"Yoru, what is this power? A special kind of natural energy?"
"No. This is chakra."
In just a few seconds, Uchiha Yoru realized—
His earlier judgment had been wrong.
As the energy diffused and thinned, his senses sharpened.
This wasn't natural energy.
It was chakra.
Chakra of an absurdly high concentration.
Miwa Masayo didn't possess such fine perception. To her, it was still just an indistinguishable, powerful force.
Yoru carefully peeled the sharp object out.
It turned out to be something embedded in the boar's thigh bone—so deeply that it had grown together with it.
When he reached out to touch it, there was no reaction.
But when he lightly tapped it with a knife—
Sparks scattered.
And the strange fluctuation erupted again.
Miwa Masayo felt it too.
This was definitely chakra.
Not only was its density outrageous—
It also carried a sharp, piercing quality.
After pulling it free from the bone, Yoru examined it closely.
It was a thin fragment shaped like half a sunflower seed.
One side bore a fresh fracture surface.
The other—
Showed signs of intense heat scorching.
[This structure… and that sharp, stimulating chakra…]
[I feel like I've seen something like this before…]
Yoru frowned, thinking hard.
He was certain it wasn't from this life.
His current memory was exceptionally clear.
With the aid of the Sharingan, he could recall even the smallest details effortlessly.
So—
It had to be from his previous life.
But memories carried across death were already blurred.
No matter how sharp his current mind was—
He couldn't restore what had long faded.
In the end, he failed to recall anything useful.
So he put the fragment away.
But what surprised both him and Miwa Masayo—
Was that it couldn't be stored in a sealing scroll.
"That's strange, meow. I've never seen anything that a sealing scroll can't contain."
"I've heard the clan head mention this before."
"Tools with spatial properties… and divine weapons like the Uchiha war fan—those can't be sealed."
"Spatial properties… divine weapon…?"
"My luck is really this good?"
"Yoru, you have to keep it safe. Don't lose it."
Yoru wrapped the fragment in thick silk, placed it inside a wooden box, and buried it at the bottom of his pack.
Then—
He continued eating.
But the second half of the meal was anything but enjoyable.
Even without being touched, the half-fragment periodically released waves of chakra, disrupting his focus.
It was like a massive beacon—
Constantly announcing its presence to everything nearby.
For a ninja—
That kind of risk was unacceptable.
After finishing the meal reluctantly, Yoru began experimenting with ways to block it.
He tried every container he had.
Nothing worked.
Only when it was embedded back into the boar's flesh—
Did the fragment fall silent.
The problem was temporarily solved.
But Yoru wasn't happy.
"The meat will rot sooner or later. What do we do then?"
Miwa Masayo couldn't think of a solution either.
After a long moment of thought, she hesitantly offered a ridiculous idea—
"Yoru… I think… you could eat it…"
"You eat so much anyway…"
As the man and cat stared at each other, her voice grew smaller and smaller.
Until she lowered her head, not daring to continue.
But—
Yoru didn't get angry.
On the contrary—
He suddenly realized something.
Because of her absurd suggestion—
He noticed it.
That unnatural craving within his body.
His body—
Wanted to eat it.
That metallic thing.
It was absurd.
Unbelievable.
The craving had been there from the start.
But earlier, Yoru had mistaken it for hunger for the boar meat.
He had eaten an entire leg—
Yet the hunger remained.
When he saw the fragment—
The craving surged to a new peak.
But his deeply ingrained "common sense" had rejected it outright.
Humans could not eat metal.
All metallic substances were toxic.
The heavier the atomic weight, the more poisonous.
Some heavy metals were lethally so.
In short—
Metal was not edible.
That was an absolute rule.
This—
Was the most terrifying obstacle in cultivation.
The "knowledge barrier."
Correct knowledge from the past—
Becoming the greatest obstacle to understanding something new.
If not for Miwa Masayo's absurd suggestion—
Yoru might have ignored his body's craving entirely.
And once missed—
There might never be another chance.
But breaking through a knowledge barrier was never easy.
Even after recognizing the craving—
Even after relying on bodily sensation as his guide throughout cultivation—
Yoru still hesitated.
His mind and body clashed.
Mind: You can't eat it. It's metal.
Body: Want to eat.
Mind: How would you even eat it? Your teeth, your throat, your stomach—
Body: Want to eat! Want to eat!!
Mind: Once it's inside, how do you digest it? It's sharp enough to pierce bone—it'll tear your intestines apart!
Body: Want to eat! Want to eat!! Want to eat!!!
Mind: What the hell—
Body: Want to eat!!!!
Mind: …
In the end—
The body defeated the mind.
If you want to eat…
Then eat.
Yoru looked at the anxious Miwa Masayo and smiled.
"Thank you for the reminder."
"I think eating it really is the best solution."
"M—meow?!"
"Y-you—you—you're not joking, right?! If you die it's not my fault—!"
"Meowu! Don't eat it—!!"
Of course—
She couldn't stop him.
With absolute decisiveness—
Yoru tossed the fragment into his mouth.
Closed his eyes—
And bit down.
Crunch. Crack. Grind. Creak.
His teeth collided with the object, producing a series of strange sounds.
Some crisp like shattered jade.
Others harsh like nails scraping against a board.
The fragment began to break apart.
And—
As Yoru subconsciously mobilized fire-aspected natural energy—
It softened.
Gradually—
It became pliable.
Sticky.
Almost like taffy.
As it softened, his throat no longer resisted.
He swallowed.
Piece by piece.
His esophagus wriggled, sending the fragments into his stomach.
Then—
Yoru realized something.
He had never truly understood his own stomach.
That wasn't a stomach.
It was a furnace.
A blazing furnace.
The fragments entered—
But instead of triggering gastric juices or bile—
Fire-aspected natural energy gathered there on its own.
It condensed into a near-white flame—
Melting the fragments.
Refining them.
Breaking them down into something beyond perception.
And then—
Absorbing them.
His stomach absorbed it.
Part of it flowed into his bloodstream—
Passing through his heart—
Spreading throughout his body.
Another part entered his meridians—
Merging into the torrent of natural energy—
Triggering changes he couldn't comprehend.
His body showed no adverse reaction.
Instead—
It grew excited.
That feeling—
Was familiar.
It was the sign of breakthrough.
Yoru smiled.
Looking at the still-shaken Miwa Masayo, he said softly—
"Thanks to you… I've finally found my path."
"My path…"
"Lies in eating."
"Meow?"
In the next instant—
A surge of natural energy exploded from his body.
His Foundation Establishment—
Entered a new stage.
A new attribute of natural energy—
Began to gather.
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