Proactively Accepting the Mission

Looking at his 13,000 points, Shin felt a pang of heartache; he should have had 14,000.

The system had awarded 1,000 points for the mission to lure out the mastermind, and another 3,000 for the second-stage escape mission, totaling 4,000 in rewards.

Shin had personally taken out five of the enemy's chunin, which should have netted him 5,000 points, but the chunin he had intended to finish off with an Explosive Tag was cut down by one of his own clan's elite jonin, causing him to lose out on 1,000 points.

Later, after using the Flying Thunder God to escape, he killed an enemy jonin, earning 5,000 points, bringing his total to 13,000.

Shin had long since realized that while this amount of points seemed substantial, it didn't go far at all; it was barely enough for one S-rank ninjutsu, and what remained wouldn't even cover an A-rank technique.

Regarding his spending, Shin fell into a long contemplation. Now that he possessed the Flying Thunder God, he was effectively invincible when it came to pursuit or escape. In terms of offense, the Rasengan was barely sufficient. As for genjutsu, he lacked anything high-quality; both Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami required 15,000 points due to his current status of only having a Three Tomoe Sharingan, and Kotoamatsukami even had a ten-year cooldown, which was utterly ridiculous.

As for taijutsu, he could exchange for the Eight Inner Gates, but considering his own physique and recalling the miserable state of Rock Lee in the original work after training from childhood and only opening three gates, he silently pushed that thought to the back of his mind. The Eight Inner Gates could wait until after he had exchanged for a Sage Body.

After thinking for a while longer, he felt the Big Ball Rasengan was unnecessary; with his current chakra control and careful practice, he should be able to master it on his own before long.

"System, exchange for Shadow Clone."

"Shadow Clone, B-rank, requires 1,000 points. Confirm exchange?"

"Confirm."

Watching his points drop by 1,000, Shin felt a warm current flow through his body, knowing he had mastered the Shadow Clone.

The Shadow Clone was a highly practical B-rank ninjutsu created by the Second Hokage; it was an essential technique for home life, travel, and killing enemies.

In the era of the Five Great Nations decades later, if you were a ninja who couldn't use Shadow Clone, you would be too embarrassed to even greet others.

In the original work, Naruto was mocked by countless people for only knowing two moves: the Rasengan and the Multi Shadow Clone; the reality was more or less the same.

Yet, Naruto relied on these two moves to defeat powerful opponents one after another, and even if one accounted for his protagonist halo, it showed just how formidable these two techniques were.

Of course, Naruto used the Multi Shadow Clone, which was an A-rank ninjutsu and had massive chakra requirements. While Shin was confident in his own chakra reserves, he didn't believe he could reach Naruto's monstrous level.

According to his own estimates, if based on the data from the original work, his chakra level should be around 7—the kind that was plentiful but still required careful management, preventing him from mindlessly spamming ninjutsu.

He had no intention of exchanging for a monstrous technique like the Multi Shadow Clone.

With 12,000 left, he spent 2,000 to exchange for the wind affinity, making him a dual-affinity user of wind and fire, though it was a pity that the Uchiha clan had almost no wind-style ninjutsu.

As for the remaining 10,000 points, Shin decided to keep them for now. His own strength wasn't high enough yet, and having too many ninjutsu would only lead to a lack of mastery. Furthermore, keeping some points had its benefits; it would prevent the system from acting up and issuing missions that forced him into traps, and if it did, he would at least have points to spare for deductions.

Moreover, 15,000 points could exchange for a Mangekyo Sharingan ability, which was something he found very tempting.

Opening his eyes, he didn't know how much time had passed. The little maid was still standing on his back. He smiled slightly and said, "Alright, go to sleep."

The little maid jumped down, bowed to him, and said, "Master, good night." She then left Shin's room.

Left alone in the room, starlight spilled in from the window. Looking up, the bright moonlight was accompanied by a sky full of stars, a brilliance he had never seen in his previous life, truly breathtaking.

Gazing at this starry sky, Shin's mind calmed down.

Uchiha Tajima no longer trusts me. There is no guarantee this incident won't happen again. If I reveal new abilities every time, it will only deepen his suspicion. Ultimately, it comes down to my lack of strength. If I had Kage-level strength now, I could plan to find an opportunity to kill him, or at the very least, stand on equal footing. It seems increasing my strength is the priority. I cannot stay in the clan much longer. Starting tomorrow, I will actively take on missions and go out to hunt ninjas from other clans to accumulate points.

I also need to step up my taijutsu training; the Flying Thunder God is best utilized when paired with strong taijutsu.

Also, should I start building my own faction? The Uchiha clan was able to betray Madara in the original work, and they might not be reliable even after Konoha is established.

Thoughts swirled in his mind, tangled and complex, but one thing was clear: he had to increase his strength. After all, the Warring States period was a place where might made right.

Without realizing it, Shin drifted off to sleep. The night passed without incident, and he woke up on time the next morning.

After washing up under the little maid's service and eating breakfast, he headed out. Before leaving, he told the little maid he might be taking on some missions and would be gone for two or three days, instructing her to look after the house.

Seeing the Heaven Cloud Sword still at the door as he left, he decided to take it with him. He figured that if he encountered ninjas he could spar with, he would use taijutsu to cut them down directly, and only resort to ninjutsu if he truly couldn't win.

Taking advantage of the early hour, he went to the training grounds. Not many people had arrived yet. After practicing taijutsu for a while, Uchiha children began to arrive one after another. Seeing him there, they immediately swarmed him. Shin guided them through some ninjutsu before leaving before the crowd grew too large.

Even in the morning, various ninjas were moving through the clan, mobilizing supplies. There was a faint sense of an impending storm; Shin knew this was the precursor to the war against the Hyuga.

However, he had no intention of participating in this war. His lack of strength was one reason, and the fact that he had lost Uchiha Tajima's trust was another; Shin was not the type to lower himself to curry favor.

Stepping into the Uchiha mission hall, he looked up. At this hour, the hall was empty. The floor was paved with solid slabs of bluestone, and along the walls on both sides stood three load-bearing stone pillars, their color a greenish-red, each engraved with the Uchiha clan crest.

Shin searched around and saw the clan elders responsible for issuing missions sitting behind tables. There was one every thirty paces, nine in total. They were of varying ages, but they all shared one thing in common: they were all disabled.

They were all clan ninjas who had been injured on the battlefield; they had survived, but could no longer serve as active ninjas, so the clan arranged for them to issue and settle missions, making the best use of their remaining utility.

In this Warring States era, as a major clan in the ninja world, the Uchiha received countless requests every day. The types of missions varied greatly: some requested them as bodyguards, some for safe escort, some for assassinations, and others for wiping out bandits.

Shin walked up to the table of one of the elders and asked, "Are there any missions available?"