"Can be analyzed, cannot be actively used?"
Kai's eyes flicked.
"So it's basically a buff—something that lets me learn."
Eight Gates, Gate of Death—an ultimate taijutsu that burns life to bloom for a single instant.
Even if this was only a "fragmentary experience version," the principles inside—how life-force erupts, how pure power reaches its limit—were priceless.
"And… power bought by burning life…"
Kaimurmured, fingertips rubbing the "little sun."
It felt warm.
And faintly, a thread of gentle heat seeped from his fingers into his body, quietly nourishing the fatigue that came from pushing his dōjutsu too hard.
"If I remember right… Wood Release without Hashirama cells is basically another kind of 'burning life' principle."
"If I fuse the two… will I get something new?"
A small smile tugged at his lips.
Konoha's night was still long.
And this power shift—was only the beginning.
How the authority would be used next depended on whether Fugaku could hold the line.
With Hiashi and the Nara on board, even if Fugaku somehow went soft, the village wouldn't spiral.
And Fugaku wasn't incompetent.
Setting aside his hesitation, he was more than capable at governance.
As for Kai—
he needed to think about one thing: growth.
And then: the undercurrents that would come after.
Konoha's power structure changing overnight would never stay hidden from the truly sharp-eyed.
The muscle-brained speed freak and the big-nosed little old man would start twitching soon enough.
And with the Akatsuki already forming their skeleton crew…
The real trials were only just pulling back the curtain.
Kaiexhaled, shifted, and fell asleep half-prone—his preferred position.
Shhk! Shhk!
The moment he sank into sleep, two shadows slid through the Uchiha district's darkness.
"Are you sure he'll be on the wall?" Yamanaka Fū hissed, blond hair barely stirring in the night. Grief and rage churned behind his eyes.
He'd been out on assignment when the news hit—
their leader was gone.
The man he'd followed for years had been killed by a child.
The moment Fū heard, he abandoned everything and ran back to Konoha for one thing:
revenge.
Beside him, Aburame Torune's black cloak fluttered. From his sleeves, a faint purple mist seeped soundlessly.
"He will be," Torune said flatly. "We watched him for years. He spends almost every night on that wall."
Then his voice dropped—heavy, grim.
"This kid is… wrong. We might—"
"Die?" Fū cut in, shaking his head.
"The boss is dead. All I want is payback."
His hate locked onto the small sleeping figure atop the wall.
"For Danzō-sama!"
"Secret Technique—Poison Dust!"
Torune's low growl came with movement. Nanoscopic venom insects surged between his hands—then he blew softly.
Huuu…
Bzzzzzz…
In an instant, the purple swarm wove together, the poison mist writhing through the night like a living snake.
His trump card.
Pollute the air itself.
Breathe it in and you die.
Not even a Kage walks away clean if they inhale carelessly.
At the same time, Fū shut his eyes, hands flashing through seals—his focus sharpening into a spear.
"Mind Body Switch Technique!"
A perfect kill chain:
control the body, ruin the body.
Touch it and it's over.
Woooong—
The poison mist rolled over the wall.
"So good—he has no defense at all!" Torune clenched a fist, excitement spiking.
Then he looked to Fū, praising him without hesitation.
"Nice one, Fū. You locked him down perfectly."
Even a quiet swarm has a chance of being noticed.
But Kaididn't react at all—
so the only explanation had to be Fū's technique landing clean.
"…Did I?" Fū scratched his head, confusion creeping in.
Something felt off.
"Torune… I don't think I entered his mindscape."
The praise froze on Torune's face.
Didn't enter…?
So he wasn't controlling anything.
The two of them snapped their heads back toward the wall—
And it was empty.
Only the poison insects remained.
Torune's face tightened.
"We're exposed. Withdraw—now!"
"Withdraw?" a young voice said behind them, light and almost amused.
"Where exactly do you think you're withdrawing to?"
Cold ran straight up their spines.
Every hair on their backs stood up.
Torune slowly turned.
KaiUchiha stood there.
But what truly shattered their nerves wasn't that he was behind them—
it was that he was looking down at them.
Torune's eyes dropped, instinctively scanning—
And his blood turned to ice.
Kaiwasn't standing.
He was floating.
"Flying…? You can use flight ninjutsu?!" Torune blurted, disbelief cracking his voice.
"What—no way!" Fū jolted as if waking from a nightmare.
Flight was absurdly rare in the shinobi world.
Even in Konoha—monsters and legends everywhere—none of them could truly fly.
And yet here it was, on a ten-year-old Uchiha.
Fū's heart sank.
For a split second, a thought slipped in—quiet and terrible:
Danzō-sama didn't die unjustly.
"Country bumpkins."
Kai's answer was only three words.
Short.
Cutting.
And if they'd looked closer—really looked—they might've noticed the truth:
He wasn't flying at all.
In the dark, his left foot lightly pressed down on his right.
Again.
And again.
Beneath him, the silver glow of his "three-foot domain" condensed into a thin misty layer—
a faint step.
A platform.
Like invisible stairs holding him up in midair.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> patreon.com/SorenSwiftTL