I, Uchiha Yu, am solely focused on cultivating immortality

Chapter 103 Orochimaru's Gaze

After returning to the camp and dealing with the matter, Uchiha Yuu waited for Konoha Village's decision. During a long period of meditation, he realized his own problem and then remembered Klein, who had been placed into his mind.

When he immersed himself in the depths of his own mind, Uchiha Yu was stunned.

In his own mind, the psychic monster, Little K, altered its manifested form, transforming into a bizarre land-dwelling octopus. This octopus monster had an eye on each of its eight tentacles, but its massive head was empty, riddled with holes of varying sizes. These holes were even interconnected, making the octopus's head resemble a net.

Because it was within his own mental world, without the barrier of his mind, Xiao Ke's whispers were even more powerful. As soon as Uchiha Yu entered, he felt his consciousness blurred and his head spinning.

He himself was already like this when he first came in. The three hearts that were originally confronting each other in the mental world had spent more time with Xiao Ke, so they were naturally more affected.

Apart from the lung fox Feifei, whose condition was still acceptable, the heart monkey and the spleen pig Dangkang had both swollen up and were in an extremely bad abnormal state.

The monkey was lazier than ever before; the gigantic monkey looked just like a sloth, and every movement was so sluggish.

The spleen-pig, on the other hand, was completely dominated by greed. Its belly was swollen to the size of its torso, and the immobile spleen-pig was gnawing on its own foreleg with relish.

Seeing this distorted scene of K's wrath, Uchiha Yu gasped. Putting K into his mind was indeed an impulsive and reckless act.

The existence of the mind monster not only disrupted the original balance of the three hearts, but also brought about a creepy distortion and pollution. I don't know if my meditation bell can clear away the effects of this.

Faced with a chaotic inner world, Uchiha Yu could only stir up natural energy, vibrate his dantian to emit a powerful shockwave, and slowly cleanse his inner demons.

Under the suppression of the bell in the dantian, the three heart shapes gradually returned to normal, transforming from their bizarre, Crusader-like appearance back into something cute, with all sorts of suspicious hairs and flesh falling to the ground.

As always, the mind's world digested the heart-shaped hair, flesh, and blood that had fallen off, and Uchiha Yu immediately felt a certain excitement.

The newly formed spiritual power seemed to contain some kind of "impurity," or perhaps some kind of pure spiritual intention, which made Uchiha Yu's mind restless and caused him to uncontrollably generate various impulses of various abilities.

As a cultivator, one pursues advancement in one's life level. Before reaching the other shore, the body is the foundation for overcoming all calamities. Uncontrollable changes in the body are a dangerous sign that cannot be ignored.

He carefully sensed the changes within himself, racking his brains to analyze the source of his instinctive impulses.

Uchiha Yu quickly ruled out the possibility of abnormalities in the body's endocrine system, hormones, natural energy, and chakra, and pointed the finger at Klein in the mental world.

The madness and distortion emanating from Xiao Ke were absorbed and transformed by the heart-shaped energy source, and finally purified in the spiritual world, becoming pure spiritual energy. However, even the most powerful purification can only remove harmful elements; the extreme thirst for survival is the most basic instinct of life and cannot be completely eliminated.

Absorbing such spiritual power would only bring benefits and no harm to Uchiha Yu. Such a pure thirst for survival, integrated into Uchiha Yu's spirit, greatly revitalized his life essence.

As for instinctive impulses, they are merely the reproductive desires that naturally arise after basic life safety is guaranteed, and these can all be controlled.

If all else fails, you can try to distract yourself.

The simplest method is to engage in extreme training, pushing your physical strength to the limit and leaving your body in a state of energy depletion, which will naturally eliminate the urge to reproduce.

Uchiha Yu shook his head. If he were in Konoha or on vacation, he could naturally use this method, but now he was in the front-line camp of the Land of Hot Springs, and the threats from Kirigakure, Kumogakure and Konoha could lead to battle at any time. He could not afford to be in a weakened state, otherwise he would be courting death.

Are we left with no choice but to try other ways to distract ourselves, or just tough it out?

Uchiha Yu sighed. "The act of going against human nature, such as 'preserving heavenly principles and eliminating human desires,' never ends well."

Suddenly, a thought struck him: the legendary cultivators were divided into sects that upheld precepts and discipline. How did they manage to resolve their instinctive impulses over endless time?

Refining essence into qi.

Ah~~~, this sentence represents the first step in cultivating immortality, which is to conserve the essence of the body and transform it into extraordinary energy. Once you embark on the path of cultivation, you can freely control your body's desires.

Unfortunately, this belongs to the orthodox Taoist cultivation method, and Uchiha Yuta... doesn't know it.

But as I said before, if you don't know how, learn it; if you can't learn it, create it yourself. As long as the direction is right, there's no reason why you can't succeed.

Uchiha Yu followed not some kind of immortal technique, but the Dao. He sought the Dao through the Dao, and when the Dao was achieved, the method naturally came into being; when the method was achieved, the technique naturally came into being.

How does one seek the Way?

Live your life well, observe carefully in your daily life, and when the world changes, promptly discover and study the changes, and then you will naturally attain enlightenment.

It sounds similar to scientific research, and it's actually the same thing.

Those who cling to Taoist scriptures and recite them endlessly, adhering strictly to Taoist precepts without daring to transgress them, are like those who treat current scientific achievements as gospel and condemn all phenomena that do not conform to them as unscientific. In the end, they can only achieve nothing.

Therefore, Uchiha Yu ignored the anomaly caused by Klein and continued his normal training life, interacting with Miwa Masayo.

His biggest change was that he stopped his daily physical training and used that time to study the effects of Little K on the spiritual world and on the heart shape.

While sleeping, Uchiha Yu studied the body's operating principles, searching for the key points to refine essence into qi.

No one noticed anything unusual about Uchiha Yu, but Miwa Masayo, who spent every day with him, naturally did.

She really likes her pet owner who suddenly becomes silly.

The occasional reminders that Uchiha Yu had forgotten things gave Miwa Masayo a strong sense of accomplishment, making him feel that his intelligence had improved dramatically.

Even though she knew it was an illusion, it felt really good.

Today, Uchiha Yu received the village's final verdict. The Third Hokage had used the rules to legitimately embezzle the vacation, mission records, and mission bonuses that Yu had been hoping for, so naturally, Yu was no longer going to be polite.

Uchiha Yu stood up and said to Miwa Masayo, "Let's go. If the Third Hokage won't give me a vacation, I'll go on a vacation-like mission."

"Such a great mission? Won't others rush to claim it first, meow?"

"Some tasks may seem like hellish torture to others, but to me they are a vacation worth enjoying, because you and I are more capable than them."

"In the ninja world, as long as you're strong enough, you can do whatever you want!"

The ninja army's front-line camp in Konoha Village was completely different from the military camp in my previous life. There were no solemn guards and patrols, nor strict military discipline.

Because four or five thousand ninjas were concentrated in a very small area, there seemed to be more ninjas in the center of the camp than in the village. They came and went in groups of three or five, talking loudly and noisily, highlighting their freedom.

Uchiha Yu weaved through the crowded ninja crowd. As a recently prominent figure, he was recognized by ninjas both those he knew and those he didn't, who either nodded or waved in greeting.

He naturally responded to everyone's kindness. Maintaining politeness was a habit ingrained in his bones from a past life, and there was no need to make enemies over trivial matters.

Not everyone showed goodwill; some ninjas inadvertently revealed hostility when they saw Uchiha Yu.

Although they dodged quickly enough, Uchiha Yu saw them very clearly and remembered the names of each of them by looking at their faces.

[So they were ninjas from the Sarutobi clan, and also from the Shimura clan. That makes sense.]

He didn't take these things to heart, entered the mission center, quickly found the mission he had already set his sights on, and directly took down the mission sign.

The administrative ninja recognized him, glanced at his Chunin vest, and stopped him, saying, "Lord Uchiha Yu, this mission requires a Jonin rank, and you're not even a Jonin yet..."

Uchiha Yu immediately interrupted him, explaining, "Senior, if you know me, you'll know that I was commended by the Third Hokage, so my strength is absolutely unquestionable."

"That's not what they say..."

Uchiha Yu activated his Sharingan and pointed with his finger, saying, "Look at me, I'm an Uchiha who has awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan. This is a unique power of elite Jonin. You should consider me a Jonin now."

"It can be stipulated that..."

Uchiha Yu deactivated his Sharingan and took out a certificate of commendation from his pocket, showing it to the administrative ninja: "Look, this is a certificate of commendation issued by the Third Hokage."

"The Third Hokage himself said that I would soon be promoted to Jonin. I'm practically a Jonin now. My current rank is probably half a rank higher than a Special Jonin."

"..."

"Please make an exception."

Uchiha Yu's mind isn't quite working properly these days, but his tongue, honed over the years of spending time with the old folks, hasn't been damaged at all, and his ability to argue, make a scene, and act shamelessly is still as sharp as ever.

His barrage of reasons quickly left the thirty-something-year-old administrative ninja completely bewildered.

The administrative ninja, caught in a rhetorical trap, could no longer decipher the logic in Uchiha Yu's words. Dizzy and confused, he was persuaded by him and unknowingly signed the mission and handed over the mission document.

Uchiha Yu immediately grasped the other person's hands, shaking them excitedly, and repeatedly expressed his gratitude: "Senpai! Thank you for your trust in entrusting me with this important task!"

"I will certainly live up to your expectations, I will not fail the Hokage's commendation, and I will not let down the hopes of the 200,000 villagers of Konoha. I will resolutely complete this arduous task!"

Then he turned around and disappeared into the crowd in a flash.

The man had vanished, but his last words still echoed in the air: "Please wait for my good news... please..."

The administrative ninja, who was stunned by the commotion, was taken aback for a long time before being jolted awake by a burst of laughter. The man in his thirties was blushing deeply.

The laughter even startled the new commander not far away, Orochimaru, who strolled over leisurely.

Orochimaru exudes a chilling aura, and no one dares to joke or laugh in his presence. When he appears at the mission center, the laughter vanishes instantly, plunging the area into absolute silence.

Orochimaru licked his cheek, scanned everyone present, and then looked at a middle-aged ninja in his forties, asking, "While the discipline of the ninja army is generally poor, such loud noise is really going too far. Tell me, what's going on here?"

After listening to the middle-aged man's report, Orochimaru calmly said, "Oh, so it's Uchiha Yu, the youngest member of the Uchiha clan with the three-tomoe Sharingan."

"Show me the task he received."

"yes!"

After quickly skimming through the mission stub, Orochimaru casually returned the data and left the mission center without saying a word.

The mission center quickly returned to normal, but the effects of Orochimaru's appearance lingered for a long time. Everyone subconsciously lowered their voices when they spoke, as if they were whispering.

Once out of the ninjas' sight, Orochimaru wore a meaningful smile as he looked up towards the southwest, the direction of Konoha Village.

……

Masayo Miwa leaned on Yuu Uchiha's shoulder, flipping through the mission sheet several times, but couldn't figure out why it was a vacation mission.

The tabby cat asked Uchiha Yu about this issue.

Uchiha Yu flipped open the folder in the mission booklet, pointed to the detailed entries, and said, "The detailed rules here are the real vacation regulations."

"The patrol area is the waters off the Yuzan Peninsula, east of the Land of Hot Springs."

"Monitor the activities of the Hidden Mist Ninjas at sea within the patrol area."

"Hunt down Hidden Mist ninjas, and warn others immediately if you encounter a large group of enemies."

"The waters off Tangshan Peninsula, that's a huge area of ​​sea, with a coastline of over 400 kilometers!"

Masase Miwa asked in surprise, "Such a large area, running around every day would be exhausting. No wonder the Jonin are unwilling to accept this mission. Where do you find the time to rest, meow?"

Uchiha Yu crossed his fingers and formed a hand seal. Suddenly, a large portion of his chakra was separated, and another version of himself appeared in a puff of white smoke.

"Shadow Clone Technique!" Masayo Miwa exclaimed in surprise, "You've finally mastered this technique, that's really something, meow."

With lingering fear, Uchiha Yu sighed, "Who would have thought that my special chakra circulation state would encounter such great trouble with this ninjutsu?"

"Before I got the scroll, I never imagined that the Shadow Clone Technique used myself as a template to create a chakra circulation system that naturally replicates my physical clones."

"When others use the Shadow Clone Technique, the problem is that they don't have enough chakra to fill the technique's structure. My problem is that there is no chakra in my meridians, so I can only draw the chakra flow path myself."

"However, no matter how difficult the Shadow Clone Technique is, it is still simpler than the ninjutsu from the Warring States period that I have mastered. Moreover, with this technique, I can use shadow clones to patrol the entire sea area and find a suitable island to rest peacefully."

"Grill, spices, tea, and wine—I've got everything ready, so let's go!"

"That's awesome, meow."

Having received the mission notice, the man and the cat excitedly packed their belongings and left the Konoha Ninja Army camp, speeding southeast.

By the afternoon, they had arrived at the Yuzan Peninsula in the Land of Hot Springs and set sail from the easternmost point of the entire Land of Hot Springs.

In their haste, they didn't bother looking for a boat. Instead, they used their water-walking skills to cross the sea and reach a deserted island marked on the map.

By this time, it was completely dark. Uchiha Yu found the beach in the harbor, gathered firewood to light a campfire, punched a hole in a coconut he had collected and threw it into the fire, and then sat down with Miwa Masayo by the campfire and let out a long sigh of relief.

At this moment, he felt that he had broken free from the shackles of Konoha and no longer needed to carefully suppress natural energy while extracting chakra from his body cells and deliberately faking the flow of chakra.

In the ninja camp, where Byakugan surveillance was everywhere, if he didn't disguise himself like this, the Hyuga clan's X-ray vision would definitely spot his flaws.

The ninja profession is characterized by high attack but low defense. Under the threat of a high mortality rate, the ninja's vigilance and caution can be described as pathological.

The Hyuga clan ninjas would never let go of any openings revealed by Uchiha Yu, and they would report any abnormalities to their commander immediately.

The newly appointed commander is Orochimaru, the "Cold-blooded" Kage-level ninja known for his suspiciousness, ruthlessness, meticulousness, and calmness. He is currently the person in the ninja world most likely to see through his secrets.

Uchiha Yu didn't want to be in Orochimaru's sight. Even though he was just starting to gain fame, he hoped that Orochimaru wouldn't pay too much attention to him.

Otherwise, many things will be difficult to handle in the future.

Having escaped the Land of Hot Springs, where the Byakugan were extremely dense, and arrived at a deserted island where no one could monitor them, Uchiha Yu felt completely refreshed.

He stretched out with a big yawn, lay back on the sand, and said contentedly, "This feels so good."

……

However, Uchiha Yu's idea was destined to fail. In his previous life, he had worked as a low-level police officer for twenty years, and in this life, he was still stuck in the low-level ninja circle. He simply did not have the vision and thinking habits of those at the top.

He was completely unaware that, in Orochimaru's eyes, his actions within the Uchiha clan were more dazzling than the midday sun than anything else. Orochimaru had received the Hokage's education since childhood and considered himself the Hokage's successor.

His attempts to conceal his personal strength were futile in preventing Orochimaru from casting a glance at him; the two were focused on completely different areas.

Orochimaru's insight was exceptionally sharp. He valued Uchiha Yu because of his political acumen, and as he observed him for a longer period, he quickly discovered the anomaly in Uchiha Yu's strength and began to investigate his past achievements.

Just as Uchiha Yu and Miwa Masayo were sharing hot and sweet coconut juice, Orochimaru found the body that Uchiha Yu had killed ten days earlier and began to conduct the most detailed autopsy.

As the foul-smelling corpses were peeled away layer by layer, Orochimaru's eyes grew brighter and brighter.

(End of this chapter)