Meanwhile, thousands of kilometers away—
In the Land of Wind, on a desolate stretch of desert, a young man crouched under a dune to shield himself from the wind.
He was still very young, with a head of silver hair, an expressionless face, and a cold demeanor. Yet, as he read the letter in his hands, a faint, heartfelt smile occasionally flickered across his lips.
"Yu, congratulations."
After reading, Kakigi Sazumo carefully put away the letter and murmured.
For the sake of his current mission, he had already been away from the village for more than two months—two months of deep infiltration and concealment. Finally, the day to reap the fruits of his patience had arrived.
What he hadn't expected was that, during his absence, his close friend Mo Yu had undergone such astonishing changes.
Displaying hidden talent, defeating Uchiha Fugaku, officially becoming a Genin, overcoming several Chunin, entering the Chunin Exams—one thing after another…
Even Sazumo could not help but be surprised.
But more than that, he felt genuine happiness for his friend. By the time he returned, Mo Yu would likely have already been promoted to Chunin.
At that point, the three of them—he, Mo Yu, and Tamako—who had entered the ninja academy together, would all stand as Chunin.
Thinking of this, Kakigi Sazumo couldn't help but sigh with emotion.
Shhh!
His keen ears suddenly picked up the faintest disturbance. The fleeting smile vanished, replaced once again by his usual icy composure.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as his hand instinctively reached for the weapon strapped to his waist—his most treasured possession.
White Fang!
In the deathly silence of the desert night, Sazumo sprang forward like a lone wolf baring its fangs at prey, his blade thrusting with lethal precision toward the enemy.
Time passed quickly, and another week slipped by.
During these days, both Mo Yu and Tamako trained diligently at home to prepare for the Chunin Exams.
Mo Yu focused mainly on becoming more proficient with the ninjutsu he had already mastered:
D-Rank Ninjutsu (2): Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique, Genjutsu: Demonic Illusion – Hell Viewing Technique.
C-Rank Ninjutsu (4): Fire Release: Grand Fireball Technique, Wind Release: Wind Cutter, Water Release: Wild Water Wave, and Hidden Mist Technique.
B-Rank Ninjutsu (2): Wind Release: Whirlwind Fist, Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song.
And that wasn't even counting his Taijutsu: Leaf Whirlwind, Leaf Great Whirlwind, Leaf Strong Whirlwind, along with techniques derived from the Eight Gates.
At this point, Mo Yu's foundation in ninjutsu was already deeper than many Jōnin of common birth.
Furthermore, just two days earlier, the review of the Rain Ninja assassination incident had been finalized.
As a result, Mo Yu was awarded a special commendation, granting him the right to enter the village's vault and select one B-Rank ninjutsu or three C-Rank techniques.
Naturally, Mo Yu chose the B-Rank option. Anything below C-Rank was of little help to him now.
In the end, he picked Lightning Release: Ground Walk (Doton no Jutsu)!
This jutsu was especially effective when paired with Water Release, producing a devastating combined effect. For someone like Mo Yu, who could already use all five elemental chakra natures, it was a perfect fit.
In addition, thanks to his mastery of the Secret of Speed, his swordsmanship had also reached a new level.
He had no interest in flashy techniques or rigid forms. His sword style relied on a single principle—speed.
Not only could he apply the Secret of Speed to his sword strikes and ninjutsu, but he was also experimenting with applying it to his movements, allowing his body itself to become faster and more agile. In battle, overwhelming speed meant seizing the initiative—or at worst, the ability to escape unscathed from even stronger foes.
But in this area, Mo Yu hit a stumbling block.
His body simply couldn't handle the strain of such speed.
More than once, he had crashed headfirst into the courtyard wall, unable to control his movement. His arms and legs moved too fast for his senses to keep up, making coordinated combat impossible.
Worse still, his body ached violently after training, muscles tearing as though shredded apart.
He knew the truth: his physical body wasn't strong enough yet.
Determined, Mo Yu spent a hefty amount of gold from the system to purchase more Zhilong Body-Strengthening Balm, multiplying the dosage several times over. He combined this with the Water-Thunder Forging Method to train.
He even commissioned a blacksmith to forge two pairs of weighted arm and leg bands, each weighing over a hundred jin. One pair strapped to his wrists, the other to his ankles—together they burdened him with nearly 200 jin (100kg) every waking moment.
Day and night, twenty-four hours a day, he wore them—even while bathing or sleeping—forcing his body to adapt to relentless pressure.
Without the Forging Method and the Balm, even an Iron Man would have collapsed under such training.
After a week, Mo Yu had already adjusted to moving with the burden. To the eye, he seemed no different from an ordinary person.
"Infernal Illusion Realm (7 days), cost: 5 gold coins. Exchange successful."
Mo Yu drew a deep breath, steadied his mind, and commanded within:
"Use it."
In an instant, he felt as though his soul had been hollowed out. His eyes closed, his consciousness sinking into silence.
But a heartbeat later, he opened them again—only this time, boiling killing intent surged forth like magma from his gaze.
His eyes burned crimson. Around each pupil, a single tomoe spun violently, overlapping into blurred afterimages.
Gradually, a second tomoe emerged and separated from the blur.
The rotation slowed, stabilizing.
"Sharingan: Two Tomoe!"
Looking into a mirror, Mo Yu's face broke into delighted relief.
"At last! My efforts finally paid off!"
For the past seven nights, he had endured the seven-day torment of the Infernal Illusion Realm, pushing his spirit to its limits to force the Sharingan's evolution. Now, at last, he had succeeded.
Ordinary Uchiha usually took years—two, three, or even five—to slowly hone their Sharingan from one tomoe to two.
But Mo Yu had no such luxury. He chose the extreme path.
Now he could feel it: his Sharingan had reached its current limit. Relying on more illusion torment alone would not be enough to evolve it further into Three Tomoe.
To do so, he would either need three to five years of natural growth, or… spend 1,000 gold coins in the system for an instant upgrade.
The first option was too slow, the second too expensive. Neither appealed to him.
"Ugh, what a dilemma."
He scratched his head. "Forget it. Two Tomoe are enough for now. I'll worry about the rest later."
The single-tomoe Sharingan was the Eye of Insight; the double-tomoe evolved into the Eye of Illusion.
Now, even without weaving hand signs, Mo Yu could unleash lower-level genjutsu with just his gaze. This was a major leap in combat ability.
Up until now, he had either refrained from using his Sharingan in fights or killed his enemies too quickly for word to spread. That was the only reason his secret remained hidden.
But he knew he couldn't count on that luck forever.
If his Sharingan was exposed, the Uchiha clan would certainly come after him first. And even if they didn't, countless others in the ninja world would seek to claim his eyes for study.
The Sharingan was too coveted a power.
So until his strength reached the very top, he had to keep this ability concealed.
After some thought, Mo Yu spent system points to acquire a pair of special contact lenses.
He put them on and checked the mirror—his eyes looked completely normal, even with the Sharingan activated.
Mo Yu nodded in satisfaction.
"Perfect. Now no one will ever know."