Sunlight hit Yoichi's face as he blinked his eyes open. A translucent prompt hovered mockingly in the air.
[Congratulations on finding your wife!]
[Reward: Pair of Yang Earrings.]
Is this supposed to be a joke?
A blinding white light suddenly erupted from his palm. When it faded, a pair of familiar structured earrings rested in his hand.
"This is like my pair of earrings..." he muttered.
"I wonder what's the meaning of this?"
Beside him, Tsunade stirred.
She blinked, her gaze meeting his for a long beat before the memories of her drunken confession and the night they shared rushed back. Her face turned a deep crimson, and she immediately hid her face in her hands with a groan.
Yoichi smiled, the rare sight of her flustered face softening his cold expression. He reached out and pulled her into a warm hug. "Finally awake?"
"Shut up!" Tsunade muffled through her fingers, her voice vibrating with a mix of shame and lingering affection. "I can't believe I said all that. And the drinking... and the..."
Yoichi didn't let her finish. He held her close, letting the silence of the room act as a sanctuary.
For once, all the burdens and responsibility washed away.
Soon enough, they eventually stood and dressed in the quiet morning light.
While Tsunade reached for her gear, Yoichi held out the earrings. A cunning thought crossed his mind as he watched her: Perhaps these should represent my own mysterious heritage... the Murakami clan.
Ever since his transmigration, the appearance of his earrings remained a mystery. He shook his head to clear the suspicion, focusing on Tsunade's reaction. Her eyes lit up with an excited spark as she took the jewelry.
"For me? You're actually giving me a gift?" she asked, her voice light and teasing.
Tsunade quickly equipped them, turning to the mirror to admire the unique craft.
"They're beautiful, Yoichi. They feel... warm."
She tilted her head, watching how the metal caught the light, matching the pair he always wore.
A soft, knowing smile spread across her face.
"Look at us. Now we're exactly the same."
Yoichi watched her reflection, noting how the earrings suited to her gorgeous countenance.
To her, it was a romantic gesture; to him, it was the first mark of a new legacy. He stepped up behind her, hands resting on her shoulders as they looked into the mirror together.
...
They headed to the dining table, only to stop short at the sight of Mito Uzumaki waiting for them.
The matriarch sat with a knowing, serene smile that made the air feel suddenly heavy.
"You two certainly took your time this morning," Mito teased, her eyes twinkling with amusement.
"I suppose the homecoming was... eventful?"
Tsunade's face exploded into a deep crimson, her gaze dropping to the table. Beside her, Yoichi felt a wave of heat hit his neck, his hand reaching up to awkwardly scratch the back of his head.
Despite the embarrassment, an odd sense of maturity clung to their aura—a heavy, settled energy that marked a shift in their bond.
"We just had a lot to discuss, Lady Mito," Yoichi managed to say, his voice lacking its usual cool edge.
Mito's gaze drifted to the matching earrings catch the light. Her smile widened, recognizing the shift in the atmosphere between them.
She didn't press further, but her silence spoke volumes, leaving Tsunade to focus intently on her tea to hide her burning cheeks.
After breakfast, they arrived at the training grounds where Jiraiya and Orochimaru were cooling down from their mission. The two sat in their usual attire, but Jiraiya's relaxed posture vanished the moment he saw them.
A loud, exaggerated gasp escaped him as he pointed a trembling finger at the jewelry.
"No way!"
Jiraiya wailed, his face a mask of comedic despair. "Congratulations, you two! But seriously, Yoichi, how did you manage to tame her?"
Tsunade's fist clenched, her face heating up again, while Orochimaru offered a thin, amused smirk.
"A fascinating development," Orochimaru hissed smoothly, his eyes fixed on the mysterious earrings. "It seems you've found a way to tether a wild soul like Tsunade."
"Thanks," Yoichi replied, his voice calm and steady as he ignored the jab at Tsunade's temper.
The two teammates exchanged a sharp, knowing glance at the grounded ambiance that now defined the couple.
Jiraiya slumped his shoulders, looking up at the sky with mock bitterness.
When is it finally going to be my turn? I am the promised Great Toad Sage, a man of destiny and heroics. Yet here I am, standing in the dust while they flaunt that bond. Is the world really going to leave me behind like this?
...
Yoichi left the village assignments to the three and slipped away to the Grotto Heavens.
Tsunade moved to follow him, but Jiraiya and Orochimaru pulled her back.
They insisted she help instruct the shinobi, reminding her that their work required a professional separation from their personal time.
As Yoichi entered the Grotto Heavens, the natural energy hummed in greeting.
The flora and fauna of the dimension shook slightly, reacting to his heavy presence.
He settled into the silence, preparing for a transition far more dangerous than his previous breakthroughs.
The difference between Meridian Strengthening and the Organ Transformation Realm was vast.
Strengthening the meridians was a guided process, rarely lethal because of his stacked of passive abilities.
Organ refining, however, was a different beast.
It was a violent, internal reconstruction.
The process required tempering the soft internal organs to withstand the flare of natural energy and volatile Qi.
It was about returning the internal system to a state of nature—a connate and mysterious return to the origins of life.
The risk was absolute; failure meant the energy would shred his organs from the within.
However, the rewards of success were immense.
Once the organs were refined, the circulation within the anatomy became perfectly smooth, as the dantian and the internal systems worked in a tight, seamless harmony.
Success also granted an autonomous protection system. The Qi would naturally coat the organs, shielding them against external pressure or internal shockwaves.
Yoichi sat in the Grotto's center, drawing the thick Natural Energy into his chest to bridge the gap between the Meridian and Organ Transformation Realms. He focused entirely on his two hearts, the engines responsible for circulating his blood and dantian energy.
The refinement was a brutal cycle of destruction.
As the Natural Energy flooded his dual hearts, it acted like caustic acid, shredding the muscle fibers from the inside. Simultaneously, his Qi surged to regenerate the tissue in rapid, multiple successions. Each new layer formed was denser, forged in the heat of constant renewal.
The pain was a grinding, internal misery. It felt as though his chest was being crushed and rebuilt with every pulse. His vision blurred as the heat reached a fever pitch, the relentless cycle of rebirth pushing his consciousness to the brink of collapse.
Yoichi gritted his teeth, knowing that any lapse in focus would result in a lethal internal collapse.
The fire in his chest finally cooled as the reconstruction reached its end. After hours of relentless refining, Yoichi exhaled a cloud of hot vapor and swallowed a True Qi Pill.
Medicinal essence rushed through him, stabilizing his newly tempered core.
His dual hearts now beat with a resonant, heavy rhythm. The circulation was flawlessly smooth, with his dantian and internal organs working in seamless harmony.
Energy moved through him with predatory speed, no longer meeting the resistance of mortal flesh.
An autonomous protection system now coated his vitals. He had successfully returned his internal system to a connate state, achieving a mysterious evolution that felt both ancient and indestructible.
"Finally done," he muttered, his clenched fist feeling the sheer pressure of the air buckle under his grip.
The air in front of him shimmered as the familiar interface flickered into existence.
[Congratulations! You've achieved a Major Attainment in the Martial Arts Path!]
[Reward: +1 Prismatic Ticket!]
He looked at the notification with a calm gaze.
With the Prismatic Ticket in his possession and his life force tempered like iron, he felt the true gap between himself and the shinobi world widening.
Yoichi materialized the Prismatic Ticket, its surface shimmering with an ethereal glow.
A sharp tear split the paper in half, causing the world to peel away as a massive Prismatic Roulette manifested within his consciousness.
The resource section was bypassed without hesitation. While that path had previously granted the Grotto Heaven Seed, the current need was more fundamental. Strength was required to defy the looming shadows of Madara's power and Zetsu's schemes.
"Power," Yoichi whispered, his gaze hardening as the wheel began to spin. "I need more power to crush those who think they can manipulate the board."
The roulette blurred into a kaleidoscope of colors, vibrating with the weight of the draw.
[Drawing...]
[Congratulations! You've obtained Heaven Rewards Diligence!]
[Heaven Rewards Diligence] (Prismatic)
—When training techniques, it has a 1% chance to level up proficiency.
"How fitting for a path built on sweat and blood."
This skill was the ultimate weapon. In a world where a single breakthrough could take decades, every strike and repetition now held the spark of a sudden leap in mastery.
Yoichi stood in the quiet expanse of the Grotto, his silhouette a blur as he trained both the Malevolent Palm and Severance simultaneously.
Each strike sent ripples through the natural energy of the dimension, his dual hearts pumping Qi with thunderous efficiency. With the new prismatic ability, every thousandth strike felt like a sudden, enlightened leap in understanding.
"One more time," he breathed, the air around his hands distorting from the sheer friction of his power.
...
...
...
Konoha Year 30
Two years passed in a cycle of disciplined growth. Yoichi's life settled into a steady rhythm of intense personal training, instructing the village's forces, and spending his quiet hours with Tsunade and his family.
The separation between his role as a martial pioneer and his personal life remained firm, though his prestige in the village had become tremendous.
The implementation of Martial Arts into the Academy curriculum changed the face of Konoha's military. While the tempering process was agonizing for the average student, the results were undeniable.
Even the youngest trainees now possessed physical foundations that could rival a seasoned Genin.
High-tier clans moved quickly to integrate these methods. The Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi found new ways to bolster their specialized techniques with physical resilience. The Hyūga Clan, however, benefited most; the combination of their Byakūgan and refined internal energy made their Gentle Fist more devastating than ever.
The Elder's Council remained uncharacteristically silent. Facing the raging current of Yoichi's influence was a losing battle, and they knew it.
To move against him now was to move against the very foundation of the village's new strength.
On the surface, Konoha sounded peaceful, the streets filled with the sounds of thriving life.
Beneath that peace, however, the world was holding its breath. The borders were locked down tight, defenses so rigid that not even an insect could bypass the checkpoints.
The shadows of greed lengthened across the Great Nations as eyes turned toward Uzushiogakure.
The major villages looked at the Uzumaki sealing techniques with desperate hunger. While they possessed the Tailed Beasts, their rudimentary knowledge of seals turned their ultimate weapons into ticking time bombs.
In Sunagakure, their Jinchūriki remained stable for now, but the desert winds carried the scent of an impending collapse. The burden was becoming too heavy for their fragile techniques to contain.
Further north and east, the situation was far more dire. The Jinchūriki of Iwagakure and Kumogakure were volatile storms of chakra.
Occasionally, the seals would flicker, and the resulting tails of red energy would tear through their own streets, leaving their homes in ruins.
The fear of their own power was a constant, gnawing rot in their leadership.
Kirigakure stood as the outlier, their Jinchūriki remaining stable enough to maintain order.
Yet, the question haunted the Mizukage.
But for how long?
Without the Uzumaki's profound understanding of the Eight Trigrams or the Reaper Death Seal, every village was merely renting time before their beasts broke free.
The Great Nations knew that to control the world, they first had to control the seals. This realization made the peaceful Uzumaki clan the most dangerous target on the map.
Yoichi stood atop the Hokage Rock, eyes fixed on the eastern horizon. Beyond the trees lay the Land of Whirlpools, a place marked for tragedy in his memories. The covetousness of the Great Nations was a clear prelude to the slaughter he knew was coming.
He gripped the stone railing, the rock cracking under his hand. In the past, the Uzumaki helped us when we were struggling. They gave us their support. I don't forget a debt like that.
History says this village was erased in a single night because no one helped them. But I am here now. If the other nations try to attack, they will fail. I'll crush anyone who tries to hurt the people who stood by me.
The gap between Yoichi's past and present strength was no longer a matter of mere effort; it was a total transformation of his existence.
If the Meridian Strengthening Realm provided the foundation of an Elite Jōnin, then the Organ Transformation Realm elevated him to the level of a Kage. He now possessed the raw authority and destructive potential of the leaders of the Five Great Villages.
His techniques had undergone qualitative leaps during the two-year training period.
The Malevolent Palm had reached Great Success, its power now capable of shattering internal structures with a single glancing blow.
Meanwhile, Severance had achieved Small Success, allowing him to cut through space and defenses with a precision that defied traditional ninjutsu.
This wasn't just about chakra capacity.
His internal systems were so refined that his movements were effortless and his durability was absolute.
The "Major Attainment" in the Martial Arts Path meant his body functioned as a singular, perfect weapon.
"A Kage's strength is no longer my ceiling," Yoichi murmured, feeling the dense energy vibrating within his chest. "It's my starting point."
_____________________
(Current Status)
[Realm: Organ Transformation Realm (Kage)]
「Attribute Panel」
「Charm: 11」「??? 」
「Spirit: 74」 「???」
[Prismatic Passive: Incinerator, Battle Instinct, Second Heart, Detective at Work, Fighting Spirit, Soul Eater, Tenacious Heart, Energy Efficiency, Excellent Offspring, Heavens Reward Diligence.]
[Gold Passive: Old Skin, Self Healing Constitution, Mortal Strike, Prodigal Amorous Heart, Reinforced Iron Bones, Bone Coating, Purification, Unyielding Heart, Injury Conversion, Body of Thorns.]
[Status: Healthy, Afflicted by Shepherd of the Innocent Lambs]
[Technique: Heavenly Demon Scripture]
—[Heavenly Demon Posture: (Perfection+)]
—[Mountain Crushing Fist: (Perfection+)]
—[Phantom Steps: (Perfection+)]
—[Lightning Spear Thrust: (Perfection+)]
—[Face Changing Technique: (Perfection+)]
—[Malevolent Palm: 135/500 (Great Success)]
—[Severance: 80/300 (Small Success)]
[Tickets: 0 Prismatic, 4 Gold, 15 Silver.]
________________