You Sure Know How to Pick Them Up

Shin'yu looked at Uchiha Hikari with a rather aggrieved expression.

After being enthusiastically embraced by Amaterasu, he was genuinely pissed off. If not for his special ocular technique, he would probably have been reduced to ashes by now.

The flames had been terrifyingly hot, and even now, his heart still pounded with lingering fear.

Although he could reverse time and space, the pain had been very real!

Madara waved a hand. "Shin'yu, let her go."

"But she might suddenly attack us again." Shin'yu was still somewhat shaken.

"Don't worry. She can't." Madara's tone was calm, yet that calmness carried the absolute confidence of someone beyond Kage-level.

"Understood, Lord Madara."

Shin'yu obediently moved aside and let Uchiha Hikari get up.

Madara looked down at Uchiha Hikari, his indifferent voice drifting into her ears.

"What Shin'yu said earlier was all true, except for one thing... Whether the war has truly ended still remains to be seen. For the ninja world, peace is only temporary. There is still a long way to go before we reach the ideal world in my heart."

"An ideal world...?" Hikari murmured.

"Freeing you means that we acknowledge your strength. On this path toward that ideal, you may travel alongside us—not as a weapon, but as a comrade."

Madara changed the subject. "Of course, you may also leave and live the life you want."

"Huh?" Shin'yu froze and glanced at Madara in confusion.

"But see reality for what it is. Until we succeed, this is still a false world, still filled with all those unsatisfactory things." With that, he turned and strode away.

Shin'yu felt thoroughly bewildered. He had nearly risked his life to free Hikari, yet Madara simply ignored her like this.

With no other choice, he hesitantly glanced at Uchiha Hikari before following after him, leaving her alone in her original spot.

Did Lord Madara truly not care about Uchiha Hikari? Or was he trying to win her over with his personal charm? Shin'yu frowned, unable to help but wonder.

Uchiha Hikari stood there blankly. After an unknown amount of time, she finally came back to herself. Looking at the two figures gradually moving farther away, she suddenly took a step forward.

"She really followed us!" Shin'yu leaned close to Madara and whispered.

"What should we do? Should we wait for her?"

"There's no need." Madara remained as composed as ever. "Since she chose to follow, she will see it through to the end. If she cannot even do that much, then she is no Uchiha."

Maybe she just wants to catch up and ask for directions... Shin'yu thought to himself.

The two raced along a tree-lined path and soon entered a small town.

Shin'yu picked an Izakaya. "Lord Madara, let's rest here for the time being."

Madara nodded. The two entered the Izakaya and chose seats near the Inner Hall.

Shin'yu took the menu from the waiter and boldly ordered several large dishes: ramen, sushi, braised sea bream, Chikuzen-ni, and a steaming pot of sukiyaki.

He had not eaten a thing since last night.

While waiting for their food, Shin'yu hesitated several times before taking two scrolls from his robe and handing them to Madara.

"Lord Madara, I picked these up from a secret chamber in the Hokage Building yesterday. I don't know what they are, but the seals on them were rather troublesome."

Madara accepted the scrolls. Blue light flickered at his fingertips as he effortlessly undid the seals.

"The Spiritualization Technique?" Madara skimmed through it before opening the other scroll. "This is... the Eight Gates Release Formation?"

He gave Shin'yu a slightly scrutinizing glance. "They're both S-Rank Forbidden Techniques. You sure know how to pick them up."

"Lord Madara, you know me."

Shin'yu straightened his back and said righteously, "Only an idiot turns down a free bargain."

Fortunately, Madara did not say anything else. Instead, he tossed the scrolls back to Shin'yu.

"Since you got them, there's no reason not to learn them."

"Um... Lord Madara, aren't you going to practice them?" Shin'yu asked tentatively. He had thought Madara would be interested in such forbidden techniques.

"I don't need them." Madara said lightly, "That Spiritualization Technique is greatly beneficial to Mental Energy. You can study it further. The strength of Eye Power is directly tied to Mental Energy, and Mental Energy is inseparably linked to Yin Release..."

Shin'yu nodded as if he understood. He came from a rough background and had never received any formal instruction or training. All his combat techniques had come from instinct.

Even the Ninjutsu he had mastered had been learned from comrades around him.

In his vague understanding, Eye Power was simply the power a caster released through their eyes. It was closely related to Yin Release, and for certain ocular bloodline abilities, Eye Power was the measure of how powerful one's ocular techniques were.

The strength of Yin Release, meanwhile, was directly proportional to Mental Energy.

Seeing his half-understanding expression, Madara pondered for a moment before asking, "Do you know the true nature of Chakra?"

"I know this one," Shin'yu replied. "Chakra is the product of perfectly fusing a person's Mental Energy and physical energy. Mental Energy represents the Yin attribute, while physical energy represents the Yang attribute. Different Yin-Yang ratios produce Chakra's seven nature transformations, corresponding to how the union of Yin and Yang gives rise to all things in heaven and earth."

"Not bad." Madara nodded approvingly.

Shin'yu smiled. A stern-faced but kind-hearted uncle had taught him all this on the battlefield years ago. But that uncle had later died during the Senju Clan's encirclement. At that thought, his smile dimmed.

Madara seemed not to notice and continued, "Among Chakra's nature transformations, wind, fire, water, earth, and lightning are the five basic attributes, while Yin Release and Yang Release are special natures."

Shin'yu was pulled back from his thoughts. "Does that mean... Mental Energy is Yin Release, and physical energy is Yang Release?"

"Beginners tend to fall into that misconception." Madara shook his head with a smile. The warm tea slid down his throat, and he became more inclined to talk.

"Yin Release is a special type of Chakra refined by using Mental Energy as a foundation and blending in a portion of the Yang attribute. Yang Release works the same way in reverse. What makes them special is that these Yin-Yang ratios are innate. They cannot be acquired later in life like the five elemental releases."

He looked out the window, his voice distant and drifting. "For someone born with Yin Release to gain the power of Yang Release, they can only defy heaven and change fate..."

Shin'yu fell into thought. Madara's words suddenly enlightened him, as though clouds had parted to reveal a clear sky.

The outward manifestations of the five elemental releases were easy to distinguish, but techniques based on Yin Release and Yang Release seemed to be... mostly secret techniques.

For example, Medical Ninjutsu, the Akimichi Clan's Multi-Size Technique, the Senju Clan's Strength of a Hundred, and so on. These were related to the body and were mostly outward manifestations of Yang Release.

Meanwhile, techniques related to the mind mostly belonged to Yin Release. The Nara Clan's secret techniques used Yin Release to alter shadows, the Yamanaka Clan's Mind Body Switch Technique, the Byakugan, the Sharingan, and so forth—all were outward manifestations of Yin Release.

It could be said that Mental Energy was an important component of Yin Release, while Yin Release was itself a symbol of the strength of one's Eye Power.

A faint light appeared in Shin'yu's eyes as the obscure points in his understanding gradually began to clear.