The First Mission

No one spoke to hold Uchiha Yutaka back as he left; it was the punishment he deserved, and no one was willing to waste their breath on him.

Compared to this matter, the others were clearly more concerned with the vacancy of the elder positions, such as this man.

Uchiha Zhan stood up directly and said, "Clan Head, Uchiha Yutaka has been punished, but it would be best to decide on candidates for the three elder positions soon."

Uchiha Tajima fell silent for a moment, then waved his hand to signal him to sit down, saying indifferently, "The matter of the elders requires caution; we shall discuss it later."

Unlike these peak jonin eyeing the elder positions, he, as the Clan Head, naturally had his own thoughts. The three elders of the Uchiha Clan held immense power; sometimes, if they reached a consensus, they could even override the Clan Head's decisions. Uchiha Tajima had suffered such setbacks several times after taking office, and he harbored quite a bit of resentment. This was precisely why he had not appointed new elders since the two previous ones were killed in an ambush.

Now that he had finally managed to remove the last elder and truly held the reins of power, someone had the audacity to jump out and suggest appointing new ones—what a joke.

Of course, he knew that he could delay this for a while, but not forever; the elder positions would eventually have to be filled, but he would put it off for as long as he possibly could.

Uchiha Zhan wanted to say something more, but after a glare from Tajima, he swallowed his words, sat down with a look of dissatisfaction, and said nothing more.

Uchiha Tajima changed the subject and began to issue orders, such as the deployment of defenses against the Senju Clan, the stance toward other ninja clans, and the distribution of several emergency missions. Finally, with a cold expression, he said, "The Hyuga Clan must pay the price. We will let the entire Warring States period know the consequences of offending the Uchiha Clan."

All the ninjas present roared in agreement, each clenching their fists with eyes burning with rage.

In the blood of the Uchiha family, a sense of inexplicable arrogance flowed naturally. They looked down upon other families in the ninja world; apart from their old rivals, the Senju, they viewed all other clans as inferior, unworthy of being their opponents.

Yet, it was precisely such an inferior clan that had dared to ambush them while they were fighting the Senju, and they had nearly succeeded. If not for the emergence of two monsters in the new generation, the consequences would have been unthinkable.

This was an absolute provocation, and the other party must be made to pay in blood.

Just as their discussion grew heated, a black shadow leaped into the hall, arrived beside Uchiha Tajima, handed him a secret report, and vanished in an instant.

Shin frowned slightly. The person who had just entered had completely suppressed their aura, dressed in a black tight-fitting suit with their face covered—a traditional ninja attire. Upon entering, they ignored everyone present and left immediately after handing the letter to Uchiha Tajima.

"That is my father's personal secret ninja. I once happened to pass by my father's room and saw them, but they usually do not appear before the clansmen. It is strange that they have broken protocol today," Madara whispered, perhaps noticing Shin's confusion.

Shin narrowed his eyes. Personal secret ninja? He had never heard of such a thing before. It seemed there were many things about the Uchiha Clan that he still did not know.

Uchiha Tajima opened the secret report and read it quietly. He knew that his secret ninjas would not appear in public unless there were special circumstances.

His expression grew worse the more he read, and the anger in his eyes intensified. Finally, he slapped the report onto the table with a loud bang and roared, "Damn the Hyuga! They have abandoned their ancestors' dignity. To save their own lives, they have actually stooped to such shameless behavior!"

The people below did not know what had happened and looked at him in confusion.

Uchiha Tajima shouted angrily, "This is the latest news from the front line. The Hyuga Clan has requested reinforcements from the Senju and has voluntarily become a vassal clan to the Senju. Bah, it is disgraceful; they truly are an inferior clan."

The crowd was stunned; they never would have expected such news.

One must know that a vassal clan and an alliance are two completely different things. An alliance, regardless of who is stronger or weaker, is a treaty of equality where both sides hold the same status.

But becoming a vassal clan is different; it is a complete act of submission. From now on, whenever the clan heads meet, they will be a step below the other. They must also pay tribute to the other side by handing over a quarter of their clan's mineral resources and assets every year. Their status is low, and generally, no clan would be willing to become a vassal to another unless they were at their wit's end.

The Hyuga Clan was one of the major clans of the Warring States period. It could be said that apart from the two strongest clans, the Senju and the Uchiha, they belonged to the top tier of powerful clans. That they would bow to the Senju was something no one had imagined before today.

For a time, the entire hall was filled with curses directed at the Hyuga Clan. How could they even dare to call themselves one of the three great ocular arts clans? It was essentially dragging down the Uchiha Clan's reputation by association; such a clan wasn't even fit to carry their shoes.

Shin watched from the sidelines. He had a clear understanding of his own position: he was young and his strength was low. Even if he spoke, it would carry little weight and would likely be ignored. Since that was the case, it was better to remain silent. Besides, with his system, he would likely become a Kage-level powerhouse in a few years anyway.

After mocking the Hyuga for a while, someone asked Uchiha Tajima, "Clan Head, what should we do now? Are we still going to war with the Hyuga Clan?"

"Quiet!"

At Uchiha Tajima's command, everyone immediately fell silent and turned to look at him.

Tajima considered for a moment and said, "We retreated in a hurry, which led to the loss of the vast Kazama Valley region. That area originally separated the Hyuga and the Senju. Now that the Senju have seized it, the territories of the two clans have merged. If we rashly move against the Hyuga, the situation will not be favorable... Hmph, for now, we will focus all our efforts on defending against the Senju Clan. We must stabilize the situation first; it will not be too late to deal with the Hyuga Clan later."

Following Tajima's words, the others bowed their heads in agreement.

Afterward, Uchiha Tajima stopped talking about the two clans and said, "Now, let us talk about something happy. On the night the Hyuga ambushed us, two geniuses emerged from our clan. They joined forces to kill the enemy's jonin; otherwise, the consequences would have been truly unthinkable. Now, let us cheer for these two geniuses: Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Shin!"

The group of jonin immediately parted, surrounding Madara and Shin, and began to praise them loudly. Their praise was sincere; in the Warring States era, nothing was more joyous than the emergence of geniuses in the next generation of one's own clan.

Shin looked at them, trying his best to keep his expression plain, but he was secretly delighted. The feeling of being praised was never a bad thing.

Madara, on the other hand, held his head high with a proud, arrogant expression.

"Very well, I now officially announce that Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Shin are recognized as Special Jonin of the Uchiha Clan. Each of you is rewarded with one A-rank ninjutsu. You may go to the Uchiha Clan's ancestral hall later to learn them. I have already informed the jonin guarding the hall; you may enter directly," Uchiha Tajima announced.

Shin felt a surge of joy; he had not expected such a reward. He didn't care much for the title of Special Jonin, but the Uchiha family's ninjutsu collection certainly contained many high-quality techniques.

Uchiha Tajima added, "Shin, after you finish learning your ninjutsu, make a trip to the Fujiwara Mine. There have been several groups of bandits acting up there recently; go and take care of them."

Shin was slightly taken aback, looked at Uchiha Tajima's face, and nodded.