The clamor of the outside world didn't affect Uchiha Shinji.
For the next few days, he went to and from school as usual, his days showing no significant changes.
Of course.
If one had to point out a change, it would be that his fame had suddenly spread from the shinobi academy to the entire village. Defeating "Wood Release" was indeed a hot topic in Hidden Leaf, and many villagers, upon encountering him on the streets, would whisper a few words among themselves.
Uchiha Shinji brushed it off with a smile.
As for the shinobi academy, since he'd already been the top student before, his classmates' attitudes toward him didn't shift much.
Moreover, many understood deep down that Uchiha Shinji's victory over Yakumo this time was purely because Yakumo had just undergone surgery, her mastery of "Wood Release" still lacking, and her foundation in taijutsu somewhat weak.
But these were only temporary.
As Yakumo gradually adapted to the First Hokage's cells and became proficient in using her newly awakened dojutsu Bloodline Limit, her strength was bound to skyrocket.
By that time, Uchiha Shinji, who had yet to awaken his Sharingan, would surely be no match for Yakumo—after all, even this time, his win had been a hard-fought struggle.
Thus.
Quite a few people in the shinobi academy were privately speculating: how much longer could Uchiha Shinji hold onto his title as the academy's number one?
On the training field.
Sasuke and Neji were engaged in a fierce taijutsu duel.
In the past, the two wouldn't have sparred so readily, but with Yakumo's powerful rise, their sense of crisis had surged, forcing them to seek every possible way to improve their skills.
Naruto, Sakura, Tenten, and Lee watched the sparring match from the sidelines.
Tenten, observing, remarked, "In a pure taijutsu contest, Sasuke doesn't stand a chance!"
Sakura retorted indignantly, "Our Sasuke's taijutsu is pretty impressive too!"
Tenten shook her head. "Among the four geniuses, Sasuke's the weakest. That's something everyone knows by now."
Because Yakumo's challenges had proceeded from weakest to strongest.
Thus, Sasuke, being the first one Yakumo challenged, had become, in the eyes of the academy crowd, the weakest of the four geniuses.
Sakura was momentarily at a loss for a comeback.
Hearing Tenten and Sakura's debate from the sidelines, Sasuke—locked in heated combat with Neji—nearly spat out a mouthful of blood in frustration.
He desperately wanted to shout to everyone that Yakumo had challenged him first only because he'd stepped up himself—he wasn't the weakest!
Just then, Neji launched a sudden assault, breaking through his defense, and with a swift turn, kicked him flying.
Panting lightly, Neji said, "Sasuke, you got distracted!"
"Damn it!"
Sasuke, sprawled on the ground, was utterly furious.
Tenten pointed at the field. "See what I mean?"
"Hmph!"
Sakura let out a small huff.
"Sasuke really isn't a match for Neji!"
"Yeah, the ranking of the four geniuses should be Uchiha Shinji as the strongest, Kimimaro in second place, then Neji, and Sasuke last."
"Do you even need to say that? Yakumo's challenge order already made it clear!"
"But since the academy exams are team-based now, Uchiha Shinji and Neji might be in trouble!"
The surrounding students, seeing Sasuke lose to Neji, began murmuring among themselves.
Their discussions sparked Tenten's concern, causing her to let out a sigh.
Just as the students had pointed out, the academy exams were now conducted in teams.
With Yakumo's powerful rise, Kimimaro's team had grown far stronger than before.
Though Sasuke was deemed the weakest of the four geniuses, thanks to Naruto's unexpected rise, his team's overall strength couldn't be underestimated.
In contrast, the overall strength of Uchiha Shinji's team and Neji's team was worrisome.
While the shinobi academy buzzed with heated discussions about the shifting team dynamics, inside the medical lab at Hidden Leaf Hospital, Uchiha Shinji obtained the exact same formula that Danzo had given to Orochimaru.
Studying Tsunade's formula, he flipped through pharmacology texts while mentally analyzing the medicinal properties.
This formula had come from Yakumo.
Since Tsunade had already taken Yakumo under her wing as her successor, she held nothing back—whether it was taijutsu, secret techniques, or medical ninjutsu.
Thus, Uchiha Shinji had acquired this precious medicinal formula not much later than Danzo, who controlled the Root.
But once he had it in hand, he was a bit dumbfounded.
This fusion and suppression formula involved dozens of ingredients, many of which Uchiha Shinji had never even heard of, let alone understood their properties.
On top of that, the formula included numerous special techniques for processing herbs and refining solutions—secret crafts. So even with the formula in hand, without thorough study and mastery of its techniques, he couldn't hope to replicate it perfectly.
After a long while, Uchiha Shinji rubbed his eyes and let out the same sigh as Orochimaru: "Worthy of Tsunade."
Roughly estimating, fully grasping the pharmacology, properties, and special preparation techniques in this formula would take at least one or two months.
That didn't even account for running into difficult hurdles.
Without this formula, creating a fusion and suppression agent with similar effects on his own would likely require decades of dedicated study in medical ninjutsu.
"One or two months… that should be enough time, right?"
He silently calculated.
The fully damaged Mangekyo Sharingan in Karin's eye sockets had begun to sense light. Based on the recovery timeline of the previously half-damaged Mangekyo Sharingan, he estimated it would take as little as two weeks or as long as a month for the fully damaged pair to fully awaken.
At that point, Uchiha Shinji could attempt to fuse another pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
That step shouldn't take much time.
If Karin's body handled the fusion entirely, it might take about half a month to three weeks, as physical fusion required gradual recovery. But if Uchiha Shinji used "Susanoo Tomoshibi" to perform the fusion, a single night would suffice.
So, if everything went smoothly, by the time Uchiha Shinji mastered the formula, Karin would either already possess a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan or be in the process of fusing one.
And he could then use the formula to concoct Tsunade's fusion and suppression agents, performing the First Hokage's cell transplant surgery on Karin—who'd have the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan—further enhancing her Yang Release chakra.
At that moment.
With both the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan and the First Hokage's cells, Karin would barely meet the minimum threshold to pursue the Rinnegan.
The first step of Uchiha Shinji's "Rinnegan Plan" would then be officially complete.
This step was a rehearsal for his own pursuit of the Rinnegan, so if it went smoothly, he could follow the same pattern and aim for the Rinnegan himself.