After the Battle

Just as Uchiha Tajima had expected...

After giving it some thought, Hagoromo Ryozo and Yamanaka Makoto both agreed to Uchiha Tajima's proposal to form an alliance.

However, there was a lot to take care of at the moment: gathering the dead, treating the wounded, and cleaning up the battlefield.

So Hagoromo Ryozo, Yamanaka Makoto, and Uchiha Tajima agreed to discuss the details of the alliance at the Uchiha Clan compound once everything had been dealt with.

Uchiha Tajima nodded in satisfaction.

As for the standard weapons and equipment that had been under escort to the Land of Iron, along with the captured Fire Temple ninja monks, the Uchiha Clan would hold on to all of them for now and take them back to their compound.

Uchiha Tajima believed that if the Daimyo of the Land of Fire had no intention of breaking with them, he would surely send someone to negotiate with the Uchiha Clan.

Hagoromo Ryozo and Yamanaka Makoto weren't worried at all that the Uchiha Clan might keep the enormous stockpile of standard weapons and equipment for themselves.

If Uchiha Tajima dared to do that, the Uchiha Clan would become everyone's target.

Not only would the Daimyo of the Land of Fire and the Senju Clan refuse to let the Uchiha Clan get away with it, but their own Hagoromo Clan and the Ino-Shika-Cho Clans wouldn't let the Uchiha Clan have an easy time either.

So Uchiha Tajima would never be so foolish. He was an ambitious man, too.

Half a day later, the Great Canyon that had served as the battlefield finally grew quiet again.

After gathering the dead, tending to the wounded, and cleaning up the battlefield, Hagoromo Ryozo and Yamanaka Makoto said their goodbyes to Uchiha Tajima.

Then each of them led their own team of ninja away.

Likewise, Uchiha Tajima had achieved everything he'd set out to do that day, and had no regrets. He led the Uchiha Clan's ninja team back toward their compound.

On the way home, Uchiha Shin privately sought out Uchiha Tajima...

Uchiha Shin asked Uchiha Tajima to help him interrogate the Fire Temple ninja monks and extract the training method for the Fire Temple's secret Talent of the Immortal Clan.

After hearing him out, Uchiha Tajima thought it over and agreed without much hesitation.

As for what the Fire Temple thought?

Sorry, the Uchiha Clan had never needed to consider anyone else's wishes—least of all those of captured Fire Temple ninja monks.

Since the Uchiha Clan's ninja were escorting the Fire Temple prisoners and the weapons and equipment back with them, they made slow progress.

After traveling for two and a half days, the Uchiha Clan's team finally arrived safely at their compound by dusk.

After Uchiha Tajima assigned a place and guards for the Fire Temple prisoners and the standard weapons and equipment, he hurried straight to the Uchiha Clan cemetery.

Although the Uchiha Clan hadn't lost any of its mid- or high-level fighters this time, several Genin had still been killed.

Since they had died for the clan, the clan had to honor their sacrifice.

With clan leader Uchiha Tajima presiding over the ceremony, the fallen Genin were soon laid to rest according to Uchiha Clan custom.

Uchiha Hana crouched in front of Uchiha Sarina's grave, once again crying her eyes out.

Watching her like this, Uchiha Shin shook his head slightly. Hana always seemed carefree and scatterbrained, but she was grieving so deeply.

In this era, weren't all ninja supposed to suppress their emotions, regardless of age or gender?

Why was Hana so open about her feelings for Sarina?

Uchiha Shin didn't understand. Perhaps that was the difference between men and women.

After returning to the compound, everything went back to normal.

Uchiha Shin's daily routine was simple: looking after his younger brother and training as a ninja, going back and forth between the two.

During this mission, he'd nearly been killed when he encountered an elite Chunin.

If Uchiha Goichi hadn't arrived in time to save him, the consequences would have been dire.

So improving his own strength became Uchiha Shin's most pressing concern.

Uchiha Shin took stock of his abilities...

His strength had essentially reached the peak of an elite Genin. He still needed a breakthrough to become a Chunin.

Uchiha Shin also discovered that his Chakra reserves were far greater than those of other Uchiha Genin his age.

His Chakra reserves were already about on par with those of an ordinary Chunin.

He couldn't figure out why his Chakra reserves were so much greater than those of an ordinary Uchiha Genin.

After testing his Chakra, Uchiha Shin discovered that its nature was Wind and Fire.

He'd originally thought the Sharingan's dynamic vision and Chidori would make a perfect combination.

He'd even planned to borrow some materials on Lightning Release techniques from the archives...

He wondered if he could recreate Kakashi's Lightning Release: Chidori from Naruto, based on what he knew of the technique from his previous life.

Who would have thought his Chakra natures would be Wind and Fire?

Everyone knew the Uchiha Clan excelled at Fire Release.

Although his Chakra reserves were already on par with those of an ordinary Chunin, there were some secret Fire Release techniques of the Uchiha Clan that he couldn't learn yet, even if he wanted to.

He didn't have enough Chakra!

For example, Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique. This technique was said to be an A-rank Fire Release jutsu.

In Naruto, the reanimated Uchiha Madara summoned by Yakushi Kabuto once used this Fire Release technique to severely injure the Five Kage with a single attack.

And Fire Style: Dragon Flame Song Technique was quite difficult to learn.

After all, it involved both changing Chakra's nature and changing its form. It was no easier than learning Wind Style: Rasenshuriken from scratch.

More importantly, with his current Chakra reserves, he couldn't even muster enough to cast it once, let alone learn it.

As for the other B-rank Fire Release techniques of the Uchiha Clan—such as Fire Style: Great Dragon Fire Technique, Fire Style: Majestic Destroyer Flame, Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation Technique, and Fire Dragon Flame Bullet—

They all consumed enormous amounts of Chakra!

He could learn them, but with the same Chakra reserves as an ordinary Chunin, Uchiha Shin probably wouldn't be able to use them more than a few times in battle.

"Do I really have to make a Rasengan?"

The idea suddenly popped into Uchiha Shin's head.

After all, anyone who'd read Naruto knew Asura could make Rasengan, and Uzumaki Naruto could, too.

The best thing about the Rasengan was that it required no Hand Seals and used far less Chakra than other techniques of the same rank.

Most importantly, Uchiha Shin had a clear idea of how to develop the technique further.

True, without Sage Mode, Wind Style: Rasenshuriken would damage the arm's meridians and could even leave him crippled—but its power was tremendous.

Later on, it could even be combined with the Tailed Beasts' unique Chakra natures to launch a fusion attack.

At this thought, Uchiha Shin felt conflicted...

"Forget it. I'll focus on pushing my physical fitness to its limits first!"

"That way, whether I train in Taijutsu or other techniques, it'll do me good."

Having made up his mind, Uchiha Shin prepared to head to the training ground and start with ten thousand straight punches, ten thousand kicks, and then...

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