Chapter 50: Ability Upgrade — Mind Net Covers the Entire Uchiha Compound!

Uchiha Compound

Inside Kaze's home.

"Finally succeeded."

Ever since eating the Rumble-Rumble Fruit, Kaze had been constantly experimenting with different ways to develop its powers.

After all, no Devil Fruit from the pirate world turned someone into an invincible god the moment they ate it.

To fully master a fruit's abilities—Development and training were absolutely essential.

Take Luffy, for example.

He ate the Gum-Gum Fruit when he was just a kid, and it took over ten years before he managed to develop Gear Second.Gear Fourth didn't come until after he'd been sailing for two years.

And just now, after countless attempts, Kaze had finally managed to construct the basic form of a mind net by tapping into the electromagnetic waves of the Rumble-Rumble Fruit!

"Sure, the range isn't huge yet," Kaze muttered, eyes gleaming with excitement, "but it's enough to cover the entire Uchiha compound!"

He turned to share his excitement with his ninja cat, Xiaoyu.

From the other Uchiha clan members...To the stray cats and dogs wandering around the compound—Kaze could feel all of their positions.

With just a moment of focus, he could build a mental map of the entire Uchiha district inside his head.

Of course...

It had only been a few days since he first consumed the Rumble-Rumble Fruit.And while Kaze had managed to form a rudimentary mind net, he was still far from reaching the level of Enel from the pirate world.

For example, Enel's mind net could span the entire Sky Island.Kaze, by contrast, could barely cover his own neighborhood.

At his peak, Enel could hear everyone's inner thoughts, whispers, and murmurs.

But Kaze's current ability merely allowed him to detect lifeforms and their locations—No reading minds, no eavesdropping yet.

Still, even if he couldn't compare to Enel just yet, this was a huge milestone—And more than enough to get Kaze hyped.

Unfortunately…

Human joy and cat emotions didn't always align.

To Xiaoyu, Kaze was just being noisy.

The little ninja cat lifted her proud little head, neatly tucked her front paws together on the tatami mat, pressed her chest down, and stuck her fluffy butt and tail high into the air—

Then yawned.

Without even glancing his way, Xiaoyu lazily rolled onto her side, turning her back to Kaze and burying her face into the tatami mat.

Her belly rose and fell slowly—Clearly, it was nap time.

"…Xiaoyu, you're making me look like an idiot here."

Kaze couldn't help but complain.

But despite the teasing, he slowly approached Xiaoyu, watching her sleep posture while gently stroking her chin.

Ever since he had picked Xiaoyu up, she liked to nuzzle his calves with her forehead from time to time.

Whenever he reached out his palm, no matter what Xiaoyu was doing, she would immediately trot over and bump her head right into his hand.

Of course, except when it was meal time.

And whenever he softly stroked her chin or forehead, she would start purring.

They say cats only make that sound when they're genuinely happy.

Whenever Kaze felt stressed, that purring sound relaxed him instantly.

Having a cat in his life was truly wonderful.

"Speaking of which…"

"I'm not sure if it's just my imagination, but since Xiaoyu brought the Thunder Fruit and the Navy Six-Styles, it seems like she's been sleeping more often."

Kaze thought quietly to himself.

He remembered before, Xiaoyu was frighteningly full of energy day and night.

Even when asleep, if he stepped close, she would immediately open her eyes, only relaxing when she saw it was him.

But now…

Once Xiaoyu fell asleep, forget about footsteps—he could even try to pick her up, and she'd look utterly unwilling to get up.

"Could it be that Xiaoyu really has the ability to travel between worlds?"

"Every trip might be draining a ton of her energy?"

But…

Kaze couldn't understand Xiaoyu's meows, and he wasn't sure if she could understand his words.

As for the truth, he didn't know.

Soon he pushed the thoughts aside and continued to enjoy stroking Xiaoyu, soaking in the soothing purrs.

Just as Kaze was starting to relax, his mind net suddenly triggered an alert.

Several shinobi were rushing into the Uchiha compound's perimeter.

One of their electromagnetic signatures was very familiar.

"Shisui?"

Kaze furrowed his brow.

Fugaku, Shisui, Itachi, Sasuke...

All these people played important roles in the Naruto world.

So when building his mind net, Kaze had specifically marked them as special combatants.

But right now, Shisui's life status was fluctuating wildly.

It looked like he had been seriously injured.

And the six shinobi closely tailing him showed completely unfamiliar electromagnetic signatures.

"They're not Uchiha."

Kaze raised an eyebrow, making a deduction in his mind.

Though he had little connection or feelings toward Shisui, Shisui's Sharingan was a valuable asset.

"No way…"

After some thought, Kaze pulled his hand away from Xiaoyu's chin.

Worried something might have happened to Shisui, he decided it was better to check it out in person.

"The location is around Naka Shrine."

No sooner had he finished speaking than Kaze leapt onto the balcony window.

Scanning his surroundings quickly to confirm the direction, he then vanished from sight.

"Meow?"

Feeling the stroking had stopped, Xiaoyu lifted half her body.

Her slightly squinted eyes looked through the open window toward the white clouds in the sky.

"Meow meow meow..." (Though I don't know what's going on, bring me some fish snacks when you come back!)

Elsewhere...

To travel quickly, Kaze transformed his entire body into elements.

Using the lightning's traits, he dashed swiftly through the Uchiha compound, heading toward Shisui's position.

His mind net continued monitoring Shisui's condition.

Suddenly...

The six shinobi caught up to Shisui.

The seven of them converged at a certain spot.

But immediately after...

They separated again, and Shisui turned, sprinting wildly toward Naka Shrine.

Among the six pursuers, one showed a massive fluctuation in life signs—clearly severely injured.

The remaining five paused briefly at the site.

Then split into two groups.

Four continued the chase after Shisui, while one stayed behind to tend to the wounded comrade.

Clearly...

These six shinobi tailing Shisui were not his allies.

They were enemies.

Realizing this, Kaze adjusted his direction.

Judging from Shisui's route, he was heading toward Minaga Shrine.

There was an Uchiha clan barrier set up there.

If Shisui could reach that place, he could push back his pursuers.

At least...

That was what Shisui believed, which is why he was rushing there.

And those who feared the Uchiha barrier must have some understanding of the Uchiha compound.

"They must be Konoha's shinobi."

Kaze furrowed his brows, then remembered Shisui's connection to the Third Hokage.

"Could they be Danzo's Root agents?"

Without hesitation, Kaze quickened his pace.

(T/N: This was a surprise. Was it normally like this or is this a butterfly effect. Since in the original book, he was trying to escape from them and met Itachi in the middle. Guess this is a butterfly effect since this happened a little earlier than the original. Anyway hope you all enjoyed the chapter.)

100 Stones = Two Extra Chapters

200 Stones = Three Extra Chapters

Keep the power stones coming.

Also since we have reached 50 Chapters, what do you guys think of my writing so far. If you have any suggestions or ideas to improve my writing, let me know. And thank you for being with me so far.