"To think I would become Hong's follower in a dream; fortunately, I gained much, though it lasted only three days."
Upon waking, Uchiha Yoichi glanced at the familiar ceiling, not getting up immediately as he was still reminiscing about what he experienced in the dream.
This must be the effect of the ability from [Tale of the World]. In the dream, he became a follower of Hong, Earth's strongest in the world of devouring the stars, right when Hong was teaching his three planet-level subordinates.
Uchiha Yoichi, as a follower, listened nearby and studied for three days. Although he slept for only a little over two hours, he effectively experienced three full days in the dream.
"World-Ending Guiding Jutsu, Five Hearts Facing Heaven, Spiritual Mind Master Basic Cultivation Technique..."
That was roughly Uchiha Yoichi's gain from the three days in the dream. Even after waking, he still remembered it clearly.
Hong's strength was indisputable, almost comparable to the Six Paths Level Otsutsuki, with attacks possibly on par with the Tailed Beast Ball of the Ten-tailed, speed akin to Instant Teleportation, and a lifespan nearing a thousand years. His created World-Ending Spear Technique had six or seven times the power.
Although Uchiha Yoichi was strong, he still paled in comparison to Hong. Even transforming into Godzilla would make him nothing more than Hong's punching bag.
"I'll try the Guiding Jutsu first. If I can successfully cultivate it, it would be nearly equivalent to a permanent Sage Mode, like the Three Great Snake Princesses of Ryuchi Cave... Could their invisibility be an innate ability stemming from excessive absorption of Natural Energy?"
Uchiha Yoichi suddenly thought of Ichikishimahime, and he was quite eager to learn her invisibility skill, as aside from Dojutsu Type Bloodline, almost no one could sense Ichikishimahime's presence.
Unfortunately, that loli snake refused to teach him, claiming it was a unique skill of the Ryuchi Cave's Snake Princesses, requiring a substantial price to learn.
Today, he intended to try the Five Hearts Facing Heaven Technique and the guiding jutsu for the World-Ending Spear Technique. The former absorbs cosmic energy, while the latter can alter the method of absorbing this energy.
Although Uchiha Yoichi's body was already strong, absorbing cosmic energy to further enhance it might make him even stronger.
Once he mastered the cultivation, it might not be a problem to kick apart a complete form Susanoo.
Minami was due to give birth in one or two months, and Mikota was anxious and proactive every night.
After coming downstairs, Uchiha Yoichi ate a little and then went to the courtyard, where he used Wood Clone Jutsu to create over a hundred clones. Aside from five left to cultivate the Five Hearts Facing Heaven Technique, two went to the Alchemy Room to study and improve elixirs and mentor Nohara Rin, while one headed to the Hokage Building.
"In the devouring world, humans can absorb cosmic energy because their genes continuously produce antibodies under the influence of a virus, evolving to allow cosmic energy absorption... The Uchiha Race, not being native to the Ninja World, might as well give it a try."
Subsequently, Uchiha Yoichi and his over a hundred Wood Clones began cultivating the Five Hearts Facing Heaven Technique, soon entering a meditative state.
Not long after, Yugito, still drowsy, got up. She intended to sleep a little longer, but Matatabi, who urged her to rise for cultivation, made her hesitate to remain in bed.
Thinking about it, Yugito completely ignored having secretly opened her room door last night.
After washing up, Yugito picked some food from the fridge. No one typically cooked breakfast in the house, as someone usually came to deliver food to Uzumaki Minami later in the morning.
If Yugito chose to wait, she could join in eating, but she needed to start her training and couldn't wait until past eight.
"Hmm? What's that guy doing in the yard? Training?"
With a piece of bread in her mouth, Yugito suddenly noticed Uchiha Yoichi in the yard. With so many clones, she quickly estimated around dozens, all sitting quietly—it was clear they were training some Secret Technique.
Yugito had always seen Uchiha Yoichi's less serious side, frequently advising her on what to wear. This was the first time seeing him in training mode.
"This guy, suddenly being serious today, can he even guide me in training?"
Yugito thought while nibbling her bread. After finishing breakfast, she waited some more. The delivery for the nutritious breakfast arrived, and even Uzumaki Minami yawned as she descended from upstairs, yet Uchiha Yoichi still hadn't awakened.
"Is Lord Yoichi training?"
Uzumaki Minami expressed surprise upon seeing Uchiha Yoichi in the yard. She seldom saw Uchiha Yoichi train. Though she used to see it often, at some point Uchiha Yoichi gave up training.
At that time, neither further training of his chakra nor physical conditioning seemed to yield much improvement.
Ninjas have their limits; could anyone train harder than Might Guy? Despite decades of relentless training, he achieved Six Paths power for mere minutes only through the life-for-life Eight Gates Secret Technique.
That level was barely reaching the threshold, with help needed to contend with an Uchiha Madara without the Divine Tree.
The Chakra System makes it very difficult for typical ninjas to break past the Kage Level through training; the later stages rely entirely on bloodlines. Without the Otsutsuki Bloodline, one doesn't even have a ticket to enter.
But it's different with Genetic Primordial Energy. By absorbing cosmic energy, you can continually change and break through to slowly grow stronger; even without cosmic energy, absorbing Natural Energy yields power-ups.