Back to the Front Lines

This was the advantage of being a clan ninja. Even if you were not the second generation of someone powerful, you still had channels to obtain ninjutsu.

For low- and mid-level ninjutsu, the clan would provide them once your strength reached the required level. If you wanted advanced ninjutsu, you had to work for the clan and earn merit.

Civilian ninjas were different. Obtaining ninjutsu was far more difficult for them, and there were usually three paths.

The first was instruction from a Chunin team leader or a Jonin instructor.

Not every Ninja Academy student was qualified to have a Jonin instructor. Only the very best were eligible.

After graduation, other Ninja Academy students would be led by Chunin on missions. Running into a Special Jonin was already an incredible stroke of luck.

To obtain the ninjutsu of a Chunin team leader or Jonin instructor, one generally had to earn their recognition. Different personalities meant different levels of difficulty.

If you ran into a Miser, you could work yourself to death and still learn nothing.

Even if you earned their recognition, their ninjutsu might not suit you. If your attributes did not match, you could not learn it.

The second path was to render great service to the village.

Ordinary missions did not count. The proper rewards had already been given for those.

How could great merit be earned so easily?

It meant gambling with your life!

Moreover, there was no concrete standard for great merit. Put plainly, the Konoha higher-ups had the final say.

The third path was to cling to someone powerful, become a bootlicker, and suck up to a strong person or a major clan.

That was exactly what Ebisu had done, and he had done it exceptionally well. He became a Special Jonin and the teacher of the Third Hokage's Grandson, which was quite an accomplishment.

None of the three paths was easy. At the very least, they were much harder than the path of a clan ninja.

Uzuki Yugao in the original story was already among the best civilian ninjas. She was a Special Jonin, but she specialized in swordsmanship and knew pitifully few ninjutsu.

Therefore, unless they had a guaranteed opportunity to obtain ninjutsu, civilian ninjas would not spend money on expensive Chakra Paper to test their Chakra attributes.

Being born into the Uchiha Clan was unfortunate, but also fortunate. At least for a long time, he would not have to worry about ninjutsu.

Since he did not know when he would receive deployment orders, time was limited, so Uchiha Gen focused most of his energy on Fire Release ninjutsu.

First, the Uchiha Clan was naturally skilled in Fire Release. That was an advantage in their bloodline. More importantly, he had Zhurong.

What could be more convenient and efficient for learning Fire Release Chakra nature transformation than studying Zhurong?

Zhurong was itself an aggregate of flames, the best possible reference!

That was also why the first advanced Homie Uchiha Gen created had been Fire Release. With all those advantages stacked together, his progress could not possibly be slow!

And indeed, just as Uchiha Gen had expected, although his training speed could not compare with genjutsu that he could learn at a glance, his progress still far surpassed what ordinary ninjas could imagine.

Half a month passed, and Uchiha Gen's strength surged considerably. Even without counting Zhurong and the other Homies, he had already reached the threshold of Jonin.

His taijutsu and various forms of experience were still quite far from Jonin level, though. There was no helping it—taijutsu and experience could only be accumulated over time.

Uchiha Gen had wanted to lie low and develop steadily, but unfortunately, he belonged to the frontline combat roster rather than the Military Police Force. He could not fight the Third Hokage's orders and could only accept the deployment to the front lines.

In truth, even if he had belonged to the Military Police Force, it would have been difficult for them to refuse if the Third Hokage specifically issued deployment orders. Going to war would have been unavoidable.

The moment he received the orders, Uchiha Gen felt both relieved and regretful.

He was relieved that the Kannabi Bridge Battle, that massive meat grinder which had been whittled down to only four Konoha Ninja, was already over. He would not have to risk his life there.

Although his strength was no longer what it had been, the battlefield was unpredictable and perilous. One moment of carelessness could mean death. He absolutely could not underestimate a battlefield!

What he regretted was that Obito Uchiha had already become a glorious Konoha hero, leaving him no chance to make a move against him.

Whether on the previous battlefield or after returning to the village, he had never crossed paths with Obito Uchiha. He could not act when he could not even find the man.

As a Konoha Ninja, one had to register before leaving the village. The consequences of leaving without authorization were severe; at worst, one would be treated as a rogue ninja and hunted down.

Even if he took the risk and left the village, he might not find them. Who knew which battlefield the three of them had followed Firefighter Minato Namikaze to...

Even if he found Obito, it would not be easy to make a move unless Obito was alone. He could hardly forcefully kill Obito in front of Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara, could he?

Setting aside whether he could accomplish it, even if he did, he would face terrifying backlash—not only from the clan and Konoha, but also from Madara Uchiha and the others.

Sacrifice himself to save the ninja world?

Sorry, he did not have that kind of resolve. He was not Naruto.

Uchiha Gen had originally planned to find an opportunity to launch a sneak attack when Obito returned to the village, but unfortunately, Obito never came back. The residence beside the clan grounds was completely empty.

If he had killed Obito Uchiha, then given Madara Uchiha's age, with one foot already in the grave, Madara might not have had time to seek out a new puppet.

Even if Madara Uchiha had prepared a spare, it definitely would not have been as effective as Obito Uchiha. A top-grade specimen like Obito was not easy to find.

But fate was fate. In the end, he had failed. Perhaps Obito had the fortune of a Child of Destiny protecting him.

Still, it was not some earth-shattering disaster. After all, they were acquaintances, and he knew Obito well. He had the advantage of foresight.

After sighing over it, Uchiha Gen put away the deployment order and prepared his supplies. He went to bed early that night, then arrived at the gates of Konoha right on time after breakfast early the next morning.

Konoha's Gate Guardians were not yet Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, but two ninjas he did not recognize.

A hundred Konoha Ninja had gathered at the village gates. Once the time came, the captain called roll, and after confirming that no one was missing, they set out together toward the Land of Grass.

Uchiha Gen's mission this time was to reinforce the front lines and assist them in wiping out the Rock ninjas who had lost their supplies after Kannabi Bridge was destroyed.

This looked like an easy battle, but it was actually fraught with hidden risks.

Iwagakure was very united. There probably would not be many ninjas willing to surrender. They would either flee or resist stubbornly, fighting like trapped beasts.

The rear of the Rock ninjas had already been sealed off tightly by Konoha Ninja, who were carrying out a net-like sweep.

The Rock ninjas' only path to survival was to split into small groups, penetrate deep into Konoha's territory, disguise themselves in various towns, hide, and wait for an opportunity to escape.

However, judging from the fact that most of the ninjas sent to reinforce the front lines were combat-oriented, the Rock ninjas had chosen to resist stubbornly.

If the Rock ninjas had truly split up, Konoha should have sent more ninjas skilled in tracking and sensing.

After traveling for an entire day, the Konoha Ninja arrived at the frontline camp within the Land of Fire.

The entire frontline camp lay at the edge of a forest, encircling a lush green mountain. The area around its base was densely packed with all manner of traps set by Konoha.

There was no barrier because Konoha did not have enough barrier squad ninjas to seal off the entire mountain.

Uchiha Gen clicked his tongue in admiration. They really know what they are doing. They actually forced the Iwagakure forces onto the mountain and turned them into turtles in a jar.

Who was commanding this?

As Uchiha Gen was guessing, a young man with a head of golden hair, handsome features, a sunny disposition, and a green Konoha vest appeared at the camp entrance.

Behind the young man stood a white-haired boy and a brown-haired girl—Kakashi Hatake and Rin Nohara.

The captain exchanged a round of pleasantries with Minato Namikaze, though it was mainly the captain praising Minato while Minato responded modestly with a smile.

Minato Namikaze's achievements had already spread throughout Konoha and were rapidly spreading across the ninja world. Many Konoha ninjas admired him, especially civilian ninjas, whose fervor was even greater!

After the pleasantries, everyone entered the camp and arrived outside the tent Minato Namikaze usually used for command.

Naturally, the tent could not hold a hundred ninjas. Those without sufficient status to enter were led away by Kakashi and Rin to be settled in.

Uchiha Gen was only a Chunin at present, merely middle-ranking within the group, so naturally he could not enter the tent.

Thus, he followed Kakashi and Rin.

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