"With Fire Release Chakra Mode: Armor of Fire and the Uchiha sword style, I have offense and defense together, and I am solid at both close and long range."
"Next, I only need to keep refining and upgrading these two techniques."
"I have genjutsu for control, but at present I can only target a single enemy. I already know how to make up for that later."
"For now, my only flaw is speed."
"But I know what to do."
"Coating the feet with chakra lets you walk on water and climb trees."
"A fascinating property."
"Diffuse, adhere..."
"Fire Release Chakra Mode, plus the Body Flicker Technique, plus a fire-treading chakra application."
"That should let me create a Fire secret art to compensate for my speed."
"High-speed movement, low-altitude hovering. I will call this Fire secret art the Fire-Stepping Body Flicker."
He murmured to himself, thoughtful light in his eyes.
Time
kept turning.
Ten days later, he had a working draft of the Fire-Stepping Body Flicker.
"Since Armor of Fire turns Fire chakra into armor, my soles are wreathed in flame too."
"The core of Fire-Stepping Body Flicker is stepping on my own flames for short bursts, using them to hover just above the ground."
"But while Armor of Fire is active, flames are always underfoot. That means as long as I have enough chakra, I can hover at will."
"In other words, hovering becomes straight-up low-altitude flight."
"Sadly, I do not have enough chakra."
"At most, I can fly for ten seconds."
"Chakra, hmm..."
"Chakra is a supernatural energy formed by combining spiritual energy with cellular energy."
"The Uchiha are born with strong spirit, and our cellular energy outstrips ordinary people."
"Overall, though, our spiritual energy is stronger than our cellular energy."
"The amount of chakra is limited by the short plank."
"So if I enhance cellular energy, I can raise both the quality and quantity of chakra."
"Spiritual energy corresponds to Yin Release, so cellular energy naturally corresponds to Yang Release."
"Yin aligns with genjutsu, and Yang aligns with medical ninjutsu."
"I also remember that Tsunade has a sealing secret called the Yin Seal."
"The Yin Seal lets you store chakra at the forehead during normal times, forming a diamond mark."
"When needed, you release the stored chakra with Yin Seal: Release."
"If I can learn the Yin Seal, I can partly solve my lack of chakra."
He thought of someone: Shizune.
Shizune was Tsunade's disciple. Through her, he could draw on Tsunade's knowledge.
"That girl seems to like me too."
"Used well, getting the Yin Seal should not be difficult."
"But it is still early. No need to rush."
He sat and rested,
thinking as he recovered.
With the gift to upgrade entries, he would eventually learn a vast breadth of knowledge and raise every entry for Water, Fire, Wind, Lightning, Earth, Yin, and Yang to the peak.
That would grant him one of the greatest powers in this world: the Bloodline Web.
Still, meals are eaten one bite at a time, roads are walked one step at a time. No need to gulp or sprint.
Master Fire Release and Yin Release first, then consider Yang Release.
As for Fire-Stepping Body Flicker:
"There is no need to hurry for sustained low-altitude flight."
"Another use is to treat flame as a stepping stone, allowing a second jump midair like in games, then a third, even endless jumps."
"Short, high-speed bursts plus multi-stage jumps already cover my speed gap and massively boost my mobility."
"Armor of Fire, Uchiha sword style, and Fire-Stepping Body Flicker together make me balanced on offense and defense, quick on my feet. That is enough."
The Fire Release path forward was to keep perfecting those three techniques.
As for genjutsu,
he set a small goal: within one month, raise [Yin Release Mastery (Green)] to [Yin Release Control (Blue)], and evolve [One Tomoe Sharingan (Green)] to [Three Tomoe Sharingan (Blue)].
...
...
"Kurenai, train genjutsu with me."
Kurenai Yuhi agreed without a second thought.
"Okay, Shiro Gen-kun."
Her talent seemed average to him, but she would one day be a jonin skilled in genjutsu, so she had some gift for it.
Of course,
against Shiro Gen, that little talent barely registered.
But she could still serve as a practice partner.
Genjutsu: Sharingan.
Scarlet light stirred in his eyes, and Kurenai's ruby gaze went vacant in an instant.
"As expected, the Sharingan's amplification of genjutsu is tremendous."
"Genjutsu cast through these eyes is outstanding."
"I can even use the Sharingan to steer the illusion's internal scene."
"The control is limited... but enough for certain scummy tricks."
"Kurenai is so cute. I would never actually hurt her."
With a thought, the illusion shifted.
When the genjutsu ended, Kurenai ducked her head.
"Shiro Gen-kun... you're terrible..."
"This is training."
"And besides,"
"I think you enjoy this training very much."
"Let's continue."
"Mm."
With Kurenai as his partner, his progress in genjutsu quickened.
In less than half a month, [One Tomoe Sharingan (Green)] evolved to [Two Tomoe Sharingan (Blue)].
[Two Tomoe Sharingan (Blue): You can perceive chakra pathways, see through every minute motion and hand seal, and eye contact lets you directly hypnotize a target. Your vision improves. Your chakra's quality and quantity are strengthened and increased. The effects of your genjutsu are amplified.]
"As expected, the two tomoe grant hypnotic power. That is an enormous boost to genjutsu."
"And hypnosis is... interesting."
Amused possibilities flashed through his mind. He glanced at Kurenai.
"Shiro Gen-kun... your eyes..."
"Thanks to you training genjutsu with me, my Sharingan evolved this fast."
"Let's keep training, Kurenai."