Chapter 6, Initial Stages of Susanoo
It snowed all night last night, and today the snow in the Uchiha clan's fields is so thick that it needs to be cleared. Fortunately, they are ninjas, and for ninjas, a fire jutsu can easily solve the problem.
Several Uchiha children gathered at the edge of the training ground, whispering among themselves during a break.
"Have you heard? The clan chief's youngest son is sick again." A boy rubbed his hands, which were red from the cold.
“My mother says he won’t live past this winter,” another child said in a low voice. “He was sickly from birth, he’s pitiful.”
"Hey, how about we make a bet? I bet he won't survive this winter."
"I--"
Before they could finish speaking, a shuriken "whooshed" and embedded itself in the ground in front of them, startling them so much that they jumped back.
"If I hear you talking about Yan Sheng again," Madara said, standing not far away, his Sharingan gleaming coldly in the shadows. "Next time, this shuriken won't be stuck to the ground."
Izuna stood beside his brother, his eyes equally cold even though he hadn't activated his Sharingan: "Go train."
The children looked at each other in bewilderment, then scattered in all directions.
Ban sheathed his shuriken, his brow furrowed. This wasn't the first time; ever since Yan Sheng was born, rumors within the clan that "this child won't live long" had never ceased.
***
As Kaori carried the medicine bowl through the corridor, she overheard a conversation between two female ninjas.
"...Madam is too stubborn. Even if that kind of child is raised with difficulty, he will never become a fighting force."
"Shh, keep your voice down, don't let anyone else hear. After all, she is a mother, how could a mother abandon her own child?"
Kaori stopped in her tracks, her knuckles turning white from the effort. The medicine in the bowl swayed slightly, reflecting her pale face.
They're right.
Yan Sheng's body was indeed very weak. Every time he fell ill, it was like walking through the gates of hell, and every time he was given medicine, it was a long and agonizing ordeal.
Seeing her child suffer made her feel even worse; she wished she were the one who was sick.
Her child... never developed properly from the womb, most likely because she was injured during her pregnancy, nearly miscarrying and suffering health problems herself. The child was also affected.
Kaori took a deep breath, straightened her back, and walked past them. The two female ninjas hurriedly bowed when they saw her, unsure if the clan leader's wife had overheard their conversation, and couldn't help feeling guilty.
Only when she reached a secluded corner did Kaori allow herself to lean against the wall and briefly close her eyes.
***
Inside the council chamber, a winter supplies distribution table was laid out in front of Uchiha Tajima.
"The Senju clan has intercepted our medical supplies transport convoy," a Jonin reported. "The wounded are now running out of medicine."
Tajima's finger hovered over the infant and toddler supplies section for a moment before finally swiping to prioritize frontline supplies.
“Reduce rations for non-combat personnel,” he said in a flat voice, “including my son.”
The Minister of Medical Affairs hesitated, then said, "But what about Young Master Yan Sheng's constitution..."
"Hasn't Hisashi already improved the prescription?" Tajima interrupted. "Use that one."
Improving a prescription means a weaker effect, but it consumes fewer medicinal materials—this is a trade-off.
Everyone present knew perfectly well that the clan chief was making a choice. There was no other way; this winter had been exceptionally difficult, and not only the clan chief's son, but everyone else had also made sacrifices.
***
November 20
On a snowy night, the Uchiha and Senju patrols encountered each other at the border.
There were no mission conflicts, no struggles for interests, but no one knew who struck first. A knife ripped through the night sky, and blood stained the snow.
After the fierce battle, both sides dragged their comrades' corpses as they retreated, and the traces of the battle were gradually covered by the new snow.
A black figure flashed by behind a large tree nearby.
......
"How many times has this happened?" Madara asked Izuna beside him in a low voice as he wiped his kunai.
“This is the eighth small-scale conflict since the beginning of winter,” Izuna said. “By the way, I heard from my father that the Senju are also cutting back on supplies. It seems they won’t have a good winter either.”
***
Yan Sheng lay in the cradle, his dark eyes reflecting the snow falling outside the window.
The two-month-old baby had just recovered from a high fever and was still weak, but his mind and consciousness were unusually clear.
Since no one would be particularly wary of an infant who could barely roll over, he quietly collected the conversations of his clansmen and even Tajima's decisions, like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle.
1. Resource shortage
Feeling the faint flow of medicinal power within his body—compared to half a month ago, the efficacy of the medicinal soup had weakened by at least 30%. Clearly, the Uchiha clan's shortage of resources had reached a point where even the clan leader's son was not exempt.
...A very reasonable approach.
Yan Sheng harbored no resentment. If he were the clan leader, he would have made the same decision in the face of a critical situation at the front and a surge in wounded.
2. Frequent conflicts (including conflicts of all sizes, even routine skirmishes)
When Madara and Izuna came to see him at noon today, the lingering smell of blood on his body could be smelled even through the paper door.
His two older brothers were probably not very old, at most around ten years old, and they were already on the battlefield. Even when he was still human, it wouldn't have been like this.
By the way, the era in which he was still human was known as the Warring States period.
Yan Sheng slightly curled his fingers, silently sensing the flow of chakra within his body. This body was indeed "damaged," but precisely because of this, his control over chakra had become even more refined—like a person trapped in a small cage who is more aware of the purpose of every inch of space.
"Smack!"
With a soft thud, the cloth fox beside the pillow suddenly slumped over. This was a toy that Izuna had given to Mikatsu earlier, one that he had made himself. At this moment, it was entangled by a barely visible thread of chakra.
That's not enough...
Yan Sheng closed his eyes and concentrated. Although the high fever had ravaged his body, it had also inadvertently cleared several blocked meridians. Now, what he needed to do was to circulate chakra through these newly opened pathways, much like dredging a silted river.
Suddenly, approaching footsteps came from outside the door.
Yan Sheng immediately dispersed his chakra, reverting to the appearance of a sickly infant.
Five seconds later, the paper sliding door was pushed open, and Uchiha Hisaji walked in.
The man walked to his bedside, checked his pulse, and murmured to himself, "Hmm, things are not bad today."
Hisashi had only come to check on Yan Sheng's health, and seeing that the child was alright, he left.
Once the footsteps had completely faded away, Yan Sheng opened his eyes again. After thinking for a moment, he raised his fair little hand, and a wisp of blue-green chakra seeped from his fingertips, weaving in the air like silk threads, and finally condensing into the shape of a semi-transparent hand—with distinct fingers, clear knuckles, and even the palm lines faintly visible.
He manipulated the chakra hand and gently picked up a maple leaf from beside his pillow. It was a gift from Madara.
The leaves slowly rotated, enveloped in chakra, their veins clearly visible in the sunlight.
Yan Sheng had no idea that if any Uchiha clan member were present at this moment, they would be speechless with shock at the sight before them.
This is clearly the prototype of Susanoo.
Although it was only a very small part. Even more terrifying is that Yan Sheng hadn't even awakened his Sharingan!
It's important to know that in the history of the Uchiha clan, no one has ever been able to use Susanoo without awakening the Mangekyou Sharingan.
However, Yan Sheng was completely unaware of this.
He simply combined his chakra with the breathing techniques he had practiced in his previous life, and with astonishing willpower (talent), he forcibly shaped the energy into the form of a "hand".
"Great, that makes things much more convenient," Yan Sheng thought with satisfaction.
After all, he's not a real child. It's easier for him to do some things himself, and it would be strange and awkward for him to ask for help.
As he was practicing, Yan Sheng suddenly had an idea and began to shape his chakra. He was still just an infant, and it was inconvenient for him to do anything. The most flexible part of a person's body is the hand, so Yan Sheng wanted to mold the chakra into the shape of a hand.
Yan Sheng failed in his first few attempts, but he did not give up. He kept trying, and finally, the chakra vaguely took on the shape of a hand, and bone-like patterns appeared on its surface.
This is......
Yan Sheng frowned slightly. This change was unexpected, but since it was just a hand, he didn't notice anything unusual and quickly put it out of his mind.
What he didn't know was that, by a twist of fate, he used the initial stage of Susanoo: the skeletal form.
A note from the author:
----------------------
Everyone: There's a cheat code!
Brother: Elder brother is indeed outstanding.
Brother: I'm useless, I'm nowhere near as good as Yoriichi...
Others: = =
If you're trash, then what are we? Paramecia?
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