Chapter 39: Chakra Cleansing and the Rise of Potential

"There's a lead," said Hikari, shaking her head thoughtfully. "We've sent out scouts. Three days ago, word came from the Land of Gore—a massive eagle-type summoning beast has been spotted!"

She exhaled softly. "If all goes well, it should arrive within the next two days."

"But there's an issue. Do we need to bind the summoning beast with a contract to bring it into the pirate world? Or… can we just transport it directly? Would we need to build a relationship with it first?"

If the beast possessed high intelligence, taming it could take time.

"Uh…" Gin hesitated. "That depends. If it has full sentience, we'll have to earn its trust. If not, we might be able to forcibly form a summoning contract—or just transport it using a space-time gate."

There were limitations. Full cross-world transport could be dangerous. But opening spatial gates within dimensions—that was safer. It had already been proven during the hunt of the Sea Kings. The higher the beast's intelligence, the more cautious you had to be. The super beasts, especially those over a thousand meters long, had their own languages and could communicate directly with humans.

"In that case," Hikari mused, "we'd better prepare to win its favor. Most summoning beasts are intelligent. Some even speak our language."

"No problem," Gin nodded. "I'll train for it. Compared to people, animals are easier to bond with. I'll offer it Sea King meat or chakra-nourishing pills. That'll help us meet the bonding criteria quickly."

"If only people were that easy," Hikari chuckled.

"Then it's settled!" she said.

Later that evening...

In the dim glow of the lanterns, Gin closed the last of the scrolls. He had finally finished reviewing every page of sealing theory and even memorized the complex structure of the Flying Thunder God Technique.

Mastery would take time, of course—but the foundation had been laid.

After dinner, Gin officially resumed his chakra purification training—his first session since his innate talent had awakened. Immediately, he noticed something remarkable.

The process was smoother. Easier.

Even small extractions now yielded large amounts of chakra. The cellular energy in his body had multiplied—tenfold, perhaps even more.

Feeling the flow, Gin didn't stop. He pushed forward, refining and purifying, expanding the volume and clarity of his chakra.

[You trained Chakra Purification: Skill +30 | Chakra +10][You trained Chakra Purification: Skill +40 | Chakra +10][You trained Chakra Purification: Skill +52 | Chakra +12]

With each session, his understanding deepened. The quality of his chakra became more refined, more potent. Even the efficiency of recovery began to increase.

It was once thought that a ninja's chakra pool had a natural limit. But Gin had uncovered two ways to break through that boundary:

Natural growth through aging and development.

Cellular reinforcement—strengthening the body, thereby drawing more energy from every cell.

Mental strength also played a key role. As physical training improved the body, it also implicitly nurtured the soul. The three—body, spirit, and mind—were always intertwined.

Gin was still far from his full potential, but his chakra pool was increasing daily: from 1.1x, to 1.5x, to 2.5x the original volume—until, finally, the purification session reached a natural end.

His technique had reached a new tier:

[Uchiha Chakra Purification (29,851 / 100,000) – Great Proficiency]

With his natural talent and memory-enhanced comprehension, Gin had advanced rapidly, even though chakra purification wasn't a particularly complex art.

"It'll take a few more days," Gin thought, "but I'm close to breaking through this technique's limit. I wonder… what will unlock after that? Sage Mode? Or a new evolution of chakra cleansing?"

He frowned.

"No… Sage Mode requires natural energy. Chakra cleansing doesn't cover that. Still, maybe… if I perfect the method, it might lay the foundation for Sage Art techniques."

The true Sage Mode, after all, came from the three sacred lands. If he could become Tsunade's apprentice, he might later gain access to Katsuyu and the Shikkotsu Forest, and from there, pursue Sage training.

But his dream was different—to create a Sage Mode truly suited to humans, not some half-baked transformation borrowed from toads or snakes. Just look at the side effects Jiraiya suffered from Mount Myōboku's training.

"Next," Gin said to himself, "chakra control."

He stepped into the moonlit backyard. A large tree stood tall in the training ground.

Gathering chakra beneath his feet, Gin pressed forward—and misjudged the flow.

CRACK!

The bark exploded. A section of the trunk split from the overload of chakra.

"Too much," he muttered, correcting the amount.

This time, he stepped onto the bark—successfully.

A message flickered in his mental panel:

[Chakra Control (1/100) – Entry Level]

With the skill's emergence, knowledge flooded into his mind. Used to this phenomenon, Gin quickly processed and integrated the insights.

He stepped again, planting both feet on the tree. Slowly but steadily, he began to climb.

[Chakra Control Training: +3][Chakra Control Training: +3][Chakra Control Training: +4]

By the time he reached the top, his chakra control had improved dramatically. Tree climbing was now second nature.

"I'm improving fast," he whispered. "This is what real talent feels like. I used to be chained by that congenital flaw..."

Now, training was fun. He was no longer afraid of damaging himself. No more hesitation. No more anxiety over whether he would survive a simple chakra draw.

All that fear had vanished the moment his memories returned—the soul of a past life merging with his own, strengthening his mental will and insight beyond anything ordinary.

Standing high in the branches, Gin looked out over the Uchiha compound, beyond to the glowing streets of Konoha in the distance.

This… was just the beginning.

From here, his path to greatness truly began.