Land of Hot Water

Swish, swish, swish—

Clang!

Along the forest path, several kunai collided in midair, then pierced a giant tree along a bizarre flight path.

Tsh—

The sound of tearing rang beside Shisui's ear. He turned his head just in time, and the kunai sliced off a lock of his hair before slamming into another tree.

His pupils contracted. Shisui spotted an Explosive Tag attached to the kunai's handle.

Boom!!!

The explosion rang out!

Swish—

Shisui appeared farther away with the Body Flicker Technique, a bead of cold sweat trickling down his face.

"Hey, hey... This is just a spar. There's no need to use Explosive Tags!"

"And that kind of force... If I hadn't dodged in time, it would've gone right through my head!"

"Are you trying to kill me, Sora!"

On the branch of another giant tree, Uchiha Sora held several kunai between his fingers and replied calmly,

"You're stronger than me, so of course I have to give it everything I've got."

"You're Body Flicker Shisui. This much isn't enough to kill you."

Even so...

Shisui was still astonished by how much Uchiha Sora had improved over the past few days.

On the way to the Land of Fields, Uchiha Sora sparred with Shisui whenever he had time.

Shisui had battlefield experience and was a Uchiha prodigy whose abilities were all top-notch. There was plenty to learn from him.

Over the past few days, Sora had learned Shisui's kunai-throwing technique.

It demanded not only keen insight from the Sharingan, but also quick reflexes and the ability to calculate trajectories.

In a clash between ordinary ninja, the fight still came down to weapons and Taijutsu. Only after gathering enough information would they wait for the right moment to finish things with a decisive Ninjutsu.

Nobody opened with their biggest move.

The exposed arm of Uchiha Sora showed clearly defined muscles.

Through his torn clothes, numerous wounds were visible. Many had faded until they were difficult to make out, while others seemed to have only recently scabbed over.

They looked like cuts from sharp blades such as kunai.

Shisui's gaze darkened. He murmured,

"Sora... You must have been through a lot of hardship..."

Shisui rarely saw Uchiha Sora training at the clan's training ground, because Sora had gone to the Cat Village to train when he was three.

He had no renowned teacher, and his parents hadn't left him any advanced Ninjutsu.

His most precious scroll was a Summoning Contract with a Ninja Cat from the Cat Village.

It had belonged to his father, who had died in battle alongside the cat.

Jialuo was the child of his father's Ninja Cat.

One person and one cat had made it this far together. It was easy to imagine how much effort they had put in and how much pain they had endured.

Uchiha Sora had never felt sorry for himself.

Compared with his previous life, this one had already been good. He was sincerely grateful to whatever force beyond his understanding had given him a second chance at life.

Whatever he might have to go through in the future, whatever price he might have to pay, it didn't matter.

As long as he could live freely and make the most of his life, that was enough.

Uchiha Sora grinned.

"Hey, I don't need your sympathy."

"Being able to feel my strength grow firsthand is a lot of fun!"

Shisui held his blade before him and said slowly, "Sora, in terms of strength alone, you're above me."

"But in speed and Ninjutsu..."

"I'm above you!"

Shisui was serious now.

A dozen figures of Shisui appeared, seeming both real and illusory.

This was the Phantom Body Flicker Technique, the technique that had earned him the name Body Flicker Shisui and made him famous on the Mist Battlefield!

The Body Flicker Technique belonged to a broad category of Ninjutsu. Essentially, it referred to Ninjutsu and Taijutsu that enabled instant movement.

Strictly speaking, the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique was also a kind of Body Flicker Technique.

Shisui's Body Flicker Technique, however, fused it with Genjutsu to create an extraordinarily complex, composite technique.

Unlike Shadow Clones, his illusory doubles didn't disappear when struck.

They seemed to turn intangible when attacked, becoming solid only when striking their opponent.

Even with his Sharingan activated, Uchiha Sora couldn't tell which one was Shisui and which was an illusory double.

There was no way to find an opening...

Even Uchiha Itachi admitted that Shisui surpassed him in talent for Genjutsu. That alone showed just how sophisticated Shisui's illusions were.

Genjutsu required talent. Uchiha Sora wasn't a Genjutsu prodigy. His victory over Danzo through Genjutsu had depended on the immense energy of Rayquaza.

If he had to be categorized, he was the kind of Uchiha who leaned toward Ninjutsu and Taijutsu, like Madara Uchiha and Sasuke.

Realizing at once that he couldn't see through the technique, Uchiha Sora shut his eyes, rapidly formed Hand Seals, and spat out a mass of scorching flames and searing dust.

Fire Style: Dust Hiding Technique!

Boom!!

The flames ignited the dust, and it exploded with a thunderous roar, obscuring their vision.

About half an hour later.

Panting, Shisui looked around but couldn't find Uchiha Sora anywhere.

Click—

A crisp cracking sound came from the rock beneath him. The ground split open, and a fist burst out, heading straight for his face.

Swish—

Shisui flicked his wrist, turning the hilt of his blade downward.

The tip of the blade touched Uchiha Sora's brow. His fist was still two inches away from Shisui.

Rumble...

Uchiha Sora shook the dirt and rocks off himself and said calmly, "You win."

Shisui drew a deep breath and sheathed his blade. "The training's too intense. I don't like sparring with you. It's much more relaxing to play with Itachi."

"Is that so..."

Uchiha Sora smiled for some reason. "Then next time we go out, let's bring Itachi along."

Shisui's eyes lit up. "Sounds good!"

Once they had packed up, the two continued on their way.

The most direct route from the Land of Whirlpools to the Land of Fields went through the Land of Fire.

But the two had chosen to follow the border of the Land of Fire, traveling through the smaller countries along the way.

Bringing the Fuma Clan under their control was only one of their goals. The most important thing was to open up trade routes.

The Uchiha didn't have anything that could be called a specialty. If they had to name one... it would be their formidable individual strength.

Uchiha Sora planned to follow Orochimaru's example in establishing Otogakure and first secure the support of the smaller countries' Feudal Lords.

As for winning their support... he could follow Obito's approach in the Land of Water.

Negotiations, intimidation, brainwashing, laying out the pros and cons?

There was no need to go to all that trouble. Only someone without talent like Orochimaru would do things that way.

They had the Sharingan. One Genjutsu was all it would take to control someone.

Controlling the shadow of a great nation was difficult and unrealistic for now. But controlling the Feudal Lord of a small country would be easy for someone with Shisui's abilities.

Uchiha Sora had never understood why the Uchiha Clan, whose members all possessed Genjutsu capable of manipulating people's minds, had wanted to become the blades of those pig-headed nobles during the Warring States period.

In modern society, that was a textbook skill for rulers.

Perhaps it came down to their low level of cultural education, on top of the Uchiha Clan being in such a healthy mental state.

After they passed through the forest, more people appeared along the road. When the passersby noticed the two's ninja attire, they deliberately kept their distance.

Compared with the vast population of ordinary people, ninja were few and far between.

Just imagine: a force of several tens of thousands of ninja could guard a great nation. That alone showed how rare ninja were.

The first small country the two reached was the Land of Hot Water.

The Land of Hot Water had many hot springs, which was how it got its name.

Its abundant geothermal resources had made its hot-spring industry very prosperous, drawing many visitors from other countries.

Jiraiya was one of them, with his less-than-pure intentions.

Wasn't the supposed holy site that inspired Icha Icha Paradise in the Land of Hot Water?

The Land of Hot Water was ruled by a Feudal Lord, and its military forces were relatively weak.

Situated between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning, the Land of Hot Water's nobles usually assigned their missions to the two great nations. As a result, Yugakure's existence seemed almost unnecessary.

Looking out at the many hot-spring hotels among the mountain valleys, along with the caravans coming and going...

Uchiha Sora felt as if he were looking at his future backers.

No...

They were a juicy piece of meat.