Chapter 89: Ninja Rank Upgrade: Kage Level!

"Sigh…"

Looking at Uchiha Akira lying on the ground, his body charred and severely carbonized like a burnt corpse, Uchiha Itachi silently sighed, feeling a deep respect.

Even though Uchiha Akira's ideals were completely different from his own—one could even say they were diametrically opposed—Akira had still sacrificed himself for the Uchiha clan. That, indeed, commanded respect.

"Finally, this guy is dead…" Obito, who had retreated a significant distance, breathed a sigh of relief as he watched Uchiha Akira lying there, slowly slipping away. If Akira's Eight Gates technique hadn't reached its limit, Obito wasn't sure how he would have dealt with his power once Kamui's five-minute time limit was up.

As for the others, they looked at Uchiha Akira lying on the ground, his body emitting a reddish steam, and silently sighed.

No matter what, the power of the Eight Gates was terrifyingly strong.

But, unfortunately, Uchiha Akira was still going to die—a super genius who had made a name for himself across the ninja world. In just one short year, he had grown from a child who knew nothing to someone of such power, and he was only seven years old!

This kind of genius was like the brightest comet in the night sky—brilliant and dazzling, but destined to be fleeting, wasn't it?

Initially, Uchiha Akira had captured everyone's attention when he appeared with the Eight Gates activated.

Now, seeing his small body lying there, slowly fading away, many silently sighed.

Of course, the old man wasn't feeling particularly sad.

He knew very well that when his beloved grandson decided to use the Eight Gates, he had already made thorough preparations, so he wouldn't die.

Putting aside the thoughts of others as they watched him seemingly step into oblivion, Uchiha Akira, who had long been prepared to exploit a bug, realized that his body had truly reached its limit. If he didn't make a choice soon, he really would die.

Without hesitation, Uchiha Akira chose to replenish his chakra.

It felt like a character leveling up in an online game. As soon as Uchiha Akira made his choice, his body instantaneously recovered without any warning.

The once-charred, pitch-black body was now completely healed!

Simultaneously, the chakra within Uchiha Akira's body was fully restored and even surged to a new level!

[Congratulations, your overall strength has risen to Kage level. The cost of the Life Simulator has increased to one million ryo!]

As Uchiha Akira's chakra levels increased, a prompt from the Life Simulator conveniently appeared before him.

The overall strength assessment was based on a combination of factors, including chakra levels, mastery of ninjutsu, and combat experience.

After numerous life simulations, and especially after focusing on mastering the Eighth Gate recently, Uchiha Akira had chosen to enhance his ninjutsu, knowledge, and combat experience multiple times. These were no longer his weak points.

As for chakra?

Uchiha Akira had reached the peak of elite jōnin, just touching the threshold of Kage level.

Now, with this latest choice, his chakra levels had directly increased by 50%.

Naturally, Uchiha Akira had now securely stepped into the realm of Kage level.

Thus, his overall strength had officially reached Kage level!

"Sigh, it's a pity that my Sharingan still hasn't evolved to the level of the Mangekyō."

Although reaching Kage level was something to be pleased about, Uchiha Akira couldn't help but sigh inwardly about his Sharingan's lack of evolution.

His previous ninja rank advancements had all been accompanied by the evolution of his Sharingan.

For instance, in his first life simulation, during the Uchiha clan massacre, he had watched all his friends and family die and had awakened his Sharingan right before his own death, instantly gaining chakra from nothing.

The second tomoe had awakened during a life simulation when he and Keiko left the village and became rogue ninjas, depending on each other for survival. More accurately, it was Keiko who had taken care of him, not abandoning him even after the Uchiha massacre had left him as a burden. When he witnessed Keiko being killed by Kakuzu during the simulation, he awakened his two-tomoe Sharingan and became a chūnin.

As for the third tomoe?

It was activated not long ago when he witnessed the death of Shisui-sensei, evolving his Sharingan to the three-tomoe stage, and his strength officially reached the jōnin level!

But now, despite his overall strength reaching Kage level, his Sharingan hadn't evolved to the Mangekyō stage!

So, even though possessing a Mangekyō Sharingan means you're a Kage-level powerhouse, a Kage-level ninja doesn't necessarily have a Mangekyō Sharingan?

Uchiha Akira couldn't help but reflect on this.

Indeed, many possess a three-tomoe Sharingan, but the Mangekyō is as rare as a phoenix's feather. Evolving to the Mangekyō is far more challenging than I imagined.

Even after what could be considered hundreds of years of experience through the Life Simulator, I still haven't unlocked the Mangekyō.

One doesn't know how to live without experiencing poverty; one remains naive without having faced hardship?

Only after enduring poverty can one truly grow!

Similarly, those who haven't experienced enough setbacks will always remain naive. A man's maturity isn't determined by his age but by how much hardship he's endured!

So, is the Sharingan the same?

Without enough emotional trauma, the Mangekyō won't awaken, no matter how many centuries one lives through the Life Simulator?

But with enough sadness, like when Obito awakened his Mangekyō at such a young age?

So, should I even aim to unlock the Mangekyō, or is it better left alone?

In fact, not unlocking it might not be so bad. With the Life Simulator, given enough time, I can reach super Kage level, even Six Paths level, and punch Madara in the face, kick Kaguya down. Why go through unimaginable pain to unlock the Mangekyō?

But still, Kage level... The cost of a life simulation has indeed increased tenfold, now at one million ryo per session!

Although reaching Kage level was certainly a cause for celebration, Uchiha Akira couldn't help but grumble about the increased cost of the Life Simulator.

As much as I'm not obsessed with the Mangekyō Sharingan, with enough strength, it's just the cherry on top.

"Wha-what's going on with his body?"

Initially, seeing Uchiha Akira gradually fade away, Itachi had felt quite melancholic.

But now, in the blink of an eye, Uchiha Akira's body had completely recovered?

Itachi was utterly stunned.

He had been lost in his thoughts, yet Akira had suddenly sprung back to full health?

"How is this possible? Wasn't he about to die? And now he's full of energy?" Obito, too, was dumbfounded, watching Akira's body instantly heal and seeing him get back on his feet, fully revived.

"Guy, wh-what's going on?" Kakashi was also shocked, turning to Might Guy in disbelief.

"I... I don't know either. The Death Gate of the Eight Gates grants power beyond a Kage's, but it also ensures death. I have no idea what's happening with Akira!" Might Guy was even more baffled.

He had expected Akira to succumb to the backlash of the Eight Gates, yet here he was, fully restored in the blink of an eye, as lively as ever?

This turn of events had completely shattered Guy's worldview.

"Wait a minute, did he just use Izanagi? But it doesn't seem like it…"

Even the old man and Clan Leader Fugaku were stunned by Akira's sudden recovery, their faces filled with disbelief.

The ability of Izanagi was to turn any unfavorable outcome into a mere dream.

So, if Akira had used Izanagi, his near-death state should have been turned into a dream, leaving behind a perfectly healthy Akira.

But the way he was almost dead and then instantly restored didn't match how Izanagi should work at all!

At that moment, everyone was left in shock and bewilderment by Akira's situation.

Those who understood the Eight Gates knew it was a life-risking technique that granted immense power but guaranteed death.

Yet Uchiha Akira's condition had completely defied everyone's understanding of the natural order!

"Wait, something's not right with my body!"

Though everyone was astounded by his sudden recovery, Uchiha Akira realized that something was off—completely different from what he had anticipated.

As his chakra was replenished and his injuries healed, the blood-red steam that had originally dissipated began to rise from his body again.

What did this mean? It meant that the Death Gate of the Eight Gates was still open!

So, even though he intended to exploit a bug in the Life Simulator to restore his chakra and injuries and bypass the Eight Gates' lethal consequences, it had no effect?

On closer inspection, it made sense.

Firstly, the Death Gate was different from the other gates. Once opened, it couldn't be closed.

After all, anyone who opened the Death Gate was prepared to give up their life, so there was no concept of closing it again.

Otherwise, if one could just open and close it at will, there would be no fatal consequences, right?

It was like setting yourself on fire—unless the flames burned you to ashes, they wouldn't go out!

And what about his instant recovery of all injuries and chakra?

It was like a piece of wood that was almost entirely burned up, nearly extinguished, but then another log was thrown onto the fire to keep it burning.

Naturally, the new wood would also catch fire.

In game terms, the backlash from the Eight Gates was like a continuous, health-draining poison effect.

But at just the right moment, you level up, restoring full health and energy!

However, this didn't mean that the poisoning effect disappeared.

The end result would still be death, only now delayed a bit longer.

He had thought he could exploit a glitch, but he had overlooked the fact that once the Death Gate was opened, it couldn't be closed unless he died.

This was something he hadn't anticipated in advance.

*****

Support me on Patreon at patreon.com/Emik01 to unlock 47 advanced chapters! Help me climb the power rankings by voting with more power stones!