or numbness in his arm.

The physique and strength... of an ordinary Kage.

No, perhaps even more. His control over his body was too precise. That punch had condensed his strength to the utmost, with almost none leaking away or going to waste. With the same physical foundation, the killing power he could bring to bear in actual combat was probably a little greater than that of the average "ordinary Kage" taijutsu shinobi.

Yinglang exhaled and looked at the second post. This time, with a slight shift of thought, three dark-red points quietly appeared in his eyes, and three tomoe slowly rotated.

Sharingan, activated.

The world instantly "slowed." The grain of the post, the debris floating in the air, even the sound of his own flowing blood—all became clear to his senses. A cold, powerful surge of ocular power flooded his body, his Spiritual Energy intensely concentrated.

He raised a finger and pointed at the post from a distance.

No hand seals, no shouted technique name. He merely took a wisp of the newborn "qi" infused with the Sharingan's yin power, guided it with his Spiritual Energy, compressed it, shaped it, and then...

"Whoosh!"

A gray-white thread of force, so fine it was almost invisible, shot from his fingertip and sank soundlessly into the post.

A pinhole appeared on its surface.

One breath, then two.

"Crack... crackle..."

Centered on that pinhole, a dense, teeth-grating series of cracks sounded within the post. Immediately afterward, countless fine cracks covered the entire post from the inside out. Its color rapidly turned ashen, as though it had endured centuries of decay and weathering in an instant. Then it collapsed with a clatter into a heap of rotten fragments, stripped of all vitality and toughness.

This was the corrosive effect of combining Sharingan ocular power with the newborn "qi." It not only destroyed material structures but also annihilated the minute traces of vitality and energy within them.

This form of attack was uncanny and almost impossible to guard against. Against enemies with formidable vitality, such as certain summoning beasts or shinobi with special constitutions or senjutsu, it might prove more effective than pure physical destruction.

An application of Yin Release... and a direct strike on the spiritual level. Yinglang silently assessed it. Ordinary genjutsu defenses would probably struggle to withstand this move. It would require extremely strong Spiritual Energy or a special kekkei barrier to guard against it. This already exceeded what ordinary jonin, and even many ordinary Kage-level shinobi, could handle.

Finally, he would combine everything.

Yinglang walked up to the third post and stopped. Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath.

Within him, the dragon essence seed suddenly lit up, and vast, warm currents thundered through him. In his eyes, the three tomoe spun faster as cold Spiritual Energy surged. Under some mysterious balance, the two forces began intertwining and fusing, becoming that murky gray-white newborn "qi" with black-and-red electrical flashes within.

This time, he did not suppress it, allowing his power to rise.

The air in the basement began to tremble. An invisible force field pushed fine dust away, forming a clean area. Yinglang's hair stirred without wind, and an exceedingly faint gray-white aura that distorted the light vaguely appeared around him.

His presence climbed.

The pinnacle of jonin... easily surpassed.

He touched that vague, invisible threshold separating "jonin" from "Kage"-

Boom!

As though some shackle had broken, the aura around him swelled slightly before rapidly drawing inward. Yet the invisible pressure abruptly grew several times heavier! The ground beneath his feet silently sank a shallow layer.

Yinglang opened his eyes, the three tomoe turning slowly within them, calm and undisturbed. He raised a hand toward the third post, held his fingers together like a blade, and gently swept them through the air.

There was no contact.

But a crescent-shaped, gray-white blade of qi, thin as a cicada's wing, flew from his hand. Wherever it passed, the air parted soundlessly, leaving a faint black trace-distorted light-that lingered.

The qi blade passed through the post without the slightest resistance, then cut into the reinforced stone wall behind it. Only after penetrating more than a foot did it slowly dissipate.

The upper half of the severed post slipped slightly downward, its cut surface smooth as a mirror. On the stone wall below, it left only a slender cut whose bottom could not be seen. The stone along its edges had become glassy, as though scorched by intense heat and then rapidly cooled.

This seemingly effortless strike combined extreme physical cutting power, energy annihilation, and a hint of "severing" on the spiritual level. Its power, speed, and uncanny nature all far surpassed the earlier attacks.

Yinglang dispersed his power, and the unusual phenomena around him vanished. He walked up to the severed post, felt its smooth cross section, then looked at the cut in the stone wall.

Weak Kage? No.

Ordinary Kage? I should have firmly entered that tier, and I'm not weak even within it. With the terrifying physique and recovery granted by dragon essence, the perception and genjutsu resistance of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and the unique, formidable nature of that newborn "qi," his actual combat ability might touch the threshold of "strong Kage."

Of course, this was only his own assessment. What true Kage-level fighter, especially a veteran, lacked secret trump cards and experience in life-or-death combat? What he lacked was experience fighting experts of his own level to the death, along with the ability to use his power to its utmost in all sorts of complex battle situations.

But regardless, one thing was certain.

From tonight onward, he, Uchiha Yinglang, truly possessed the most basic strength needed to be a player in this chaotic Shinobi World, rather than merely a pawn.

Kage level.

Though this was only the beginning, his perspective, the scope of his plans, and his room to maneuver were now entirely different.

He went to the wall, picked up the clan robes draped there, and slowly put them on. He tied his sash and secured the Qi Family Saber at his waist again. His movements were unhurried, steady as a mountain.

He pushed open the heavy basement door and climbed the steps. Outside, dawn had not quite broken, and a sliver of pale white appeared on the eastern horizon. The cool morning breeze carried the scent of grass and trees.

Standing in the courtyard, Yinglang glanced back at the basement entrance. Then he turned toward Hokage Rock, and farther south, toward the vast, unknown world beyond the Land of Fire.

Kage-level strength was confidence, a safeguard, and also... the key to unlocking greater ambitions.

The plans for an overseas base, an escape route for the Uchiha, the blueprint for the Toyotomi House... these plans, which had previously required him to advance with painstaking caution, as though treading on thin ice, now seemed ready to move a little faster.

Of course, what needed hiding still had to remain hidden, and what needed enduring still had to be endured.

Tobirama Senju... the topmost "strong Kage" below Super Kage level, perhaps even a "peak Kage." Master of Flying Thunder God, countless forbidden techniques, and the Reaper Death Seal. Brilliant, cold, and ruthless.

As I am now, my chances of defeating him are slim.

But catching up is still possible.

Yinglang drew a deep breath of the crispest air before dawn. A sharp glint flashed in his eyes, then faded as he returned to his usual composure, far beyond his years.

The road ahead was long.

But he could already see his direction clearly.