Return to the Uchiha Clan Lands

Three days later, the group successfully returned to the Southern Legion's base.

During the ambush that day, the Uchiha caught the enemy completely off guard.

Unfortunately, they had failed to capture Nara Kensuke, leaving behind a minor but lingering regret.

Upon returning to the legion, Uchiha Hikoichi prepared two reports.

One was to report on the mission to Legion Commander Uchiha Rei.

The other was to inform the clan head about Kyosuke.

There was no helping it. Awakening the Sharingan at the age of seven was simply far too rare.

Throughout the Uchiha Clan's generations of inheritance, no one had ever heard of anyone possessing such talent.

As for how the clan head would decide, that was not something he could concern himself with.

In the blink of an eye, a week passed.

Kyosuke's injuries had healed, and he began training according to a proper plan.

Ninjutsu, secret techniques, and even Kekkei Genkai could be exchanged for with Points. Even abilities he had already mastered could be improved by spending Points.

However, that did not mean Kyosuke had no need to train.

For example, raising swordsmanship to Level 2 required 100 Points.

Yet through his own training, the required Points would gradually decrease, proving that personal effort was far from useless.

At present, he lacked the strength to earn Points quickly. If he wanted to build up his power, he had to put in the corresponding hard work.

Little did he know, someone had been watching all of this closely.

That day, Kyosuke had just gotten up when he received word that the Legion Commander wished to see him.

"It's finally here." He nodded and followed a clansman to Uchiha Rei's tent.

A remarkably talented youth was living in the camp. If the other party made no move, then he was unworthy of competing with Tajma for the position of clan head.

Along the way, the clansmen warmly greeted young Kyosuke.

He had never received such treatment before. It was clear that news of his awakening the Sharingan had already spread.

"They didn't try to suppress the news?" Kyosuke's eyes flickered, but his expression remained calm.

Soon, he arrived at the tent with the clansman.

After offering a brief word of thanks, Kyosuke did not rashly enter. Instead, he waited patiently and silently outside.

Uchiha Rei was a Clan Head Level powerhouse. Nothing within a hundred meters could escape his notice, so he naturally knew Kyosuke had arrived.

Waiting was his way of showing respect to the Legion Commander. It also told everyone that Uchiha Kyosuke was a youth who understood the rules.

Knowing the rules meant he would not act recklessly in many matters. Those in power sometimes valued that greatly.

After waiting for around ten minutes, he finally heard a voice from within the tent. "Come in."

He lifted the curtain and entered. Before a broad desk sat a middle-aged man who looked to be in his forties, his head lowered as he wrote something.

This man was the Southern Legion's highest-ranking leader and one of the clan's powerful elders, Uchiha Rei.

"You're here." Slowly folding the letter shut, Uchiha Rei raised his head to look at the youth, a strange light glimmering in his eyes. "I've heard people talking about you quite a lot these past few days."

Kyosuke did not answer. When dealing with someone in power, the best approach was to speak less and listen more.

"Awakening your bloodline at seven years old... your talent is truly rare in this world. I am very pleased that such a gifted youth has appeared under my command."

"I am willing to serve you, sir," Kyosuke replied dutifully.

The local official was less important than the official directly in charge. He was currently serving the Southern Legion, so Uchiha Rei's importance was beyond question.

"Hahaha." Seeing how tactful he was, the Legion Commander could not help but laugh. After a while, he continued, "Unfortunately, you will have to leave for a time."

"With talent as outstanding as yours, the clan will surely nurture you with great care."

At this point, the Legion Commander paused slightly, his smile taking on a teasing edge. "Of course, hiding in the rear does not necessarily mean you will be safe."

"Our clan head is not exactly a broad-minded man," Uchiha Rei said, seemingly implying something.

He tossed over a sealed envelope and waved his hand. "The escort is waiting for you. Remember to deliver this letter to the clan head."

"Yes, sir. I shall take my leave." Kyosuke sensibly bowed, then withdrew from the commander's tent.

Not long after leaving, someone came to find him and said the clan head had ordered him to return to the clan lands immediately.

Looking at the bundle in the man's hands, Kyosuke nodded and promptly followed the team away from the Southern Legion.

Along the way, he continually pondered the conversation in the tent.

"From his words, the conflict between the Legion Commander and Tajma is severe."

"Perhaps those words were also a test."

If Kyosuke sided with Uchiha Tajma, then the remarks about the clan head being narrow-minded would inevitably reach his ears.

Otherwise, Uchiha Rei would truly be able to rest easy about him. If anything happened in the future, the Southern Legion would be Kyosuke's way out.

"A bunch of old foxes."

After about a week of travel, Kyosuke and his group finally entered Uchiha territory.

A great number of commoners lived around the outskirts. Only by traveling deeper inside would one reach the Uchiha Clan's true lands.

For a clan to grow and prosper, it needed a large commoner population.

Basic labor, including clearing farmland and raising livestock, all required great numbers of commoners.

They could hardly expect every Uchiha clansman to carry a hoe and dig in the fields.

Another important matter was producing descendants.

To ensure bloodline purity, great clans often chose to marry within the clan, but not everyone did so.

Otherwise, after hundreds or thousands of years, everyone would already be close relatives.

Aside from the direct line, collateral branches generally chose to marry outsiders in order to keep the clan's bloodline circulating.

Kyosuke saw nothing wrong with this. Indra's bloodline was so powerful that simple intermarriage with outsiders could never dilute it.

Rather than obsessing over bloodlines, it was better to have more children. Expanding the population was the true path to power.

"The clan head is very concerned about you." Seeing Kyosuke staring blankly into space, the leader smiled. "Everyone will surely be very happy to see that you've returned safely."

This man was a loyal supporter of Uchiha Tajma. Along the way, he had constantly tried to brainwash Kyosuke, attempting to instill all sorts of ideas.

Simply put, if one wanted to develop, one had to be loyal to the clan head. Otherwise, no matter how talented one was, one would still be nothing more than an ordinary clansman.

Unfortunately, his silver tongue needed more practice. At the very least, it was nowhere near enough to fool Kyosuke.

"If Naruto were here, maybe I'd really surrender."

Based on what he had seen and heard since transmigrating here, combined with his vague impression of Uchiha Tajma from his previous life, this clan head gave him the image of a foolish, headstrong man.

Before they had even met, Tajma's first impression score had already fallen below passing.

Uchiha Rei had readily allowed Kyosuke to leave because he had long seen through Tajma's character and concluded that the boy could not remain in the clan forever.

Sooner or later, Kyosuke would return to the Southern Legion.

"It takes real talent to have such a terrible reputation." With all sorts of random thoughts spinning through his mind, he soon arrived at the clan head's residence.

There, he saw Uchiha Tajma in person—and a youth with spiky hair.

Uchiha Madara!