The heavy price of allocating 80% of the System's processing power to the Hiraishin (Flying Thunder God) formula manifested immediately. To the outside world, Dan Uchiha had suddenly "hit the wall."
In the Academy courtyard, where Dan was required to attend "Tactical Leadership" seminars for the newly promoted Genin, he sat slumped against a fence. His eyes, usually sharp and calculating, were glazed over. His brain was busy processing 12,000 hours of spatial mathematics, leaving his physical body operating on a "low-power" autopilot.
"Look at him," a student whispered. "That's the 'Ghost' of the Uchiha? He looks like he can barely remember his own name."
"My dad says some prodigies burn out early," another replied. "Too much pressure at age five. His brain probably fried during that fight with the Iwa battalion."
Dan heard them, but the words felt like they were coming from underwater. Inside the Eternal Mirror Space, his clone was currently failing its 4,000th attempt to leap between two marked kunai.
[System Notification: Spatial Coordinate Desync.]
[Error: Chakra output exceeded required threshold by 0.003%. Retrying...]
The Predator's Interest
"You seem... distant, Dan-kun."
The voice was sibilant, like a snake sliding through tall grass. Dan's autopilot kicked into high gear. He blinked, his focus slowly snapping back to the real world.
Standing before him was a man with skin as pale as marble and long, raven hair that framed a face of haunting elegance. His amber eyes, with their slit pupils, peered at Dan with a terrifying level of curiosity.
Orochimaru of the Sannin.
"Orochimaru-sama," Dan said, his voice slow and slightly raspy, a side-effect of the mental strain.
"My apprentice, Anko, has been spending a great deal of time at a certain tea shop," Orochimaru said, tilting his head. "She speaks of a boy who sees the world not as a playground, but as a blueprint. I find myself wondering... what does a nine-year-old Uchiha want with the research of the Second Hokage?"
The pressure in the air spiked. It wasn't the blunt, crushing force of Danzo's killing intent; it was a cold, surgical malice.
"I want to know if space is a cage or a door," Dan replied, choosing his words carefully. He knew that lying to Orochimaru was useless, but giving him the full truth was suicide.
Orochimaru's tongue flicked out, tracing his lips. "A cage? How poetic. Most Uchiha are obsessed with the 'fire' in their blood. But you... you are looking at the 'void' between the stars. Tell me, Dan-kun, do you find the body to be a limitation?"
"The body is a vessel," Dan said, his 3-Tomoe Sharingan activating instinctively as a defense mechanism. "But even a vessel can be reinforced."
Orochimaru's eyes widened slightly as he stared into Dan's Sharingan. He didn't see the usual arrogance of the Uchiha. He saw a depth of calculation that shouldn't exist in a child.
"Fascinating," Orochimaru whispered. "I am beginning a new series of... private studies. Regarding the longevity of the shinobi form and the optimization of chakra pathways. Should you find the Academy's curriculum too 'shallow,' you are welcome to visit my laboratory. I believe we have much to discuss regarding the 'Architecture' of the soul."
With a swirl of wind and a faint scent of sulfur, the Sannin vanished.
[System Warning: High-Level Threat Detected.]
[Observation: Orochimaru has placed a 'Tracking Pheromone' on your cloak.]
Let him track me, Dan thought, a cold smirk forming on his face. He wants to study me? Fine. I'll use his resources to finish the Hiraishin.
The First Breakthrough
That night, Dan stood in the center of his secret basement. Shisui and Anko were absent; this was too dangerous for them to witness.
He had placed three specially marked kunai around the room. In the Mirror Space, the clone had finally achieved a "Stable Leap."
"System," Dan whispered. "Execute Hiraishin: Level 0. Minimal distance."
[Warning: Syncing spatial coordinates with physical nervous system. This will be painful.]
Dan didn't care. He channeled his chakra into the mark on the kunai ten feet away.
For a microsecond, the world folded. It felt like his body was being squeezed through a straw. His atoms were disassembled and reassembled in a heartbeat.
Zip.
Dan appeared ten feet to the left, standing exactly where the kunai was. He stumbled, his stomach churning, and he vomited onto the stone floor.
[Level 0 Success.]
[Mastery: 0.04%.]
[Physical Feedback: Minor cellular displacement. Recommending 'Durability' training.]
He wiped his mouth, his eyes glowing with a manic intensity. He had done it. He had bypassed the "genius" requirement. Through the brute-force repetition of his system, he had achieved the first step of the legendary Hiraishin at age nine.
"Again," he croaked.
He spent the next six hours flickering back and forth. By dawn, he was no longer vomiting. He was moving with a jagged, lightning-fast rhythm.
He wasn't as smooth as Minato yet—Minato was like a flowing river of light. Dan was like a glitch in a video game, snapping from one point to another with violent efficiency.
The Architecture Expands
The next morning, Dan met Shisui. The younger boy looked exhausted.
"Dan-niisan," Shisui said, handing over a scroll. "I've mapped the Police Force. You were right. Three of the Captains are meeting in secret with the Elder, Uchiha Yashiro. They're talking about 'The Great Cleansing.' They want to take over the village council by force during the next full moon."
Dan looked at the list. "Yashiro is a fool. He thinks a few hundred Sharingans can hold off the entire Leaf and the hidden ROOT. If they move now, the Uchiha die in six months."
"What do we do?" Shisui asked, his voice trembling.
Dan looked at his hands, which were still slightly vibrating from the spatial jumps. "We don't stop them, Shisui. We replace them."
"System," Dan commanded. "Create a new sub-routine for the Clone. Task: Genjutsu Programming. I want a visual trigger that can be implanted into the sub-conscious of the Police Force. When they look at the Naka Shrine, they shouldn't see a coup... they should see a vision of a prosperous Uchiha leading through peace."
[Task Assigned: 'The Will of the Mirror'. Estimated time to develop: 30 Days.]
"We're going to rewrite the mind of the clan, Shisui," Dan said. "One member at a time."