THE UCHIHA ASCENSION

Back home, Uchiha Kiyo began processing the corpse of the cow-shaped beast. He carefully separated the meat from the body, set up a grill, and began roasting it over an open flame.

"Well, it's delicious, but there's no seasoning. I'll buy some next time," he muttered to himself, chewing thoughtfully.

After finishing his meal, Uchiha Kiyo, now full, packed the remaining meat into a plastic bag. Using chakra, he extracted all the air inside before sealing it shut to preserve it for later.

This was a method he had developed himself for food preservation, particularly useful for perishable items like meat. He had named it the Air Extraction Technique—a technique that, in his eyes, was even more basic than the Three Basic Jutsu.

With the rest of the meat stored, Uchiha Kiyo returned to his study and immediately began practicing his Self-Cultivation Technique.

The time spent hunting and treating his injuries had delayed him by nearly three hours. After completing his self-cultivation session, he went straight to bed, falling into a deep sleep.

---

The news that Uchiha Kiyo had returned home with the corpse of a beast quickly spread to Konoha's higher-ups.

As a member of the Uchiha clan, his actions were always under surveillance. This was true for many other clans as well—particularly when it came to shinobi with exceptional talent or unique traits. Although Uchiha Kiyo appeared to be an ordinary genius, his deep interest in medical ninjutsu made him a subject of special attention.

For Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Third Hokage, this was an opportunity. If Uchiha Kiyo could become an outstanding medic-nin, it might help alleviate tensions between the village and the Uchiha clan.

For Danzo Shimura, however, the situation was different. He viewed the Uchiha clan with suspicion and discontent. The idea of an Uchiha shinobi potentially inheriting the Will of Fire made him uneasy.

And so, when Danzo received intelligence that Uchiha Kiyo had successfully hunted a beast, he wasted no time in responding.

---

In a dimly lit underground chamber beneath Konoha, Danzo listened intently as a ROOT ninja delivered his report.

Upon hearing that Uchiha Kiyo had managed to take down a beast on his own, Danzo narrowed his one visible eye in thought.

"Send Bingqi to investigate," he ordered. "I want to know exactly how he accomplished this hunt."

Bingqi, the ninja standing before him, bowed and disappeared in an instant, leaving Danzo to his thoughts.

Danzo had kept tabs on Uchiha Kiyo for some time. The boy had potential—more than most. If he could be molded within ROOT, he would undoubtedly become a formidable Jōnin. However, Uchiha Kiyo's cautious nature made him unsuited for ROOT's methods. He was too concerned with self-preservation, too unwilling to take reckless risks.

That was a problem.

Ordinarily, Danzo would have simply forced the issue—eliminating resistance and integrating the boy into ROOT against his will. But the Uchiha clan was already on edge. Moving too aggressively could push them further toward rebellion.

Still, that didn't mean Danzo was going to leave things alone.

After all, this wasn't the first time he had taken matters into his own hands. His reputation as the Darkness of the Shinobi World had been well earned.

---

Within an hour, Bingqi returned to the underground chamber, kneeling before Danzo.

"Danzo-sama, I investigated the scene," he reported. "Based on the traces left behind, Uchiha Kiyo successfully hunted the beast without sustaining any injuries—except for a minor mistake at the end. There were no signs that he was attacked during the battle."

Danzo absorbed the information in silence before waving Bingqi away.

---

At the same time, the Hokage's office was conducting a similar investigation.

A masked ANBU operative—the same one who had previously been assigned to monitor Uchiha Kiyo—was delivering his report to Hiruzen Sarutobi.

"Additionally," the ANBU agent added, "traces of ROOT operatives were also found at the scene. It appears they investigated the matter before we arrived."

At this, the Third Hokage's expression darkened.

Danzo was overstepping again. Investigating an Academy student's actions without reporting it to him? It was as if ROOT had become its own separate entity.

This would need to be addressed.

For now, though, both factions had merely gathered information. No direct action had been taken against Uchiha Kiyo.

---

And so, more than three months passed.

---

Name: Uchiha Kiyo

Age: Six years old (Born in August; first semester starts in September; second semester begins in February)

Chakra Level: 7.1 Cards / 7.1 Cards (Potential Max: 8.5 Cards)

Chakra Attributes: Fire (Unawakened), Water (Unawakened), Earth (Unawakened)

Ninjutsu: Three Basic Jutsu

Secret Techniques: Self-Cultivation Technique

On the surface, not much had changed besides an increase in chakra reserves.

However, Uchiha Kiyo's progress was significant.

His physical body had undergone noticeable development over the past three months, thanks to the Self-Cultivation Technique. His physical fitness had improved to the point where he could now contend with a standard Chūnin in combat.

Through experimentation, Uchiha Kiyo had also determined the ideal frequency for using his Self-Cultivation Technique—twice per week.

With this knowledge, he had established a routine. Every week, he ventured into the forest behind the village, hunting wild beasts for nourishment. He also continued visiting Konoha Hospital, using the opportunity to build a relationship with Keiko, one of the medics there.

In terms of chakra control, Uchiha Kiyo had finally achieved a breakthrough. He could now precisely manipulate 0.05 Cards of chakra—just enough to meet the threshold for medical ninjutsu training.

Having already studied the basics of medical ninjutsu, Uchiha Kiyo was ready to begin practical application.

During a recent break, he borrowed a scroll detailing the Hemostasis Technique from Uemura Naoki, his Academy instructor. Unlike the theoretical textbooks he had been reading, this scroll contained direct instructions for practical medical ninjutsu.

After studying it for a day, he determined that his current chakra reserves would allow him to perform the Hemostasis Technique only twice before depleting his energy.

To compensate for this limitation, he focused on increasing his chakra reserves as much as possible.

This was where the Self-Cultivation Technique came into play. As long as he consumed enough nutrients, he could refine chakra continuously, ensuring a steady supply.

However, he was aware of the limits.

First, there was the natural cap on chakra capacity—at a certain point, refining more would cause damage to the body. The only way to increase this limit was through gradual physical training and long-term accumulation.

Second, there was a physical limitation—his stomach's capacity. Even though he could rapidly extract energy, the food itself still occupied space in his digestive system. Until it was processed and expelled, he couldn't consume more.

In theory, this meant infinite chakra refinement was possible. In practice, there were constraints.

Still, Uchiha Kiyo saw this as a huge advantage.

Not only would it allow him to practice medical ninjutsu multiple times per day, but in a battle scenario, it could provide an edge.

As long as he had enough nutrients stored in his body, he could refine chakra indefinitely.

If his chakra extraction speed became fast enough, he could function like a perpetual motion machine.

Of course, he still had a long way to go. But for now, he was content with his progress.

With the Academy on break, he had more free time than ever before.

And he intended to use it wisely.