"Although I won this battle, it does not mean that I am stronger than Nagato."
After the meeting, Uchiha Fugaku returned to the Hokage's office.
He did not get carried away because he defeated Nagato, thinking that he could rest easy from then on.
He did not even consider attacking the Akatsuki organization's headquarters in the Hidden Rain Village and wiping them out, destroying both Nagato and the Akatsuki.
Because as far as he knew, in this battle—since it was a clone and not the original body—Nagato had at least two trump cards that he had not used.
The first one was Chibaku Tensei.
Although this sealing ninjutsu was a simplified version of the sealing technique of Kaguya Ōtsutsuki's Six Paths Chibaku Tensei, it still had extremely strong sealing power.
The second one was the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.
As the shell of the Ten Tails, the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path was a very special existence, and naturally had immense combat power.
If these two trump cards had been used, Nagato's strength would definitely have exceeded what it was in the previous battle. It was too early to assume that his own strength was greater than Nagato's.
"And this battle also exposed my weakness."
Uchiha Fugaku was secretly alert.
In the battle with Nagato, he had carefully calculated his chakra and only used the Complete Body Susanoo at the end.
But even so, by the time the battle ended, his chakra was almost exhausted.
If Nagato's Deva Path clone had not chosen to use the Shinra Tensei, which caused him to fall into a weakened state and gave Fugaku an opening—
If he had continued to fight instead, Fugaku would most likely have been the one to collapse first.
Although his current chakra reserves were about three times that of an average Kage, they were still definitely inferior to Nagato's.
Nagato was from the Uzumaki clan, and members of the Uzumaki clan were known for their immense chakra.
Even among the Uzumaki clan, Nagato must have been extremely special. Otherwise, Uchiha Madara wouldn't have chosen him as the vessel for the Rinnegan.
"Although I have been cultivating the Yin Seal, it takes three years of daily chakra infusion to complete. It's too time-consuming."
Uchiha Fugaku frowned. Three years was too long. He couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't face Nagato again within those three years.
"In addition to the Yin Seal, there is actually another way to compensate for this weakness."
Uchiha Fugaku's frown slowly relaxed.
Corpse Refining Technique allowed him to acquire the talents of the devoured corpse—including kekkei genkai—and that included chakra-related physical talents.
If he could acquire the corpse of a ninja with immense chakra talent and refine it, he could gain that talent and increase his own chakra.
"The tailless Tailed Beast..."
Thinking of ninja with vast chakra, Uchiha Fugaku immediately thought of Hoshigaki Kisame.
Although Kisame was not a member of the Uzumaki clan, his chakra levels exceeded that of most Uzumaki members. It made one wonder if he had Uzumaki blood.
The reason he chose Kisame and not a Jinchūriki was because the immense chakra of a Jinchūriki was not their own. Even if he refined their corpses, he wouldn't gain that talent.
If that were possible, he would have refined the corpse of the Five-Tails Jinchūriki after killing him.
Unlike a Jinchūriki, Kisame's enormous chakra came from his own body, making him an ideal candidate for corpse refinement.
"I wonder if he has already betrayed the Hidden Mist and joined the Akatsuki organization..."
Thinking this, Uchiha Fugaku looked toward the door.
"Send word to the Intelligence Division. Bring me the file on Hoshigaki Kisame."
"Yes."
After a short while, a masked, purple-haired female ninja opened the door, handed Fugaku a document, and then quietly left.
Uchiha Fugaku flipped through the file and soon set it down.
"He has defected from the Hidden Mist Village, and his current whereabouts are unknown. He's likely joined the Akatsuki."
After reading the intel, Fugaku came to a conclusion.
If his judgment was correct, Kisame was now a member of the Akatsuki.
"Have the Intelligence Division focus on tracking Kisame's whereabouts. Report to me immediately once he's found."
Fugaku gave his order toward the door.
"Yes."
The purple-haired kunoichi's voice replied from outside.
"It's not enough to just increase chakra. If I want to match or even surpass Nagato in our next encounter, I also need to increase my combat power."
"How do I raise my combat power?"
Uchiha Fugaku pondered.
His current strength had reached the super-Kage level. Any further improvement would be extremely difficult.
"I can start by developing a super-Kage-level Shikotsumyaku technique."
The Shikotsumyaku was a kekkei genkai with the potential of super-Kage-level power, but it lacked any accompanying techniques at that level to fully unleash its might.
If he could develop a super-Kage-level Shikotsumyaku ninjutsu, he could pair it with his current super-Kage-level bone manipulation ability to greatly increase his combat effectiveness.
"If I can master a new super-Kage-level technique, my combat power will naturally rise."
"It seems I need to accelerate the development of a super-Kage-level Shikotsumyaku technique."
Over the past year since acquiring the super-Kage-level Shikotsumyaku, Fugaku had never stopped developing such a technique. But it was extremely difficult, and progress had only reached about 60%.
If he invested more time and effort, he might be able to complete it sooner.
"In addition to a super-Kage-level technique, if I can learn Sage Mode from one of the three great sanctuaries, my combat power would also be enhanced."
From what Fugaku knew, Sage Mode was an extremely special technique.
It amplified other jutsu and increased their power. Even for super-Kage-level techniques, it provided a significant power boost.
If he could learn Sage Mode, his current techniques would become even stronger.
"However, I fear I don't have the aptitude for senjutsu."
Fugaku felt a twinge of regret.
In the history of the Uchiha clan, ever since Indra, no one had successfully practiced senjutsu.
That suggested the Uchiha physique wasn't compatible with it.
"I need to find a corpse with senjutsu aptitude."
Fortunately, with the Corpse Refinement Technique, he could acquire such aptitude and become the first Uchiha to practice Sage Mode.
But corpses with high senjutsu aptitude were rare.
There weren't many in the ninja world—and even fewer with advanced aptitude.
Uzumaki Naruto was one, but he was a potential future Six Paths-level shinobi. Wasting his life for smelting would be foolish.
Jiraiya's aptitude was average; he needed help from the toads even while in Sage Mode.
Jūgo had inferior talent. Though he could absorb natural energy, he couldn't control it, causing body mutation and dual personality.
Clearly, his senjutsu talent was unstable and weak.
"The one with the highest senjutsu aptitude was Hashirama Senju. Unfortunately, he's been dead for so long that his body would be useless even if unearthed."
Fugaku sighed. After all these years, Hashirama's corpse would likely be no more than bones. Even if retrieved, it couldn't be refined for talent.
"Wait… even if Hashirama is dead, maybe there's still a way to obtain his senjutsu aptitude."
A spark lit in Fugaku's eyes.
Though Hashirama was gone, his cells lived on—many people had successfully merged with them.
If he could refine the body of someone who had absorbed Hashirama's cells, he might be able to regain that senjutsu talent.
"White Zetsu clones..."
Fugaku immediately thought of them—beings created from Hashirama's cells.
Though each clone had low individual senjutsu talent, if devoured in large quantities, the cumulative result could recreate Hashirama's level.
"If I can locate the White Zetsu base and devour them all, I can gain both Wood Release talent and Sage Mode aptitude comparable to Hashirama's."
"I must treat the search for the White Zetsu base as a top priority."
He made a mental note, then shifted his thoughts toward other means of improvement.
"Aside from Sage Mode and super-Kage techniques, improving my bloodline limit is also viable."
Though he had already awakened the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, it wasn't the pinnacle.
The Rinnegan was the true limit of the Sharingan.
If he could evolve his Eternal Mangekyō into the Rinnegan, his strength would skyrocket to the Six Paths level.
"The Sage of Six Paths said that the Rinnegan results from combining Indra and Asura chakra—but that explanation isn't entirely accurate."
"Indra chakra must refer to the ultimate Indra bloodline, and Asura chakra to the ultimate Asura bloodline."
In Fugaku's view, the Rinnegan was a form of bloodline limit. Once the bloodline reached a certain purity and power, the Rinnegan would manifest.
This belief stemmed from how he had awakened the Eternal Mangekyō without transplanting a relative's eyes.
"I already have the ultimate Indra bloodline—the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan is proof. What I lack is the ultimate Asura bloodline."
"To gain it, I must also find the White Zetsu base. By devouring many Zetsu infused with Hashirama's cells, I can acquire the ultimate Asura bloodline."
"So, just like learning Sage Mode, the top priority is locating the White Zetsu base."
With that, Uchiha Fugaku's path forward became clear. He now knew how to improve himself and prepare for the battles ahead.
(End of this chapter)