Jin exchanged notes with Namikaze Minato about cultivating "Basic Internal Energy."
In truth, it was mostly Jin talking while the other two listened carefully. He explained how to accumulate chakra, how to raise combat power, and how the body gradually strengthened over time. Jin shared his own experience without holding anything back.
Namikaze Minato listened with a serious expression, weighing every detail. Uzumaki Kushina was just as focused. She had completed the first level with great difficulty because the Kyūbi's chakra inside her kept causing trouble, and she still had not subdued the Nine-Tails. Even so, the fact that Basic Internal Energy helped stabilize the seal within her made her even more interested in this secret technique.
Jin was putting real effort into those two. As long as either of them advanced to the next level, Jin would be able to advance as well. On top of that, teaching something deduced by the system brought benefits beyond simple level progression. The knowledge generated by their cultivation appeared in Jin's mind in a way he could not fully explain, turning into a kind of foundational logic code for future deductions. He had only discovered this the night before, after Minato and Kushina started practicing.
The content of the first level was not very extensive, so the explanation ended quickly. With expectations for the future, he said goodbye to the two of them.
"See you tomorrow."
Namikaze Minato waved with a radiant smile on his face. Uzumaki Kushina turned her face away, lips puffed into a dramatic pout, irritated by how friendly Minato was being with Jin. She grabbed Minato and dragged him toward home. To her, it felt like her subordinate was being stolen by that detestable Uchiha, and it made her furious.
"Tsundere woman, gentle man. Tsk, tsk."
Jin stroked his chin as he watched their backs disappear, then sighed. What a classic, cliché pairing. The one who understood nothing about feelings ended up being the girl. He muttered, "I guess that counts as a kind of innovation."
Still, he would not mind meeting a blonde tsundere and a gentle girl with straight black hair either, as long as he was careful not to let them run into each other.
He looked up at the dark sky. A breeze blew through, bringing a faint chill. Jin started walking toward the Uchiha clan district.
The current Uchiha district was still located in an important part of Konoha. Though there had been a rebellion during the Second Hokage's era that caused the village center to shift, the area remained prosperous. The move to the village outskirts would only come later, after the Kyūbi attack. After all, seeing a pair of Sharingan in the Kyūbi's eyes was like getting mud on your pants, the kind of mess that was impossible to explain away, no matter how much you tried.
The moment he entered the clan district, Jin was intercepted.
"It's him, Brother Yashiro."
Uchiha Hiru, still fuming, pointed at Jin while speaking to a man with short brown hair and distinctive marks at the corners of his eyes. Not only had they failed to intimidate Jin during class, he had even slept peacefully through the whole thing. That earned him a zero for his performance, but the wounded pride of the three little brats mattered more.
They had gone to fetch a Jōnin to handle it. Was this starting trouble or trying to get someone killed? Worse, they had brought the wrong person.
"Brother Yashiro, they're bullying me!"
Jin's expression instantly turned into pure heartbreak. Tears began to stream down without the slightest hesitation. Anyone watching might have thought, Poor kid. That did not include Uchiha Yashiro.
"Little Jin, you've used that trick too many times. At least change it up, alright?" Yashiro scratched his cheek, looking a little awkward. Jin pulled this five or six times a year, and Yashiro was not that easy to fool anymore.
"Tch." Jin clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.
"Brother Yashiro, he just went 'tch' at you!" Hiru pointed wildly at Jin, urgent like a dog spotting a bone it could not reach. For a moment, he had been worried by Yashiro's first reaction and thought Yashiro would not help them teach Jin a lesson. Now he saw hope.
"Little Hiru." Yashiro patted Hiru's head. "An Uchiha shouldn't oppress the weak. That isn't right."
Unfortunately for Hiru, this was the moderate version of Yashiro.
"All right, all right, Uncle Yashiro. If there's nothing else, you can go. We kids can handle our own problems." Jin shooed Yashiro away impatiently.
Yashiro sighed, helpless. When Jin needed him, it was "Brother Yashiro." When he did not, it became "Uncle Yashiro." This kid was far too pragmatic.
"You should show me a little more respect."
"Are you leaving or not?" Jin bared his teeth in a comically threatening grin.
Yashiro felt cornered. If he meddled where he was not wanted, Jin would have the nerve to go complain to his wife. Jin had done it many times in the past. That was before Yashiro got married. Now he was a married man. A Jōnin being scared of an Academy student was ridiculous.
"Fine, fine. I'm leaving. I'm going."
Yashiro had only recently married, and he could not afford to let that little demon stir trouble at home. Besides, he had been dragged here against his will.
"What an Uchiha loses, he should win back himself."
He was not worried about Jin. Jin could not use ninjutsu, but his taijutsu was not weak. During forest patrols, Yashiro had already seen Jin fight wild beasts. That brat actually worked harder than most. It was truly a pity about his talent.
"Don't go too far," Yashiro warned before walking away.
"Don't worry, Brother Yashiro, we won't go too far." Hiru and the other two smiled viciously. This was not school. They did not need to fight one on one. After seeing what Jin did to Weidu, they had no confidence in a solo duel. They were not stupid, so they brought reinforcements. If no one wanted to intervene on their behalf, then they couldn't be blamed for using numbers.
"He was talking to me."
Jin's voice suddenly appeared right next to Hiru's ear. Jin was behind him, his hand lifted like a blade. When did he?
PAH. A sharp chop to the back of the neck. Hiru's eyes rolled up, and he dropped to the ground, unconscious.
"You bastard!" Uchiha Wuwei pulled out a kunai and charged.
Jin shifted his body halfway aside, slipping Wuwei's strike, then drove his knee into Wuwei's stomach. Wuwei's eyes rolled up too, and he collapsed unconscious.
Jin turned his gaze to Uchiha Weidu, who had also drawn his kunai. The moment Weidu saw Jin looking at him, he immediately tossed the kunai to the ground and lay down willingly. An Uchiha should not suffer unnecessary consequences.
"Smart." Jin clapped.
Yashiro, who had not gone far, turned his head and saw it was already over. What a shame. A ninja who only had taijutsu could never become truly strong. Jin's road ahead would be difficult.
Jin didn't care what they thought. He didn't even spare a glance for the three bodies on the ground. He simply continued home at an unhurried pace.
When he arrived home, Jin started making dinner. He stayed busy in the kitchen for a while, until he managed to produce a few dishes from his previous life. The food in the Naruto world was too limited. It was always the same things, and he was sick of it. Most ninja survived on instant ramen, but he came from a country famous for its cuisine, and he could not accept eating that every day.
"If I can't make it in immortal cultivation, I'll retire and open a restaurant. I'll definitely make money."
His goal in creating Basic Internal Energy was to transition into Immortal Cultivation (Xianxia). This world had Natural Chakra (Senjutsu), and the Sages of the sacred summoning lands lived for thousands of years. In theory, with chakra's magic, immortal cultivation was feasible. Not to mention the one hanging in the sky, Kaguya, Madara, the moon, who was immortal and indestructible, forcing people to seal rather than kill.
"Immortal cultivation has huge potential."
Jin carried the dishes into the living room, ready to enjoy a proper meal. His smile vanished the moment he saw a young man with short black hair sitting inside his house.
He set the plates on the table and sat formally across from him.
"I didn't expect the Young Leader, Fugaku, to visit. To what do I owe the honor?"
Uchiha Fugaku. The only son of the current clan head, and the future heir who would lead the Uchiha toward destruction. Someone like Jin, a fringe figure in the clan due to his lack of talent, should not have attracted the Young Leader's attention. His parents had once been respected, but after death, influence faded. Few showed him kindness now, and the clan head's family certainly was not among them.
"Have you been in contact with Uzumaki Kushina recently?" Fugaku's voice was heavy, muffled.
"So what if I have? That has nothing to do with the clan, does it?"
Jin immediately understood the real reason for the visit. The Kyūbi's Jinchūriki.
Tailed Beasts were strategic weapons that drew the attention of many, including the Uchiha. Senju Hashirama's distribution of the Tailed Beasts for the sake of peace was not, in essence, wrong. The problem was that the Tailed Beasts did not have enough destructive power to guarantee mutual assured destruction. Every village had ways to fight a Tailed Beast. People worried, but there was not enough absolute terror to form true deterrence. If it were a nuclear bomb, no one would dare attack for fear of total annihilation.
Seeing Jin's indifference, Fugaku warned in a grave tone. "Stay away from her."
The Uchiha could not endure the village's suspicion. Jin might not know about the Kyūbi issue, but the upper ranks knew perfectly well.
Jin lost his usual playful smile. His face went blank. He picked up his chopsticks and tapped the tips together to align them.
"Who I spend time with is none of your business. You're sticking your nose where it doesn't belong."
Fugaku frowned. He disliked Uchiha Jin, a low-talent clan member who seemed not to understand the weight of the name he carried.
"This is an order."
"An order?" Jin smiled, showing his teeth. There was no humor in his eyes. PAH. He slammed his chopsticks down on the table.
"Young Leader Fugaku, you've got some nerve. Don't act like you're already the clan head just because people call you the 'Young Leader.' Giving me orders? On what authority, in your current state?"
Just as Fugaku disliked Jin, Jin had no respect for Fugaku either. He was indecisive and shortsighted. Half the responsibility for the Uchiha clan's destruction would fall on Fugaku. The other half would fall on Fugaku's son. Without this family, the Uchiha might have lasted another fifty years.
"You!" Fugaku, furious, slammed both hands on the table. BAM. The plates trembled, and his face went black as a scorched pot.
Jin kept provoking him, fearless.
"The Young Leader wants to use a useless person like me to show off authority? You're really putting on a great image for the Uchiha."
"I…" Fugaku forced himself to swallow his rage. He rarely interacted with Jin. He was not good with words, and he could not beat him in an argument. He could not win verbally, and if he resorted to violence, it would be pure humiliation.
"I won't invite the Young Leader to dinner. I didn't prepare a bowl or chopsticks for you." Jin shot him a sidelong glance and started serving himself.
"Hmph." Fugaku snorted coldly and left, ending the meeting in an ugly way.
Alone again, Jin picked up a peanut from his Kung Pao Chicken (Gong Bao Ji Ding) with his chopsticks and popped it into his mouth.
"Trying to control me? Not even when you become the clan head."