In truth, these three seemingly distinct systems all share the same root—they cannot be separated from the essence of ninjutsu:

To condense authority and ascend as a god, the prerequisite is to push ninjutsu to its absolute peak. From there, the path may continue through the Rinnegan, or other sources of comparable power.

Another method is to draw the laws of nature itself into oneself and merge them, becoming divine.

At a glance, the Breathing Technique appears to be a different path altogether. It seems to bypass the chakra system, yet enhances both spirit and body while developing latent potential.

But in reality, the path to mastering the Ultimate Meaning is still forged through endless physical training—strikingly similar to foundational taijutsu or forbidden techniques like the Eight Gates.

It is, in essence, a direct path to unlocking one's own potential.

Compared to the godhood path of the Ōtsutsuki clan, these methods are like polar opposites. One seeks to seize the laws of the world from the outside, while the other centers on developing inner potential.

Yet between the two... something even more powerful can emerge—like the "Rule-Infused Ultimate Meaning," a fusion of both paths.

And what's more, this fusion could even bypass the inherent flaw of locking one's form after condensing authority!

There was no doubt.

This was a bright and open road to power, laid plainly before Uchiha Kirin.

But he wasn't satisfied with just that.

Ninjutsu—rather than being a single, unified concept—was more like the legacy of an age of gods on this planet, mutated and reinterpreted through millennia of chakra contamination...

Over the course of thousands, maybe tens of thousands of years, who knew how many systems had been melded into what is now called "ninjutsu"?

Take sealing techniques, for example. Their foundational logic differs wildly from that of conventional ninjutsu. Their origin must predate chakra's entrance into the shinobi world!

Then there were all those bizarre forbidden jutsu jealously guarded by the major powers—who's to say they weren't once techniques from entirely different systems or combat methods, modified just to survive in a chakra-saturated world?

It wasn't just empty speculation.

Uchiha Kirin had once studied the purest form of senjutsu passed down from Ryūchi Cave—a version that required no chakra, only natural energy, which was compressed and allowed to flow through the body.

But once it was adapted for shinobi use—

It turned into Sage Chakra. Though it still retained some senjutsu power, it couldn't be stored for long periods...

A similar phenomenon had occurred during his last simulation, when he traveled through the Land of Iron.

There, it was about swordsmanship and the cultivation of sword intent. Most samurai still adhered to the traditional ways—grinding away for years to slowly unlock their potential through sheer physical training.

Only the most gifted eventually got to learn even the basics of the Breathing Technique and take a step further...

But it was already obvious: some samurai had begun using Chakra Sword instead of relying on the raw physical output of breathing-forged Sword.

Once the old Sword Saints died off and no successors could be found to inherit the true Breathing secrets...

Eventually, Breathing Techniques would be lost forever, replaced by the faster, flashier, and more destructive Chakra Sword.

As for the notion that chakra use hinders potential development—what ambitious young samurai would bother to care?

After all, in the early stages of potential development, the power boost is barely noticeable.

This is also one of the reasons pure taijutsu users tend to be looked down upon compared to pure ninjutsu or pure genjutsu specialists...

Even with Kirin's own immense talent, he had to spend nearly twenty years in simulation training, practicing Breathing Techniques and Sword Intent, before finally breaking past the shackle of 100% potential utilization and converting that into actual combat strength!

Clearly—

Sage Chakra's "yesterday" is the Sword Intent and Breathing Technique inheritance of "today"...

...

"That reminds me, how many chakra units do I have now?"

Ding. Using Kakashi as the standard unit, current chakra reserves equal approximately 100,000 Kakashis.

"Huh? That's it? That's way too low."

Uchiha Kirin frowned slightly upon hearing the answer, a bit disappointed.

He hadn't expected that, with all his strength, his chakra was only equivalent to a hundred thousand Kakashis. That gap between perception and reality... it stung a little.

Ding! Please don't be discouraged, user. You possess Ōtsutsuki bloodline, so the quality of your chakra far exceeds that of normal shinobi. If your chakra were diluted to match Kakashi's level, the resulting amount would be an astronomical number beyond calculation...

"Okay... fair point."

With a billion chakra points, he could easily craft ten Chakra Beads. Each one of them would hold around 10,000 Kakashis' worth of chakra.

Yet even if Kakashi used his most powerful jutsu a million times over, the total destructive power still might not compare to a single Chakra Bead detonation...

Uchiha Kirin nodded, set down his bowl, and shoved two sizzling chicken legs into his mouth, the crisped skin releasing waves of savory aroma.

He crunched through the bones and swallowed, then walked over to the buffet and piled five or six sizzling, juicy steaks onto his plate.

He followed that with a mountain of pastries—devoured all of them without restraint.

Who would've known...

Ever since his transmigration, he'd been living in constant anxiety. In the body of a three-year-old, all he could eat was flavorless porridge and bland milk.

To survive the Uchiha Clan Massacre Night, Kirin had started enforcing a strict shinobi diet on himself from a young age.

No grease. No sugar. Every bland, waxy-tasting bite swallowed down with military precision, timed to the second, just to meet minimum nutritional needs...

His only comfort came during those lonely, exhausted nights, when he could recall the taste of his previous life's food.

Now, with power in his hands—

There was no need to hold back anymore.

Besides, his body had grown too powerful. His true snake-like form was over ten meters long—without all this food, he really wouldn't have enough energy to keep growing.

...

And so—

On what was supposed to be the night of the Uchiha Massacre—

He mingled with the Uchiha crowd, following the Great Elder's twenty-something son into the newly opened Akimichi clan buffet for a gluttonous celebration.

They called it a victory banquet, supposedly to celebrate Uchiha Itachi's misfortune, but in truth, it was just an excuse for everyone to party.

Only Kirin, the man behind the curtain, sat in the corner wiping out nearly 90% of the restaurant's entire stock...

...

Meanwhile, on Obito's side—

He couldn't find Uchiha Itachi anywhere.

Then Danzo suddenly informed him that the massacre plan had been canceled. With no choice but to head back, Obito was fuming and ranting nonstop to Black Zetsu.

Let's be real here—Obito, with just a single Mangekyō Sharingan of Kamui, was basically a scrap heap.

His taijutsu was garbage, his strength relied entirely on transplanted Hashirama cells and support from White Zetsu. Even then, he was barely stronger than a regular Jōnin.

His ninjutsu? Barely average. His only powerful Fire Release had to be boosted with Kamui's spatial distortion to replicate what a combined Wind-Fire technique could normally do.

He was practically nothing more than an accessory to the Kamui Sharingan and Hashirama cells...

His only real skill was staying hidden, picking off weaklings, and barely scraping by with psychological warfare.

As for Danzo—

The sudden disappearance of over a hundred Root shinobi was already enough of a headache...

And that wasn't even counting the fact that Uchiha Itachi was now lying in the ICU, undergoing emergency treatment.

The entire Fugaku family was gathered at Konoha Hospital, awaiting updates.

After all, having two dango balls shoved down your windpipe and a skewer jammed through your trachea... was not exactly a textbook case.

Not everyone had Tsunade-level medical ninjutsu. Just keeping him breathing was already a miracle...

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