Initial Homies

Forty li was practically nothing for ninja.

Even though the Konoha Ninja had done everything they could to set up all kinds of traps to slow the advance, the Allied Kumo-Suna Forces still arrived half an hour later.

Konoha was a village surrounded by mountains and forests, and those mountains and forests served as natural barriers.

At the same time, they were also the best battlefield. No village's ninja were better at forest combat than the Konoha Ninja.

As soon as the Allied Kumo-Suna Forces arrived, they dispatched elite ninja. Sparing no Chakra, they unleashed ninjutsu in unison and forcibly blasted open Konoha's barrier.

This was a surprise assault, coordinated with the Kumo and Suna battlefields on the front lines. The longer it dragged on, the more disadvantageous it became for the allied forces of the two villages.

The reinforcements Hiruzen Sarutobi had pulled from the front lines could not arrive in a short time, but that might not remain true if enough time passed.

Once Konoha's reinforcements arrived, if the allied forces had yet to defeat Konoha's defenders and break into the village, they would be attacked from both sides and their defeat would be certain.

After the barrier was blasted open, the allied forces spread out. Using squads as their basic units, several squads formed detachments, and several detachments formed larger battalions as they charged toward Kikyo Mountain in organized formations.

Once they broke through Kikyo Mountain, Kikyo Castle, a historic landmark on the outskirts of Konoha, lay beyond it. They would already be able to inflict damage on Konoha, and the deeper they pushed, the greater the destruction would become.

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...

Boom, boom, boom...

All kinds of traps were triggered throughout the dense forest: traps made from Kunai and Shuriken, traps made from Exploding Tags, and traps tailored to the users' own ninjutsu.

In an instant, explosions and screams rose one after another. The forest, once bursting with spring vitality, became a brutal and bloody battlefield, while the animals fled in panic...

After suffering a certain number of casualties, the allied forces exhausted most of the traps set by the Konoha Ninja and drew ever closer to Kikyo Mountain. The Konoha Ninja, likewise organized into formations, began their attacks. The life-or-death battle officially began.

Even after being worn down by the traps, the allied forces still had around twelve hundred men, two hundred more than Konoha's forces, and their momentum was at its peak!

Konoha held the advantage in high-end combat power. Hiruzen Sarutobi had personally joined the battle, and everyone fought without regard for their lives, willing to pay any price to defend their home.

The battle between both sides quickly entered a feverish stalemate. It was intensely fierce, even horrific!

In the forest within the Uchiha Clan's defensive sector, Uchiha Gen stood silently atop a thick tree branch, using the Camouflage Concealment Technique as he watched several waves of ninja pass by without making a move...

He was not strong enough yet. He had to pick on the weak first. Once he harvested a few souls, he could loosen up a little.

Not many Rock ninja knew the Camouflage Concealment Technique, but over the course of the long war, Uchiha Clan ninja had still copied it.

A few minutes later, a three-man Kumo squad passed by. Uchiha Gen, that sneaky bastard, made his move. The instant the three leaped past, three Shuriken shot through the air...

"Watch out!"

A dark-skinned Kumo Ninja of seventeen or eighteen with an ordinary face shouted a warning while twisting around and swinging his blade. With a clang, he knocked the Shuriken away.

The other two Kumo Ninja were not so lucky.

Their vigilance was not strong enough, nor were their reactions fast enough. The Shuriken sank into their lower backs, blood blossomed, and with cries of pain, they fell toward the ground.

Uchiha Gen revealed himself, drew his sword, and charged at the Kumo Ninja who had escaped disaster. The Kumo Ninja landed on a branch without the slightest fear, then sprang up to meet him.

Just as the two met in midair, Uchiha Gen's eyes suddenly turned into scarlet Two-Tomoe Sharingan. The Kumo Ninja cried out in alarm and tried to avert his gaze, but it was already too late.

Genjutsu Sharingan!

The Two-Tomoe Sharingan could already provide an initial boost to genjutsu.

The Kumo Ninja's expression instantly turned vacant, and the arm holding his blade dropped limply. As the two passed each other, a spray of blood appeared. The pain shattered the genjutsu, and with a bang, he crashed to the ground screaming, left dazed and battered.

Because Uchiha Gen had deliberately held back, the three Kumo Genin had not suffered fatal wounds. Clutching their weapons, they forced themselves to rise from the ground.

Uchiha Gen sheathed his sword. As he jumped down, his hands formed seals, and he completed the ninjutsu the instant he landed.

Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique!

This was merely a D-rank genjutsu that made its victims see scenes they did not wish to see.

Though its rank was low, it was still not something three mere Kumo Genin could resist.

The three were instantly caught in it. Their expressions changed drastically, and their faces filled with terror.

Seizing the opportunity, Uchiha Gen immediately activated the power of the Soul-Soul Fruit. An invisible yet tangible force enveloped the three Kumo Ninja.

Transparent blue souls and white orbs representing their lifespans rapidly rose from above their heads. Then, both souls and lifespans swiftly merged into Uchiha Gen's body, while the three collapsed like lumps of mud.

Uchiha Gen drew his sword—or rather, his katana, since the ninja world did not distinguish between swords and sabers—and stabbed each man through the heart or throat to cover his tracks. After all, their original injuries had not been fatal.

Then Uchiha Gen immediately left and hid inside a tree hollow he had spotted earlier while searching for a hunting ground.

Inside the tree hollow, Uchiha Gen excitedly took out all of his Shuriken and his ninja sword from his ninja tool pouch, laying them across his legs.

Soul Infusion!

Uchiha Gen extended his right hand, and clumps of white orbs resembling tangyuan emerged from his palm and merged into the Shuriken and ninja sword.

These white orbs differed from the ones before. They contained not only lifespan, but souls as well.

Soon, two eerie eyes appeared on the black Shuriken and the silvery-white ninja sword, making them seem as though they had come alive.

"Mommy, Mommy, Mommy..."

The Shuriken and ninja sword suddenly spoke, each with a different voice, chattering away.

Uchiha Gen's face darkened. "I'm a man. Don't call me Mommy. Call me Dad... no, Master!"

He was only thirteen years old. Becoming a father so young would not be appropriate...

"Master, Master, Master..."

Only then did Uchiha Gen nod in satisfaction. "Alright, shut up. From now on, don't speak unless I tell you to, and close your eyes too."

The Homies immediately obediently closed their mouths and shut their eyes.

Compared with their original appearance, they only had two additional faint marks. From even a slightly greater distance, they could not be seen.

Seeing how obedient the Homies were, Uchiha Gen was delighted. From now on, his Shuriken would come with built-in guidance and lock-on attacks.

Dodging them would be impossible. At most, someone could evade them for a while; sooner or later, they would have to take them head-on.

The ninja sword in his hand could also be called a flying sword now, and an automatically attacking flying sword at that.

To make them stop attacking, one would have to either exhaust their lifespan or destroy the place their souls resided in. Otherwise, their attacks would be endless.

If he suddenly used this move, even a Jonin would probably suffer badly if caught off guard, perhaps even die.

Still, before he possessed sufficient strength, he could not use this move recklessly. It would be troublesome if it attracted attention, since it would be hard to explain.

The Uchiha Clan's Kunai and Shuriken throwing techniques were famously powerful in the ninja world, but no matter how powerful they were, there was a limit.

How was he supposed to explain living Shuriken?

Summoning Beasts?

Only an idiot would believe that.

In truth, Uchiha Gen had long been capable of using his own soul to create Homies.

But he believed that ordinary Shuriken and ninja swords simply did not deserve his soul. It would be far too wasteful.

At the very least, only weapons on the level of the Kusanagi Blade deserved it, right?

And compared with Homies like Shuriken and flying swords, Uchiha Gen wanted even more to use his own soul to create high-level Homies such as elemental Homies.

Weren't elemental Homies far better?

His soul was far inferior to the soul of one of the Four Emperors, Big Mom, in One Piece. After all, the body and soul were closely intertwined. Given Big Mom's monstrous strength and Iron Balloon physique, the soul she had nurtured could not possibly be weak!

Therefore, he had to use his own soul cautiously!

He needed to harvest as many souls as possible to strengthen his own, allowing him to create powerful high-level Homies. Those would be his trump cards for surviving and rising to power in the brutal Great Ninja War!

After putting away the transformed Shuriken and ninja sword, Uchiha Gen left the tree hollow and continued hunting...

Don't stockpile chapters, don't stockpile chapters! It's very easy for a story to die that way!!!