Chapter 8: Breath of Thunder

After Sasuke left, Kakashi was no longer in the mood to continue waiting. He told Naruto where to meet and then disappeared.

"How could Kakashi-sensei do this? Sasuke also ran away."

Naruto stamped his feet angrily, and when he looked back, he saw that Sakura was also gone. He could only stay there and rage helplessly.

After returning home, Sasuke continued to practice taijutsu. He was extremely talented in ninjutsu, but now he had reached a bottleneck. He had made great progress in a short period of time, so the focus of his recent training was taijutsu.

Not only was it laying the foundation for opening the Eight Gates, but a strong body is essential for a strong person. Uchiha Madara is the best example: a hexagonal warrior, a man at the pinnacle of taijutsu, genjutsu, and ninjutsu. As for Hashirama, the man who stands tall with both hands and shouts whatever he wants goes without saying; he was just cheating.

After exercising, it was already late at night. Sasuke glanced outside the window. It was completely dark, and he felt inexplicably happy.

**Hokage Building**

Kakashi meticulously reported what happened today to the Third Hokage, including his views on Sasuke.

"Strong, he doesn't like to be restrained."

"In my opinion, his future achievements are not under control."

The Third Hokage took a puff of his pipe and sighed, "As expected of two brothers, their talents are immense."

"Kakashi, be more considerate of Sasuke from now on."

Kakashi knew what the Third Hokage meant—not only to teach Sasuke but, more importantly, to monitor him.

"Yes, I will." Kakashi accepted the order and walked out of the office.

The Third Hokage was silent for a while, then smiled bitterly.

Sasuke had created his own powerful ninjutsu and could compete with Kakashi. The Third Hokage had thought the Uchiha clan had declined, but the last remaining child showed such amazing talent.

"That's all. Sasuke is innocent."

Occasionally, a sigh came from the Hokage's office, and the Third Hokage finally gave up the idea of imprisoning Sasuke. Another reason was that he feared exposure. He couldn't accept having their past actions revealed. Sarutobi cherished his reputation, even if he had done many things that couldn't be brought to light.

The older he got, the more confused he became. Over the years, he had turned a blind eye to Danzo's actions. Of course, there were also cases where he deliberately indulged him. If he had had the courage he had when he was young, Orochimaru would not have defected, Jiraiya would not have run away, and Tsunade would not have developed her phobia and lived in isolation.

After training until late at night, Sasuke sat cross-legged on the bed and entered a meditative state after taking a strengthening potion.

"System, open the mall interface."

Sasuke glanced at it with greedy eyes and found that the top items were all things he couldn't afford, so he decisively went to the Kung Fu area. The exercise area was still being updated and loaded, but it was enough for his use.

"Breath of Thunder: 1000 exchange points."

"Divine Fire Clone: 2000 exchange points."

"Dragon Slaying Technique: 1,000 exchange points."

"Star-Attracting Method: 1000 exchange points."

"..."

"Is this all the system has to offer?"

"Of course not. I'm just recommending something suitable based on the host's current financial resources. These are quite suitable for you at the moment."

Sasuke felt offended. After all, he had 10,086 exchange points. He wanted to spend his money today and not let the system look down on him.

"I'll exchange for the Breath of Thunder, Divine Fire Clone, and Star-Attracting Method."

"Okay, Master." The system's slightly flattering voice sounded.

If the system could shed tears, it would be bursting into tears at this moment. The host finally used his points, and the system's performance wouldn't be at the bottom this month. It seemed it would have to find ways to motivate him in the future.

Sasuke didn't know the system's thoughts. He decided to use his points to strengthen his abilities, so he spent the points to enter the virtual space for training. Thanks to the virtual space provided by the system, which could speed up time and accurately match opponents, he had rich combat experience.

Entering the virtual space cost a certain amount of points, which added up over time. To save points, Sasuke rarely went in, preferring to save for the Rinnegan.

"Host, do you want to spend points to practice the techniques instantly?"

After seeing the points needed, Sasuke shook his head. Six thousand points for training, plus the points for purchasing the techniques, was too much.

No, absolutely not. Sasuke had his own plan and needed to save points for the Rinnegan. He couldn't be fooled.

Immediately, he entered the virtual space to practice.

In the desolate desert, Sasuke held a sword in a stance, with lightning coming out of his mouth and sharp eyes.

"The breath of thunder is like a thunderbolt flash."

A large amount of oxygen entered his body, greatly enhancing his heart and lung functions, and temporarily improving his body's functions. This was somewhat similar to Chidori's partial flesh activation. Sasuke quickly mastered the first move, the foundation of the basics.

The large stone ridge in front of him shattered by lightning. Sasuke stretched his body and continued his sword training.

As the days passed, Sasuke was busy practicing. His sword skills improved significantly, but he still hadn't touched the door of Kage(Shadow). He wasn't discouraged, knowing it required time to settle.

Sasuke believed he would reach that level in a year or two at most and planned to leave Konoha soon.

"Orochimaru, come on! I'm waiting"

He looked forward to Orochimaru's arrival because Orochimaru was a good teacher, teaching practical things. After completing his studies, he planned to answer Orochimaru properly. A hint of ill-intention gleamed in Sasuke's eyes, "I'll use your life to answer you."