Winter, Year 5 of Konoha.
When the first snow fell, Uchiha Yinglang studied his reflection in the water vat.
The face on the water still had the contours of a four-year-old child: round, fair, with dark, bright eyes. But only he knew that this face had matured a little compared to three months ago.
It was not obvious. Roughly speaking, he had gone from looking "three and a half" to "exactly four." To his mother, this was merely a child's normal growth. But Uchiha Yinglang knew the pace was wrong.
Ordinary children grew taller gradually. Something was spurring his growth outward from his bones.
"Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique..."
He murmured the words, pressing a hand to his chest. There, the dragon essence seed hung quietly in his dantian, circulating on its own with every breath, nourishing his meridians and tempering his muscles and bones. Over these three months, he had grown a finger's breadth taller, his wrist bones had become harder, and when he clenched his fists, he could feel a resilience beneath his flesh that had not been there before.
Passive cultivation, working nonstop twenty-four hours a day. Not nine-nine-six, but zero-zero-seven!
It was an enormous blessing, and an enormous problem.
"Before I created Dragon-Slaying Breathing, I already had Chunin-level Taijutsu strength. Now..." He closed his eyes, feeling the power coursing through him. "I could probably fight a Jonin. And my body's growth... has sped up."
He could not say by how much. But at this rate, by next spring at the latest, his mother would find it strange when she measured his height. In another two years, he might look like a six- or seven-year-old. By the time he was eight, someone would probably say, "He's fucking eight?!" How would he explain it then?
Claim it was the Uchiha Clan's bloodline? But Uchiha Yinglang had not even awakened his Sharingan.
Claim Uchiha Yinglang was a genius? Konoha had no shortage of geniuses, but a "genius" who possessed a Jonin's physique at four and grew at breakneck speed would certainly be invited to the Hokage Office for "tea." Those eyes of Tobirama Senju's could dissect a person inside and out for study.
I can't wait.
Uchiha Yinglang opened his eyes, turned, and went inside.
That night, after his mother fell asleep, he got up in the dark and dragged a wooden box out from beneath his bed.
Yutian's father had helped make the box last year to hold odds and ends. Uchiha Yinglang emptied it and began working by the moonlight slipping through the gap in the window.
He did not call on the system.
Some things he had to solve himself!
On the first night, he dismantled the "Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique."
The original Breathing Style revolved around "dragon essence." Using the life source nurtured by Hibernating Dragon Breath as a seed, each breath drew a certain subtle energy from the world into his body, circulating and refining it through his meridians until it became "dragon essence" unique to him. Dragon essence was the fruit of cultivation, the fuel driving his moves, and the nourishment that fed back into his flesh and stimulated growth.
Then the first step in the stripped-down version was to cut out the function that "produced dragon essence."
Uchiha Yinglang sat cross-legged in the darkness, eyes closed, running through possibilities in his mind again and again.
What if he used no dragon essence and merely imitated the superficial breathing rhythm of the "Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique"? That explosive pattern that compressed a single deep breath to its limit and mobilized all the blood and vital energy in his body in an instant...
It could be done.
But what was the price?
The human body's blood and vital energy were finite. When ninja refined chakra, they were essentially synthesizing it from physical and spiritual energy. The explosive breathing of the "Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique," however, pushed the heart and lungs to their limits in an extremely short time, forcibly squeezing out strength beyond the ordinary. Without dragon essence swiftly replenishing the body and repairing damage afterward, every burst would mean overdrawing his reserves.
Overdrawing his stamina, his organs' function, his... lifespan.
"Then let it." Uchiha Yinglang smiled silently in the darkness.
That was exactly what he needed.
A tremendously powerful "forbidden technique" that shortened the user's life with every use. A "reason" that could explain why he grew too quickly: "I used up my lifespan to create this Breathing Style."
What a reasonable excuse. Which of the Shinobi World's forbidden techniques came without a price-the Eight Gates Formation, Reverse Lotus, the Uzumaki Clan's Adamantine Sealing Chains, or the Reaper Death Seal?
Was a shortened lifespan such a rare side effect?
No!
He began writing and sketching on rough paper.
The breathing rhythm needed adjusting. The original Breathing Style's "compression cycle" was too intricate to perform without dragon essence guiding it. He had to design a cruder, more direct "alternative route," using chakra to forcibly simulate that explosive sensation.
Powering the Dragon-Slaying Breathing Technique with chakra was like running an electric scooter on diesel. Cumbersome, inefficient, and damaging to the machine.
But that was fine. "Damaging the machine" was exactly what he wanted.
On the second night, he worked through stripping down the "forms."
In the original nine forms, every form's force-generation technique, flow of blood and vital energy, and dragon essence release point had been honed through countless refinements. What he needed to do now was remove the core power source, "Dragon essence," and replace it with chakra.
The results were disastrous.
First form: Dragon Claw Strike. The original gathered dragon essence in all five fingers and sent it penetrating into the target. The stripped-down version could only coat the palm in chakra and grab with brute force. Its power fell below thirty percent, yet it placed an even greater burden on the hand. Without dragon essence protecting the body, his finger bones might shatter before the enemy did.
Second form: Dragon Horn Charge. In the original, the user became a battering ram, charging relentlessly forward. The stripped-down version formed a rough impact layer of chakra over the body, and the instant it struck, the recoil would injure the user first.
Third form: Dragon Scale Guard... Without dragon essence's ability to flow around and protect the body like a living thing, defense could only be piled up through sheer chakra. It could stop one slash, but not a second, and consumed enormous amounts of chakra.
Fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth... Each form was more brutal than the last.
Especially the final three.
The stripped-down "Hidden Dragon Blast" required compressing chakra, implanting it inside the enemy, then detonating it. Its demands on control were absurdly high; the slightest mistake would make it explode in the user's own hand.
The stripped-down "Wandering Dragon Skybreaker" accelerated through violent jets of chakra through the leg meridians. A single acceleration would damage them.
The stripped-down "World-Shaking Dragon Hammer" was even more frightening. It brought all the body's chakra and weight crashing down, with enough recoil to fracture the arm bones.
Then came the ninth form: Dragon Ruling the Nine Heavens.
The original was about "ruling"-riding a dragon with the grandeur to swallow mountains and rivers. The stripped-down version... could only "devour."
Uchiha Yinglang drew the final form's theoretical diagram on the rough paper, his pen tip nearly piercing the sheet.
Ninth form: Dragon Devouring the Nine Heavens.
Its principle was simple and brutal: through an incorrect breathing pathway, ignite and detonate all the user's chakra, all their blood and life essence, and even the source of their soul at once.
A threefold burning.
The first burned the sea of chakra, draining every reserve.
The second burned blood and life essence, withering the organs and turning marrow to ash.
The third burned the soul to forge its form, leaving only a thread of remnant soul to be ferried into the Pure Land.
In this state, the user's strength increased tenfold for thirty breaths. If a Chunin used it, within those thirty breaths, they could split mountains and rend the earth, their strength far exceeding an elite Jonin's.
After thirty breaths-
The body turned to ash, and the remnant soul entered the Pure Land, never to reincarnate.
"Body dead, cultivation extinguished, the Pure Land their tomb," he summarized quietly. "Trade everything for thirty breaths of false glory, then leave the stage for good. Now that's the ending a 'forbidden technique' should have."
He established a system of side effects:
The first three forms shortened life by several days, temporarily depleted blood and vital energy, and damaged vitality somewhat.
The middle three forms shortened life by several months, overloaded the organs, and left hidden injuries.
The seventh form shortened life by a year, tore the leg meridians, and drained life force.
The eighth form shortened life by several years, injured both bones and organs, and severely damaged vitality.
The ninth form meant death upon completion, with the remnant soul returning to the Pure Land.
Now everything made perfect sense.
On the third night, he began making the "medium."
Using the blank scroll and never-fading ink pen obtained from the system, he began his "creation":
The Breathing Style section was vague, with key points left blank.
The diagrams of the nine forms were crude, with chakra pathways deliberately drawn incorrectly and left incomplete.
Finally, in dark red writing like cinnabar, he separately wrote a detailed explanation of "Dragon Devouring the Nine Heavens," ending with a warning in deeply pressed strokes:
"Practice the first eight forms, and though your life is shortened and your body harmed, you may yet cling to life.
"Practice this ninth form, and death is certain, your remnant soul returning to the Pure Land.
"Burn after reading. Do not keep."
He rolled up the scroll and hid it at the very bottom of the wooden box.
Three days later, Uchiha Yinglang conducted an experiment.
He tried the stripped-down "Dragon Claw Strike"-thirty percent of its power, torn and bleeding fingers, and a genuine sense of exhaustion.
He tried the stripped-down "Wandering Dragon Skybreaker"-half the speed, weak knees, and legs that felt cramped.
He did not try the ninth form. If he tested that move, he really would be going to the Pure Land to meet his dead father.
But the theory was perfect: burn everything in exchange for thirty breaths of power, then die and let the soul return. Both horrifying and consistent with this world's logic.
On the way home, snow began falling again.
Tiny snowflakes landed on his face, cool against his skin. Uchiha Yinglang walked through the accumulated snow at an unhurried pace.
The wooden box was beneath his bed.
The stripped-down version was on the scroll.
If one day someone questioned why he grew too quickly or was too strong, he could "reluctantly" confess, "I created a Breathing Style, but something went wrong, and it consumed my lifespan... Here's the scroll. Look, I clearly wrote down all the side effects."
If one day he needed to "teach" or "trade" this "forbidden technique" for something, he would also have something to give. What he handed over would not be power, but sugar-coated poison.
The snow fell harder and harder.
When Uchiha Yinglang pushed open the courtyard gate, he saw the light still on in his mother's room. He brushed the snow off himself, put on an innocent smile, and trotted inside.
"Mom, I'm home! It's snowing outside! It's so pretty!"
Uchiha Ning came out of the room holding a thick coat. "Where have you been playing this time? Your hands are so cold... Put this on."
Uchiha Yinglang let his mother wrap him in the coat, smiling up at her. "I just walked around nearby."
Uchiha Ning stroked his head, then suddenly made a surprised sound.
"Langlang, have you... grown a little taller again?"
Uchiha Yinglang's heart skipped, but his face remained puzzled. "Have I? I didn't know."
Uchiha Ning gestured. "The mark I made on the doorframe last time... I think it was here." She moved her finger up a little. "Now you're here."
A finger's breadth of difference.
A finger's breadth in three months.
Uchiha Yinglang blinked, then looked as though he had suddenly understood. "Oh! Is it because I've been practicing that... Breathing Style lately? I made it myself! I feel stronger after practicing it. Could it make me grow faster too?"
He spoke innocently, like a child showing off a new toy.
Uchiha Ning paused. "You made your own Breathing Style?"
"Yeah!" Uchiha Yinglang nodded hard, gesturing excitedly. "You take a deep breath, then go 'ha!' It's really fun! It's just that sometimes I feel a little tired afterward..."
As he spoke, he gave a well-timed little yawn and rubbed his eyes.
Uchiha Ning looked at her son's childish face. A trace of concern flickered through her eyes, but there was more helpless amusement. A child indulging in wild fantasies, inventing some "Breathing Style"—he was probably just panting randomly. If he was tired, he could simply sleep it off.
"All right, go wash your face and get to bed." She nudged Uchiha Yinglang's shoulder. "Stop practicing nonsense. Eating properly is how you grow taller."
"Okaaay-"
Uchiha Yinglang dragged out the word as he ran off.
The instant he turned, the innocence faded from his face, leaving his eyes utterly calm.
The seed had been planted.
"Growing quickly because of a self-created Breathing Style"—that explanation would start with his mother. Once she grew used to it, once the neighbors occasionally mentioned it, once the story slowly spread...
Then, someday, when more people needed to "know," the scroll in the wooden box beneath his bed would become the most reasonable evidence.
The snow continued to fall, quietly covering the Uchiha Clan grounds, covering the little house on their outskirts, covering the first piece a four-year-old child inside that house had placed in a game of lies and truth.
Night deepened.
Uchiha Yinglang lay in bed, listening to his mother's steady breathing next door, and slowly closed his eyes.
Inside him, the dragon essence seed circulated silently, nourishing every inch of muscle and bone.
In his mind, he silently reviewed every error and every trap in that stripped-down Breathing Style once more.
Then he fell asleep.
Before you continue