The Uchiha's Flash of Shin

Chiyo Hotaru naturally did not change her surname to Uchiha. Regarding surnames, the Uchiha, like other great clans in the ninja world, possessed an inexplicable pride and would never casually bestow it upon outsiders unless that person married into the clan.

For the past few days, Shin had been quietly recuperating in his room, with everything attended to by Chiyo Hotaru. The young girl was surprisingly diligent; as long as it was something Shin requested, she would do her utmost to fulfill it.

Visitors coming to check on his condition were endless. For instance, several Uchiha jonin with whom he had previously had no interaction came by. After arriving, they would make small talk, saying things like how they had long seen that Shin was a supreme genius, that he had performed a great service for the clan this time, and that he should continue to work hard in the future, which left Shin feeling incredibly annoyed.

The arrival of Uchiha Izuna, however, left Shin somewhat surprised, yet it was within reason.

The two did not say much; it was mostly Izuna telling him about Uchiha Madara's situation. Although he did not say it explicitly, Shin knew that from now on, Izuna would likely no longer be at odds with him.

During their casual chat, when the topic turned to the casualties of this operation, Izuna's expression could not help but dim. Of the eighty-seven genin children, forty had died. Aside from himself and Izuna, none of Madara's other three brothers had been spared.

Uchiha Tajima had returned. Upon receiving news that the clan had been ambushed, he had rushed back with his men, abandoning the front lines entirely. The two-year war between the three clans had temporarily come to an end, with each side suffering heavy losses. The Uchiha clan's losses were relatively higher, so it could be considered a defeat.

The Third Elder, Uchiha Yutaka, had been severely scolded and stripped of his position as Third Elder, becoming an ordinary jonin to atone for his crimes.

Finally, as Izuna left, he dropped a parting remark: "I will catch up to you and Big Brother," before walking away.

To this, Shin merely smiled. A boy living in a dream.

"Little Hotaru."

"What are your orders, Lord Shin?"

"I'm so tired. From now on, turn away all visitors and just say I need to rest and recover in peace."

"Yes."

Finally finding some peace, Shin let out a long breath. Don't they know I'm still a wounded patient? Where would I find the energy to waste words on them?

Once he settled down, Shin liked to ponder things. Before he possessed sufficient strength, analyzing the situation was always for the best.

If I'm not mistaken, there should have been such an ambush in the original story. Aside from Izuna, all of Madara's brothers, including myself, died in this incident. Perhaps even more people died.

When Shin was watching the original story, he had always had a doubt: during the Warring States period, the Uchiha and Senju were called the two strongest clans in the world, with comparable strength, having fought each other for hundreds of years.

But why, by the time Uchiha Madara took over as clan head, was the Uchiha clan gradually suppressed by the Senju, and eventually completely defeated by them?

No matter how nicely it was phrased—that the two clans cast aside their grievances and joined hands to establish Konoha for the sake of world peace—it could not change the fact that the Uchiha clan had been defeated in the original story. The Senju clan had proposed the alliance from a position of victory, which was why the Uchiha clan's status in Konoha was below the Senju's after its founding.

It wasn't that the Uchiha didn't fight; it was that they couldn't win.

Originally, Shin thought it was because Senju Hashirama was too formidable, but now it didn't seem so. While Senju Hashirama was indeed the God of Shinobi and the reincarnation of Asura, Uchiha Madara was no slouch either. In the original story, every time the two fought, there was never an instance where a winner was decided in a short time; fighting for an entire day was a common occurrence.

With their high-end combat power being basically the same, the most likely situation was a lack of mid-tier strength, compounded by this ambush from the Hyuga.

If Shin's guess was correct, the ambush in the original story had likely caused heavy casualties among the Uchiha of Madara's generation, leading to a gap in successors. That was why, when Madara became clan head, the overall strength comparison with the Senju clan had fallen into a disadvantage, making their defeat unsurprising.

Calculating it this way, because I was here yesterday, I actually helped the Uchiha preserve their new generation of vital strength. Giving me only a little maid—isn't that a bit stingy?

Shin's mind wandered aimlessly. Since he couldn't move, this was the only way to pass the time.

Right, I seem to have killed the enemy jonin and completed the mission at the time, earning quite a few points. Let me check quickly.

Opening the system interface, a dazzling array of exchangeable items appeared before Shin's eyes. Looking at the Rinnegan, which required one million points, he swallowed hard and could only stare helplessly.

With a thought, he scrolled down through the items. Seeing his ten thousand points, he felt a bit smug; he could finally consider himself free from the impoverished masses.

Ten thousand points were enough to exchange for an S-rank ninjutsu. Looking at the familiar names of the techniques before him, he felt a surge of excitement.

"Sage Art: Goemon, Rank S, requires 10,000 points."

"Wind Style: Rasenshuriken, Rank S, requires 10,000 points."

"Wind Style: Ultra-Big Ball Rasenshuriken, Rank S, requires 10,000 points."

"Summoning: Quintuple Rashomon, Rank S, requires 10,000 points."

"Lightning Style: Chidori, Rank S, requires 10,000 points."

"Creation Rebirth, Strength of a Hundred Technique, One's Own Life Reincarnation, White Secret Technique: Chikamatsu's Ten Puppets, Yin Seal, Four Symbols Seal, Eight Trigrams Seal, Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change..."

One S-rank ninjutsu after another flashed before his eyes, making Shin incredibly envious. Unfortunately, he only had enough points to exchange for one, which was exactly what made him so conflicted.

After thinking for a while, Shin suddenly thought of a certain ninjutsu and silently said in his heart: "System, exchange for Amaterasu."

Amaterasu was a Mangekyo Sharingan dojutsu, classified as an S-rank Fire Style in the original story, and could only be released by Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke.

According to Shin's estimation, even if he awakened the Mangekyo in the future, the chance of his dojutsu being Amaterasu was very small. It was better to exchange for it now. Just thinking about releasing Amaterasu with his Three-Tomoe Sharingan made him a little excited.

"Amaterasu, Rank S, requires 10,000 points. Cannot be exchanged; this technique requires the possession of the Mangekyo Sharingan first."

"What a scam of a system..."

"However, given that the host possesses the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, you may spend an additional 5,000 points to force an exchange. Insufficient points; cannot exchange."

...Not only a scam, but black-hearted too. Shin added silently. However, at least he now knew that Mangekyo dojutsu could be exchanged for by spending an extra five thousand points, which counted as a gain.

Following this logic, Wind Style: Rasenshuriken cannot be exchanged either, because I don't have the Wind nature...

Shin only had a single Fire nature and could not practice ninjutsu of other natures. After thinking about it, he switched the system screen. Other elemental exchanges required two thousand points each. There were also Sage Mode, Cursed Seal, and so on; Sage Mode required 50,000 points.

Originally, Shin thought he had escaped the impoverished class, but looking at it now, he was still a pauper.

Forget it, I won't think about these. I should just find an S-rank ninjutsu to exchange for. I have the Rasengan, which is an A-rank ninjutsu, so my attack power is sufficient. But when encountering opponents with high speed, it's hard to hit them. In that case, I need to exchange for a ninjutsu to make up for this flaw.

Shin kept thinking, and suddenly his eyes lit up as he thought of a ninjutsu. This technique was the golden combination paired with the Rasengan in the original story; it could even be said that the Rasengan was created to complement this very technique.

"System, exchange for the Flying Thunder God Technique!" Shin said with a hint of excitement in his heart. It has to be exchangeable, it must be!

"Flying Thunder God Technique, Rank S, requires 10,000 points!"

The system's voice came through calmly, and a warm current appeared in Shin's body. His 10,000 points instantly became 0.

Shin, however, felt no heartache; he was incredibly happy. He finally possessed a true trump card. With the Flying Thunder God paired with the Rasengan, he could already imagine the scene of the Uchiha's "Flash of Shin" resounding throughout the Warring States period.