Time always passes in the blink of an eye.
A month or so is a short period, but it is enough for some changes to occur within Konoha.
However, Uchiha Gen had temporarily put those changes to the back of his mind; his main energy was focused on the cultivation of the Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
This was the technique that would increase his strength the most in the short term, and it was also the one he was most confident in.
With the help of a green Training Acceleration Card, he managed to make this one month worth three months of effort.
As for the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, he dared not claim to have reached a masterful level with this powerful Ninjutsu, but he could at least call himself proficient. He could skillfully create seven or eight Phantom Clones to assist in battle, and by combining this with the high-speed movement hidden by the Genjutsu of his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, not only was his speed extremely fast, but the process was also sufficiently concealed.
At the very least, right now, Uchiha Mikoto's Two-Tomoe Sharingan, which she used while sparring with him, could no longer see through his Phantom Body Flicker Technique.
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
"Swish!"
In the training ground, nine figures of Uchiha Gen darted around rapidly, surrounding Uchiha Mikoto in the center.
Her black hair was already soaked with sweat. Holding another Sengoku Ninja Sword inherited from Izuna, she remained vigilant against every Uchiha Gen.
In her field of vision, all nine Uchiha Gens appeared to be solid entities, but upon contact, any one of them could turn out to be illusory at any moment.
The moment she engaged one she confirmed was solid, it would turn from solid to illusory in the next second, causing her to strike at empty air. Meanwhile, another Uchiha Gen behind her, previously confirmed to be a clone, would solidify once again.
In a sense, this was almost equivalent to fighting nine Uchiha Gens at once.
Although there weren't actually that many, as he was still just one person, he could approximate the effect of being besieged by multiple opponents, allowing him to unleash his combat power several times over in a short period.
The boost to his strength was extremely significant.
Unless the enemy truly possessed the strength to deal with multiple Uchiha Gens simultaneously, or their ocular power was a level above his, allowing them to see through to his true body, they would not be able to handle it.
Uchiha Gen's true body already possessed combat power at the Elite Jonin level, and with the amplification of the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, he was even more terrifying.
He had now pulled ahead of other Elite Jonin, though he estimated that he still had a gap compared to bona fide Kage-level Experts like Kakuzu and Chiyo.
However, he also believed that if he were to return to the Land of Rain battlefield now and face Chiyo and Kakuzu again, while he might not be able to defeat them, he would at least be confident in holding his own for a longer time in a one-on-one scenario.
Unless the battle dragged on for too long or his abilities were specifically countered—much like how Chiyo's son and daughter-in-law had their abilities completely suppressed by Sakumo Hatake—he possessed strong self-preservation capabilities when facing most Kage-level Experts.
However, as for the specifics, he only had a vague estimate, as there was no one strong enough available to help him pinpoint his exact level.
Uchiha Mikoto was certainly excellent; with her Two-Tomoe Sharingan paired with exquisite Fire Release Nature Transformation, as well as solid Uchiha Style Swordsmanship and shuriken handling, her overall ability was already no worse than some Jonin, even though she had yet to master a second Nature Transformation.
However, while this level of strength was fine for a sparring partner, if he truly wanted to feel some pressure, he would probably need Orochimaru and the others to come.
Unfortunately, experts like them were all busy; among those he had a good relationship with, Orochimaru spent his days in the laboratory, and Tsunade was fully dedicated to the implementation of the Medical Department.
As for Jiraiya, he was nowhere to be seen; there was no telling where he had gone off to.
"Let's stop here for today, Mikoto. Any more training will only have a negative impact on your muscles."
Several Phantom Clones vanished like bubbles. Under the setting sun, Uchiha Gen looked at the exhausted Mikoto and spoke.
"Okay! Thank you, Gen!"
Uchiha Mikoto panted uncontrollably.
Over the past month, Uchiha Mikoto had frequently come to find Uchiha Gen to train together.
The Great Elder had now decided to stake his decades of accumulation on betting on Uchiha Gen.
The relationship between the two families had become increasingly close, almost bound together.
To outsiders, this pair of boy and girl spending all day together in the training ground seemed to have an ambiguous relationship.
However, in reality, both parties focused their energy on training, and they didn't develop any romantic feelings like in those Xianxia idol dramas.
Both were Ninjas who had been tempered by the fires of war and life-and-death, so they both understood what needed to be done and when.
For Uchiha Gen, Mikoto was a sparring partner for the Phantom Body Flicker Technique he had just learned, while for Mikoto, sparring with Uchiha Gen was genuine, solid training.
It was hard to find anyone else in the entire Konoha Village who was a top-tier expert in the Ninja World, with strength far superior to her own in every aspect and combat power approaching Kage-level, willing to train with her.
It was just that Uchiha Gen's foundation was slightly lacking; nearly half of his strength was forcefully stacked through the stats and mechanics of character cards, so he couldn't provide guidance from a high-level perspective like the Third Hokage or Orochimaru. Instead, they often explored many areas by discussing them with each other.
In basic fields like swordsmanship and shuriken usage, Uchiha Mikoto was extremely solid and could even, in turn, be of considerable help to him.
Perhaps in the original timeline, the brothers Sasuke and Itachi's talent for Ninja tools was inherited from Uchiha Mikoto.
A palm glowing with a faint green light pressed onto Uchiha Mikoto's shoulder, tracing along her meridians and flowing through her body to alleviate the fatigue brought on by the training.
"That's about it. If there's nothing else, I'll take my leave now. Mikoto, tell the Great Elder that my Phantom Body Flicker Technique has been successfully mastered. If there are any matters within the clan, I can step in and handle them directly."
Within the Uchiha Clan right now, there should be no one who could defeat him in a one-on-one fight.
"I will pass the message to my grandfather. However, I think that given my grandfather's personality, he will likely have you continue to hide your strength until he has arranged a suitable opportunity for you."
Uchiha Mikoto tucked a lock of hair from her forehead behind her ear, feeling her cheeks burning as she tried her best to reply to Uchiha Gen in a normal tone.
The massage effect of this Medical Ninjutsu was simply too comfortingly unfair.
Now, the treatment after daily training was the time she looked forward to the most.
When she first received the massage from Medical Ninjutsu, she had almost cried out.
"Hmm, leave this matter for the Great Elder to consider."
Uchiha Gen nodded.
He was confident in the Great Elder's ability to handle power struggles.
To be able to live to this age in the perilous Ninja World and consistently hold a high position within the Uchiha Clan, his political ability, even if not comparable to old schemers like Senju Tobirama, was at the very least above passing.