Upon arriving home, the first thing he did was light three sticks of incense and bow respectfully before a photograph.
Then, he began inspecting the house, as there were still two troublemakers lurking around. Surprisingly, despite his long absence, the rooms were spotless—unexpectedly tidy, even.
Why does the house feel so much bigger than before? Is it because I've been living in tents for so long?
"But where are Little Bai and Little Miao?"
Uchiha Kin searched until he reached the storage room. Pushing the door open, he finally spotted the two of them. In the dim light, Little Miao was perched atop Little Bai, and both summoning creatures turned their eyes toward Kin.
Little Miao: (Ф﹏Ф)
Little Bai: （●﹏●）
Kin scanned the storage room, its shelves packed tightly with clutter on three sides. He eyed the two suspiciously.
"You two haven't been causing trouble, have you?"
This didn't seem like their usual behavior.
Little Bai and Little Miao shook their heads rapidly.
Kin took another look around but still couldn't pinpoint what felt off. After a moment of thought, he finally left.
As the door creaked shut behind him, the two summoning beasts let out a simultaneous sigh of relief. Peering through the gaps in the shelves, they glanced at the small mountain of broken furniture hidden behind them.
"Good, he didn't notice," Little Miao muttered, wiping sweat from its forehead, its fur damp.
"Didn't notice what?" A voice chimed in eerily from the side.
"Of course, it's all the furniture we broke—" Little Miao paused mid-sentence.
Wait, since when could Little Bai talk? That's an advanced skill even I haven't mastered.
Turning its head in confusion, it saw Little Bai shaking its head frantically, even wagging its tail in denial.
A chill ran down Little Miao's spine as it slowly turned the other way.
A pair of crimson Sharingan eyes stared back at it.
"MEOW!!"
Kin clapped his hands together, satisfied as he looked at the cat and snake now dangling from the ceiling.
"Hanging there for a few days should teach you both a lesson," he said with a nod.
No wonder the house felt so empty—half the furniture is missing.
These were old pieces, and while he had considered replacing them, having them destroyed was another matter entirely.
With a cold snort, Kin made it clear that the two troublemakers had forgotten who was really in charge.
In the next moment, his figure dissolved into shadows, sinking into the floor.
He reappeared in the hidden research lab beneath the house.
Dust covered the room, but at least the two above had no idea this place existed—otherwise, his precious equipment would've been ruined.
These things are far too valuable.
Sitting at the computer, Kin began organizing his findings from over the years, along with his current combat data.
When it came to jutsu development, no one in the shinobi world had yet reached his level. Even Orochimaru and Tsunade, who had been preoccupied, lagged far behind.
This created a problem: the materials he needed to advance his techniques simply didn't exist.
As for Uchiha Madara…
Kin couldn't sense any real effort from him in jutsu research. His focus lay elsewhere, leaving his progress in the Foundation Internal Energy Technique even weaker than Orochimaru and Tsunade's.
Despite being the one who understood the technique best, Madara had made no attempts to improve it.
Even Kumogakure has refined it. How absurd.
For now, Kin's only paths to growth were expanding his chakra reserves and innovating new jutsu. But without existing research to build upon, he'd have to start from scratch.
"As I thought, I'll have to elevate the shinobi world's overall jutsu foundation myself," he sighed, staring at the screen.
The displayed content read:
Heavenly Demon Art (Dark Walker Technique Version): Mastered
Six Treasuries Immortal Thief (Yang-Release Version): Power reduced by 10%
Moon Breathing (Complete Version): Mastered
Wood Release Jutsu: Mastered
Three-Tomoe Sharingan: Mastered
Three Types of Haki: Mastered
Flash Step: Mastered
These were the core pillars of his combat strength, covering offense, training, recovery, reconnaissance, intimidation, pursuit, and evasion. They maximized his prowess in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
Some abilities, like the Spirit Bullet, had been abandoned. A temporary fusion of multiple natures, it was now useless—Kin could only manipulate water, earth, wood, and yin attributes, rendering it ineffective.
Of the Six Styles, four—Iron Body, Tempest Kick, Paper Drawing, and Finger Gun—were obsolete. Only Moonwalk remained practical, but his physical condition still fell short of its requirements.
How ridiculous—I developed it, yet I can't even use it properly.
Shave had evolved into Flash Step.
He also knew Uchiha clan techniques like Izanagi and Izanami, but the cost of losing an eye made them a last resort.
His three-tomoe Sharingan could even manifest Susanoo, a fact he'd learned from Madara. However, the chakra and ocular power requirements were immense.
The Heavenly Demon Art enhanced his ocular power, as did Wood Release, putting him on par with—or even surpassing—most Mangekyō users. The only difference was the lack of unique Mangekyō abilities.
Still, achieving a complete Susanoo remained out of reach.
Which brought him back to the original hurdle.
"Not enough chakra…"
When will my reserves reach 'chakra ton' levels? I'd kill to have a Tailed Beast sealed inside me.
He scratched his head in frustration.
The solution was simple: force his cells to produce more chakra. But Kin refused.
It'd shorten my lifespan.
The Foundation Internal Energy Technique extended life, but overworking the body would still take years off.
"I need to integrate chakra absorption into the Dark Walker Technique."
Wood Release and Six Treasuries Immortal Thief could absorb chakra, but the former redirected it to enhance Wood Release's power, while the latter's absorption was temporary—only permanent when consuming food. Otherwise, the chakra would gradually dissipate.
"For now, I'll have to merge Six Treasuries Immortal Thief with the Dark Walker Technique."
This would at least allow his strength to grow during prolonged battles.
But the current state of shinobi knowledge wasn't enough to seamlessly combine these two techniques.
"Guess I'll have to figure it out myself."
He sighed.
What a pain.
As for the Undying Seal Method he'd given Orochimaru, Kin could use it too—but with his chakra locked into yin attributes, he could only muster 30% of its potential.
Practically useless.
...
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(End of Chapter)