Winter, Year Four of Konoha.
Uchiha Yinglang practiced a peculiar breathing rhythm in the courtyard-a "basic body-refining method" uniquely his own, finally developed by combining fragments of the Turtle Breath Skill, a Taijutsu genius's training experience, and more than three years of exploring his own "sense of qi."
As he inhaled, his chest slowly expanded, and his awareness traveled through his body along a profound, mysterious route; as he exhaled, his breath flowed long and fine as silk, carrying a trace of warmth from deep within his organs into every part of his body. This breathing method had no name. If he had to give it one, perhaps he could call it "Hibernating Dragon Breath"-like a dragon lying dormant, quietly awaiting the thunder.
Three years.
From the babbling infant in Konoha's first year to the child now approaching four, Uchiha Yinglang had never stopped his act. In his mother Uchiha Ning's eyes, Uchiha Yinglang was still her "slightly lively but certainly not precocious" son, who would rest against her knees and ask innocent questions while she mended clothes, and smile happily whenever Tsume Inuzuka brought Haimaru over to play with him.
Only Uchiha Yinglang himself knew what strength lay hidden beneath this seemingly immature body.
In sheer physical strength, speed, reflexes, and endurance, he was already no weaker than an ordinary Chunin-specifically, a Taijutsu-oriented Chunin who did not rely on ninjutsu or genjutsu. This was unimaginable in Konoha: a four-year-old child who had never extracted a trace of chakra had come this far through breathing, physical conditioning, and Taijutsu concepts far ahead of their time alone.
But Uchiha Yinglang knew perfectly well that this was nowhere near enough.
However powerful Taijutsu became, it ultimately had its limits.
Until the body became strong enough, it still feared fire.
Until a fist became hard enough, it could not shatter an earthen wall.
What he would face in the future were ninjutsu that could move mountains and fill seas, unpredictable genjutsu, and ocular techniques that defied common sense. Pure physical strength seemed so inadequate. More importantly, the path he had planned-creating his own Senjutsu, resolving chakra's flaws, and even the paths of becoming a "false god" or "cultivating immortality" that he might take in the future-all required a more fundamental energy as their foundation.
The nourishment provided by the "qi" within his body had already reached a bottleneck.
He could feel that faint yet pure sense of qi within him slowly growing stronger under the circulation of Hibernating Dragon Breath, nourishing his young body. But this power was too gentle, too slow, more like a method for preserving health and extending life than a sharp blade for breaking open the road ahead and trampling the thorns.
He needed a stronger energy, one he could control completely, with no backdoors and no risk of backlash.
And this was precisely the direction he had spent countless silent nights over the past three years exploring through deductions and experiments, drawing on the knowledge and items from myriad worlds in the system's storage space.
System, Uchiha Yinglang called silently.
[Ding! Host, I'm here.]
Can the problem with the Chakra Seed be solved through "replacement"? If so, exactly how should I do it?
[Host, it can be solved through "replacement"! You can condense a Chakra Seed of your own, then replace the old one with the new one. This system can provide the corresponding assistance.]
Uchiha Yinglang's eyelid twitched sharply, and even his breathing stalled for half a beat.
There was hope!
He took a deep breath, suppressed the surging excitement within him, and calmly pressed for details. Explain the exact steps, the risks, and everything I need to prepare.
[Step one: The host must condense pure "life essence" to serve as the new seed's core. The "qi" within the host has been nurtured for three years and already meets this requirement.] [Step two: The system will give you a "seed framework." The host must use his own will as a blade to carve the framework into the essence.] [Step three: Use the new seed to devour the old seed, completing the replacement.] [Risks: If the devouring fails and the old seed lashes back, the mild outcome is loss of chakra control; the severe outcome is death on the spot.] [Preparations needed: An absolutely safe place, three days without interruptions, and...]
The system paused.
[And sufficient resolve. This is irreversible. Once you do it, there is no turning back.]
Uchiha Yinglang did not respond immediately.
He stood in the courtyard as the winter wind swept across his fair little face, rustling the bare little tree in the corner.
An absolutely safe place? His home certainly wouldn't do; his mother could come in at any time. The Uchiha Clan Compound wouldn't work either. There were too many people around, and any chakra fluctuations could attract attention.
His gaze passed over the courtyard wall and settled on the gray outline of the mountain forest in the distance.
Outside Konoha, upstream along the Naka River, lay a stretch of wild mountains that few people visited. He knew that direction from watching Naruto in his previous life, and over these three years, he had also had his mother take him nearby a few times under the pretext of "playing"-of course, each time with an excuse like, "Mom, let's pick flowers over there."
He had memorized the general lay of the land.
System, Uchiha Yinglang finally asked inwardly, what will the seed framework cost me?
[This is preparatory work to help you reconstruct your chakra. The system will provide the framework free of charge. The host must still complete the subsequent devouring process himself.]
Free.
Uchiha Yinglang felt some of his tension ease. The system had given him quite a few things for free over these three years, but the truly crucial functions often came with hidden costs. This free offer felt more like a test.
A test of whether he was qualified to take this step.
I understand.
After responding inwardly, he turned and jogged into the house.
"Mom-" He threw himself against Uchiha Ning's knees and tilted his face up, wearing the wheedling smile a four-year-old should have. "I want to go play by the Naka River tomorrow! Last time, I saw lots of pretty stones by the river. I want to pick up a few and bring them home!"
Uchiha Ning was mending old clothes. She glanced up at the gloomy sky outside the window and hesitated. "Langlang, it's windy by the river in winter. Let's wait until the weather's better..."
"Mom-" Uchiha Yinglang drew out the word and buried his face against her knees. "I promise I won't run around. I'll stay right by the river. Come with me, please. Big Sister Tsume takes Haimaru out for walks even in winter. I want to go out too."
Looking into her son's sparkling eyes, Uchiha Ning finally softened.
"All right. We'll go tomorrow morning and come back before noon... Remember to dress warmly."
"Okay!" Uchiha Yinglang nodded vigorously and skipped away.
The instant he turned around, his smile vanished, leaving his eyes utterly calm.
Tomorrow.
He needed to inspect the terrain first and see whether there was a secluded spot suitable for training in seclusion. If there was, he would find a longer-term excuse-something like, "I found a fun cave. Mom, I want to go exploring."
One step at a time.
No rush.