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Kaito saw that his idea had worked, so he decided not to wake the Millennium Dragon for now.
"I'll deal with the Millennium Dragon's version of the health-enhancing technique first, a new Longevity technique for beasts, then wake it up later!" he thought.
With that, he made up his mind and teleported back to Warship Island.
"Hmm? You're back? How did it go? Is the Millennium Dragon saved?" Uchiha Jiri asked as soon as she saw him.
Kaito nodded. "More or less. For now, I've sealed it with a special method."
"Got it," Uchiha Jiri replied with understanding.
"No point dwelling on it now; the rest of the Millennium Dragons have already flown away," Kureha reminded them.
Sure enough, many Dragons were soaring into the sky, taking the newly hatched younglings with them in a grand formation. Soon, they disappeared from sight.
Suddenly, the entire Warship Island started trembling violently.
The island began sinking slowly into the sea.
"Mom, let's collect some dragon bones before they're underwater. It'll save us from diving for them later!" Kaito quickly suggested to Uchiha Jiri.
"Good idea! Let's go!"
Without hesitation, Uchiha Jiri summoned the ninja hawk, Kuro, and hopped on. Together, they soared down the mountain and soon landed by the beach.
Turning back, she waved toward Kaito and the others still on the mountain.
In the next instant, Kaito teleported himself and Kureha to the beach.
"I'll handle this. Just watch!" Uchiha Jiri declared.
She activated the fourth stage of Susanoo, causing Kureha to gasp in awe. Manipulating the chakra giant, she stepped into the portion of the beach that was already being swallowed by the sea.
One by one, she collected dragon bones, storing them in her storage space. She was careful to avoid disturbing the unhatched dragon eggs.
"Stealing bones is one thing, but ruining the eggs would be too much," she muttered.
After gathering more than 20 relatively intact and fresh dragon bones, Uchiha Jiri stopped. By then, the island had stabilized, and the beach was fully submerged underwater.
Deactivating Susanoo, she teleported back to Kaito and the others. "I've collected over 20 bones. Is that enough, or should I grab more?"
"That's plenty," Kaito assured her. "We should have enough for now."
He had already inspected the dragon bones in his storage space and was pleasantly surprised by their quality.
The bones appeared to be petrified on the surface, with minimal loss of essence. Just one bone could likely produce hundreds or even thousands of longevity pills.
If more were needed, they could always return later.
"Alright, let's head back," Uchiha Jiri said, nodding. She and the group returned to Kureha's place.
While the others began their training, Kaito retrieved one dragon bone and a small amount of blood from the old Millennium Dragon. Together with Kureha, he started crafting longevity pills.
The pills made from the dragon bones were easy to prepare. Within an hour, they had produced dozens of them.
The dragon blood, however, required more effort. They spent over a day refining it into blood-based longevity pills.
The pills had the same effect as the ones made from bones.
However, the effects couldn't stack, and a person could only consume up to five pills in total before they became ineffective.
After completing their research and production, Kaito gifted Kureha three longevity pills. She immediately took them in front of everyone.
Under their watchful eyes, Kureha's appearance transformed dramatically. She shed decades of age, becoming a stunning middle-aged woman with an undeniable charm.
(A/N: Oda! You did it again!!)
"This… Who would've thought you were this beautiful, Kureha?" Uchiha Jiri exclaimed in surprise.
"Absolutely!" Kushina and Mikoto nodded in agreement.
"Haha!" Kureha laughed, grabbing a mirror to admire herself. Hands on her hips, she declared smugly, "Of course, it's only natural!"
Even Kaito and Minato couldn't deny that Kureha looked breathtaking at that moment.
"Kushina, Mikoto, Minato, you too! Take them right here—don't save them!"
Without hesitation, Kaito took five pills himself.
His lifespan immediately surged by 96.425 years.
[Lifespan]: 202 years, 6 months, and 19 days (Life Essence: 23.2)
Even his life essence increased by 10 points.
Kaito could clearly feel the immense vitality coursing through him.
At that moment, anyone would have believed he was part of the Uzumaki Clan. However, with his precise control over his body, he quickly suppressed most of his life force aura, making himself appear ordinary.
"Alright, Mom, you should take five pills as well," Kaito said, handing Uchiha Jiri a bottle containing five pills.
"Alright, thanks for this!"
Uchiha Jiri smiled warmly, touched by his thoughtfulness, and took the five pills.
Her vitality and life essence skyrocketed as well, and her cells rapidly regenerated. She looked a full decade younger, resembling a vibrant young woman in her twenties.
Moreover, with her enhanced life force (essence), the recovery of her missing soul fragment accelerated severalfold.
Her blind right eye had already been on the verge of regaining sight.
At this moment, it fully recovered. The once pale and cloudy pupil turned black again, restoring her vision.
Moreover, a small amount of ocular power was reborn within her.
Although it wasn't the eye's peak potential, but every beginning is difficult.
Now that her vision had returned and a trace of ocular power had been restored, recovering the rest would become much easier.
Uchiha Jiri estimated it would take her about one to two months to completely return her right eye to its peak state—or even surpass it.
After all, her right eye had undergone significant strengthening due to the eye-nurturing medicine that refined and tempered her eye meridians.
"Mom, has your right eye recovered?"
With his sharp eyes, Kaito was the first to notice the change and immediately asked excitedly.
"It really seems like it!"
Mikoto and the others were drawn by Kaito's words. They turned their attention to Jiri's right eye and saw that it had indeed regained its glow.
"Haha! Yes, it's finally recovered!"
"And it's all thanks to you, Kaito! Mom has to thank you!"
Uchiha Jiri gently touched her right eye, feeling the fully restored vision. She looked at Kaito with a warm expression, stroked his head, and said, "Having you might be the luckiest thing that ever happened to me."
Without Kaito, she might have been as good as dead by now, even if she weren't literally dead.
Who could've predicted that Kaito would have such a gift and fortuitous encounter?
Life truly is unpredictable.
"Congratulations!"
At this moment, Kureha also offered her congratulations to Uchiha Jiri.
She could sense that Jiri's restored right eye had significantly increased the danger she radiated.
It was evident that her ocular power was deeply tied to her strength.
"What a truly remarkable clan!"
Kureha couldn't help but marvel.
"Congratulations, Aunt Jiri!"
Mikoto, Kushina, and Minato also offered their heartfelt congratulations to Jiri.
Mikoto, in particular, was delighted that her aunt's right eye had recovered.
After that, Uchiha Jiri spent some time adapting to her restored right eye, even trying to activate her Sharingan.
She found she could easily activate the three-tomoe Sharingan, though the Mangekyō was still beyond reach for now.
The main issue was that her ocular power hadn't fully returned yet.
Trying to force her right eye to activate the Mangekyō at this point would only harm it, so she decided not to push herself.
"Alright, stop staring at me. You should all take the longevity pills now!"
"Then, I'll have Kaito set up a seal on you to hide some of your life energy. We don't want to draw unnecessary attention or trouble."
Jiri smiled and gestured for Mikoto and the others to take the pills.
The ninja world wasn't like the One Piece world. A sudden surge in life energy could raise suspicion, and a competent ninja would definitely notice something unusual.
That could lead to unnecessary trouble or even danger.
"Got it! Thank you, Aunt Jiri!"
Mikoto and the others naturally didn't refuse and immediately swallowed the longevity pills.
One by one, their life energy and vitality skyrocketed.
However, unlike Kaito, they didn't have as much control over their bodies yet. For now, they had no way to suppress the surge in vitality.
They had to rely on Kaito to set up sealing techniques on them, allowing them to keep it under control.
"Kaito, you've learned these sealing techniques so quickly and skillfully! I can't keep up with you anymore—it's frustrating!"
Kushina patted her abdomen and grumbled in frustration.
She had been learning from Lady Mito alongside Kaito, but why was he so far ahead of her? So much stronger?
This level of concealment sealing was completely beyond her ability.
She felt that even someone as skilled as the Third Hokage wouldn't be able to detect anything unusual about the seal.
Kaito was just on another level—a total monster.
"Hahaha!"
Kaito chuckled, patting Kushina's head to comfort her. "Don't worry! You don't have to compare yourself to me. At least your talent in sealing techniques is top-notch—Lady Mito herself acknowledged that!"
"Don't undervalue yourself!"
"If you compare yourself to Mikoto or Minato, you're definitely ahead in sealing techniques!"
Well, Minato might actually be an exception…
But of course, Kaito wouldn't say that aloud. He didn't want to discourage her.
Based on Minato's future achievements in sealing techniques, it seemed like he would surpass even her in this field.
In another story, Minato's talent could have made him the protagonist.
"Sealing techniques? You guys sure have a lot of quirky abilities up your sleeves!"
Kureha teased as she watched from the side before returning to her medical books.
Although she had gained another 40 years of lifespan, that seemed to be her current limit.
If she wanted to gain more, she would likely have to rely on her medical skills to break through her life's limitations.
Time wasn't on her side.
She wasn't sure when—or even if—she could achieve that.
So, she didn't place all her hopes on herself. Part of her bet was on Kaito.
With his learning ability and rapid growth, she felt he might surpass her in medicine within a few years.
By then, maybe he could find a way to transcend the limits of life itself.
"Haha, not bad, not bad!"
Kaito chuckled softly.
He noticed that Kureha's affection for him had risen again, now reaching 76 points.
Only a few more to reach 80.
He was looking forward to the day he could form a pact with Kureha.
"Maybe I can even bring her to the ninja world someday."
"She could learn ninja medical techniques and healing ninjutsu. I might even appoint her as the Uchiha clan's chief doctor."
Kaito mused to himself.
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