Working together with Faith Link, visual observation, and Heart Severing Realm sensing, Yamanaka Chujiu made a psychological assessment.
He was certain Uchiha Shisui had suffered severe psychological trauma, causing his Sharingan to advance to the Three-Tomoe stage.
This was not a good thing.
An Uchiha awakening the Sharingan too early was not the realization of exceptional talent. It was a sign that an unstable state of mind had damaged their foundations.
Uchiha Shisui had reached the Three-Tomoe stage at nine, which meant he had awakened his Sharingan at least two years earlier. The same was true of Uchiha Itachi.
As a result, Shisui and Itachi were powerful, yet they always seemed physically frail, as if they had already reached the limits of their potential.
By contrast, Uchiha Madara had been fourteen when he awakened his Sharingan. After that, he continued to grow until he became the strongest member of the Uchiha Clan.
He was not merely the strongest of his time, but the strongest across several generations.
That was right: Indra's soul vessel had a profound influence on Uchiha Madara. How could anyone be sure the timing of his Sharingan's awakening had nothing to do with it?
Especially when it came to the next vessel of Indra's soul, Sasuke. At nine, he had faced the tragedy of his entire clan being slaughtered, and his rage had awakened a One-Tomoe Sharingan. Did that really mean his talent was lacking?
No. It was precisely because his talent was so strong that he managed to suppress the Sharingan's will, avoiding damage to his physical foundation and the premature exhaustion of his potential.
Uchiha Shisui had no assistance from Indra's soul. Under intense stimulation, his talent had blossomed prematurely.
That proved his talent, but it had also destroyed his chances of reaching the peak in the future.
However, Yamanaka Chujiu knew this was not absolute.
There was a certain lunatic who had awakened with a Two-Tomoe Sharingan, skipped the Three-Tomoe stage after seeing the girl he had a crush on die, and instinctively awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. His body had been ravaged until only half remained, yet his own experience proved that with Hashirama Cells, damage to one's foundation was no big deal.
All Yamanaka Chujiu had to do now was steady Shisui's heart, help him accept his grief and work through his negative emotions, and make him stronger.
Thanks to Faith Link, he didn't need to comfort Shisui with words. He only had to lead by example and put on a show of strength. That would be enough.
What?
Why did Yamanaka Chujiu have to put on an act?
Because he wasn't strong himself, of course!
Forget comparing himself to Red Sun or the Shining Stars. Even when compared with the outstanding people he'd met in his previous life, he didn't seem strong enough.
No, he was far too weak!
Yamanaka Chujiu looked powerful now for two reasons: first, as a transmigrator, he knew how history would unfold; second, his fellow ninjas made him look good, their presence highlighting the lingering warmth of civilization within him.
After Orochimaru announced the details of the attack mission, he sent the Communication Snakes requested by Yamanaka Chujiu to the ten squad leaders.
"The Kumogakure army has reached Sakura Plains. You must complete the strike mission within one day."
"Your only option is to infiltrate the Kumogakure army and strike directly at their supply transfer center!"
"Everyone must obey Special Jōnin Yamanaka Chujiu's orders. If you disobey or hesitate, the Kumogakure Ninja will discover you, and you'll all die behind enemy lines."
Yamanaka Chujiu's expression was grave. Under the admiring, trusting, or skeptical gazes of thirty elite Konoha Ninja, he gave the order: "Move out!"
With that, he turned and left.
To everyone's surprise, Uchiha Shisui immediately followed Yamanaka Chujiu. His captain, Yashiro, and his teammate, Tekka, had no choice but to follow as well.
Even the most unruly Uchiha Squad was so obedient. The Ino-Shika-Cho Squad didn't hesitate either, and followed after them.
Next came the Hyuga Byakugan Squad, the reconnaissance squads, and the Genjutsu Squad. The Fire Release and Lightning Release combat squads were the slowest to react, and brought up the rear.
The first step had gone smoothly, and Orochimaru was finally at ease. A smile he never showed anyone appeared on his face as he went to attend to his own business.
He had a heavy mission too: he had to deal with a Jinchūriki and the Fourth Raikage.
And he had to fight for an entire day.
Konoha's defensive line, centered on Sakura Plains, lay only twenty kilometers from the Kumogakure Ninja's front line. The area between them was packed with ninjas from both sides.
Just a few thousand meters beyond Sakura Plains, the team could encounter Kumogakure infiltrators.
When Yamanaka Chujiu sensed the enemy was less than two thousand meters away, he issued an order through the Communication Snake:
"Everyone, hold a Senbon between your teeth."
"Don't take it out until you've crossed the Kumogakure army's line or received my order!"
As he spoke, he closed his eyes and carefully picked out the emotional signals carried through Heart Severing Realm, pinpointing friend and foe across a wide area.
He sensed the elite Konoha Ninja behind him and judged their obedience by their emotions.
In the emotion-driven field of perception, the unruly Uchiha Yashiro and Uchiha Tekka felt nothing but awkward defiance, with no real desire to oppose him.
The nameless Hyuga Branch Family members were calm and numb. The Ino-Shika-Cho Squad felt curious and nervous, while the other civilian ninjas were filled with wariness and defiance.
Hmm, they were probably unhappy about Orochimaru's disciple being parachuted into command, but their feelings weren't too strong.
Only the Genjutsu Squad, made up of three genjutsu users, showed intense resistance.
Yamanaka Chujiu said coolly, "Genjutsu Squad, obey my orders, or return to camp now and report to Lord Orochimaru!"
His tone wasn't harsh, but the order was serious.
What surprised the Konoha Ninja even more was that they couldn't figure out how Yamanaka Chujiu knew the Genjutsu Squad hadn't put Senbon in their mouths.
At night, such a small movement was hard to see. Even the Sharingan and Byakugan wouldn't have picked it out clearly.
The unknown was what frightened people most. The three genjutsu users were alarmed and immediately put Senbon between their teeth.
They had barely finished when Yamanaka Chujiu's voice came from the Communication Snake's mouth: "Everyone, move forward."
The three genjutsu users shuddered. Their last trace of defiance vanished, and they obeyed the order without complaint.
Over the next half hour, Yamanaka Chujiu issued a steady stream of orders, arranging the strike force into an infiltration formation.
The Hyuga Squad took point, with two mixed reconnaissance squads on the flanks. The Ino-Shika-Cho Squad held the center, protecting the relatively fragile Genjutsu Squad behind them. Four combat squads followed the Genjutsu Squad, and the Uchiha Squad brought up the rear.
Yamanaka Chujiu still walked at the very front of the entire team, using Heart Severing Realm to pinpoint the positions and conditions of friend and foe.
A map without fog took shape in his mind. Red dots marked enemies, some stationary, others tracing dotted paths as they patrolled.
Yamanaka Chujiu confirmed that the Kumogakure army had deployed in an offensive formation. Their ninjas were positioned relatively close together, with too few patrols and hidden sentries to cover the gaps between them.
Amid the mass of red dots and dotted lines, Yamanaka Chujiu plotted a "safe" route and led the thirty-person strike force into it.
The Konoha Ninja nervously followed his orders, turning left and right to avoid who knew how many Kumogakure Ninja before reaching the front line of the Kumogakure army.
Along the final line of defense, meant to stop Konoha Ninja from launching a counterattack, the Raikage had stationed an extremely dense network of hidden sentries. There was no way through without fighting.
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