The Plot Begins

Jingxin cast his gaze toward the one-armed rogue ninja.

The latter realized that this was a battle destined to be unwinnable and immediately collapsed to the ground, declaring, "I... I surrender! I am willing to confess everything!"

"No need." Jingxin's reply left him bewildered.

What did he mean by "no need"?

The one-armed rogue ninja raised his head, only to have a Dust Release barrier slam down upon him.

Sizzle~

The battle was over.

Except for the rogue ninja who had been killed by the Aragami's retaliation, the other two left not even a corpse behind.

Deidara and Kurotsuchi returned from a distance to rendezvous with Jingxin.

Kurotsuchi's dark eyes sparkled as she looked at Jingxin. "Huh? Kintsuchi, you're actually able to use Dust Release already? That's truly incredible!"

Jingxin descended from the air and shrugged. "It's all thanks to Master's excellent teaching."

Karin and Kurotsuchi held different views on this; Dust Release was not the sort of thing one could learn simply because someone was willing to teach it.

Before Jingxin, Ōnoki had been diligent to an absurd degree.

Whenever anyone in the village showed even a hint of talent, Ōnoki would attempt to cultivate them in the direction of Dust Release.

Unfortunately, most people were stopped by the prerequisites required just to begin learning the prerequisites for Dust Release.

Deidara did not join the discussion; his gaze swept across the two deep pits left by the Dust Release on the battlefield, then to the guy impaled on the ground, eyes wide in death.

Deidara swallowed hard, cautiously eyeing Jingxin from the corner of his vision. "Is... is it really necessary to kill them all? He said he was going to confess everything, yeah..."

"What could they possibly confess?" Jingxin pointed at the rogue ninja whose body still remained. "One can roughly deduce the truth from him anyway."

"Besides, shouldn't traitors be put to death as a matter of course?"

So you use a cannon to swat a mosquito?

Deidara muttered under his breath, "Aren't you a defector from Konoha yourself? Yeah."

"Deidara?" Jingxin looked over, curious. "What did you say?"

"I said the Captain is wise!" Deidara's eye twitched. "Also, leave the task of searching the rogue ninja's corpse to me."

Jingxin nodded. "Then I'll leave it to you."

In truth, Jingxin had heard him, but he chose to ignore it.

After all, from Konoha's perspective, he had indeed defected.

However, from his own perspective, it was Konoha that had abandoned the Uchiha. Once the Uchiha clansmen became a unit without a ninja village, joining any other village could hardly be considered defection.

To put it simply:

Defection is resigning voluntarily, perhaps even taking company secrets with you.

Whereas Jingxin: he was fired by the company, received no severance, and because he knew the company's secrets, they wanted him dead.

Not to mention that before being fired by Konoha, Jingxin had never even had contact with any other "company."

How the hell could those be the same thing?

Once Deidara finished his work, the group returned to Iwagakure with the results.

Time flowed on.

On the training ground, Jingxin sat cross-legged, eyes closed in meditation, refining his chakra.

Jingxin had shed the softness of childhood; he had grown much taller, his shoulders had broadened, and his facial features had become more defined.

Though he still retained the refined look of a youth, the steadiness and calmness in his eyes far surpassed those of his peers.

Finishing his training, Jingxin opened his eyes and exhaled a breath of stale air.

Twelve years old.

The plot should be starting soon.

As a transmigrator, it was necessary for him to go and join in the fun.

At the same time, he needed to secure some tangible benefits for Iwagakure, which had shown him such great kindness.

Over these years, only Jingxin knew just how absurd the level of "indulgence" Ōnoki had shown him was.

It is no exaggeration to say that there were absolutely no bottom lines.

If Jingxin were a person without moral concepts, a true child without the mindset of an adult, his personality might have ended up resembling that of Cao Gongzi, who refuses to eat beef.

As for his strength, Ōnoki trusted Jingxin completely.

He possessed absolute freedom; Ōnoki wouldn't worry even if he ran all over the Ninja World.

If the "company" treats you like this, what else is there to say?

This isn't a company; this is my home!

Since this is my home, I naturally have to find ways to build it up.

Jingxin recalled the plot from the original story.

After graduation, Team 7 was formed.

Catching cats and chasing dogs, followed by the mission in the Land of Waves.

So, what kind of benefits could be reaped?

Jingxin thought of two points.

First: Gato.

A ruthless man who would crack bones to suck the marrow and squeeze oil from a stone.

Money is still very effective in the Ninja World, of course... in most cases.

No one would complain about their wallet being too full.

Second: Talent resources.

The enemies of Team 7 in the Land of Waves were Zabuza and Haku.

Zabuza was a rogue ninja from Kirigakure; recruiting him might lead to diplomatic issues.

Moreover, Kirigakure had Obito's fingerprints all over it, so it was best to avoid contact with them if possible.

This wasn't because Jingxin feared Obito, but because he was well aware of the current situation of both sides.

Itachi Uchiha's body was practically crippled.

In the days to come, Itachi Uchiha would only grow weaker.

Obito Uchiha, shouldering the mission of the Eye of the Moon Plan, would see little improvement in his strength over the next few years, or one could even say no improvement at all.

As for Jingxin, although he was confident he could defeat the former two now, his room for growth was still vast.

Furthermore, he hadn't been exposed; within Iwagakure, people only knew him as Kintsuchi, and only a handful of people and the higher-ups knew the name Jingxin.

Since the enemies' strength wouldn't increase in the near future, while his own strength would steadily grow, why expose himself prematurely?

The stronger one is, the more secure things are, of course!

As for revenge, he had already endured for several years; a little more time wouldn't hurt.

In short... Jingxin couldn't set his sights on Zabuza.

At the very least, he couldn't bring him back to Iwagakure openly.

Then, he would set his sights on his little sidekick, Haku.

Haku possessed a Kekkei Genkai, but unfortunately, he died young in the original story, so his future potential remained unknown.

However, it was certain that he would at least reach the level of an elite jonin.

As mentioned before, in the entire Ninja World over the past twenty years, the number of elite jonin was definitely not as high as one might imagine.

In the past, when Ōnoki wanted Jingxin to adapt to Anbu missions and gain experience, he had to scrape together resources just to clear the schedules of two elite jonin for a month to serve as his teammates.

So, it was decided.

The primary target was Haku.

He would carefully ponder whether he could pull him into Iwagakure.

The secondary target was Gato's money.

After obtaining it, he would first use it for disaster relief in the Land of Waves, and pocket the rest.

"Kintsuchi~"

A crisp call interrupted Jingxin's train of thought, and he looked toward the entrance of the training ground.

It was Kurotsuchi, holding a bottle of specially made recovery drink, who walked up to Jingxin and handed it over: "Just finished training, right? Drink this; I added Rock Honey and Recovery Herbs. It's more effective than ordinary military rations."

Jingxin took the bottle and took a sip.

The sweetness was moderate, carrying the fresh scent of herbs; it was indeed much better than military rations.

"Thanks," he said.

Kurotsuchi smiled, then naturally linked her arm with his: "Let's go, accompany me to the commercial street. I heard a new ninja tool shop opened, and I want to see if there are any good shuriken."

Her movements were natural, and her tone was casual, as if this were the most ordinary thing in the world.

But Jingxin could feel the gazes cast by other ninjas training nearby—some envious, some curious.

Over the past two years, Kurotsuchi's attitude toward him had become increasingly direct and bold.

From her initial subtle concern to her later proactive approaches, and now, to her lack of restraint.

She would bring him drinks after training, pull him out for meals after missions, ask him out on his days off, and even link her arm with his, walking together like lovers.