First Words After the Initial Meeting

Night fell.

Arata walked alone through the streets of the clan compound, where lights shone brightly all around and the air was thick with the scent of dinner.

"Training until this late again? You need to balance work and rest, Arata."

"You haven't eaten yet, have you, Arata? Come over to Auntie's place and grab a bite."

"Look at you, if only you were half as hardworking as Arata."

""

Kind calls drifted into his ears from time to time.

Five years of such kindness, day after day.

"I will, thank you."

"No thank you, Izumi says she'll be waiting for me."

"Haru is still young, she'll understand."

""

Arata responded to each one, a faint smile gracing his cheeks.

The fact that he had been able to grow up healthy until now was inseparable from every household in the clan. After all, while Elder Yashiro could teach him ninjutsu, caring for a child was a task that would have been quite difficult for him.

"Ugh, hurry up, Arata, I'm starving to death."

Standing at her doorway, Izumi Uchiha waved to him from afar. She had already removed the Konoha forehead protector she wore, but the simple clover hairpin remained pinned in her long hair.

She seemed to have been waiting for a long time.

"Coming."

After answering, Arata broke into a light jog. Behind him were the lights of the Uchiha clan—the lights he wanted to protect.

Lights that Itachi wanted to destroy.

If he wanted to do that, he would have to step over his corpse first!

After finishing dinner and helping Aunt Hazuki clean up the dishes, Arata returned to his own small home.

The residence provided to him by the clan was right next to Izumi's house. It was a single-room bungalow, fully equipped with daily necessities and featuring a small courtyard—just right for him.

After locking the doors and windows, Arata began to unpack the items he had purchased that afternoon: the Three-Color Dango wrapped in candy paper showed signs of melting, but overall, it wasn't a major issue; the bright red apples emitted a unique fragrance, and the palm-sized watermelon looked suspiciously like it had ripened too early.

Beyond these, a lightweight gift bag sat on the table. As his gaze swept over it, Arata felt a rare moment of hesitation, as if considering whether he should leave it there as well.

In the end, however, it remained.

"Spirit that guards me, manifest before me. Your name: Yuki-onna."

Once he had finished tidying up, Arata chanted softly, and the Hundred Ghost Scroll within his sea of consciousness unfurled.

As the temperature in the room plummeted, a silver-haired girl appeared silently in the room.

Their eyes met, and silence reigned.

In three years, Arata had been unable to bridge the distance between himself and Yuki-onna; usually, he only used Demon Bind to forcibly borrow her power.

This was also the main reason he had delayed summoning new shikigami—he didn't know how to get along with spirits. Perhaps, once his strength grew, this problem would be resolved.

"Those are candies from the human world on the table."

"If there is anything else you are interested in, you can tell me, and I will do my best to prepare it."

After a brief stiffness, Arata broke the silence, but he was met only with muteness.

In his memory, the spirit girl before him had only spoken the word "human" when she first descended, and had never communicated since.

Arata had grown accustomed to this.

He stood up and moved to a different spot, sitting down against the wall a little further away from Yuki-onna.

Meditation was his daily required course, and also the most direct and simple way to obtain skill point fragments.

However, before that: "System Panel."

He whispered silently in his heart.

In the evening, during his conversation with Uncle Yashiro, a new task had appeared.

[Instant Task: Breaking the Shackles]

Task Description: Whether it be a ninja, a samurai, or an Onmyoji, only in adversity can one ignite their potential and break the shackles that bind them!

Completion Condition: Defeat Itachi Uchiha.

Task Reward: Advanced Contract Talisman x1, Random Skill x3

Task Status: Incomplete

Time Remaining: 9 days, 20 hours

A truly tempting reward!

An Advanced Contract Talisman meant the possibility of forming a contract with a spirit even more powerful than Yuki-onna!

A single Kekkei Genkai of Ice Release was enough to shock the entire clan; if he were to add a spirit-type Great Yokai to the mix, would he then possess the potential to contend with a Mangekyō?

And random skills were undoubtedly the greatest boost to his strength at this current stage.

One had to know, it had taken Arata five years just to learn three skills from the Yin-Yang Record! Furthermore, the abilities recorded within were all derived from powerful Onmyōji or peerless Yokai; there were no trash skills to be found!

Thinking of this, his state of mind began to waver, and he subconsciously licked his parched lips.

However, Arata was also aware that such high returns implied high difficulty and high risk; such a mission reward seemed to be telling him that his odds of success were less than one in ten.

A moment later, after suppressing this restlessness, his gaze finally moved down from the mission rewards.

[Stage Mission: Sword Mastery]

Mission Description: Study the sword arts of a hundred schools to forge the strongest blade.

Completion Condition: Master two schools of swordsmanship.

Mission Reward: Random Sword Skill *1

Mission Status: Uchiha Style Swordsmanship (Mastered)

Fire Release ninjutsu and the Sharingan—these two were supposed to be the signature abilities of the Uchiha, yet Arata did not possess a strong grasp of either.

The former was due to his mediocre affinity for fire-attribute chakra, while the latter was because he simply could not deeply experience the sorrow of losing a loved one, causing his Sharingan to remain stuck at a single tomoe.

However, what one loses in the east, one gains in the west; Arata possessed quite a talent for swordsmanship.

The Uchiha Style swordsmanship, which the clan had relegated to the bottom of their training priorities, was treated by him like a precious treasure, practiced daily without interruption.

He had long since mastered powerful techniques such as the Flame Leap Sword, the Gale Sword, and the Sun Halo Dance.

At present, the only person in the clan capable of guiding him in swordsmanship was likely Shisui.

Therefore, when Yashiro Uchiha asked what he wanted as a graduation gift, Arata pondered for a moment before choosing the Konoha Style swordsmanship.

The eerie Dance of the Crescent Moon paired with the movement techniques of a Nurarihyon would surely increase the probability of a successful assassination.

Although Yashiro had already rejected his previous assassination proposal, Arata had not abandoned it entirely.

Shimura Danzō, one of his predetermined targets, loved and excelled at assassination and framing others.

Therefore, whether he chose to assassinate or to defend against Root, he had to be stronger than his opponent!

Regarding the gift Arata chose, Yashiro Uchiha felt it was somewhat useless.

After all, for an Uchiha possessing the Sharingan, the flashy Konoha Style sword techniques were full of openings.

Because there was no person, and no ninjutsu, that could deceive their eyes!

Yet, he eventually nodded and agreed, knowing that his apprentice had a fondness for the path of the sword.

And thus, by a stroke of luck, this stage mission had been triggered.

"What is this?"

Just as Arata was reviewing the new mission, a cold, clear voice suddenly rang out in the room.

Such an abrupt sound caused him to instantly go on guard.

He had long since grown accustomed to the quiet.

However, Arata immediately thought of something, and his heart rate quickened by a beat.

Following the voice, he looked over to see the Yokai girl from the snowy lands holding a snowflake-shaped object in her hands, her eyes filled with confusion.

"That is a hairpin, used to tie up your hair."

Arata tried his best to suppress his leaping emotions and replied steadily.