The fusion of bloodlines, along with the subsequent strength testing, didn't take Uchiha Kirin much time at all.
By the time he returned to the Shinobi World, only a few short months had passed.
Gazing down at the multitudes below, Uchiha Kirin gradually began to understand why those so-called lofty sages loved to treat the Shinobi World as their personal nursery—sowing, harvesting, and repeating the cycle to reap what they needed time and again.
If nothing else, just the massacre he orchestrated on the Night of the Clan's Annihilation had produced massive gains.
It was unimaginable how much the Sage of Six Paths and the Slug Sage could have extracted from that single conflict.
Yet, as fruitful as it was, such gains still required time to digest and master.
Although Uchiha Kirin had now evolved his Susanoo once more and acquired an entirely new divine technique...
His own strength, at its core, still couldn't sustain the use of these abilities for long periods.
After all, between the Sage of Six Paths and other sages from various sacred lands, there existed a vast and insurmountable gap—a chasm defined by the level of life itself.
Even as he was now, without activating all ten layers of the 〖Battle Saint Scripture〗, Kirin could easily crush most other sages relying solely on his Breathing Art of the Sage Path...
But against someone on the level of the Sage of Six Paths, he could only hold out for a few moves at best.
Only by activating the 〖Battle Saint Scripture〗—which caused his strength to swell a thousandfold—could he truly cross that chasm!
Though his prototype Divine Tool realm had the potential to evolve into a world and gather world power, it remained far too underdeveloped.
Even though he had repeatedly infused it with divine techniques, integrating them into its laws, the number of rules it contained was still fewer than ten. The world power it could manifest was still pitifully small.
Aside from briefly binding enemies and absorbing attacks, it was of limited use...
"The road ahead is long and arduous."
Uchiha Kirin let out a sigh and began setting a few short-term goals for himself:
First, complete the synthesis of his remaining Kekkei Genkai, then merge them into the Uchiha bloodline to continuously enhance its power.
Next, master the 〖Indestructible Body〗 technique to greatly boost both his strength and defense.
After that, he would work toward maintaining a constantly active 〖Battle Saint Scripture〗 state—training his body to adapt to the amplification as if it were his baseline. Only then would he attempt to stack it with other power-boosting techniques, such as the Eight Gates.
Additionally, he would gather God Tree seeds and other items beneficial to perfecting his miniature world.
And most importantly—continue researching and refining the Breathing Art of the Sage Path, integrating more forms of strength. Perhaps even find a way to reconvert these hybrid energies into a unique power source belonging solely to himself.
Once all of this was done, maybe then he could rival the power of the Sage of Six Paths... in his base form!
Having locked in his targets,
Uchiha Kirin left the outside world to several of his clones while he dove straight into the Dragon Vein.
He opened the bottle of golden Arhat blood he had taken from the white ape and began absorbing the unique energy within it—fully immersing himself in cultivating and refining the 〖Indestructible Body〗.
...
Elsewhere, several months had passed since Uchiha Kirin sent out the invitation letter for the Shinobi Way Academy.
Yet no one had managed to uncover even the faintest clue.
Eventually, under the deliberate influence of several sages and summoning beast clans, all news was intercepted or distorted.
Among the many shinobi who returned from the front lines, grumblings of deception were widespread.
The so-called Shinobi Way Academy had already been written off as a scandal—an embarrassing hoax no one wanted to bring up again.
Still, a few shinobi believed that the letter—crafted from Wood Release—might help in unlocking the secrets of that very kekkei genkai. Many turned their focus toward developing and refining their own ninjutsu.
Root in particular, after Danzo's disgrace and downfall, had been actively collecting these suspicious items and dispatching waves of research ninja to analyze them.
Naturally, their efforts proved futile...
As for the key players in the inevitable future Shinobi World War and the ones bound by fate itself—
Naruto, Sasuke, and most of Konoha's "stubborn little cockroaches" had already returned to their peaceful daily lives, attending the academy and slogging through the snail-paced traditional shinobi education system.
On occasion, someone would bring up Uchiha Kirin—the once-in-a-generation genius who vanished like a fleeting spark.
Some said he had died during the clan's massacre, orchestrated by Sasuke's older brother.
Others believed he perished on his way to uncover the Shinobi Way Academy.
Regardless, Uchiha Kirin had faded from the memories of those in Konoha.
Everything seemed to have returned to its proper track, moving steadily toward its fated conclusion...
Even if a few individuals had strayed from that path, it made little difference.
Neji's escape from Konoha had shaken the main branch of the Hyuga Clan. They had underestimated the side branch for too long and were now unable to trace the missing clan member's whereabouts.
All they could do was pray that the Caged Bird Seal was strong enough—so that upon his death, the Byakugan would be destroyed automatically.
Unbeknownst to them, Neji had journeyed north after his escape from Konoha.
With the aid of the Breathing Art of the Sage Path and his innate talent for taijutsu, he used bandages to cover his eyes and successfully concealed his identity—settling into a sword dojo in the Land of Iron, lying low...
...
The counter ticked forward. A year slipped by in silence.
The Shinobi World had returned to peace.
Many strange occurrences had already become unspeakable secrets—or, twisted by rumor, transformed into exaggerated tavern gossip.
The world of shinobi was... as it had always been.
...
Beneath the Dragon Vein, a golden vertical pupil snapped open.
As the last drop of Arhat blood in the bottle ran dry, Uchiha Kirin completed the fifth layer of his 〖Indestructible Body〗 cultivation.
With resources exhausted, he hit a temporary ceiling.
In the downtime, he began developing his bloodline powers and ocular techniques.
Now, his eyes had morphed into vertical pupils like a serpent's—marking the birth of a new ocular ability, derived from his flood dragon bloodline.
While it didn't hold much advantage in direct combat compared to the Sharingan or Tenseigan...
It was extremely effective at nullifying Genjutsu and mental attacks. More importantly, it could perceive and capture the latent forces of rules and laws scattered throughout the world.
He made his way to the area saturated year-round with lightning energy drawn from the Dragon Vein.
Within, the hidden law of lightning was clearly visible!
With the aid of his new ocular ability, Uchiha Kirin quickly tamed the lightning rule hidden deep in the grotto and assimilated it into his body.
However, he didn't rush to synthesize a new divine technique. He had something deeper in mind.
Having previously fused multiple divine techniques, Uchiha Kirin understood very well—aside from inherently unique rules, most rule-based divine techniques depended heavily on both quantity and compatibility.
If these criteria were met, the result would far surpass ordinary divine techniques in power!
Thus, he resolved to set out and roam the Shinobi World—seeking out the rule forces scattered throughout the lands.
His goal: gather the Five Elemental rules that aligned with his own attributes and experiment with what kind of overwhelming power could be born from combining multiple rule forces into a single divine technique.
Additionally, while he no longer lacked the means to ascend to greater heights, discovering new legacies and inheritable arts could still provide him with extra tools and a broader perspective.
And when the time finally came to face the returning Otsutsuki God...
He'd have one more card to play.
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