As he thought about the new purple trait he'd just obtained, Uchiha Kaien couldn't help but recall his very first purple item—the Dan Heng template.
That thing had also been slowly unlocking over time. But honestly, the progress was sluggish. So far, aside from granting him wind-nature chakra, the most valuable function it had was helping him learn spear intent, which allowed him to suppress his boiling spirit energy.
Now that he'd mastered the technique to suppress his spirit, and with [Blade Mastery] at his disposal, the template had become increasingly irrelevant.
Even the Kekkei Genkai sickness had long since been cured, thanks to the power of the Samsara Truth.
And after his battle with Kakuzu, Kaien had come to a clearer realization—he rarely got the chance for close combat. And even when he did, his swordsmanship, enhanced by [Blade Mastery], was noticeably stronger than his spear skills.
So why was he thinking about this today?
Because the Dan Heng template had undergone an unexpected change—it now had a self-detonation feature.
Yes, self-detonation. That was what had caught Uchiha Kaien completely off guard.
[While retaining wind-nature chakra and spear intent, the template can now self-detonate to enhance the upper limit of other traits.]
Kaien never would've guessed that what the system initially labeled as "figure it out on your own" actually meant this.
So it really was a newbie starter pack—and now that he'd survived the early stages, it was offering one last benefit.
The purple-tier template maxed out at Kage-level. For Kaien, who was already at elite Jonin level, detonating it to enhance another trait was the obvious, no-lose move.
And once he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, he'd be a full-fledged Kage-level force. With [Alluring Gaze] backing him up, he wouldn't even have to worry about chakra drain from overusing his dojutsu!
With that in mind, the close-combat template seemed even more redundant. Susanoo could manifest personalized weapons on its own, and the shinobi world still had plenty of lost legendary weapons to be unearthed.
He wouldn't be lacking weapons, that was for sure.
Especially now that Kaien had a golden trait. If detonating the Dan Heng template could help strengthen that, then it would've fulfilled its role admirably.
And the system had clarified—after the self-detonation, he would still retain the wind-nature chakra and the spear intent.
In other words, the template's progression would be locked in, and the remaining essence would be absorbed into himself for strengthening.
Having just drawn a growth-type trait again today, Kaien had already made up his mind.
He would self-detonate the Dan Heng template to enhance his only current golden trait—[Summon: Phantom Beast].
Without hesitation, Uchiha Kaien gave the command:
"System, self-detonate the Dan Heng template. Channel all its essence into enhancing [Summon: Phantom Beast]!"
The moment the order was issued, Kaien felt a shift. He raised his hand and summoned his spear, Cloudpiercer.
Right away, he could sense the power within the weapon beginning to drain. The spear's once-lustrous surface had dulled, like it had lost its vitality.
Eventually, this spear—a symbol of the template's power—dissolved into motes of light and returned to Kaien's body.
[Trait upgrade successful.]
[Summon: Phantom Beast – Summon a phantom beast capable of autonomous movement. The beast can mimic other entities, provided it possesses their information imprint. Mimic targets may include, but are not limited to: summoning beasts, humans, and Tailed Beasts. The beast shares 75% of the user's power and is completely under the user's will.]
Compared to before, the only change in [Summon: Phantom Beast] was that the percentage of shared power had increased from 50% to 75%.
Which meant—Kaien's phantom beast now possessed three-fourths of his own strength.
At this point, Kaien could say with confidence: just the beast alone would be enough to defeat Namikaze Minato.
That was a massive leap in power. And that wasn't even considering what would happen if the phantom beast mimicked a Tailed Beast and essentially became a perfect jinchūriki. In that case, the boost wouldn't just be 25%—it would be exponential!
Now more than ever, Uchiha Kaien was eager to get his hands on some Tailed Beast info...
...
"You're looking for me, Hiruzen?"
The door to the Hokage's office swung open, and a figure stepped inside. Upon seeing who it was, Sarutobi Hiruzen gave a faint smile.
This was his old friend—someone he could rely on to share the burdens of leadership.
"As expected, the Second Great Ninja War has officially begun, Danzo."
Hiruzen let out a long breath.
"Looks like your earlier arrangements paid off."
"They did," Danzo nodded. "Thanks to those, we still hold the initiative. No need to alter our main strategy."
"What's the situation with Kumogakure and Kirigakure?"
Danzo had been tasked with monitoring them, which was precisely why Hiruzen called him in today.
As long as neither Kumogakure nor Kirigakure made a move, then Sunagakure and Amegakure were barely worth mentioning.
That was how Hiruzen saw it.
Konoha was at the peak of its power—what threat could two lesser villages pose?
"Kumogakure and Kirigakure haven't shown any signs of getting involved. Their formal letters of protest vanished into the void, and aside from minor border skirmishes, everything's within the norm."
"That's good to hear. With you around, I can rest easy, Danzo."
A rare expression of trust appeared on Hiruzen's face.
"Hmph, Root doesn't survive on scraps," Danzo replied gruffly. "Oh—and since we have this opportunity, why not expand my unit's headcount a little more? I plan to focus on Iwagakure's movements next."
Danzo gave a knowing smirk as he made his request.
"Alright. Let's add one more squad to the ANBU training program," Hiruzen agreed after some thought.
With their discussion of the war situation finished, Hiruzen's mood visibly improved, making him more receptive to Danzo's proposal.
After all, Danzo was efficient. Giving him more manpower would only make things better.
The ANBU training division—under Danzo's command—was technically a special branch of the ANBU, dedicated to training newer recruits who lacked field experience.
Danzo had given this unit the name Root and instilled in it a doctrine of absolute devotion to Konoha.
In times of war, Root agents were the last people enemy villages wanted to see.
"Oh right—check this out! It's the new draft of The Will of Fire: A Revised Theory!"
Once business was wrapped up, Hiruzen enthusiastically dragged Danzo over to see the new manuscript he'd been working on.
The opening line read: Wherever the leaves dance, the fire will burn eternally.
Danzo's eyes lit up after reading a few pages. The old Hiruzen really had something here.
"Since when did you get this good with words, Hiruzen?"
Danzo asked, genuinely impressed.
"Haha, now that is a long story..."
----------------
Pls Drop some Power Stones
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