Come With Me to the Battlefield

"What a bountiful harvest for a single trip out," Shin said with a smile as he pulled his Heaven Cloud Sword from the Blood Ninja's body.

Taking advantage of the smoke screen created by the collision of their ninjutsu, he had used a Shadow Clone, handing his Heaven Cloud Sword to the clone and having it disguise itself to charge from the front, while he himself used the Flying Thunder God to teleport behind the enemy.

A ninjutsu like the Shadow Clone, which had yet to make its appearance, was naturally not something the opponent would have accounted for, and he had fallen into the trap without a shred of suspense. Shin couldn't help but sigh; information really could kill. If this were decades later, any jonin would subconsciously consider the possibility of a Shadow Clone when dueling an opponent.

He rummaged through the ninja tool pouch at the Blood Ninja's waist, but finding only common Wu Ku and shuriken, Shin lost interest and began searching the man's body instead.

"A scroll for a Blood Secret Technique?"

He pulled two scrolls from the man's robes. Opening the first, he found it contained the cultivation methods for a Blood Secret Technique.

So-called secret techniques were actually a type of ninjutsu; they did not belong to the Kekkei Shinkai. They were simply called secret techniques because their dissemination was kept hidden, they were mostly passed down within families, and their cultivation methods were unique. Shinerally, their power was greater than the ninjutsu circulating in the outside world.

There were many such family secret techniques in the original story, such as the Aburame Clan's insect control technique, which involved raising insects within one's own body, feeding them with chakra year after year until the insects became as extensions of one's own arms, serving various purposes.

Then there was the Inuzuka Clan, who raised ninja dogs from a young age, never separating from them, and infused their own chakra into the dogs through special methods until they reached a state where human and dog were as one—a truly terrifying prospect.

The Blood Secret Technique in Shin's hands used a special method to mix chakra into the blood. Through years of cultivation, one could eventually control the flow of blood throughout the entire body at will. The power of these techniques was immense; the scroll recorded over a dozen of them, and the final one was an S-rank secret technique called Blood Release: Blood Regeneration. According to the description, as long as one-tenth of the body's blood remained, one could survive even if their heart were pierced or their head severed.

Shin looked down at the Blood Ninja; clearly, the man had not mastered this technique.

He tucked the Blood Secret Technique into his robes, thinking to himself, "Not bad at all!" He then opened the second scroll.

This scroll was not a secret technique, but proper Earth Release, recording three types: "Earth Release: Earth Flow Ocean," "Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome," and "Earth Release: Earth Stone Explosion!" One B-rank, two A-ranks.

He tucked this scroll away as well. A further search yielded nothing else of use. He searched Chiba Tengfei's body, but aside from some money and ninja tools, there was no gain; there were no Chiba family secret techniques. That made sense, though—aside from rogue ninjas like the Blood Ninja, most family ninjas would not carry ninjutsu scrolls on their person.

He used the Heaven Cloud Sword to decapitate the Blood Ninja, then tore off a piece of the man's clothing to wrap the head; he would need this to turn in the mission upon returning to the clan. Although his main goal had been the points, no one would complain about extra rewards.

On the way back, Shin kept wondering whether he should trade these scrolls to the system for points. He eventually resisted the urge; the system's buy-back price was far too stingy, and since he wasn't currently desperate for points, there was no need to waste them like that.

"The power of the Blood Secret Technique is quite good. Ninjutsu is a rare resource right now. If I want to build my own faction, ninjutsu is indispensable, so I'd better keep them. As for the Earth Release, I'll need to cultivate it once I exchange for the Earth attribute later, so this saves me the trouble of trading for them."

Back at the clan, when he tossed the Blood Ninja's head to the one-eyed elder, it truly gave the old man a fright.

Opening the package and staring in shock at the head of the Blood Ninja, the elder looked at Shin as if he were a monster, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

If an Uchiha jonin had accepted this mission, the elder wouldn't have shown any surprise, and if three or more Uchiha special jonin who had awakened the Sharingan had joined forces, he could have barely accepted it.

But for it to be a child who was merely a special jonin—this had already overturned his common sense.

"Are you not going to settle the mission?"

In the end, Shin grew impatient and prompted him.

The one-eyed elder snapped out of his daze, hurriedly recording the mission and verifying the identity of the head. When he finally handed the bounty to Shin, he couldn't help but sigh: "I originally thought you were just a genius rarely seen in our clan in a century. Now it seems you are likely the most monstrous existence in our clan's history."

Shin smiled without a word, took the bounty, counted it, and turned to leave.

Exiting the mission hall and walking through the streets of the Uchiha compound, his gaze swept lightly over his surroundings. The atmosphere was clearly more tense than when he had left; mountains of supplies were already being transported toward the border between the Senju and the Hyuga.

The Uchiha clan was like a war machine, having completed its preparations in the shortest possible time. In two more days, they would be able to officially march to war.

Returning home, the little maid was naturally exceptionally happy, serving him diligently. Shin let her be; this trip to the northwestern edge of the Land of Fire had taken five days, and living in the open, the days had indeed been a bit arduous.

Soaking in the prepared warm water, Shin closed his eyes comfortably, letting the little maid give him a full-body massage; she even knew to add some strength now.

He asked casually about the situation in the clan after he had left.

"Young Master Madara came by yesterday to ask if Master had returned. Everything else is the same as usual."

Shin nodded and said nothing more. After bathing, he handed the mission bounty to the little maid for safekeeping. When she took the money bag, her eyes lit up, and she wouldn't let go for anything.

"The Uchiha clan is truly wealthy and imposing. This Blood Ninja was also a jonin, and the Kigen family's offer of eighty thousand in bounty is already far higher than the average price during the Warring States period. Yet at the last clan meeting, Uchiha Tajima offered one hundred thousand for every Hyuga jonin. Truly, the world of the super-rich is beyond my understanding."

He sat down, holding a cup of light tea, chatting idly with the little maid, enjoying a rare moment of peace.

Suddenly, the room door was slammed open, and Uchiha Madara strode in, causing Shin to frown deeply.

This guy was well-informed; I had only just returned, and he had already received the news.

"Shin, how about you come to the battlefield with me!" Uchiha Madara's first words upon entering were full of dominance. Shin nearly spat out the tea in his mouth, looking at him with a strange expression.

Has this guy been kicked in the head by a donkey? That was absolutely the most genuine thought in Shin's mind at that moment.