Time always slips by quietly. And people inevitably grow up.
One quiet morning, Uchiha Kaien realized something—it had finally happened.
He'd grown up.
He'd reached that age... the age where boys start to notice girls.
After waking up and washing up like usual, Kaien casually rinsed out his underwear too, hanging it up on the railing as he headed out. His destination? The same familiar training grounds.
In the past half-year, Kaien had shot up in height. While he still looked scrawny compared to A, at least he was now taller than Killer B.
"Didn't think I'd spend my eleventh birthday with you two. If I'd known, I would've gone back to Konoha and collected some gifts. Feels like I missed out."
Kaien grumbled as he hopped down into the training field.
"A meathead who only knows how to train, and a weirdo who's picked up rapping. Honestly, the two of you make quite the pair."
A and Killer B said nothing, choosing to silently endure Kaien's jabs.
Over the past half year, the two had been teased mercilessly.
It started during Kaien's second month in Kumogakure, when the Third Raikage personally removed the seal that had been restricting him.
From that moment on, Kaien showed no signs of escaping. He simply stayed.
With the blood of the Uchiha clan running through his veins, Kaien was naturally battle-hungry. Whenever he had free time, he looked for sparring partners.
Lucky for him, A and B were perfect for the job.
Especially A. His Lightning Armor was coming along nicely, and sparring with him significantly improved Kaien's taijutsu.
Within a month, Kaien had fully copied the technique—right in front of A and B—and demonstrated it flawlessly.
Even the Third Raikage had been alerted by the spectacle.
While a B-rank Lightning Chakra Mode wasn't impossible to copy, the fact that someone Kaien's age had managed to do it so quickly, and master it entirely on his own, said everything about his talent.
The key to Lightning Chakra Mode lay in a powerful body, precise chakra control, and a large chakra pool. Kaien happened to meet all three requirements.
From then on, A grew quieter and trained even harder. B, feeling the pressure from both Kaien and A, randomly picked up rapping to blow off steam.
When Kaien bluntly told him his rapping sucked... B deflated immediately.
And thus, both members of the A-B Combo had taken emotional damage. Still, Kaien was surprisingly considerate—he cooked all their meals and took care of the daily necessities.
Even so, neither dared raise their voice around him. And now, even when Kaien was clearly mocking them, they just stood there, silently enduring it.
A towering young man nearly six feet tall, unable to respond to a boy who barely reached his waist—it was almost comical.
Whoever spoke first would probably get dragged off for sparring.
That beautiful, deadly fighting style... even A had to admit it suited Kaien perfectly.
"Kind of lazy today. Don't feel like training."
Kaien muttered, half-squinting, his voice drowsy. The redness at the corner of his eyes from washing his face added to his sleepy, cat-like vibe—as if he'd been forced to wake from a nap.
[Affection from A +1][Affection from Killer B +1]
"Haaah…"
"Phew…"
A and B exchanged a relieved look. No torture today. Thank the heavens.
Kaien didn't care about their reactions. He turned and walked back to the kitchen, already thinking about when to return to Konoha.
The Eight-Tails and its Jinchūriki were both worn down by his relentless sparring. The host looked like he was on the verge of collapse every day—mentally fried, emotionally drained. One wrong move and the Tailed Beast might break free.
Kumogakure assumed B simply couldn't suppress the Eight-Tails. They had no idea both the Jinchūriki and the beast were in a weakened state—if not for that, they might've lost control already.
As for the Two-Tails, Kaien had already discovered its location. He wasn't particularly interested.
Too weak. Not worth the effort to collect it yet.
Besides, if both Tailed Beasts started acting up at the same time, people might start pointing fingers at him.
That little kitty... when the time came to gather the Tailed Beasts, he'd deal with her. For now, she was just a cute side quest.
...
In the past six months, Kaien had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique and the Four Symbols Seal. Returning to Konoha was a simple matter—he just had to summon a snake, mark it with a Flying Thunder God seal, and send it back home. Boom. Instant teleport.
The chakra needed to bridge the distance from Kumogakure to Konoha? Child's play. Worst case, he'd just build up a bit more chakra.
At the same time, Kaien had unlocked a new system function—or perhaps the system had unlocked it for him: Trait Upgrade – Specified.
By spending enough affection points, he could upgrade existing traits. It reminded him of how he'd once used the Dan Heng template to enhance [Summoning: Phantom Beast].
"System, spend affection points to upgrade [Illusion Immunity] into a gold-tier trait."
He'd thought this through carefully.
...
Right now, he didn't need raw power. He just needed to grow steadily, absorb all his strength into himself, and wait for his next breakthrough.
[Eternal Light] had already pushed his ceiling to the level of Ōtsutsuki Indra. Once he fully controlled his bloodline, he could aim even higher.
Then—and only then—would he consider upgrading [Eternal Light] for a new upper limit.
Of course... he totally didn't have enough affection points to upgrade it yet.
Not that he was jealous. Nope. Not even a little bit.
[Illusion Immunity] had protected him more than once in the early stages.
Without it, he might've fallen under Uchiha Madara's control.
And if he didn't upgrade it now, what if he couldn't resist Infinite Tsukuyomi in the future?
One misstep and he could get sucker-punched by Black Zetsu. That'd be a joke—and not a funny one.
So, Kaien decided to max out his fail-safes.
[Illusion Immunity successfully upgraded. New Trait: True Intent of the Self.]
[True Intent of the Self: Your soul clings to its core. No soul-based forbidden arts can affect it. Complete immunity to all genjutsu. Can intercept formless spiritual intrusions.]
Like all defensive traits, the description was short and sweet. But the effect gave Kaien tremendous peace of mind.
Infinite Tsukuyomi? Completely ineffective.
Now he had soul-defense covered. A true hexagon warrior—balanced in every category.
This was what a real powerhouse looked like!
Kaien felt this was affection well spent.
That said... the Sage of Six Paths being able to summon all the past Kage? That had to involve some kind of soul manipulation, right?
The origins of the Pure Land... something worth digging into...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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