The defensive capabilities of Yukigakure—the Snow Ninja Village—were even more inadequate than Uchiha Kiyo had anticipated. With his Sharingan, he easily placed the patrolling guards under subtle genjutsu and infiltrated the village, heading straight for its core area.
Unlike the Five Great Nations, the Snow Ninja Village did not possess a Kage. In fact, the title of "Kage" was exclusive to the most powerful villages recognized during the Warring States era and after the establishment of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. Thus, Yukigakure's highest authority was simply referred to as the village leader.
Without a Kage-level system, Yukigakure lacked both administrative strength and military structure. There was no Hokage Residence equivalent, no proper office building, and no clear hierarchy—only a loose band of shinobi following the orders of their leader.
Though formally called a "ninja village," Yukigakure was little more than an organized group of shinobi. Structurally, it was barely stronger than wandering mercenary factions, though it did benefit from government support, a fixed base of operations, and inherited techniques passed down through its shinobi families.
Naturally, for a village of its size, the administrative systems were primitive at best. But in any shinobi village, no matter how small, the leader and the most important resources were always housed in the central district.
When Uchiha Kiyo arrived, he immediately noticed the tallest structure—a gaudy, heavily decorated building that stood out as the village's seat of power.
He moved forward without hesitation.
At his current level, Kiyo didn't even need to rely on simple cloaking or hiding techniques. His chakra presence was almost nonexistent thanks to the way he had merged the Uchiha clan's breathing control methods with his own Yang Release cultivation techniques. His physical body and chakra coils naturally suppressed his outward signature, making him effectively undetectable to sensor-types unless he deliberately flared his chakra.
Combined with the freezing climate of Yukigakure, where even shinobi avoided prolonged outdoor patrols, Uchiha Kiyo was able to slip through the village virtually unseen.
Still, the Snow Ninja Village leader would not be a mere civilian like Daimyō Kazahana Dotō's father, Kazahana Sōsetsu. The leader of Yukigakure would almost certainly be a jōnin-class shinobi, and subduing such a person—even with Sharingan genjutsu—required Mangekyō-level ocular power.
Activating his Mangekyō Sharingan, Kiyo's tomoe swirled and reshaped into the unique three-pointed pattern of his Mangekyō. He had not yet awakened his personalized Mangekyō abilities, but even without them, the ocular power of this level was overwhelming in genjutsu.
"Tell me… has chakra armor been fully developed?" Kiyo's Mangekyō spun rhythmically, casting the leader into a deep trance.
The leader's eyes glazed over, his voice flat.
"Not yet. Development has stalled… the armor cannot stabilize chakra flow. We lack sealing experts. Our village does not have the knowledge to complete it."
Kiyo's eyes narrowed. Exactly as he suspected.
"Where is the research data stored?"
"In my study. All research documents on chakra armor are there."
Satisfied, Kiyo released a controlled strike to render the leader unconscious and made his way into the study.
Inside, stacks of documents lay organized across the desk. Schematics, formulae, sealing arrays—everything concerning Yukigakure's research into chakra armor.
Kiyo smiled faintly. He pulled out the compact film camera he had purchased earlier in Snow Country. Carefully, he photographed every single document, ensuring the originals remained untouched and perfectly arranged.
Without alerting a single shinobi, Uchiha Kiyo left Yukigakure with everything he needed.
"Perfect," he muttered with satisfaction.
Compared to the days when he painstakingly copied documents by hand, this was child's play. He would never waste time again.
After reaching a nearby civilian town, he developed the film in a local shop, obtained printed photographs, and secured himself in a small inn room. After placing detection seals around the perimeter, he began analyzing the data.
The research was thorough. The armor's framework, chakra amplification modules, and external shell were all complete. The bottleneck lay in synchronizing the armor's seals with the user's chakra system.
Fundamentally, the chakra armor relied on an intricate sealing matrix to channel and enhance chakra. Without mastery over advanced fūinjutsu, the armor remained unstable.
The Snow shinobi had no such expertise. But Kiyo did. His knowledge came from the Uchiha clan archives, Konoha's shinobi academy, the exchange system in the village, and even fragments of Orochimaru's sealing experiments. His foundation in sealing was leagues beyond theirs.
"So that's why they stalled. They have no method of converting chakra into a steady external energy source."
Though the armor was incomplete, the schematics were more than enough for his purposes.
Kiyo wasn't interested in producing an exact copy of Yukigakure's armor. What he needed was the amplification system—the core sealing array that magnified the user's chakra output and boosted the destructive force of ninjutsu.
With that, he could complete his own vision.
Not a bulky armor shell like Yukigakure's failed prototypes, but a chakra-forged exosuit—light, instantaneous, modular, and fully integrated with his techniques. A Gundam Mode refined into something practical.
He decided to name it: Warframe Mode.
Of course, the tedious work of integration and experimentation would be handled by his shadow clones. The true body had more important goals—like unraveling immortality.
As Kiyo studied the Snow schematics, another realization struck him. The Yukigakure prototypes allowed even non-shinobi to use the armor if it was pre-charged with chakra. This suggested a new possibility: integrating an external energy source.
That's when it hit him.
Natural energy.
If his armor could be powered or even shaped by natural energy, then chakra drain would no longer be a limitation.
He thought back to Susanoo—the ultimate manifestation of the Uchiha clan's ocular power. Could a structure that massive and durable truly be sustained by chakra alone?
No. Impossible.
It had to involve natural energy or some amplification mechanism. Even Hashirama Senju's colossal Wood Style constructs, enhanced by Sage Mode, clearly drew from natural energy rather than chakra alone.
That explained why Kiyo's own Gundam Mode, despite countless optimizations, never achieved the level of defense he envisioned. He had been missing the true power source.
"If Susanoo is formed from solidified natural energy… then I can replicate it. No—surpass it."
His mind raced with possibilities.
An armored form not dependent on his own reserves, but instead sustained by the boundless natural energy of the world itself.
A true Warframe.
And this was only the beginning.
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