Redeeming the Flying Thunder God

Nighttime, the commander's tent.

"Kyosuke, you're here. Have a seat." Uchiha Rei set down the documents in his hands, looking somewhat weary.

Promoting Kyosuke had been deliberate on his part, but it could also be considered a helpless measure.

Once upon a time, the Southern Legion had been his personal domain. There had been no damn deputy legion commanders at all.

Unfortunately, two years ago, Uchiha Hikoichi had used his merits to forcibly carve away a portion of his authority.

The legion now had two deputy legion commanders. One was Kyosuke, while the other was Uchiha Hikoichi.

All he could say was that Uchiha Tajma was truly ruthless in his methods.

Seizing the opportunity, he had directly caused cracks to appear in the once-unified Southern Legion.

No, it would be more accurate to say that the legion had never truly been united.

Even the auntie in charge of cooking knew exactly what Uchiha Rei wanted. Some chose to support him, so naturally, others resented his wolfish ambitions.

Under Uchiha Hikoichi's maneuvering, the voices of opposition within the legion had become increasingly overwhelming. They were now nearly impossible to suppress.

If Uchiha Rei had not possessed such astonishing strength, and no one dared act without absolute confidence, he might already have faced the risk of his subordinates forcing him out.

What a pity. Kyosuke kept his expression calm, but inwardly, he could not help sighing.

In his eyes, Uchiha Rei was an outstanding commander, even a wise superior, but he was not cut out for political scheming.

Uchiha Tajma was thousands of miles away, yet merely by remotely directing his subordinates, he could easily shake Uchiha Rei's authority. If he truly made a move, Uchiha Rei would have no path but death.

The reason he allowed things to develop was, first, because he valued Uchiha Rei's strength. Only he could suppress the restless forces in the southern borderlands.

Second, perhaps Tajma did not want to give others something to criticize. More importantly, he had never regarded Uchiha Rei as an opponent on the same level.

Kyosuke understood all this, but he had no way to tell the man before him.

Doing so would be nothing less than naked humiliation.

Let him keep drowning in his sweet dream.

He wanted to seek the position of clan head?

In truth, there was not the slightest possibility.

Setting Uchiha Tajma aside, the real obstacles were his two sons.

Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Izuna.

For now, battles in the ninja world still remained within relatively reasonable limits.

Once the Dance King matured, however, the era of gods clashing would arrive.

Before the Perfect Susanoo and the terrifying Wood Golem Technique, numbers were nothing but a joke.

What could Uchiha Rei possibly use to compete against Lord Madara?

Forget the Dance King. In a few years, he might not even be able to defeat Uchiha Izuna.

There was no helping it. Reality was simply that cruel.

Kyosuke understood this perfectly. Of course, that did not stop him from continuing to work for the other man.

Uchiha Tajma had repeatedly made things difficult for him, and over the past year, he had gradually begun targeting him openly.

What kind of person was Kyosuke?

If he had been strong enough, he would have long since drawn his blade and chopped that bastard Tajma to pieces.

Since he was not yet a match for a Clan Head Level opponent, taking out the man's subordinates first was not a bad option.

"Uchiha Hikoichi." Thinking back to that man, Kyosuke gave a cold smile and began secretly discussing countermeasures with the legion commander.

The Southern Legion was very important to him. He had to get it firmly under his control.

When the day came that Uchiha Rei kicked the bucket, would the entire legion not become his for the taking?

Before then, he had to eliminate the unstable elements.

"My lord, that list of spies we discussed earlier..."

"Oh, I've compiled it. What do you plan to do?"

"I have a good idea."

That night, Kyosuke sat cross-legged, his expression filled with anticipation.

Points: 26316.

After those brutal battles, he had finally saved enough for the down payment on an S-rank jutsu.

Why call it a down payment?

The reason was simple. To use the Flying Thunder God Technique freely, he needed to raise the jutsu to at least level 5.

Otherwise, it would truly become nothing more than a fixed-point teleportation skill.

Subsequent upgrades would consume a huge number of Points. To reach the level where he could go wherever he wished, a conservative estimate was a full 100,000 Points.

That was enough to redeem a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.

Fortunately, Kyosuke had plenty of time now. He could slowly grind his way to improvement.

If three to five months would not do, then surely three to five years would bring some progress.

His demands were not high. As long as he could consistently suppress Senju Hashirama, that would be enough.

Excitedly extending his hand, he repeatedly swiped through the menu in the air and quickly found the list representing S-rank jutsu.

Forbidden Jutsu: Impure World Reincarnation, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 80,000 Points.

Forbidden Jutsu: Living Corpse Reincarnation, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 75,000 Points.

Forbidden Jutsu: Eight Gates Formation, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 70,000 Points.

Forbidden Jutsu: Immortality Reincarnation, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 60,000 Points.

Sealing Jutsu: Creation Rebirth, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 60,000 Points.

Forbidden Jutsu: Spirit Transformation Technique, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 50,000 Points.

Sealing Jutsu: Phantom Dragons Nine Consuming Seals, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 40,000 Points.

Puppet Technique: Performance of a Hundred Puppets, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 35,000 Points.

Sealing Jutsu: Reaper Death Seal, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 30,000 Points.

Flying Thunder God Technique, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 25,000 Points.

Lightning Release: Kirin, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 20,000 Points.

Wind Release: Rasenshuriken, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 20,000 Points.

Lightning Blade, S-rank jutsu, redemption cost: 20,000 Points.

Every jutsu listed there made Kyosuke's mouth water.

As for the even higher SS-rank techniques—things like Truth-Seeking Orbs, Yomotsu Hirasaka, Daikokuten, and Indra's Arrow—he decided that what the eye did not see, the heart did not ache over.

As for the ranking of jutsu, Kyosuke believed it was based on each technique's lower limit and the height it could ultimately reach.

Some forbidden jutsu possessed extremely direct and terrifying killing power the moment one learned them.

The Flying Thunder God Technique, on the other hand, had a very low lower limit. A prime example was Konoha's Toothpick Brother, Genma Shiranui.

He needed to join forces with two others just to barely perform Flying Thunder God to a fixed coordinate.

Put bluntly, knowing it was almost no different from not knowing it. It was completely unusable in battle.

On the other hand, if he learned the Reaper Death Seal, he would have the means to trade lives with any powerhouse below Beyond Kage-level.

The prerequisite was that he had to actually catch them.

"Come to think of it, there are quite a few jutsu I need to study."

"My swordsmanship needs further improvement, and I can't neglect Chakra control or Hand Seals either. Now I've got the Flying Thunder God Technique too."

There's no helping it. Space-Time Ninjutsu is an essential tool, after all.

System notification: Successfully redeemed "Flying Thunder God Technique." Consumed 25,000 Points.

As the funds he had painstakingly accumulated instantly hit rock bottom, Kyosuke's expression suddenly shifted. An inexplicable flood of knowledge appeared in his mind.

Moreover, he could faintly sense some strange fluctuations.

Kyosuke understood that they were most likely the existence of "space." In the past, he had lacked the corresponding talent, so naturally, he had been unable to perceive it clearly.

The prerequisite for learning the Flying Thunder God was possessing an affinity for space.

That strange, wonderful sensitivity.

"Finally, I succeeded."