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The young Uchiha Fugaku didn't understand why his uncle chose to settle down. Although he didn't argue further, he still felt uneasy.
Fugaku deeply admired Uchiha Kiyo.
The two were close friends, and in the numerous battles and exchanges with Uchiha Kiyo, Fugaku had learned a lot.
Now that Uchiha Kiyo had perished—betrayed and killed by his own village's shinobi—Fugaku felt an overwhelming sense of injustice.
Why?
Why was the leadership of Konoha so unfair? Why did they have to endure this humiliation?
At this moment, Fugaku couldn't understand his uncle's actions at all.
Not only Fugaku but many Uchiha clansmen also found it difficult to comprehend the patriarch's stance. However, Uchiha Suke had made immense contributions to the clan's development, earning deep respect, so no one openly questioned him.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Kiyo remained unaware of the clan's internal struggles. His sole focus was on training and research.
In the ninja world, strength dictated everything.
If one failed to reach the level of a Kage, if one did not stand at the peak, then confidence and security would always be fleeting.
This time, Uchiha Kiyo had resolved not to step outside until he had fully mastered his strength at the Kage level.
This might have been difficult for the former Uchiha Kiyo, but ever since his mindset changed on the day he escaped, nothing seemed impossible anymore.
And indeed, it wasn't.
He continued his training at the hidden base. After two years, Uchiha Kiyo finally broke through to the Kage level, surpassing the phase of strength development.
Now, Uchiha Kiyo was a true Kage-level powerhouse—not just in title but in actual combat ability.
During his time as an elite jōnin, Uchiha Kiyo had struggled with chakra reserves.
Back then, his battle prowess and extraordinary regenerative ability allowed him to fight on par with elite jōnin, giving him exceptional endurance. However, his chakra reserves were insufficient for prolonged high-level battles.
One of the issues with the shinobi ranking system was its lack of clear parameters. Strength was primarily measured through combat performance rather than strict classifications of life force or chakra aura.
Thus, at that time, Uchiha Kiyo was considered an elite jōnin.
Of course, chakra volume was still an observable indicator.
Uchiha Kiyo had always analyzed a shinobi's strength by assessing their chakra volume.
Through his own extensive data collection, he had created a rough classification of chakra amounts for each ninja rank, allowing him to estimate the power levels of others.
This method had flaws—particularly when dealing with anomalies like the Uzumaki Clan, who possessed extraordinary chakra reserves.
But none of that mattered now.
Having broken through to the Kage level, Uchiha Kiyo stood among the strongest in the shinobi world. Few could defeat him, and in actual combat, he could accurately gauge the strength of his opponents.
Still, his old method of judging power remained useful.
After all, constantly testing an enemy's strength in battle was impractical. If he needed to assess every opponent by fighting them directly, he might as well never leave his base.
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Updated Status: Uchiha Kiyo (17 years old)
Chakra: 40 Lun (400,000 standard chakra units)
Nature Transformations:
Intermediate: Fire Release (burning, combustion, high temperature), Earth Release (heaviness, hardness, fluidity), Water Release (fluidity), Wind Release (cutting)
Basic: Fire Release (corrosion), Water Release (purification, nourishment)
Complete: Lightning Release
(This update does not include ninjutsu techniques, as they are too numerous. Readers should be familiar with them by now.)
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After his transformation in mentality, Uchiha Kiyo had experienced significant soul growth. Over the past two years, his chakra had increased rapidly, only slowing now upon reaching 40 Lun.
The term "Lun" was a new chakra measurement unit Uchiha Kiyo devised for convenience.
Previously, chakra was counted in thousands, but now it had reached hundreds of thousands, making the old system cumbersome. To simplify things, he defined 10,000 chakra units as one "Lun."
In practical combat, Uchiha Kiyo no longer worried about chakra consumption when using powerful techniques.
After reaching the Kage level, the focus shifted from chakra reserves to maximizing the power of ninjutsu.
However, there was another reason for his rapid chakra growth.
For the past two years, Uchiha Kiyo had strictly adhered to his principle of avoiding combat, dedicating himself entirely to research and training. Without distractions, he had made great strides in his understanding of ninjutsu.
Among his biggest breakthroughs were two new properties of Water Release.
Uchiha Kiyo named them Purification and Nourishment, and their applications were quite unique.
Purification allowed him to dissolve most substances in water, though the degree of dissolution varied depending on the material's state. In his previous life, chemical industries used water for similar separation processes.
Of course, Uchiha Kiyo hadn't witnessed these processes firsthand in his past life, but he understood the science behind them.
This property acted as a filter, removing unwanted elements and refining the desired components.
In the ninja world, this ability made many tasks significantly more convenient. Uchiha Kiyo could even manipulate the temperature of different sections within a single mass of water—something impossible in his past life.
Taking it further, he developed a nature transformation specifically for purification.
Using this ability, he soaked himself in water for 30 minutes daily, expelling toxins and impurities from his body.
The second property, Nourishment, worked in conjunction with his body-enhancing self-cultivation technique.
Uchiha Kiyo had theorized whether chakra, after separation into its physical and spiritual components, could be imbued with unique nature transformations to enhance its effects.
His experiments confirmed this hypothesis.
By infusing his chakra with the Nourishment property during training, Uchiha Kiyo accelerated his physical recovery and growth.
However, progress in these two fields was slow. The concepts were too specialized, and he had no external references. Despite his efforts, both properties remained at a basic level.
Over the course of two years, Uchiha Kiyo had improved in every aspect.
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"With this level of strength, is there anything in the ninja world that could truly threaten me?"
Uchiha Kiyo stroked his chin, pondering the dangers of re-entering the world.
"Well, as long as I don't draw too much attention, I should be fine. The only real threats would be ancient powers or forgotten secrets."
Uchiha Kiyo was confident in his ability to stay unnoticed. He had never been one to flaunt his power.
Moreover, unlike typical power breakthroughs that carried an overwhelming presence, his soul had undergone a transformation that made his aura calm and restrained rather than sharp and oppressive.
As a result, unless he deliberately revealed his strength, no one would suspect him of being the feared "Blood-Eyed Asura" from two years ago.
By simply using the Transformation Technique, he could ensure complete anonymity.
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After two years of seclusion, Uchiha Kiyo was finally ready to return to the outside world.
"I can't stay isolated any longer.
Even with multiple clones gathering information, there's a growing sense of detachment from reality.
And besides, my Konoha clone is on the verge of collapse."
Uchiha Kiyo had no choice but to act.
Although his clones had methods to refine secondary chakra and extend their lifespans, they were still depleting their original chakra over time.
Two years was long enough.
His Konoha clone had been running on fumes for the past month, barely surviving by minimizing activity.
If he didn't replace it soon, it would dissipate entirely.
It was time to act.
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