After the graduation ceremony, Shisui wasn't assigned to a team, just as he'd expected. Instead, he returned to the clan to continue his training.
In particular, after Higashino Makoto had goaded him into awakening his Two Tomoe on the spot, there was even less chance the Uchiha Clan would let him leave.
Higashino Makoto had originally told him to keep it hidden for the time being, but he wasn't a member of the Uchiha Clan. He couldn't understand their pride, let alone how much the Sharingan meant to their clan.
Shisui had also told him that a person's Chakra changed after awakening the Sharingan. Ninjas without Perception Ability might not notice, but to the clan's Three Tomoe experts, it was as obvious as a beacon in the dark. There was no way to hide it.
An eight-year-old with Two Tomoe was a rare genius even in the recorded history of the Uchiha Clan. Now he was the clan's precious treasure. Why would they let him join a team and waste his time?
The situation outside was far from peaceful. If he died on a mission, it would be a tremendous loss for the Uchiha Clan.
A genius who died halfway through his journey was no use to anyone.
Of course, that didn't mean the clan locked Shisui up at home like a hothouse flower. He wouldn't grow or gain experience that way, either.
Instead, clan experts took him out to face blood and fire.
They had a persecution complex and didn't trust outsiders to protect them—not even the village. Some people in the village were dangerous in their own right.
Shimura Danzō: "..."
I don't know anything! Stop pinning every problem on me!
What? The naturally evil Uchiha Clan has an eight-year-old genius who's awakened Two Tomoe? Come, let me take a look!
Gekko Hayate, meanwhile, followed the usual path for a Ninja. He dutifully joined a team with others and began his pleasant life as a Genin.
The original group of four had now been reduced to Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yugao. He still ran into Gekko Hayate now and then, but Uchiha Shisui? He had disappeared.
As for Higashino Makoto, apart from occasionally teaching Uzuki Yugao, he devoted the rest of his time to the training he was so engrossed in.
Time didn't stop for war, and as it passed, the war grew ever more brutal.
It was early summer. The days were getting hotter, and the sun blazed overhead.
Inside a Training Ground far from the main district, Higashino Makoto held the short blade his father had given him and fed it a stream of Wind Release Chakra.
The blade was practically an heirloom of the Higashino Family. A considerable amount of Chakra Metal had been mixed into it during forging, allowing energy to flow through it with ease.
Imagine how well a blade made entirely of Chakra Metal would handle. Too bad that was all but impossible. Chakra Metal was scarce, and its price was high enough to make Kakuzu explode on the spot five times over.
The keen Wind Release gathered along the blade into a visible, solid Chakra Cloak. But it was far too conspicuous.
Higashino Makoto continued to control and restrain it. At last, the Chakra faded until it was almost invisible, then compressed and concealed itself inside the blade. The weapon looked ordinary again, but its inner nature had changed completely.
Higashino Makoto gave it a few casual swings. Several faint, near-invisible crescent-shaped waves of blades tore through the air, pierced several trees, and finally dissipated.
This was the main offensive technique Higashino Makoto had developed for himself after tirelessly training the sharp, cutting properties of Wind Release. It was almost impossible to stop and incredibly fast.
Most importantly, he could adjust its size. A small one was like a miniature bullet; one hit to the heart would send you straight to the afterlife. With more Chakra, a single wave of blades could shave the forest in front of him bald.
The inspiration for this seal-less Ninjutsu came from Pot Kage Danzō's B-Rank Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Vacuum Wave and Vacuum Serial Waves, as well as the A-Rank Ninjutsu Wind Release: Vacuum Sword, developed years later by the elite Jonin Shirakumo Hayama.
But that was more than a decade in the future. He didn't know whether that senior had developed Vacuum Sword yet. If not, then he could claim the rights to it.
Higashino Makoto valued efficiency. He didn't want his techniques to be easy for enemies to dodge, because wasting Chakra meant wasting his life.
That was why he wasn't satisfied with the Vacuum Wave series, which required Hand Seals and had to be spat out of the mouth. Vacuum Sword also required Hand Seals. It didn't need many, but its Wind Blades were just as conspicuous as the waves.
Relying on his exceptional control over Chakra, Higashino Makoto combined the strengths of both techniques and improved on them. At last, he developed a high-speed wave of blades that could be released instantaneously and was nearly invisible.
Higashino Makoto named it Wind Release: Shadowless Sword.
He used the Body Flicker Technique and appeared in the forest. With a light push of his toe, he snapped a hair-thin Steel Wire on the ground and triggered a trap.
Kunai and Shuriken shot toward the figure standing in the center from every direction.
Higashino Makoto remained still. His sword-bearing right hand blurred as he swung it, and countless Wind Blades accurately intercepted the Hidden Weapons.
"Clang, clang, clang, clang!"
A continuous series of crisp clinks rang out. Before the Kunai and Shuriken could hit Higashino Makoto, they were knocked out of the air and fell helplessly to the ground.
Unlike before, when he had merely blocked them, this time the Kunai and Shuriken were sliced clean in half, their cut surfaces smooth as mirrors.
Finally, a heavy log hurtled toward Higashino Makoto, propelled by tremendous force and momentum. But his successive Wind Blades dismantled it before it could reach him. The air filled with cracking sounds as splinters flew everywhere.
Higashino Makoto was pleased with the result.
Next, he would develop an Assisted Attack Method and Defensive Ninjutsu. He wanted them to be instantaneous, too, and he already had some ideas.
Hand Seals could make Ninjutsu look impressive, but they weren't efficient. They were fine for a performance or for teaching others, but in a fight, all he wanted was to kill his enemy in an instant—fast, precise, and ruthless.
Who would stand there chatting for ages before making Hand Seals and trading attacks? He wouldn't do that even if he were on the right.
Anyone who wanted to be an honest Ninja could be one. He certainly didn't.
After finishing his Ninjutsu experiment, Higashino looked at the broken Kunai and Shuriken scattered across the ground and sighed with relief. Luckily, they were all damaged tools he'd accumulated during training. If they'd been new, he'd have taken a serious financial hit. Ninja tools made of Fine Steel weren't cheap.
He held out his right hand. The Chakra gathered in his palm turned into a flowing gust of wind, sweeping the broken Shuriken and Kunai into a pile and dropping them into the backpack he'd prepared.
Actually, Chakra could be very useful in daily life if you didn't use it for fighting.
As for cleaning up the training ground, he did that after every session. A Ninja had to keep his information secret, after all. Higashino Jiro had reminded him of that rule more than once. So whenever he trained, he kept his Perception Ability active to guard against anyone spying on him.
For instance, several figures had just appeared in Higashino Makoto's perception.
He recognized two of their Chakra Signatures. The other two were unfamiliar, especially one whose Chakra felt bright and powerful.
He immediately guessed who had arrived.
Higashino Makoto finished gathering the Steel Wire strung between the trees, then hid in a tree nearby.
Soon, a loud voice drew closer. "I told you I wasn't oversleeping! I just met an old lady who needed help on the way here."
A lazy voice replied, "Whatever. It's still the same as always—I don't expect you to be any help. I'll be grateful if you just don't hold us back."
"What did you say, you jerk, Kakashi? Who are you calling a burden?"
"People who are useless tend to shout the loudest."
"Ahhh! You bastard! You stuck-up Kakashi! I'll kill you!"
"Obito! Kakashi!" The clear female voice had to say no more than their names before the bickering stopped as if by magic.
Following behind the three was a handsome young man in a green flak jacket, with a yellow spiky hairstyle. He wore a sunny smile, seemingly used to his students' bickering.
But when he approached the spot where Higashino Makoto had just trained, his smile faded. He looked at the marks in the grass and the scattered wood chips.
The thick-headed Uchiha Obito didn't notice anything unusual, but Kakashi did. He asked quietly, "Minato-sensei?"
Minato Namikaze glanced around and shook his head. "These aren't signs of a fight. Someone was training here just now. It must have been a fellow villager. They've already left."
Kakashi nodded and said nothing. This was one of the village's Internal Training Grounds, so it was normal for someone to have been there. The four continued their usual banter as they walked away.
Higashino Makoto smiled faintly from his tree. He'd just confirmed that Minato Namikaze had decent Perception Ability.
But the Perception Ability he'd gained from training with Natural Energy was even more remarkable. It was more precise than ordinary perception, and it could conceal his presence, too.
There was only one way Minato Namikaze could find him: by entering Toad Sage Mode at Mount Myōboku. That was assuming he'd already learned it.
Watching the four walk away, Higashino Makoto felt a little wistful. This might be the last time he saw their team getting along so well.
By his reckoning, Obito and the others were already twelve.
Before long, fate would push them in completely different directions. All the tragedies of the Ninja world were concentrated in this team.
Higashino Makoto had never considered interfering.
It was simple: first, he'd never been interested; second, he lacked the ability for now; third, it was too dangerous. He couldn't explain where he'd gotten the information, and he'd endanger his family and friends.
Most importantly, this wasn't the world he'd lived in before. In the Shinobi World, the line between life and death was blurry.
Someone had taken the lead in breaking the World Rules, blurring the Life and Death Cycle.
Death wasn't the end of life in this world.
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