"Let's go."
Having packed up, White Fang led Uchiha Jin out of the camp.
Jin glanced back.
The camp had already disappeared, concealed by a genjutsu barrier.
He still hadn't had the chance to ask Tsunade out.
What a pity.
"Though married women are nice, Tsunade isn't married yet, so she still counts as a young lady."
White Fang, as if reading Jin's thoughts, sighed beside him.
"She's in her twenties already; how is that still considered a young lady?"
Jin curled his lips.
He wasn't into married women—he just liked mature ones.
While he was sighing inwardly, a shadow suddenly loomed over him.
Completely unguarded.
Jin's brow furrowed as an uneasy feeling took over. Without turning around, he addressed White Fang cautiously.
"Lord White Fang, where exactly did you meet Lady Tsunade?"
"At the camp entrance."
White Fang finished speaking and quietly took two steps back.
Jin looked up to see two towering peaks.
He rubbed his nose, relieved that at least no nosebleed had come out.
However, if his nose wasn't bleeding, another part of him might be in trouble.
"You pervy brat taught by Jiraiya."
Tsunade gritted her teeth.
"Lady Tsunade, if I say this is a misunderstanding, would you believe me?"
"What do you think?" Tsunade sneered, looking down at the kid who barely reached her waist, his gaze fixed firmly on a place it shouldn't be.
Her clenched fists bulged with veins.
This little brat said who wasn't a young lady!!
Seeing Tsunade's reaction, Jin figured he wouldn't believe it either if he were in her shoes.
Tsunade roared, her fist already descending.
"Die!!!"
Boom!!!
The ground cracked under Tsunade's punch, forming a large pit.
Meanwhile, Jin's figure had already appeared in the distance, his voice echoing far away.
"No need to see me off, Lady Tsunade."
Veins bulged on Tsunade's forehead.
"Damn brat."
And also…
"Damn Jiraiya! You just wait until I get my hands on you!"
On the Iwa battlefield, Jiraiya suddenly sneezed hard.
White Fang quickly caught up with the fleeing Uchiha Jin.
"You definitely did that on purpose!"
Jin glared at White Fang in anger, watching as White Fang silently turned his head away.
No doubt about it.
He did it on purpose.
For the first time, Jin felt someone could make him this angry.
The veins on his forehead were faintly bulging.
White Fang, you damn bastard!
"Don't be so hot-headed. Ninjas are supposed to endure everything."
White Fang continued tauntingly beside him.
Jin suppressed his rage. If only he could take him down…
He'd show White Fang that Uchiha Jin isn't one to be messed with!
The two fell into silence, walking ahead.
Since it wasn't an urgent mission, neither was in a rush.
They traveled through the forest.
Suddenly, Jin asked out of curiosity.
"Lord White Fang."
White Fang stopped and turned to look at Jin.
"Why did you insist on bringing me along? I'm just a minor Uchiha."
White Fang considered for a moment before answering, "There is no such thing as a 'minor' Uchiha."
"Is that so?"
Jin looked at White Fang's wooden expression, as though carved from stone, and suddenly chuckled.
"Lord White Fang, I've heard that you can see into people's hearts?"
In his previous life, Jin had read comments that White Fang could see people's potential.
In this world, there was a similar rumor—though here it was said White Fang could see into people's hearts.
It was an urban legend, with no clear source, claiming that White Fang's promotion to Chunin was due to catching enough spies.
It was said that whenever White Fang returned to the village, all spies trembled in fear.
"It's just a rumor." White Fang shook his head. "Just like how you can't know for sure what kind of figure lies beneath a woman wrapped in thick clothes."
"You have to rely on imagination."
Jin's smile froze and then disappeared.
This perverted Jonin was beyond saving.
"Why don't you just die already!!!"
Jin quickly formed hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
A massive fireball shot from Jin's mouth towards White Fang.
White Fang swung his blade, splitting the fireball, which fell to either side.
"Keep it up! You can do it!" White Fang cheered from the side.
"Die!!!"
Jin drew his sword and started chasing White Fang.
He had a feeling that if this went on, he'd really end up like Kushina!!
(Kushina: ???)
Jin chased White Fang, continuing forward.
Watching the figure always one step ahead of him, Jin's thoughts wandered to what he'd accessed from White Fang's knowledge.
That was, an understanding of the third layer of basic internal energy technique.
Basic internal energy technique was a mix of all the family's sealing techniques. Though it looked rough, it left room for further development.
These ninjas, however, completely missed the point. They all considered it flawed.
After all, their core mindset was different.
Through continuously updated intel from Konoha's ninjas, Jin had found a way to improve it.
That meant evolving basic internal energy into a true chakra-based technique.
Or, rather, a new system entirely.
Though he had a direction, several choices needed careful consideration, which had delayed further development.
The available options for change were too few, and none truly satisfied him.
This would need more thought in the future.
What mattered was that White Fang had opened up new possibilities.
Forcing chakra into forming seals by sheer willpower.
After all, a person's will was also a kind of power.
But manifesting one's will in a concrete form was extremely challenging.
Besides White Fang, Jin couldn't think of anyone else who could do that.
The third layer involved Jin's aspirations for immortality, so it was set at an incredibly high difficulty level.
The sealing technique was ten times more complex than the second layer, equivalent to an A-rank sealing technique.
But the crux was the chakra. For the third layer, the seal wasn't formed within the body but externally.
Thus, chakra needed to be materialized.
In the outside world, chakra depleted faster than expected. Only those with Tailed Beast-level chakra could manage.
That meant the likes of Senju Hashirama, Senju Tobirama, and Uchiha Madara.
That made the third layer extremely challenging.
In theory, decades without significant chakra expenditure could allow someone to reach the third layer.
But in a time of war, who could go decades without using chakra?
To truly accomplish this, one needed a method like White Fang's.
Right now, the most likely to succeed was Jinchuriki Kushina.
Jin's Six Gates of the Celestial Thief technique was also aimed at achieving the third layer.
But it turned out that the Six Gates of the Celestial Thief wasn't enough.
He needed a way to devour chakra.
Jin and White Fang bickered all the way.
Once they entered a city, they finally settled down.
The two rented two rooms in the city.
"I'm planning to visit a brothel. Wanna come?" White Fang looked at Jin and asked.
Jin's face darkened.
Didn't this guy have a pregnant wife at home?
But then his eyes lit up. He casually waved White Fang off.
"You go ahead. I'm too young for that."
White Fang squinted at Jin, suspecting he had ulterior motives.
Jin just smiled.
After all, snitching was one of his specialties.
---
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