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Meeting Uchiha Shi's sincere gaze, Terumi Mei felt her heart skip a beat.
Her face flushed slightly, and without hesitation, she lifted her head, looking at Uchiha Shi with her clear, emerald eyes.
"I will definitely come."
Uchiha Shi nodded, his gaze intensifying as he continued to observe the dozens of enemies on the section of the wall below with his Sharingan, carefully memorizing their positions.
Soon, he frowned slightly, not because the enemies were numerous and intimidating.
But, he suddenly realized that his Sharingan could now see farther and more clearly than before.
With the rapid rotation of the tomoe, his dynamic vision and the ability to slow down and read frames like bullet time had become even more powerful.
Uchiha Shi couldn't help but feel a sense of unease, sensing something was amiss.
He immediately wanted to check his status panel.
However, at that moment, Shennong, who had been silently observing Uchiha Shi with his arms crossed, stepped closer and sneered, asking, "You must have noticed, right?"
"The heart beating in your chest, while granting you life, has also become your shackles."
Uchiha Shi raised his head, frowned, and gave him a cold look before decisively opening his status panel.
[Employee: Uchiha Shi]
[Title: Descended Warrior]
[Talents: Heart of Steel (SSS), Sharingan (Double Tomoe, A-), Combat Intuition (Proficient, S+)]
[Special Equipment: Earth Grudge Puppet Heart (Earth): After equipping, gain the ninjutsu Earth Release: Earth Spear. Physical attributes are erased, and only earth-based ninjutsu can be used. Gaining other chakra attributes through training can grant the heart additional attributes.]
[Skills: Uchiha Style - Wire Manipulation (Mastery, S), Ultra Combat Barrier (Expert, S), Fire Release Ninjutsu (Prohibited), Wind Release: Vacuum Blade (Prohibited), Water Release: Water Tooth Blade (Prohibited), Earth Release: Earth Spear (Beginner, B)]
[Special Skills: Fire Release Chakra Mode (Prohibited), Prohibited Technique: Flesh Regeneration (Proficient, S), Secret Technique: Earth Grudge Puppet Stitching (Beginner, A)]
[Layers of Heart of Steel (Expandable)]
[Insurance Status: Paid]
Seeing the status panel, Uchiha Shi's frown deepened.
From this, it was clear that he had been brought back to life because Shennong had replaced his heart with Kakuzu's Earth Grudge Puppet Heart.
The side effects were also evident.
Due to the special nature of the Earth Grudge Puppet technique, a single heart could only use one elemental ninjutsu.
This led to a significant issue.
Now, his ninjutsu repertoire was severely limited, with only Earth Release: Earth Spear available.
Other techniques like Fire Release, Water Release, and Wind Release were unusable, including the powerful self-destructing technique Fire Release Chakra Mode.
This transformation turned him from a ranged ninja into a close-combat ninja who could only use a single earth-based defensive spear.
However, Uchiha Shi did not feel happy about this; instead, he felt even heavier.
Because, he had become stronger and more durable!
After all, the lost chakra attributes could be regained through training, But, Earth Release: Earth Spear.
This technique was almost at the pinnacle of conventional ninjutsu, an advanced version of Earth Release: Hardening.
It could make the body as hard as diamond, enhancing both defensive and offensive capabilities to the extreme.
Apart from Lightning Release techniques, which could counter this technique, no conventional ninjutsu could break through the earth spear.
In other words, as long as he could withstand the immense chakra consumption, Uchiha Shi could easily survive in a barrage of ninjutsu.
Thinking of this terrifying scenario, Uchiha Shi fell silent, unsure how to respond to Shennong's question.
Shackles? What the heck are those?
All he knew was that he was now incredibly powerful!
Seeing Uchiha Shi's extremely frustrated expression, Shennong raised an eyebrow, and a gleam of uncontrollable pleasure appeared in his eyes.
He chuckled, putting on a sinister expression, and said menacingly, "How does it feel, like there's a void inside you?"
"All the ninjutsu you've practiced are now nothing but illusions."
"All your efforts have betrayed you."
"Do you understand what reality is?"
Uchiha Shi: "..."
He had no idea how to answer Shennong's questions.
Should he say, "Thank you so much for cleaning out my garbage and then kindly giving me a +20 dragon-slaying blade?"
"Hmph." Shennong sneered, crossing his arms and putting on a superior expression as he leaned close to Uchiha Shi's ear and said coldly, "Do you think I saved you for no reason?"
"I want to see you sink deeper into this world of eternal pain."
"Recognize the cruelty of this world, and then give up your ridiculous ideas."
With that, Shennong fell silent for a moment.
He patted Uchiha Shi's shoulder and sneered, "The ninja world won't be ruled by a fool like you."
"The ninjas in the Blood Mist Village aren't worth your trust."
"Now, go home and drink your milk, kid."
On the cliff, the cold morning breeze blew, carrying a few green leaves.
Uchiha Shi squinted his eyes and slapped away Shennong's hand on his shoulder, then looked at him and asked coldly, "Why are you telling me all this?"
Shennong frowned slightly and then said calmly, "Do you need to ask why?"
"What can you do now, when you have nothing left?"
"Keep being stubborn?"
"Or continue adhering to your meaningless ninja way?"
"Oh, you don't think I'm pitying you, do you?"
Shennong sneered and then coldly added, "Unfortunately, I don't pity dead men."
"The moment you stole and used Prohibited Technique: Flesh Regeneration from me, your fate was sealed."
"This technique is called a forbidden technique because it consumes human life force."
"After using it, your lifespan is now only three to seven years."
"I might as well tell you, the only way to avoid the cost of the forbidden technique is to find a substitute to bear the cost."
Shennong sneered, revealing the harsh truth.
"And that substitute is a Tailed Beast!"
Uchiha Shi frowned at him, having suspected the cost of his lifespan.
The foundation of Orochimaru's Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) technique came from the Prohibited Technique: Flesh Regeneration in Shennong's possession.
When Orochimaru used Edo Tensei (Impure World Reincarnation) to take over Sasuke's body, he first used the imperfect test subject, Yuki-Onna's body, which rejected him after three years.
The woman's body before Yuki-Onna also rejected Orochimaru after about seven years.
Using an unsuitable body caused wear and tear, which could only be temporarily repaired through the use of flesh regeneration until it eventually failed.
The solution to this side effect was either to seek the power of a Tailed Beast like Shennong, or to conduct research like Orochimaru, constantly changing bodies to avoid the cost.
Shennong narrowed his eyes, as if interrogating, and said, "Do you understand reality now?"
"After losing all your power, including the powerful force that could burn you into a fool,"
"Do you think you can grow into a Kage-level ninja in three years?"
"Or do you think you can risk starting a ninja war to defeat and seize the Tailed Beasts from the major hidden villages?"
Shennong's questions hit the core of the conflict, asking Uchiha Shi and also questioning his own past self.
However, at that time, Shennong chose to avoid the issue, taking a different path and researching the incomplete Zero-Tailed Beast.
During this process, he gradually realized the danger of the Zero-Tailed Beast's dark chakra and began traveling the ninja world to find a solution, which led him to the Land of Hot Springs.
And at this moment, just as it was back then, he was very curious, facing a similarly difficult or even harder situation, Uchiha Shi, this arrogant brat, what would he choose?
Would he avoid it like Shennong did, or face this hopeless reality head-on?
Shennong's smile became increasingly twisted, his expression increasingly pleased, as he pointed to the four-hundred-meter-high cliff below, and leaned close to Uchiha Shi's ear, whispering, "What do you say, want to prove it to me?"
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(End of Chapter)