The Fuma Clan had only two Jōnin, including Fuma Kage.
And Jōnin deserved air quotes here. In a real fight, they might not even measure up to Konoha's Special Jōnin.
There were also seven or eight Chunin and dozens of Genin.
That was already decent strength for the Land of Fields. No wonder Orochimaru had made the trip to trick them.
Ninja from the Five Great Nations were generally stronger than those from smaller countries at the same rank, and their reputations were more reliable. That left ninja from small countries with no room to develop—they couldn't even get missions.
Raising a ninja cost a lot of money, and ninjutsu wasn't something you could find on every street corner.
After Fuma Kage declared his loyalty, Uchiha Sora gave him a scroll of the Phoenix Sage Fire Technique.
It was a jutsu even Uchiha children could learn, yet Fuma Kage treated it like a priceless treasure and swore his loyalty all over again.
During the Warring States period, each ninja clan kept its techniques secret. They wouldn't teach them to outsiders—not even the most basic Three Body Technique.
Senju Tobirama had been the first to introduce the master-and-apprentice system.
Once the Uchiha had established themselves in the Land of Whirlpools and recruited enough ninja clansmen and civilians, Uchiha Sora planned to open a Ninja Academy too.
Disliking someone and learning from them weren't mutually exclusive.
The four great nations all hated the treacherous Senju Tobirama, but whatever system he came up with, they were quicker than anyone to adopt it.
After arranging for the Fuma Clan to move to the Land of Whirlpools, Uchiha Sora and Shisui set off on their journey again.
"Are we not going back? The mission's already done, isn't it?"
Shisui propped his head up with one hand. "I kind of miss Itachi. I wonder how the little guy's doing, and whether he's gotten used to his new surroundings."
Uchiha Sora was a little conflicted about how to handle Uchiha Itachi, too.
Itachi and Shisui were as close as brothers, and Fugaku could still make use of him if he made the right choices. So they couldn't just execute Uchiha Itachi without giving him a chance.
It didn't feel right to punish him for a crime he hadn't committed.
But...
The massacre that would have happened on the night of the Nine-Tails still stuck like a thorn in Uchiha Sora's heart. He wasn't about to let it go lightly.
He wasn't a magnanimous person. To put it nicely, he never forgot a grudge... Though "never forgot a grudge" didn't sound like a good thing either.
Anyway...
You liked planning your little brother's life for him, didn't you? Then you could experience what it felt like to have your own life controlled.
Hopefully, like Fugaku, you'd make the right choice.
"Let's bring him along next time."
"The Fuma Clan alone isn't worth calling you out for."
"By now... it should be about time."
He lowered his voice. "We're going to the Land of Wind to capture a Tailed Beast!"
!!
Shisui's pupils shrank. "Just the two of us? How could we possibly pull that off?"
"Your Rayquaza might be strong enough to fight the Nine-Tails, but fighting one and capturing one are two different things. And how are we supposed to seal a calamity like that?"
"If we're capturing a Tailed Beast... shouldn't we at least bring the clan head?"
He'd experienced the night of the Nine-Tails himself. That kind of power was terrifying—it was beyond anything a ninja could understand!
"Don't assume every Tailed Beast is as strong as the Nine-Tails."
Uchiha Sora glanced at him and said calmly, "Apart from the Nine-Tails and the Eight-Tails, there's a chance we can capture one if we work together."
"As for a vessel... they should have one ready already."
The Fuma Clan had just been a stop along the way. Uchiha Sora's real target was Gaara.
Tailed Beasts were important strategic weapons. Konoha had a summoning beast comparable to a Tailed Beast thanks to the Uchiha Clan, and Uchiha Sora knew exactly where things stood.
As the saying went, if your enemy thought you had a weapon of mass destruction, you'd better actually have one.
The easiest to get would naturally be the Seven-Tails in Takigakure. But Uchiha Sora didn't know what its situation was. If it hadn't been sealed inside a Jinchūriki yet, a flying Tailed Beast would be hard to deal with.
The Land of Earth and the Land of Lightning were out of the question. Their Jinchūriki were already capable fighters.
The Land of Water was a deep pool, and Uchiha Sora didn't want to run into Obito just yet. Kamui was still far too overpowered.
After weighing the options, Shukaku of the Land of Wind seemed the most suitable.
Shukaku of the Sand was strong. In Uchiha Sora's view, the One-Tail ranked among the stronger Tailed Beasts. In the desert, even the Eight-Tails might not be able to beat him.
Gaara was a suitable Jinchūriki. Even with such a shoddy seal, he could keep Shukaku from going on a rampage whenever he pleased.
If he hadn't ended up with a lunatic like Rasa for a father, he might have reconciled with the Tailed Beast much sooner.
Compared to that horrible family, little Gaara would love the Uchiha Clan, a place full of love. Uchiha Sora didn't feel the slightest bit guilty about taking a child away.
In a few years...
They could look for people like Kimimaro, too. Anyway, they just had to trust Lord Orochimaru's talent-spotting standards.
Shisui hesitated, but ultimately chose to trust Uchiha Sora.
If he said they could do it... then they probably could.
--
A few days later, the greenery of the mountains faded, and the two of them entered a land of yellow sand.
The Land of Wind was the largest of the Five Great Nations, but it had the smallest area that could actually be used.
The journey from the border to Sunagakure was still a long one.
As they traveled, the two discussed their ninjutsu. With Ryuzuki's boost, Uchiha Sora had managed to make some initial progress developing Fire Style Chakra Mode.
This mode greatly increased the power of Fire Style Ninjutsu, and also provided a certain boost to strength and speed.
Its drawback was that it sacrificed stealth. On an infiltration mission, if a huge fireball suddenly appeared, everyone would see it.
But if you killed all the witnesses, that still counted as a perfect infiltration. It wasn't much of a drawback.
Kanzaki Kaori was a jutsu he had developed in the heat of battle.
At the time, Mifune's attacks had been so relentless that he'd thought of the Hyuga's Rotation.
The principle was to release a large amount of chakra from the body's pressure points, then spin rapidly like a top to create an all-around defense.
Fire Style Chakra Mode already cloaked the body in chakra. Spinning while using it really could achieve something similar...
But it was just too ugly.
It wasted a huge amount of chakra just to make a turtle shell?
That went completely against Uchiha Sora's aesthetic for ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu, after all, was supposed to be a killing art brimming with violent beauty!
Kanzaki Kaori was a devastating Fire Style technique that used the rotational momentum of the user and their blade to unleash a massive burst of Fire Style chakra all at once, with the user at its center!
The first time Uchiha Sora used it, he felt the flames streaking through every pore, scorching him as they went.
To pull it off, he had to stay calm through the pain and regulate the rate of chakra output.
Actually...
Just maintaining Fire Style Chakra Mode was enough to make him feel as though flames were burning him alive.
The flames simply didn't hurt his body. That didn't mean he couldn't feel their heat.
Nor could he shut off his sense of pain. Pain played an important role in battle, after all.
After hearing Uchiha Sora's explanation, Shisui shook his head.
"That's way too hard. I'm scared of pain. Is there an easier way?"
Uchiha Sora rubbed his chin and said gravely, "I'll think about it. Maybe I can come up with a simpler version that doesn't hurt as much."
"How's your Yin Fire coming along?"
Shisui rolled his eyes. "It's only been a few days. I'm not a monster like you. I haven't even figured out the rough outline yet."
"And no matter how well it works, I absolutely refuse to call it Yin Fire. It sounds terrible!"
After they'd walked a little farther, both of them abruptly stopped.
Amid the scorching wind and sand, the air seemed to have turned a little colder.
A tall, slender figure in a black cloak emerged from the sandstorm, radiating a dark, ominous aura.
Looking at those two exquisite Sharingan, the pale-faced man smiled faintly.
"There's no point hiding in front of those eyes."
"First time meeting you, Sora-kun..."
"I'm Orochimaru."
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