Card Ninja From Uchiha - Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Harvest

The Third Hokage stood on the raised platform, his aged voice carrying across the cemetery with practiced authority. Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Professor, the God of Shinobi—a man who had seen more death and loss than most people could comprehend in three lifetimes. His speech was eloquent, touching on themes of sacrifice, the Will of Fire, and the bright future that the fallen had died to protect.

Yami wasn’t listening to a word of it.

His attention was fixed on the man standing just behind and to the left of the Hokage. White hair that fell past his shoulders, red markings running down from his eyes, and a build that suggested both strength and a certain casual disregard for formal occasions. Even at a memorial service, there was something relaxed about his posture, as if he couldn’t quite commit to being completely serious.

Jiraiya of the Sannin. The Toad Sage. One of the legendary Three Ninja who had fought Hanzo the Salamander and earned their titles through sheer combat prowess.

And above his head floated a dense cloud of cards that made even Kakashi’s collection look modest by comparison.

Yami’s enhanced vision picked through them systematically, dismissing the common techniques and focusing on the truly valuable abilities. There were jutsu cards for various elemental releases, sealing techniques, summoning contracts, spy craft skills, and combat techniques refined over decades of warfare and espionage.

But one card in particular caught his attention and held it like a vice.

Toad Sage Mode (Lv1).

Sage Mode. The legendary enhancement that allowed users to draw on natural energy, dramatically amplifying their physical and chakra capabilities. In the original series, Naruto’s mastery of Sage Mode had been a turning point—transforming him from a ninja who struggled against Kakashi even with Sakura’s help into a warrior capable of fighting Pain and his multiple bodies simultaneously.

Pain’s six paths were each Kage-level opponents in their own right, and the Deva Path—Tendo Pain—exceeded even that, reaching into Super Kage territory with abilities like Shinra Tensei and Chibaku Tensei. Yet Naruto in Sage Mode had fought them all, defeated several, and nearly won the entire battle.

The power increase was absurd. Approximately tenfold enhancement to strength, speed, reaction time, and chakra potency. Five minutes of being an entirely different class of combatant.

Yami would have preferred Snake Sage Mode—Orochimaru’s version offered some advantages, and the aesthetic was arguably cooler—but beggars couldn’t be choosers. Any Sage Mode was infinitely better than no Sage Mode.

He focused on the card and began the extraction process.

While he waited for the minute to pass, his eyes drifted to what Jiraiya was holding.

A baby. Wrapped in a simple blanket, sleeping peacefully despite the crowd and the Hokage’s droning speech. The child’s face was soft, unmarked by the hardships that would define his life. Wisps of blonde hair were just visible at the edge of the blanket.

Yami’s Mangekyō vision activated automatically, and cards appeared above the infant’s head.

Uzumaki Bloodline (Lv1).

Yang Chakra Affinity (Lv6).

Yami’s breath caught in his throat. Level 6. Level six Yang chakra affinity. He hadn’t seen anyone in the entire village with Yang affinity above Level 1. Even Jiraiya, standing right there holding the baby, only had Level 2 Yang affinity. But this infant—barely two weeks old—possessed Level 6.

There was only one person this could be.

Naruto Uzumaki. The jinchuriki of the Nine-Tails. The future Seventh Hokage. The child of prophecy.

And apparently, an absolute goldmine of extractable cards.

The Toad Sage Mode extraction completed, and Yami immediately shifted his focus to the baby. He began extracting the Yang Chakra Affinity card, his heart pounding so hard he worried people nearby might hear it.

But as he concentrated on Naruto, something unexpected happened.

More cards appeared. Not from Naruto himself, but from something inside him. The Nine-Tails Fox, sealed within the infant’s body, apparently counted as a separate entity for extraction purposes.

Three cards floated in a distinct cluster, their energy signature darker and more primal than Naruto’s innocent cards.

Yang Chakra Affinity (Lv9).

Tailed Beast Ball (Lv9).

Ability: Negative Emotion Detection (Lv2).

Yami’s jaw would have dropped if he’d been less disciplined. Level 9 Yang affinity. The Nine-Tails Fox—Kurama—possessed Level 9 Yang chakra affinity. That was… that was beyond anything he’d imagined. The sheer physical energy and vitality required to maintain that level must be astronomical.

No wonder the Tailed Beasts were considered walking natural disasters. Their fundamental existence operated on a completely different scale than human ninja.

The Tailed Beast Ball at Level 9 was equally impressive but currently useless—Yami had no way to use such a technique, no chakra reserves even close to sufficient. But the Yang affinity card… that was transformative.

And the Negative Emotion Detection ability was intriguing. The Nine-Tails could sense negative emotions—hatred, fear, anger, malice. It wasn’t the most powerful ability, but it had utility. It could warn him of hostile intent, help him navigate social situations, identify enemies even when they wore friendly masks.

Yami didn’t hesitate. He began extracting all three of Kurama’s cards, along with Naruto’s Uzumaki Bloodline card. The extractions would take four minutes total—one minute per card—but Jiraiya wasn’t going anywhere. He was standing on the platform, holding the baby, looking like he’d rather be anywhere else but was trapped by obligation.

The Third Hokage’s speech droned on. Something about the Fourth Hokage’s sacrifice being a beacon of hope for future generations. The crowd listened with varying degrees of attention, some people genuinely moved, others clearly just going through the motions of public mourning.

Yami stood among the Uchiha clan members, his face appropriately solemn behind his dark sunglasses, and systematically stripped the Nine-Tails Fox of its most valuable cards.

One minute. Uzumaki Bloodline extracted.

Two minutes. Yang Chakra Affinity (Lv6) from Naruto extracted.

Three minutes. Yang Chakra Affinity (Lv9) from Kurama extracted and automatically merged with the Level 6 card, creating a single Level 9 Yang Chakra Affinity card.

Four minutes. Negative Emotion Detection extracted.

The moment the final extraction completed, Yami felt a sharp pain behind his eyes. Not excruciating, but definitely uncomfortable—like a muscle that had been worked too hard, strained beyond its normal capacity. His Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan had limits, it seemed. Not the blindness that plagued normal Mangekyō users, but a fatigue from drawing too many high-level cards in too short a time.

He deactivated his eyes immediately, letting his vision return to normal. The cards disappeared from view, but he could still feel them in his Card Dimension, safely stored and ready to integrate.

The Third Hokage was wrapping up his speech, moving into the final emotional crescendo about honoring the dead by building a better tomorrow. People around Yami were nodding solemnly, a few were crying quietly.

Yami pretended to listen, maintaining his grieving child facade, while his mind was already diving into his Card Dimension to examine his haul.

The Yang Chakra Affinity card was the crown jewel. Level 9 meant his physical energy would develop at 256 times the normal rate. The progression was exponential—Level 1 was baseline, Level 2 was 2x improvement, Level 3 was 4x, Level 4 was 8x, and so on, doubling with each level.

At Level 9, he was looking at 256x training efficiency for physical development.

That meant if he did 100 push-ups and normally earned 1 experience point, he would now earn 256 experience points for the same effort. His chakra reserves, his physical strength, his stamina—all of it would grow at a rate that defied normal human limitations.

This single card had transformed his potential from “struggling five-year-old” to “potential prodigy.”

The Uzumaki Bloodline card was less immediately powerful but still valuable. At Level 1, it provided a passive regeneration effect: 1% of his maximum health, stamina, and chakra recovered per minute.

It didn’t sound like much at first glance, but the implications were significant. In a long fight, that regeneration could be the difference between exhaustion and endurance. Injuries would heal faster—not instantly, not combat-applicable healing, but enough to reduce recovery time between training sessions.

The card also came with a notation that made Yami pause: Increased metabolic requirements. Food consumption must increase proportionally.

Right. The Uzumaki clan’s famous vitality came at a cost. You couldn’t generate physical energy from nothing—it had to come from somewhere. For the Uzumaki, that meant eating massive amounts of food to fuel their enhanced physiology.

Yami made a mental note to increase his food budget. The 10,000 ryu monthly stipend would need to stretch further now.

According to the card’s description and his inherited knowledge of the series, Naruto’s Uzumaki bloodline was relatively diluted. His mother Kushina had been full-blooded Uzumaki, but his father was ordinary human. That made Naruto half-Uzumaki, which apparently translated to Level 1 on the card system’s scale.

Karin, who Yami remembered from the series as having incredibly potent healing abilities tied to her Uzumaki heritage, probably had a Level 4 or 5 Uzumaki Bloodline card. Her abilities were significantly more pronounced than Naruto’s passive regeneration.

Still, Level 1 was infinitely better than Level 0, and the passive effects would stack with his training to create a positive feedback loop.

Next, Yami examined the Toad Sage Mode card.

His excitement dimmed immediately when he saw the usage requirements.

Minimum Chakra Level: Kage (Lv81+)

Warning: Attempting to use Sage Mode below minimum chakra level may result in petrification or death.

Of course. Sage Mode required balancing natural energy with physical and spiritual energy in equal proportions. If your chakra reserves weren’t large enough to handle the influx of natural energy, it would overwhelm you and turn you to stone. Jiraiya had mentioned this risk in the original series during Naruto’s training.

Yami was currently at Ninja Level 4, with 20 chakra points. He needed to reach at minimum Level 81—Kage level—before he could even attempt to use Sage Mode. That was 77 levels away, requiring thousands of experience points and likely years of training.

The card was an investment in his distant future, not a tool he could use now.

Similarly, the Chidori card had a minimum requirement: Genin-level chakra (Lv21+). Still a long way off, though more achievable than Sage Mode. Seventeen levels instead of seventy-seven.

And Kamui… Kamui technically had no minimum level requirement, but the chakra cost was listed as Extreme. Kakashi, as a jonin with respectable chakra reserves, had fallen into a coma for two weeks after using Kamui just once. What would it do to a five-year-old with 20 chakra points?

Instant death, probably. Or at best, a coma so deep he might never wake up.

So the Kamui card was also shelved for future use.

That left him with his most immediately useful acquisitions: the Level 9 Yang Chakra Affinity, the Level 1 Uzumaki Bloodline, the Level 5 Lightning Affinity from Kakashi, and the Negative Emotion Detection ability.

The Yang affinity would revolutionize his training. The Uzumaki bloodline would help him recover and sustain prolonged effort. The Lightning affinity would eventually let him learn lightning techniques efficiently. And the Negative Emotion Detection… well, that was insurance against betrayal and hidden threats.

Yami checked his full status panel one more time.

—

Health: 40/40

Chakra: 20/20

…

Ninja: Lv4 (0/15)

Bloodline: Sharingan Lv5 (1,920/100,00,000), Uzumaki Lv1 (0/100)

Ability: CARD (LvMax), Kotoamatsukami Lv1(0%), Kamui (Left) Lv1(0%), Susanoo Lv1(0%), Insight Lv1(0%), Genjutsu Lv1(0%), Negative Emotion Detection Lv2(0%)

Affinity: Fire (Lv3), Lightning (Lv5), Yin (Lv5), Yang (Lv9)

Jutsu: Clone Lv1 (0%), Chidori Lv1(0%)

Skills: Chakra Control Lv3 (0%), Toad Sage Mode Lv1(0%)

—

The 1,920 experience on his Sharingan card represented the passive gain from having it active during the memorial service—about two hours of the enhanced vision running at 16 experience per minute. Barely a dent in the ten million required, but it was accumulating automatically.

His Uzumaki bloodline was now listed as a separate category from his Sharingan, suggesting they operated independently. Interesting. He wondered if extracting other bloodlines would create additional entries.

The abilities section had grown significantly. Kotoamatsukami and Kamui were both Mangekyō-level techniques now in his arsenal, even if he couldn’t use them safely yet. Negative Emotion Detection was active and functional immediately—he could feel it working, a subtle sixth sense at the edge of his awareness.

His affinity section was now heavily skewed. Yin at Level 5, Yang at Level 9, Lightning at Level 5, and Fire at Level 3. He had transformed from a relatively balanced young Uchiha into someone with completely lopsided development potential. His Yang affinity would let him grow physical power at ridiculous speed, while his Yin affinity would help him learn techniques efficiently.

The Third Hokage’s speech finally concluded with a moment of silence for the fallen. The crowd bowed their heads. Yami bowed with them, using the moment to compose himself and suppress the excitement bubbling in his chest.

He had just extracted cards from the Nine-Tails Fox. From Naruto Uzumaki. From Jiraiya of the Sannin and Kakashi Hatake.

This memorial service had been the most profitable hour of his new life.

When the moment of silence ended, people began to disperse. Some moved toward the fresh graves to pay personal respects. Others formed small groups to talk quietly. Clan delegations started making their way back toward their respective compounds.

Hana touched Yami’s shoulder gently. “Do you want to visit your parents’ graves before we leave?”

Yami nodded. He should, both to maintain appearances and because the memories he carried of Uchiha Hiroaki and Mieko demanded that respect.

They walked together through the cemetery, Akari leading the way to the section where Nine-Tails attack victims had been buried. Row after row of fresh graves, marked with new stones bearing names and dates that were all too recent.

Yami found graves 12351 and 12352 easily. Simple markers, identical to hundreds of others. His parents’ names carved in stone, along with their dates of birth and death.

The grief that welled up surprised him with its intensity. These weren’t really his parents—he knew that intellectually. But the memories he carried, the love and loss embedded in them, didn’t care about intellectual understanding. The emotion was real, immediate, overwhelming.

He stood there silently, Hana and Akari giving him space, and let himself feel it. The sadness, the anger, the helpless frustration at a world where good people died protecting their children from monsters they couldn’t defeat.

After several minutes, he bowed deeply to the graves, then straightened and stepped back.

“Goodbye,” he whispered. “Thank you for protecting me. I’ll make sure your sacrifice wasn’t wasted.”

It was a promise he intended to keep.

—

The walk back to the Uchiha compound was quiet. Akari looked exhausted, emotionally drained from the day. Hana kept a steadying hand on her daughter’s shoulder, her own expression distant.

Yami walked slightly apart from them, lost in his own thoughts. His mind was already racing ahead, planning his next training session, calculating how much faster he could progress now with Level 9 Yang affinity.

When they reached their apartment building, Hana gave him a small, tired smile. “Get some rest, Yami-kun. Today was hard on everyone.”

He nodded and headed to his own apartment. The moment the door closed behind him, he allowed himself a genuine smile for the first time all day.

Rest? Not a chance. He had 256x training efficiency now. Every moment spent not training was wasted potential.

But first, food. Lots of food. His Uzumaki bloodline would demand it, and he needed the energy for what came next.

Yami prepared the largest meal he could manage—rice, fish, vegetables, miso soup, everything edible in his modest pantry. He ate until his stomach felt uncomfortably full, then ate a bit more for good measure.

Then he changed into training clothes and got to work.

Push-ups first. He managed 100 before his arms gave out—his physical capacity hadn’t changed, after all. But when he checked his Ninja Level card…

Ninja: Lv4 (256/15)

Two hundred and fifty-six experience points. From just 100 push-ups.

He had already exceeded the threshold for Level 5. Significantly exceeded it.

The level-up notification appeared immediately.

[Ninja Card: Level Up! Lv4 → Lv5]

The familiar warmth flooded his body, more intense this time. His muscles seemed to compact and strengthen simultaneously, his chakra pathways widening and deepening. His breathing became easier, more efficient.

[Ninja Card: Level Up! Lv5 → Lv6]

Another surge of power. He felt himself growing stronger in real-time, his body adapting and improving at a rate that should have been impossible.

[Ninja Card: Level Up! Lv6 → Lv7]

And still he had experience left over.

When the level-ups finally stopped, Yami checked his status.

—

Health: 110/110

Chakra: 55/55

…

Ninja: Lv11 (4/75)

—

7 levels from 100 push-ups.

Yami stared at the numbers, barely able to process what had just happened.

This was insane. This was absolutely, completely insane.

At this rate, he could reach Genin level—Level 21—in days instead of months. Maybe a week or two of consistent training.

And beyond that… Chunin level, Jonin level, even Kage level weren’t impossibly distant dreams anymore. They were achievable goals with concrete timelines.

He had wanted strength. Had needed it desperately to survive in this world.

And now, thanks to a single memorial service and the Nine-Tails Fox sealed inside a sleeping infant, he had the potential to become one of the strongest ninja in the village.

All he had to do was train.

Yami smiled and dropped back into push-up position.

He had work to do.