"Senior Chen!"
"Lord Chen!"
As Chen passed through the rear base behind the front lines, people greeted him warmly wherever he went. He had become a "big shot" in everyone's eyes.
No matter how you dressed it up, a ninja's job was still killing. A good ninja was one who killed quickly and killed a lot.
Chen had the battle record of three or four jonin all by himself, so naturally, everyone on the eastern front respected him.
Of course, Chen would never say something like, "I'm carrying all of Konoha."
"We have to get Kagami's eye back. Hizashi, don't forget who you are! You'd better watch yourself!"
Chen headed straight for headquarters. Just as he reached the entrance, he heard an old man's furious roar from inside. Then a livid, cataract-eyed elder slammed the door open and stormed out. He glared at the Uchiha crest on Chen's clothes with disgust before stalking off.
Inside headquarters, Hizashi Hyuga pressed both hands to his temples, his face lined with exhaustion.
"Chen, sorry for the trouble. You had to see that!"
About a year ago, Kagami Hyuga, a member of the Hyuga Main Family, had been killed on the battlefield. One of his Byakugan had also been taken by Ao of Kirigakure. It was the greatest scandal the Hyuga had faced since the village was founded.
Ao had long since returned to Kirigakure. Hizashi couldn't send someone to Kirigakure to kill him, but the Hyuga still came to make a scene at Hizashi's quarters every few days.
All of this had thoroughly trampled the prestige Hizashi had earned by fighting desperately on the battlefield.
Chen gave Hizashi a sympathetic glance where he sat at the head of the room.
To Konoha, he was the strongest Hyuga, an elite jonin capable of commanding a front.
But to the Hyuga Main Family, he was just a dog. Even if he was the strongest and most prized dog, he was still a dog.
And one day, dogs were butchered for their meat.
Chen deliberately changed the subject.
"Senior Hizashi, you haven't been back to the village in a long time, have you? I saw your son Neji there before. He's a lively child."
"Is that so?"
Hizashi didn't want to complain about the clan's internal strife in front of an outsider—especially an Uchiha—so he tacitly changed the subject too and started talking about raising children.
As they chatted happily, Chen praised Neji a couple more times, making his father Hizashi beam, until—
"In my opinion, Neji's talent is far greater than even yours, Senior Hizashi!"
Chen meant it.
Neji could become a jonin at fifteen. If he developed normally, he could very well reach the pinnacle of strength known as the "Kage" level.
But the praise had the opposite effect. Hizashi's smile turned bitter.
The more gifted someone was, the more agonizing the Caged Bird Seal became...
Hizashi couldn't share his troubles with anyone. He took out a mission scroll and explained why he had summoned Chen:
"Chen, there seems to be some movement between Sunagakure and Kirigakure, both stationed in the Land of Whirlpools!
Sunagakure is our ally. Without evidence, we can't challenge them. You need to investigate the connection between the two. This will be an S-rank solo mission."
"Yes!"
Carrying out missions was a ninja's duty, so Chen naturally didn't refuse. He took the scroll and read it on the spot.
Sunagakure was drawing down its forces. Mist squads had entered territory controlled by Sunagakure several times and returned unharmed. Pakura, the Scorch Release user and Sunagakure's commander, had recently received a secret order from her village.
Chen found the situation familiar.
This was probably the prelude to Sunagakure selling out its war hero, Pakura, in exchange for peace with Kirigakure.
Selling out one of its own top fighters was exactly the kind of idiotic move a brainless village like Sunagakure would make.
After reading the scroll, Chen lit a small flame and burned it. Then he said goodbye to the dispirited Hizashi.
"Looks like Hizashi resents the Main Family quite a bit, especially when it comes to his son," Chen muttered to himself.
"The Hyuga system is bound to breed resentment. I wonder if I can make use of that."
Chen sneered, thinking he was getting ahead of himself.
With the Caged Bird Seal in place, no matter how much the Branch Family resented the Main Family, they could never turn the tables on them.
After quickly restocking all his supplies at the logistics base—Military Ration Pills, Explosive Tags, and antidotes—Chen didn't head straight for the Land of Whirlpools. Instead, he went to Snake Uncle's secret laboratory first.
Blood-drawing needles and cell-culture fluid were essential if he wanted to better preserve the various cells of any bloodline-limit ninja he encountered.
Finally, Chen activated the control panel for his Prosthetic Eye.
[Prosthetic Eye -- 001] Eye Power: 107/1000 [Imprint 1: Uchiha Hikari] Dōjutsu: . [Imprint 2: Blank] [Imprint 3: Blank] "Foreign Eye Power detected. Imprint?"
Imprint!
Chen chose without hesitation.
Before, whether in Konoha or on the battlefield, Shisui had come to discuss the plan to "force the Third to step down" every day or two. Chen hadn't dared imprint his Eye Power, afraid Shisui would notice something was wrong.
Now, with a long-term mission away from the village, even if the Eye Power Shisui had sealed inside Chen disappeared while he imprinted it, he could come up with an excuse.
"Crackle!"
Electricity surged through the highly realistic Prosthetic Eye. Chen could clearly feel the Eye Power hidden inside his body by the Transcription Seal being stirred. It flowed along his chakra network and plunged into the Prosthetic Eye.
A moment later, the current in the Prosthetic Eye in Chen's socket died down. The Mangekyō in his pupil had changed into a four-pointed Shuriken shape.
[Imprint successful!]
Shisui's Eye Power had vanished completely.
But from now on, his Sharingan would be with me!
[Imprint 2 -- Uchiha Shisui] Dōjutsu: 1. Kotoamatsukami: Light, alters a person's will for a short time. Duration: 1 to 3 days. Eye Power cost: 5/use 2. Kotoamatsukami: Shadow Erosion, permanently alters a person's will. Can only be used once every ten years or more. Eye Power cost: 50/use 3. Susanoo, a symbol of destruction
"Perfect!"
In Chen's view, the power of Kotoamatsukami was even more terrifying than Obito's Kamui.
"Good thing this power is in the hands of kindhearted me and Shisui. Otherwise, Naruto would turn into 'Hypnotize Konoha' or 'Sunshine Ninja,' wouldn't it?"
I really am amazing!
Chen, moved by his own greatness, gathered his things and headed straight for Dayu Mountain in the Land of Whirlpools. First, he was going to dig up the Uchiha Dianpo who had been sealed away for a hundred years.
What? The mission?
He could just report that Pakura had been betrayed and died at the hands of Kirigakure, couldn't he?
Half a month later.
"Moshi moshi."
On a rooftop at a Kirigakure base, a burly man locked the rooftop door and furtively took out a communicator.
"Where is he? Where is he?"
Suikazan Fuguki held the communicator close and lowered his voice, sounding furious.
"Aburame Ryoma, are your Konoha jonin really that incompetent? You still haven't found out when Pakura is supposed to meet us?
I've postponed the meeting twice on my own, and people in the village are already complaining! Is there a mole in Root who's caught on?"
"There's no mole!"
Aburame Ryoma sounded puzzled too.
"My bugs have already found his scent! He should be at Dayu Mountain. He's been there the whole time.
Just set the meeting with Pakura at Dayu Mountain. I'll help you find him. Don't forget, it's ten million ryo, and you've already taken thirty percent as a deposit!"
Aburame Ryoma ended the call. Suikazan Fuguki raised the communicator several times, but in the end he couldn't bring himself to smash it on the ground.
Ten million ryo. More than enough to last a lifetime.
Damn, they really knew how to pick a guy!
Suikazan Fuguki still wanted the money, so he called over a trusted subordinate and said:
"Tell Pakura to meet at Dayu Mountain!"
Before you continue