"This body's aptitude is much better than that waste Suzuki's body. It should be able to evolve the Mangekyou Sharingan, right? At the very least, it's already three tomoe." Meruem looked up and down at Uchiha Sasaki's body.
"First, let me absorb Suzuki's essence. I wonder if chakra can be absorbed." The red Taotie appeared behind Meruem once again, putting the Golden Silkworm Gu that had absorbed all of Suzuki's essence into its mouth. But this time, the Taotie was much smaller than before - practically a pocket version.
As for Suzuki, who had lost the Golden Silkworm Gu, he instantly became a pile of rotten flesh - just a corpse.
If it were the previous Meruem, he might not have cared about that bit of essence energy at all, but now was different. Now was when he desperately needed strength, and every bit that could help him quickly recover his power had to be seized.
Meruem didn't belong to this world, so naturally his body wouldn't possess chakra exclusive to the Naruto world. According to legend, chakra came from fruit borne by the Divine Tree, which was then eaten by Kaguya, making her the first person to possess chakra.
Then her two sons, the Sage of Six Paths and his brother, were born. Finally, the Sage of Six Paths distributed chakra to everyone, thus creating ninjas.
But in reality, if you weren't from this world, it was impossible for chakra to exist in your body or cells. So even if Meruem knew the method of extracting chakra, he had no way to extract chakra from his original body.
Because this substance simply didn't exist in his original body - just like how ninjas couldn't learn Nen. Although both Nen and chakra were said to be life energy, people who weren't from that world simply couldn't learn it. He wondered if ki from the Dragon Ball world was also exclusive energy to that world. Techniques like Bukujutsu would be extremely practical.
"Hmm, I didn't expect..." Meruem closed his eyes and carefully comprehended, absorbing the essence of Suzuki that had been consumed by Taotie's Feast. Although this energy was just a tiny bit for Meruem, this time was different - Meruem felt a sensation he had never experienced before, this feeling...
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique..." Meruem's main body suddenly performed several hand seals toward the sky, then took a deep breath and exhaled forcefully.
Logically speaking, none of what Meruem, who wasn't from this world, was doing should have any effect - it should be impossible to release ninjutsu. But... countless small fireballs shot out from Meruem's mouth.
This was the authentic Phoenix Sage Fire Technique of the Uchiha clan's Fire Release!
"I can actually... use chakra now?" Staring dumbfounded at his own hands and the ninjutsu he had released, Meruem then smiled eerily.
I can feel it - there's a trace of weak energy in my body. This must be chakra. Though the amount isn't much and can only release a few ninjutsu, it gives Meruem a very pure feeling.
Indeed, the system was right - this world could truly make him stronger.
And it wasn't just the Divine Tree's chakra fruit. If I continuously use Taotie's Feast to consume more powerful ninjas... that wouldn't be a bad way to become stronger either.
"Interesting... looks like the plan needs some changes. I'll need to eliminate some powerful ninjas who aren't important to the plot from now on." Meruem licked the corner of his mouth. The feeling of Nen and chakra mixed together was quite nice.
Meruem's goal was the Divine Tree's fruit, which was the same as Kaguya's objective. So maintaining the plot's integrity was more advantageous for Meruem. Although even if he acted recklessly, Black Zetsu might still summon Kaguya eventually, wasn't knowing the plot more advantageous for himself? Fishing in troubled waters was the best approach.
"Moreover, due to Taotie's Feast's special nature, those kekkei genkai won't be unusable in the future either - as long as I consume enough kekkei genkai ninjas."
The nightmare of kekkei genkai ninjas might be starting - no, the nightmare of this entire ninja world might be beginning. To recover his strength, to become stronger, Meruem would spare no cost and use any means necessary.
It was just killing people - who hadn't killed before? The ninja world was originally a place where people ate people anyway. Those who kill others will be killed by others.
"But the previous plan remains the same. The Uchiha clan - so many living kekkei genkai ninjas. Wouldn't it be too wasteful to wipe them all out? How about they all become nutrients for my growth..." When Meruem looked at Sasaki, his eyes were filled with a terrifying emotion - Eat... Seven Deadly Sins - Gluttony.
Of course, what Meruem wanted to do wasn't literally feed Sasaki to Taotie, but rather utilize this Uchiha clan rebellion plan and Konoha's massacre plan.
"This body looks like it'll need to wait even longer... probably around sixteen hours. But none of that matters. My clone, the stronger you become, the stronger I can become. Uchiha, Konoha, and that Obito too - let's play something big."
Taotie, this time I'll definitely let you have a good feast.
What would happen if Meruem, with his extremely terrifying talent, learned ninjutsu? Even Netero's Hundred-Type Guanyin that he had cultivated for decades was learned by Meruem.
So what about space-time ninjutsu? What about forbidden techniques? What about Edo Tensei? I really look forward to seeing what will happen.
Without lingering, after Meruem made Sasaki into his puppet using the Golden Silkworm Gu, he placed him in the same deep Forest of Death location as before, then hurried back to Ruiko's side.
Mainly because he was worried something might happen to Ruiko - after all, no one could say exactly which day the Uchiha massacre night would occur.
Moreover, when Meruem left, Ruiko had been in deep sleep, but you never knew when she might suddenly wake up. Fearing that Ruiko would be sad again, Meruem hurried back after finishing these miscellaneous tasks.
Of course, Meruem still shared a bed with Ruiko. Since that day, the two had officially been living together. Although both their bodies only looked seven or eight years old - Meruem was physically seven or eight but not mentally, while Ruiko was truly only seven or eight.
Ruiko slept very sweetly and well-behaved, so much so that Meruem couldn't help but kiss her before going to sleep. Cough cough, this didn't count as being a creepy uncle - after all, Meruem's body was also only seven or eight years old.
The next day, once again early in the morning, he saw Ruiko off at the door. Because this was Uchiha clan territory and Meruem was an undocumented resident, he couldn't go out during the day, so he could only watch Ruiko go to school.
Afterward, Meruem began simple training - Nen cultivation and chakra cultivation. Nen cultivation! This was something Meruem had never done before, but now things were different.
With only one-tenth of his strength remaining, Meruem wanted to quickly recover his Nen. He couldn't just passively wait for time to pass, for himself to slowly grow up and his strength to slowly recover. Moreover, being in Konoha, he couldn't casually move around. Even though he had spatial abilities like Four-Dimensional Apartment, Nen cultivation was the same anywhere.
Of course, for Ruiko's safety, Meruem left a trace of Nen on Ruiko's body that could provide some protection when she was in danger. Most importantly, it served as a tracking function.
There should be no one in the Naruto world who could detect Nen, but Meruem couldn't guarantee this - whether the Byakugan could see Nen was really hard to say.
So Meruem only dared leave a trace of Nen aura - no need to cause trouble for Ruiko.
Another peaceful and simple day passed, until afternoon when the sun was setting. The animals in the Forest of Death rioted once again, and another huge insect cocoon like the previous day cracked open once more.
Once again, a young man crawled out, but this time it was a handsome youth without stubble on his chin - Uchiha Sasaki.
"Hmm, strength barely adequate, speed barely adequate, defensive ability somewhat lacking, body recovery ability slightly poor. But it's much better than that previous body of Suzuki. After all, he's not a ninja from the Senju clan who relied on physical prowess. As a ninjutsu and genjutsu-type ninja, this level of physical fitness is about adequate."
After completing a series of tests, Sasaki analyzed. Honestly speaking, Sasaki's physical fitness after potential overdraft enhancement was already quite good by ninja world standards.
You couldn't compare him to Chimera Ants whose physical abilities were exaggerated to the extreme. Compared to ordinary ninjas, only taijutsu-specialized ninjas could match him.
The Uchiha originally didn't rely on physical prowess anyway - one couldn't be too demanding.
"Chakra has increased by at least three times. Should be comparable to Kage-level ninjas, and the type with quite a lot of chakra too. What remains is testing the biggest cheat... I hope it won't disappoint me. Sharingan - activate!"
Sasaki slowly closed his eyes then suddenly opened them. One tomoe, two tomoe, three tomoe, until a strange symbol appeared in the red eyeballs that looked like pink eye - a pattern resembling a shuriken.
"Success! Indeed, it's the Mangekyou Sharingan. Hehe... with these eyes, Obito and Itachi, I can also participate in your plans. It would be such a waste to have so much food that could make me stronger get killed."
"What are the abilities of my Mangekyou? Let me try them."
Meruem - or rather Sasaki - closed his eyes and pondered, then frowned.
"It's not Kamui's space-time ability... a bit disappointing. It's also not Itachi's unique Tsukuyomi space... Fire? No, not Amaterasu. This is cold flame. And... what is this ability? It can pulverize matter? Why does it feel like the magic of that legendary mage from Fairy Tail - Gildarts?"
"These two abilities aren't particularly powerful. Ice flames that can freeze everything don't have as strong an effect as Amaterasu's ability to burn everything. And as for the pulverization ability, I don't know if it can pulverize all matter. With this body facing Itachi would be fine, but Obito's Kamui would be somewhat disadvantageous."
(End of Chapter)
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