Motomu nodded, agreeing deeply with her sentiment.
Those 'assets' were indeed... substantial.
It wouldn't even be an exaggeration to say they rivaled Lady Tsunade's.
"Motomu, do you think I'll grow that big too?"
Anko's words reached his ears, clear as day.
Motomu's pace faltered.
This question?
'Anko, do you just see me as one of the guys?'
And how was he supposed to answer such a lethal question?
If he said yes, knowing her future development, he'd be lying through his teeth.
If he said no, he was afraid of crushing the young girl's self-confidence.
He cleared his throat with a couple of stiff coughs.
Wearing a serious expression, Motomu thought for a moment before replying.
"Little Anko, this kind of thing depends on fate. Look at Lady Tsunade, she's also..."
Mid-sentence, Motomu suddenly cut himself off.
Inside Konoha's largest ninja tool shop, which stood open just ahead...
A dazzling array of weapons hung on display across the walls.
A blonde man and a silver-haired boy stepped out of the shop together.
They were none other than Namikaze Minato and Kakashi.
Judging by the items they were carrying, they were clearly there to pick up some custom-made gear.
Seeing familiar faces, a slightly embarrassed Anko pulled back her arm and waved.
"Kakashi, what a coincidence!"
"Oh, it's you guys."
"Are you here to buy gear?"
Kakashi's voice sounded, carrying the slightly weary tone of a young man who had seen too much.
Anko, who hadn't seen Kakashi in quite a while, was momentarily stunned, but Motomu was used to his demeanor.
"Yeah, just picking up some Chakra Induction Paper."
"And you?"
"A new blade. The White Fang short sword is a bit too short and doesn't feel right for me anymore."
Kakashi lifted the wooden box in his hand to show them.
Beside him, Namikaze Minato saw Kakashi chatting with his friends and gave a warm, gentle smile, not wanting to intrude as he prepared to leave.
"Kakashi, let's talk more about seal-less ninjutsu when we have the time."
"Understood, Jonin Minato."
Kakashi nodded, watching Minato walk away.
Motomu's gaze also lingered on that departing golden silhouette.
'Seal-less ninjutsu... Could it be the Rasengan, or perhaps the Lightning Blade upgrade to the Chidori?'
However, since both were currently focusing on high-speed blitz tactics, it made sense for them to find common ground and cross paths early.
Motomu retracted his gaze, his thoughts turning back to his own situation.
If...
If his chakra nature really was undergoing a transformation...
Then it might be directly related to the cultivation manual he was currently practicing.
To verify this, he needed Kakashi as a control subject.
If he remembered correctly, Kakashi, the 'No. 1 Technician' of Konoha, was an all-attribute ninja.
He was supposed to possess all five natures.
Motomu suddenly grabbed Kakashi and pulled him back into the shop.
"Hey, boss! Two sheets of Chakra Induction Paper."
The one-eyed shopkeeper tapped his pipe, his gaze shifting to the box Kakashi was holding.
"Chakra paper? Since your friend just spent a million ryo on equipment, this stack is on the house."
"Oh! Thanks, boss!"
Accepting the dozen or so white sheets.
The three of them sat down on the tool shop's plush sofa.
"Kakashi, want to give it a try?"
Kakashi took a sheet, gave Motomu a dead-eyed stare without a word, and pinched the edge of the paper.
As chakra was funneled into it, the effects of five different attributes manifested simultaneously.
Wind, Fire, Lightning, Earth, and Water—not a single one was missing.
Seeing this scene...
Motomu finally had his answer.
Despite practicing the same cultivation manual...
Kakashi's chakra hadn't changed into a singular lightning attribute.
That meant Motomu's change was due to another factor.
A pure fire attribute?
Could it be the influence of the Heart?
Following this train of thought, if he obtained a Grass-type Pokémon, would that mean he'd gain the ability to use Wood Style?
This...
He had to test if the paper itself was the issue first.
In a burst of red flame, the white sheets in Motomu's hand were instantly reduced to ash.
Clearly, there was nothing wrong with the Chakra Induction Paper.
The real variable lay within his own body.
Having found the root of the issue, Motomu was in a great mood. He took the two of them to meet up with Rin and Guy for a celebratory meal.
That night, after returning home.
As was his routine, Motomu used the Reverse Summoning Jutsu to travel to Ryuchi Cave.
The coiled-up Ekans gave Motomu a suspicious look.
"Hey, why are you still hanging around here today?"
The moment Ekans finished speaking, a flimsy, short earth wall barely half a person high rose sluggishly from the ground.
"Pfft—hahaha!"
Ekans laughed so hard he rolled over, slapping his tail against the floor as he watched Motomu, who was pressing his hands to the ground with a strained, constipated expression.
"What kind of Sandcastle-on-the-Beach Jutsu is that!?"
"Truly an eye-opening performance!"
"Motomu, before I die of laughter, remember to flatten the floor of my house first."
Ignoring the snake who was laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes, Motomu released Big Eyeball and flew out into the caverns.
"Hey, hey, hey! Come back, I won't laugh at you anymore!"
"Flatten the dirt first!"
"You bastard! This looks hideous in my living room!"
Ekans' voice faded into the distance as Motomu flew away.
Motomu didn't lose his cool; his theory regarding the 'Heart' Pokémon was becoming more mature in his mind.
If upgrading the Heart affected his chakra nature...
And the five elements corresponded to the five internal organs...
As the saying goes: 'The five elements generate and overcome one another.'
Then, if he possessed all five elements, wouldn't his chakra become an endless, self-sustaining cycle?
Currently, his chakra reserves were the primary bottleneck limiting his power.
Though estimated at the Jonin level...
Not all Jonin were created equal. Take the 'Out of Mana' Kakashi—even as an elite Jonin in the original story, his reserves were so low he'd hit zero after using Kamui just a few times.
Right now, Motomu's chakra reserves were likely even less than that future Kakashi's. Ever since Big Eyeball's Psychokinesis broke the one-ton mark, the drain had become much more obvious.
Running low on mana seemed to be his greatest challenge.
Without the Senju or Uzumaki bloodlines, were ordinary Uchiha destined to always struggle with their chakra reserves?
Previously, his maximum conversion time from chakra to Psychokinesis was two and a half seconds, but now he felt exhausted after less than a second of full output.
Simply put, if Big Eyeball released its full power now, he'd be drained in a single second.
The floodgates were getting wider, but the chakra pool remained the same size.
Aside from gambling his life on transplanting Hashirama cells to expand his capacity, Motomu didn't have any viable solutions for now.
While lost in thought, he arrived at the location where he had previously discovered traces of the Snake Himes.
A dilapidated stone palace stood silently in the center of the massive cavern.
Several stone-carved snakes were scattered around, frozen in poses of roaring at the heavens.
Motomu guessed these snakes were likely those who failed to master Senjutsu after being injected with natural energy.
Perhaps the Three Snake Himes had their fill of fun and left them there as a cruel joke to turn into stone.
Looking at the fresh pair of footprints left in the dust on the floor...
Motomu stroked his chin. The Sherlock Holmes collection he'd read in his past life told him something important.
The owner of the footprints had to be nearby.
In Ryuchi Cave, the only ones who walked upright besides him and Orochimaru were the Three Himes and the White Snake Sage.
Lately, he had been flying everywhere on Big Eyeball, and Orochimaru had been busy at the front lines preparing for the coming war.
So the conclusion was obvious.
After months of searching, Motomu had finally found his 'experience farm.'
He wasted no more time.
Big Eyeball carried Motomu as they sped off in the direction of the footprints.