Strong Ones of the Warring States Period

Three months later, Training Ground.

"Great Fireball!"

Two fireballs collided in mid-air, the heatwave generated making the surrounding onlookers extremely uncomfortable.

Even so, it was difficult to hide the envy in the eyes of many youths.

Today, Uchiha Sosuke officially graduated from the Academy. The assessment process was to successfully release a Ninjutsu.

Upon hearing this news, Izuna couldn't pass up the chance for a spar, which led to the scene of the two clashing Ninjutsu.

The outcome was predictable. Sosuke, with his superior control, held a complete advantage, easily suppressing the other's Fire Style.

If the instructor hadn't intervened, Izuna might have been thoroughly humiliated.

"Hoo, you're really something, kid." Izuna patted his shoulder. Although somewhat unconvinced, his attitude had undergone a significant change.

In any world, the strong earn the respect of others.

"You're not bad either," Sosuke chuckled, quite satisfied with his own progress.

Ninjutsu isn't about quantity but quality. Its power depends entirely on the amount of Chakra, at least for him currently, the Great Fireball was enough to solve long-distance attack problems.

As for a true finishing move, he had other ideas, but they would require time to research.

By understanding the hand seal sequence of Ninjutsu, one could deduce its operational principles. He planned to use this as a foundation to develop a Ninjutsu that was extremely suitable for the Uchiha clan.

Over the past three months, he had sought various ways to obtain points whenever he had free time.

For example, legendary System Quests, deliberately provoking others, getting beaten, cursing people, and so on. Unfortunately, none of his attempts yielded any results. The only remaining method was to kill.

Killing chickens didn't work; he had secretly tried a few days ago. The neighbor's prize rooster, raised for two and a half years, met a tragic end.

He even mashed the egg yolks in the nest, but still didn't receive any notification about gaining points.

"Looks like there's no hope for a while."

[Name: Uchiha Sosuke]
[Age: Six]
[Physical Strength: Inferior]
[Mental Strength: Genin]
[Chakra Quantity: Genin]
[Special Ability: Sharingan (One-Tomoe)]
[Ninja Tools: Short Sword]
[Summoning Beast: None]
[Points: 0]

Opening the System menu, the only change in three months was that his Chakra quantity had increased to the Genin level.

He also received a short sword from his teacher, a very short one, only slightly longer than his forearm.

His teacher's explanation was simple: his body was still developing and couldn't compete with adults in terms of strength. A path focusing on agility and trickery would be more suitable.

In summary, there was only one word:

Don't compete with enemies in strength. Close-quarters combat and a surprise stab were the most suitable combat techniques for him at the moment.

With the boost from the Sharingan, Sosuke's combat power far surpassed that of an ordinary Genin, allowing him to easily deal with opponents of the same level. Izuna was already a standout among his peers, but he had never gained an advantage in their spars.

"I should still be some distance away from Chunin."

The Warring States period didn't have such detailed classifications. Children would be sent to the battlefield upon reaching a certain age. If they survived, their strength would naturally reach the Chunin level.

As for whether they could advance further and reach the "Captain-level" of leading a team, it depended on individual talent and opportunities.

The Captain-level experts they spoke of were roughly equivalent to the Jonin of later generations. Why say this? Because many ninjas with elite Jonin strength were also Captain-level.

The specific gap was similar to that between Sarutobi Asuma and Kamui Kakashi.

A moment's carelessness could lead to a significant loss.

There was no way around it; the classification in the Warring States period was that crude. As members of the same clan, they often didn't need explicit divisions; everyone understood their respective strength levels.

Ultimately, it was a matter of insufficient personnel. Unlike the great hidden villages of later generations, with tens of thousands of ninjas, it was impossible to manage without detailed classifications.

Above the Captain-level were the true pillars of each clan, possessing the strength to dominate one side. They were referred to as "Clan Head-level" experts.

In Sosuke's understanding, they were roughly equivalent to Kage-level experts specializing in Taijutsu.

Their specific combat effectiveness was hard to compare, but the only certainty was that these Clan Head-level experts were very difficult to kill.

The knowledge imparted in the Academy included information about famous experts in the ninja world.

For example, Uchiha Tajima, and his equally renowned peer "Senju Butsuma," were both top-tier experts known throughout the Land of Fire.

There was also Hyuga Tenin, who had lived in seclusion for many years, and Fūma Eiichirō, who occupied the western part of the Land of Fire, whose strength and prestige were also not to be underestimated.

The experts from the major secret jutsu clans were also numerous, but they acted discreetly and rarely initiated conflict. Only the Uchiha and Senju were constantly engaged in battles.

They not only fought each other but also turned their blades against surrounding clans, offering only two choices: submission or death.

In this regard, the Uchiha and the Senju were no different.

After coming here, Sosuke understood that there was no such thing as a "family of love." Often, the Senju's actions were no better than the Uchiha's.

If you provoked them, the worst that could happen was the annihilation of your clan. If you provoked the Senju of the Forest, they might outwardly choose to let bygones be bygones, but secretly they would suppress you economically, socially, and in all other aspects.

This would force the other party to "voluntarily" surrender, ultimately becoming a willing vassal of the Senju clan.

Many Uchiha expressed their disdain for this, believing the Senju clan to be a bunch of vile hypocrites.

The two sides often engaged in verbal sparring, and sometimes, when things got heated, they would fight it out on the battlefield with real swords.

Of course, neither side was foolish enough to give other clans the chance to reap the benefits of their conflict.

Fighting and arguing aside, they still had to deal with other small and medium-sized clans.

They couldn't let other clans get the upper hand in the end.

The only way to try and earn points by "killing" was to step onto the battlefield, but Uchiha Sosuke's subconscious was still somewhat resistant.

In his own words, until he had a trump card, he would lie low within the clan for a while.

Unfortunately, even though he wanted to keep a low profile, there were always some clueless individuals who would come looking for trouble.

Shortly after he graduated from the Academy, Uchiha Tetsuya, who hadn't appeared in a long time, stepped forward.

He attributed his previous defeat to his own carelessness, believing that if he hadn't been ambushed, he wouldn't have lost to this guy.

So what if he activated his Sharingan? He was a full four years older than him; there was no possibility of defeat if he got serious.

"You really don't learn your lesson, do you?" Sosuke didn't refuse his cousin's challenge. He was currently lacking in practical combat experience, and sparring with Izuna always felt a bit restrained.

Now that a punching bag had delivered itself to his doorstep, he naturally had no reason to refuse.

Besides, he could also try out some newly learned techniques.