"I waited so long for this day, I almost thought I had missed it."
Naruto held Uchiha Shisui's body, feeling no weight at all.
Too nervous and too excited to focus on his sensory abilities through the plants.
After ensuring there were no hidden Root operatives nearby, Naruto did not immediately absorb Shisui's body.
He sat down on the ground, forcing himself not to look into Shisui's lifeless, empty eyes.
After calming down, he admitted to himself—it was a bit unsettling.
"Should I really absorb the life force from a corpse?"
Snap—
For a moment, hesitation clouded his thoughts.
But in less than a second, he slapped himself hard.
I've worked so hard, prepared for so long, endured countless mosquito bites for nearly half a month—wasn't it all for this moment?
In an instant, he snapped out of it.
He forced himself to accept the bloodiness of the situation.
He had slaughtered chickens, ducks, and geese without blinking an eye. But this was a human—a shinobi. One who had only recently died, body still warm.
"Huh~"
With a long exhale, Naruto picked up Uchiha Shisui's body.
He carried it to the prepared burial site.
Just in case, he considered the worst possibility—the Mokuton's absorption ability might not work on humans.
Naruto stretched out his hand, activating the power of Mokuton.
In an instant, his youthful fingers transformed into wood.
His wooden palm pressed against Shisui's chest.
"Absorb!"
He roared in his heart.
The next moment, his wooden hand sprouted countless tree roots.
Puff—
In an instant, they pierced through Shisui's chest, spreading inside his body like countless tendrils.
Within moments, Shisui's body was completely entangled by wooden roots.
And then—Mokuton's absorption ability began to take effect.
Sizzle, sizzle—
A strange noise echoed.
Shisui's body shrank at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Simultaneously, a surge of vitality flooded Naruto's body.
Even with just a fraction absorbed, he felt his energy skyrocket a hundredfold.
His blood boiled.
In the blink of an eye, Uchiha Shisui's body was gone.
Not even a strand of hair remained.
Is this the full power of my absorption ability?
Naruto was stunned.
He had never imagined Mokuton could devour a human this aggressively.
But this wasn't the time to dwell on it.
His entire body surged with power.
It felt like he could punch through solid rock.
He swiftly leapt out of the pit and glanced at Shisui's remaining garments.
There was still blood on the ground.
Frowning, Naruto grabbed the clothes and rushed toward the Naka River.
He wrapped them around a rock and tossed them into the water.
"I was careless… I forgot there are ninja hounds in this world."
"But once the scent is in the river, even ninja hounds will struggle to track it. In that case..."
Naruto closed his eyes and dove into the water.
He allowed the current to carry him downstream.
His soaked clothes washed away any lingering blood scent.
Even if Danzo sent Root to investigate, Naruto had erased all traces.
Reaching his usual fishing spot, Naruto used the Transformation Jutsu to turn into a stray cat and headed home.
Along the way, he constantly changed direction.
When he sensed an ANBU operative monitoring him, he transformed into a small gecko and crawled along the wall to his house.
His Mokuton clone had already opened the door.
It briefly checked on the vegetable garden before shutting the door again.
Inside, Naruto entered the bathroom and turned on the faucet—
To create the illusion that he was simply washing his hands.
With the sound of running water, Naruto returned to normal.
At the same time, he placed his hand on the wooden clone.
The clone instantly reverted into wood, liquefying and flowing back into Naruto's body.
His heart pounded in his chest. But after taking a deep breath, he finally relaxed.
After changing clothes, he tossed the old ones into the washing machine.
It's done.
Naruto stepped out of the bathroom and collapsed onto his bed.
Closing his eyes, he could feel the rich vitality flowing through his body.
The energy he absorbed from Shisui was completely different from the nutrients he had gained from trees.
All the way back, warmth had flooded his limbs, making him feel incredibly comfortable.
Even after soaking in the cold river water, he hadn't felt the slightest chill.
If not for his willpower, he might have moaned in pleasure.
The absorbed vitality coursed through every limb, every bone, seeping into the depths of his soul.
By absorbing nutrients from trees, Naruto could go days without food and never feel hungry.
But after consuming Shisui's life force—
He felt like his body had been reforged.
It would take time to fully assimilate the enormous amount of chakra he had absorbed.
At least three days.
Half an hour later, Naruto finally adjusted to the sensation of his body continuously absorbing Shisui's essence.
He didn't waste time.
Lying on his bed, he placed a few leaves beneath his blanket.
He continued practicing chakra nature transformation.
This time, he could clearly feel his training speed had increased.
New insights appeared in his mind.
First the shuriken, then the kunai…
It was as if he instinctively knew how to wield them, how to control the force behind his throws—
Even though he had never practiced them before.
"Too domineering!"
"Huh?"
"When did those spiderwebs appear there?"
Even my eyesight has improved?!
That afternoon, Naruto went fishing as usual.
At the same time, he carefully checked to ensure he had left no traces.
Everything was clean.
By evening, he still wasn't hungry, but he ate his usual portion to avoid suspicion.
The next day, a third of Shisui's chakra had been assimilated.
The most obvious—and psychologically jarring—change was his vision.
For a moment, it felt like a near-sighted person suddenly gaining perfect eyesight.
He had boundless energy, endless stamina—
Even lying in bed, he couldn't sleep.
But when he woke up, he felt completely refreshed.
No fatigue.
No dark circles.
Finally, three days later—
Shisui's essence had been completely absorbed.
Naruto now had strange, yet familiar, memories in his mind.
Ninja tools, the Three Basic Jutsu, the Body Flicker, elemental ninjutsu—
He even had experience practicing Fire Release chakra nature transformation.
Buzz—
At that moment, a familiar noise echoed in his ears.
He turned to see a bee flying into the room.
In his vision—
The rapid flutter of its wings slowed.
Even from a distance, every detail of the bee's body was crystal clear.
Then—his eyes burned.
Tears streamed uncontrollably.
He rushed into the bathroom and unzipped his pants…
The sound of running water covered everything.
Finally, he looked into the mirror.
His once sky-blue eyes were gone.
Now, they were blood-red.
A tomoe rotated lazily in each eye—
As if he were wearing contact lenses.
"One tomoe… It's already activated?"
"This is the power of pure Uchiha blood."
"No fear of blindness… No need to forcibly deactivate the Sharingan."
"But… I've only awakened a single tomoe Sharingan. My body hasn't fully assimilated Shisui's power yet. No need to rush."
"If Shisui's body had been intact, or if he were still alive—
The results might have been different. But let's not get greedy."
In just a few days, Naruto had changed tremendously.
But only internally.
Externally, the only noticeable difference was that he had grown a centimeter taller.
And—
He could now activate the Sharingan at will.
"But I feel like there isn't much Uchiha bloodline power left in my body."
"My Sharingan will probably stabilize at two tomoe in one eye and one in the other."
"If I want to evolve further… I need to find more Uchiha to absorb."
"Heh, two and a half years of planning have finally paid off.
In two years, the Uchiha Massacre will happen when Sasuke is seven."
"By then, I'll just have to wait for the Academy to close for the holidays."
"There are so many jutsu I need to master… But the Body Flicker is the most urgent."
"I will follow in Shisui's footsteps."
"Shunshin no Shisui… will soon become Shunshin no Naruto."
A grin spread across Naruto's lips.
In the bathroom, he formed a one-handed seal.
Instantaneous Naruto—was born today!
Buzz——
The Clone Jutsu.
Four Narutos appeared in the bathroom.
They could all be real, or all be mere illusions.
Sharingan, Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
Uchiha Shisui's strength lay in his unparalleled mastery of clones, one of the three basic jutsu, making him unique in the ninja world.
His Shunshin no Jutsu (Body Flicker Technique) was honed to a level that sent shivers down spines.
Combined with the Sharingan's genjutsu, it created a seamless synergy of deception.
Both real and false, making it nearly impossible to guard against!
One must remember—the clones of the Clone Jutsu are mere illusions, not tangible entities.
Shunshin Shisui's combat style was deceptively simple.
There was only ever one real body.
However, the phantoms generated through clones, when paired with the Sharingan's genjutsu, would not disperse even if attacked.
Shisui didn't use the Clone Jutsu, nor did he rely on Sharingan genjutsu to create illusions. His mastery of the Body Flicker Technique meant it was constantly in use, allowing him to produce afterimage clones purely through high-speed movement. Since these clones weren't created by a jutsu but rather by sheer speed, they wouldn't vanish upon being attacked.
Unless the opponent had exceptional perception abilities, countering this technique was nearly impossible.
It was not space-time ninjutsu like Kamui, yet its unpredictability gave it a combat presence comparable to it.
And with the Sharingan's heightened dynamic vision, Shisui could read and react to enemy movements with terrifying ease—
Fighting an enemy felt as effortless as dismantling a mere shadow clone.
Of course, Naruto did not allow himself to become arrogant.
Even if the Concept God wasn't in this world, his legend still echoed throughout the ninja world.
Even the Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze, who had mastered the Flying Thunder God Technique, could only bow to such speed.
Minato: "I'm late…"
Concept God: "Want a bowl? Five ryō!"
...
TN: I don't know who "Concept God" is. 🤔 My best guess is that it's a local reference, but it can't be Flash since he isn't known in the ninja world. So... I don't know? 🤷♂️ Any guesses?
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