Jonin!

Uchiha Shingen's gaze settled on the Sharingan and Chakra.

For a moment, he hesitated.

Chakra was one of a ninja's most essential abilities.

Even when using the same jutsu, the one that consumed more Chakra would also pack more power.

It could also completely transform one's endurance.

The Sharingan, meanwhile, was the Uchiha clan's foundation and one of the strongest Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi World.

Uchiha Shingen's Sharingan was already at the Two-Tomoe stage. Another upgrade would most likely bring it to the Three-Tomoe level.

That was practically a direct ticket to becoming a Jonin.

After a brief moment of thought, Uchiha Shingen focused on the Sharingan.

At level four, his Chakra reserves were already quite substantial for a Chunin.

In that case, it made sense to prioritize upgrading the Sharingan, which could bring about a qualitative leap in his combat strength.

With that in mind,

Uchiha Shingen made up his mind and reached out to tap the plus sign beside the Sharingan.

His vision immediately blurred. His eyeballs grew warm and tingly, as if countless ants were crawling over them, making him want to touch them.

Uchiha Shingen forcibly suppressed the instinct.

Having upgraded his Sharingan before, he knew this sensation came from an increase in his ocular power and would do him no harm.

Even among the many Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi World, the Uchiha clan's Sharingan was an absolute outlier.

Unlike most Kekkei Genkai, the Sharingan changed in response to its user's emotions. The more intense the mental stimulus, the greater the increase in ocular power.

His predecessor had awakened the Sharingan during a mission after graduating, when they were ambushed by Iwagakure.

Every member of his squad except their Jonin leader, Inuzuka Gaku, and himself had died right before his eyes.

The intense mental shock had forced Uchiha Shingen, whose talent had never been remarkable, to awaken his Sharingan.

After that battle, Uchiha Shingen's squad disbanded. Rather than form a new squad with his other comrades, he joined the Konoha Military Police Force.

Before long,

the changes in Uchiha Shingen's eyes settled.

He slowly opened them.

Three crimson tomoe revolved around the pupils of his black eyes before finally settling into a triangular pattern.

"So this is... the world seen through the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?!"

An unprecedented sensation washed over him.

Uchiha Shingen raised his eyes and looked ahead. The Sharingan's already impressive perception had undergone an almost qualitative transformation upon reaching the Three-Tomoe stage.

His gaze swept over the leaves drifting outside the window, and he saw the insects crawling frantically across them.

He saw mosquitoes and flies darting past him, and could even make out their wings beating.

"Everything has slowed down!"

As soon as he said it, Uchiha Shingen realized that it wasn't everything else that had slowed down. His dynamic vision had simply become much sharper.

He looked down at his hand, every crease in his palm clearly visible.

"Dynamic vision is only one of the Sharingan's abilities."

Uchiha Shingen recalled what the clan elders had once told him:

"Among Konoha's two great ocular Kekkei Genkai..."

"Between the Byakugan and the Sharingan, the one more focused on perception isn't the Sharingan, but the Byakugan."

"The Sharingan is an eye more suited to jutsu!"

"As long as they have enough Chakra, can form Hand Seals quickly, and have mastered the corresponding Chakra Nature Transformation, a Sharingan user can even see through the jutsu their opponent is about to use and perform it faster."

"Few people can actually do that, though, and in most battles, there's little need for it."

"It's the kind of ability that's far more impressive to show off than it is useful in practice."

"After all, crushing your opponent with a jutsu you've mastered is much more efficient than copying theirs."

Feeling the changes in his eyes, Uchiha Shingen had initially wanted to test his abilities, but he changed his mind.

First, testing jutsu would inevitably make noise and risk drawing attention.

Ninjas who awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan at thirteen were rare even in Uchiha history.

If the Konoha Military Police Force found out, Uchiha Shingen's laid-back days would be over. Most likely, he'd be made captain of all of South District 4.

A higher position meant a bigger share of the blame.

Uchiha Shingen was very happy with his life as it was and had no desire to change it.

Second, he wanted to keep a trump card for turning the tables.

The Shinobi World was far from peaceful. The Second Shinobi World War had ended long ago, and tensions were gradually rising. No one could say when the Third Shinobi World War would begin.

Even if Uchiha Shingen managed to stay in the Police Force when the time came, he would still have to fight.

Thinking of this,

Uchiha Shingen took a deep breath, suppressing the restlessness within him, then lowered his eyes to look at his status panel.

Seeing that he still had two skill points left, he put them both into Taijutsu Mastery, raising it to level three.

His body visibly filled out. Beneath his clothes, his formerly slender frame became lean and well-proportioned, with clearly defined muscles. He even grew a few centimeters taller.

Once he was done, the information on his panel had also changed noticeably:

[Uchiha Shingen]

[Rank—Chunin]

[Position—South District 4 Third Squad Captain, Konoha Military Police Force]

[Abilities:

--Chakra Level 4

--Kekkei Genkai—Sharingan—Three-Tomoe Level 5

--Fire Release Mastery Level 3

--Taijutsu Mastery Level 3

--Genjutsu Mastery Level 2

--Ninja Tool Mastery Level 1]

[Ninjutsu: Fire Release—Great Fireball Technique, Fire Release—Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson, Body Flicker Technique...]

[Evaluation—A: Ocular-jutsu-specialized Jonin, capable of leading a tactical squad on missions.]

[Remaining Skill Points—0]

"An A rating means Jonin level?!"

Uchiha Shingen's eyes lit up with excitement.

From what he knew, a B rating on the Check-in Device's panel meant Chunin, while A meant Jonin. The stronger ranks were probably S or even SS.

In Konoha, only a handful of people, including the Hokage, could probably reach that level.

They were already beyond the strength of ordinary ninja, powerful enough to turn the tide of a war.

He was still some distance away, but Uchiha Shingen firmly believed that if he had enough time, he would inevitably grow to that level.

For now, though, being a Chunin in name and a Jonin in actual strength was more than enough within Konoha.

As the excitement from his upgrade gradually faded, Uchiha Shingen washed up and went to bed.

Over the following days,

Uchiha Shingen's life didn't change much.

As usual,

he went to work during the day, slacked off and discussed his new work with Jiraiya, then went home in the evening and treated himself to a good meal.

Deep within Root,

Danzo's face was livid as he glared at the Root ninja kneeling before him.

"Seven days!"

"Seven whole days, and you still haven't deciphered the encrypted conversation between Jiraiya and Uchiha Shingen. You haven't even managed to find a chance to speak with Uchiha Shingen alone?!"