Ninjutsu in the Clan Vault

Uchiha Gen was rather curious about the other young man the Great Elder had mentioned.

"Yes, that young man is eight years older than you. He, too, realized that the clan would clash with the village in the future and that this needed to be restrained. However, his background is better than yours. I am not surprised that he has shown such promise."

"Then he is...?"

"He is Fugaku, the Clan Head's son. He is already a squad captain in the Police Force, and his standing within the clan is second only to the Clan Head and several elders."

Then never mind.

Uchiha Gen immediately lost interest.

Fugaku might indeed have had foresight, but his ability was questionable.

Judging by his actions in the original timeline, he had raised his own son into what he became and led a powerful ninja clan to destruction. He was neither a competent Clan Head nor a qualified father.

The Great Elder continued.

"Fugaku believes that although the clan is strong, it is far inferior to the village. Should conflict arise between the two sides, even escalating into open confrontation, it would very likely cause the clan to decline from that day onward, perhaps never to recover.

"And you also believe that disaster will result from this.

"In short, we are all pessimistic about the clan's future.

"I do not know what will happen in the future, but I know what Konoha's upper ranks want.

"They want to turn the Uchiha into a blade that cannot wound them, an obedient hunting hound. Their strength is far inferior to the First Hokage's, and their magnanimity and wisdom pale in comparison to the Second's. Thus, they will certainly weaken the Uchiha and suppress us in every possible way, until we are reduced to the likes of the Inuzuka and Aburame.

"But the Uchiha are not people who only know how to accept suppression without resisting. Nor will we allow the clan's glory to fade in our hands.

"As one of Konoha's founding clans and the strongest ninja clan in the village, we must strive for status and power befitting the clan's strength. Yet that is something the current batch of village higher-ups will absolutely never accept.

"However... the clan is not truly that strong. At the very least, I do not believe the clan as it is now has the ability to obtain those things."

The Great Elder let out a heavy sigh.

He had been of the same generation as the First Hokage and Uchiha Madara, only slightly younger than them, and about the same age as the long-dead Tobirama Senju.

His wealth of experience from the Warring States Period told him that the clan's future prospects were far from optimistic.

Especially after Madara's departure, the Uchiha still appeared powerful, but they no longer had a top-tier expert capable of holding the fort.

Without the Mangekyō Sharingan, without an expert at the level of a Kage, the Uchiha's fate was doomed.

And even if such an expert emerged, one person alone could not contend with Konoha's leadership, which possessed multiple top-level powers.

Thus, he needed to cultivate as many powerful members as possible for the clan—people with sufficient strength, vision, and wisdom to change all this in the future.

Even if he had only a few years left to live and was destined never to see that future.

Uchiha Gen continued onward behind the Great Elder.

Turning the Uchiha into a ninja clan on the level of the Inuzuka and Aburame?

Perhaps the other higher-ups besides Danzo truly thought so, but they overestimated themselves and underestimated the depths to which certain beasts could sink.

"We're here."

The Great Elder stopped and led Uchiha Gen to an ancient-looking pavilion.

A middle-aged man missing an arm sat on a stone bench before the pavilion, reading. Hearing someone approach, he hurriedly rose to his feet. When he saw the Great Elder, he took out a key.

"Great Elder, you've brought another genius from the clan to select ninjutsu? It seems you're quite pleased with this one."

The Great Elder, Uchiha Gen, chuckled.

"This child is named Gen. I believe that, like Fugaku, he will bring a future to the clan."

"To earn such praise from you, this young man must have some real ability."

The middle-aged Uchiha took out a key from his pocket and opened the pavilion's doors.

Uchiha Gen followed the Great Elder inside, while Uchiha Mikoto remained outside, speaking with the middle-aged Uchiha. From their conversation, it was clear that he was one of her maternal uncles.

"This is part of the Clan Vault. The first floor contains relatively simple Jutsu. The second floor holds ninjutsu that does not involve Nature Transformation. The third and fourth floors contain ocular techniques related to the Sharingan, as well as training methods. From the fifth floor onward are powerful Jutsu at the Three-Tomoe and jonin levels.

"The clan has been passed down for a thousand years, and the Sharingan can copy ninjutsu. Therefore, the clan has collected nearly every mainstream ninjutsu of every attribute in the Ninja World, along with countless Jutsu developed by our predecessors that are best suited to the Uchiha. There will certainly be enough for you to choose from.

"I can make the decision to grant you access to all the ninjutsu on the first and second floors. Once you awaken the Sharingan, the same will apply to the third and fourth floors.

"However, I must remind you not to start by trying to learn overly difficult or excessive numbers of ninjutsu. What you need to do now is develop a foundational combat system that belongs to you."

Uchiha Gen asked the Great Elder, "Could you give me some recommendations?"

Though the old man was advanced in years, he was still a Three-Tomoe Sharingan jonin of the Uchiha. He had seen and experienced much; rather than choosing blindly himself, Gen might as well ask for his opinion.

"Very well."

Several hours later.

Uchiha Gen returned home with a small bundle slung over his back.

It was a five-story house of roughly one hundred square meters.

It was said that when Konoha had first been founded, Hashirama Senju had clapped his hands together and built it. It had later been assigned to Gen's grandfather.

Most of the houses in this entire area had come about this way. Although their interiors had certainly been renovated according to their owners' wishes afterward, that did not matter. This house had indeed been personally built by the First Hokage using Wood Release, giving it immense historical significance.

After returning home, Uchiha Gen quickly finished a bowl of Ramen he had packed on the way back. Then he took a simple shower to wash away his fatigue before carrying over a box and sitting down at the table.

Inside the cardboard box were several Ninjutsu Scrolls and Training Notes. Beside it lay the ninjutsu he had selected from the Clan Vault that afternoon.

"For me right now, ninjutsu is not a weakness. Although there is still plenty of room for improvement, just as the Great Elder said, I need to begin developing a foundational combat system to deal with every problem I may face in actual battle."

"In terms of offensive burst power, I am currently adequate. As my proficiency with the Great Fireball Technique has increased, so has my understanding of Fire Release. I have also mastered C-rank Fire Release techniques such as Phoenix Sage Fire and the Dragon Fire Technique. Though their power is still inferior to the Great Fireball, they at least give me more options in battle.

"So, when it comes to ninjutsu, all I really need to do now is try learning more Wind Release techniques. That will not only prevent me from being countered and broaden my attack coverage, but also let me combine it with Fire Release to amplify the power of my Fire Release."