Uchiha's Attitude

The members of Sosuke Squad had finally been selected, at least preliminarily, after half a month.

Including Uchiha Shū, who had been there from the beginning, the squad had twelve members. Every one of them had awakened the Sharingan and was skilled in Lightning Release.

There were plenty of other clan members who met the requirements, but various reasons kept them from joining for now.

"Shū, you're in charge of teaching them Chidori." Sosuke handed the job straight to the young man.

Compared to the others, Uchiha Shū was the one he trusted most. Sosuke also planned to groom him as his right-hand man.

As for Sosuke himself, once his injuries had healed, he would naturally start taking on missions again.

[Name: Uchiha Sosuke]

[Age: Eight]

[Physical Strength: Genin]

[Mind Strength: Jonin]

[Chakra Reserves: Chunin]

[Special Abilities: Sharingan (Two Tomoe), Cursed Seal]

[Ninja Tools: Short Sword]

[Summoning Beast: None]

[Points: 4790]

In the short term, Sosuke's strength was unlikely to improve by much. Even his strongest attribute, his mental strength, had grown far more slowly over the past few months.

The best way to make a substantial leap in power was to exchange Points for special abilities.

The Cursed Seal, for instance, let him fight Jonin to the death despite having only a Genin's body.

The next stage, Flying Thunder God, would give him unmatched mobility and pursuit capabilities. By using Space Coordinates to teleport, he would also have a much wider range of tactics at his disposal.

Besides that, he could improve his combat strength by investing in ninja tools and Summoning Beasts.

Just like Fūma Masaki, a Summoning Beast, used well, could pose just as much of a threat as ninjutsu.

"When it comes to Summoning Beasts, the Three Great Sage Regions are still the best choice. You can learn Sage Mode there."

Ultimately, the Cursed Seal was merely a crude application of Nature Energy. Sooner or later, he would have to learn Sage Mode.

Mastering Senjutsu Chakra would make him one of the strongest Clan Head-level fighters. By then, few people in the Land of Fire would be able to stand against him.

The path to strength was clear. What Sosuke lacked most right now was time.

The Uchiha's defeat had made every clan realize that they were not invincible.

Led by Fūma Eiichirō, the strongest figure in the region, seven or eight clans—including the Sarutobi and Shimura—formed an offensive and defensive alliance that stunned the surrounding factions.

If anyone dared to infringe on the alliance's interests, all eight clans would turn their blades against them.

The alliance's might was so great that even the Uchiha had to avoid confronting it head-on.

Over the past month, the Western Army Corps had received far fewer missions, and its expenses were beginning to exceed its income.

Thinking of the clan's interests, Uchiha Shinya decided to endure the situation for a while. He never imagined that others would take this as a sign of weakness.

One day, the Fūma Clan suddenly spread word that Uchiha Sosuke had colluded with forces from the Land of Whirlpools and planned to make a fortune by trafficking people.

To make sure no one doubted them, they even presented a pile of so-called evidence, including Sosuke's personal friendship with the Princess of the Land of Whirlpools.

As they put it, if no secret dealings were involved, how could a young Uchiha have gotten to know the princess of the Land of Whirlpools?

They had to admit, the smear campaign was working remarkably well.

The matter had nothing to do with ordinary people, yet they reacted as if someone had stepped on their tails, furiously denouncing the Uchiha.

Once the time seemed right, the Fūma Clan finally revealed its true aim. Claiming the Uchiha had threatened peace among the clans, they demanded that the Uchiha hand over the villain.

If they refused, there would be no place left for the Uchiha in the western Land of Fire.

It was a clever move, because the enemy knew the Uchiha would never meekly comply.

They were outmatched in battle, and both public opinion and their finances were under pressure. The Western Army Corps's collapse was only a matter of time.

The alliance expected the Uchiha to step forward and deny the allegations, then try to gather evidence to refute the accusations.

But nothing happened. Not from beginning to end. It was as if the Uchiha had decided to abandon the Western War Zone entirely.

Could that really happen?

Most people refused to believe it. The clan heads included, they all knew this could well be the calm before the storm.

At this tense moment, Corps Commander Uchiha Shinya never once left the camp.

It was as though he had no intention of retaliating at all.

The Eight-Party Alliance could not figure it out. Their most plausible conclusion was that the Uchiha were waiting for reinforcements.

But they had already made their own secret calculations. The Uchiha Clan had no troops available to send.

Perhaps Uchiha Tajima had some, but those shinobi had to remain on guard against the Senju Clan, which could start a war at any moment.

With tensions running high, a squad suddenly launched a surprise attack on a Shimura Clan base.

"The Uchiha are retaliating." Everyone perked up, knowing that what they had been expecting had finally come.

After suffering one blow after another and having their reputation slandered, the Uchiha would not be the Uchiha if they failed to strike back.

But no one had expected their retaliation to be so fierce.

For three days straight, the Eight-Direction Family Alliance's strongholds suffered devastating attacks.

According to reports, the attackers were a small squad whose members were all formidable fighters. They could also use a Lightning Release technique that sounded like the cries of a thousand birds.

One clan tried to wipe them out, sending a large force to lay traps.

They did catch up with the squad, but when the fighting actually began, they realized in horror that they were no match for their opponents.

The enemy numbered only thirteen. A single straightforward charge was enough to leave their own squad suffering heavy casualties.

A force of more than thirty was wiped out in just two minutes. Not a single person survived.

When the killing was over, the squad set fire to the enemy corpses. The items they had used as bait became the squad's spoils of war.

After that battle, the squad quickly became infamous, feared by every clan as a band of executioners.

Only later did people learn that the squad was led by Uchiha Sosuke, and that the technique which sounded like a thousand birds was his creation.

You slandered him, so he retaliated with actions, not words.

That was the forceful response the Uchiha gave.

There was no such thing as backing down in their dictionary. If they could not survive, they would drag everyone else down with them.

The clan that had suffered the heaviest losses was the first to leave the Eight-Party Alliance.

When the Uchiha made no move to settle scores, the other clans also announced their withdrawals one by one. Some even took the initiative to bring gifts to Uchiha strongholds.

In the end, only the Fūma, Sarutobi, and Shimura clans remained in their fragile alliance.

As for when it would collapse, even they had no idea.