Uchiha Yakumi, standing nearby, nodded, a hint of relief in his eyes.
As Uchiha Shingen's direct superior, he knew Shingen better than Fugaku, the clan patriarch, did.
"That boy Shingen has talents and gifts that many of our clan members lack."
"After what happened tonight, his lazy nature should start to change. Wanting a ninjutsu technique instead of a bonus is a good sign."
"He must have realized that his current strength still isn't nearly enough."
As he spoke, Uchiha Yakumi looked in the direction where Uchiha Shingen and the others had disappeared, his expression turning wistful.
"Perhaps by the time their generation comes of age, things will be a little better for the Uchiha."
Fugaku made no comment. He gazed toward the Hokage Building, his expression gradually turning cold.
"I could pretend not to notice the extra surveillance Danzo secretly set up before."
"But now he's gone after Shingen and Shisui directly. That's a challenge to the Uchiha's bottom line."
"If we let him keep doing whatever he wants, next time it might not be just two children he targets. He has to answer for this!"
"The Hokage needs to make his position clear, too."
"Otherwise, I won't be able to keep those mad dogs in the clan under control."
His voice fell.
The two walked side by side toward the brightly lit Hokage Building.
Uchiha Shingen didn't know what had happened in Konoha that night, and he didn't care.
He considered himself a nobody, without the ability or the need to worry about what the big shots were up to.
All he'd ever wanted was a simple job and a peaceful life where he could lie low.
As soon as he got home,
Uchiha Shingen eagerly placed the ninjutsu scrolls he'd just received on the table.
The most eye-catching was undoubtedly the Sword Leap Flame Technique scroll on top. Its deep-red surface was covered in marks left by previous readers.
Uchiha Shingen slowly unrolled it and read it word by word.
Before long,
Uchiha Shingen had gained a basic understanding of the Sword Leap Flame Technique.
It was a rare Nintaijutsu that required no Hand Seals. It compressed a large amount of fire-natured Chakra and released it in a slash like a sword beam.
Its power depended on the user's Chakra reserves and level of Fire Release Mastery.
The higher both levels were, the stronger Sword Leap Flame became.
If it were in a game, it would be a powerful skill with both unique mechanics and scaling, one you could use all the way to the end.
As a Nintaijutsu, Sword Leap Flame also had excellent potential for further development.
The scroll described a former user who had combined Sword Leap Flame with the Body Flicker Technique to create a special ninjutsu called Sun Halo Dance.
It was even more powerful and displayed some characteristics of Wind Release.
That Uchiha predecessor had gone on to earn the name Flame Tachi in the Shinobi World with this technique.
"It can serve as one of my main offensive techniques, and it can evolve as my basic stats improve. I'll focus my training on this from now on."
With that, Uchiha Shingen put down the Sword Leap Flame Technique scroll and turned his attention to the other scrolls on the table, opening and reading each one in turn.
"The Sharingan's exclusive genjutsu, Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique; Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, which sees through an opponent's genjutsu and reflects it; Uchiha Fire Style Mastery..."
"They're all pretty useful abilities. The patriarch really put some thought into this."
After giving the scrolls a quick look, Uchiha Shingen noticed that it was already past two in the morning. He was about to turn off the light and go to sleep,
but his eyes were drawn to the last scroll on the table.
Well, it's this late already. I might as well read them all and figure out my training priorities.
He picked up the last scroll and unrolled it, only to find that it described a commonly used ninjutsu technique.
"Shadow Clone Technique?!"
"It divides the user's Chakra equally to create solid clones. Each clone has an independent consciousness and can launch physical attacks and use ninjutsu."
"When a clone makes contact, it returns its fatigue, memories, and experience to the original body."
"..."
"Wait!"
"It returns memories and experience too?!"
Uchiha Shingen's finger stopped on that line.
If he learned the Shadow Clone Technique and sent his clones to train in ninjutsu, wouldn't he be able to keep slacking off at his post in the Police Force?!
Uchiha Shingen immediately perked up and eagerly began reading.
It wasn't until sunlight from the window fell across the scroll in his hands
that Uchiha Shingen realized he'd stayed up all night, something he rarely did.
He was just about to lie down and rest for a few minutes when the alarm clock on the table started ringing urgently.
"Figures."
"Guess I'm pulling an all-nighter."
"This body's young. Doing it once or twice won't hurt."
A few minutes later,
Uchiha Shingen headed out, his mind foggy with exhaustion. After clocking in at the Police Force office as usual, he yawned his way to the familiar South District 4.
Shisui, Tezaku, and the others were already there.
After briefly assigning everyone their tasks, Uchiha Shingen turned and spotted Jiraiya at a teahouse in the distance, waving to him.
"Hey!"
"The old man held me up for a while the other day, but now it's time to get our grand project going again!"
"Shingen-kun!"
Uchiha Shingen thought of what had happened the previous night and was about to turn him down. But then he remembered the hundreds of millions in royalties and held back.
He walked over to the familiar tea table. Looking down, he saw Jiraiya's discarded drafts scattered across it.
"Did you... spend all night writing without getting anywhere?"
"I wrote these this morning."
Jiraiya shook his head. Noticing Uchiha Shingen's unsteady steps and the dark circles under his eyes, he gave him a look that said he understood.
"Young people are resilient, but you still need to know your limits. Fooling around at your age can stunt your growth."
Uchiha Shingen's mouth twitched. He shot back at once.
"You old bastard, can you even fool around these days? You'd probably have to get up to pee a dozen times in one night!"
Jiraiya's old face reddened. He denied it flatly.
"Nonsense!"
Noticing the skeptical look in Uchiha Shingen's eyes, Jiraiya hurriedly changed the subject.
"You have no idea how angry the old man was last night. He tore into Danzo so badly that he was practically in pieces. Root's surveillance on the Uchiha has all been called off."
"You don't have to worry about anyone attacking you in the middle of the night anymore."
Uchiha Shingen lowered his eyes to the papers on the table, his lips pressed together. His heart was unsettled.
He felt bitter.
If Jiraiya had arrived a little later last night, he and Shisui might not have survived.
Yet the person responsible had only been punished by having the surveillance—something that shouldn't have been there in the first place—removed, along with a mild verbal reprimand.
He suddenly understood why calls for a coup had never stopped within the Uchiha clan.
It really was unfair. But that was the reality the Uchiha faced.
Seeing him fall silent, Jiraiya sighed inwardly and said,
"This is already the best outcome we could hope for."
"If you don't want to get caught up in Konoha's mess, why not come travel with me? We'll go all over the Shinobi World and create our masterpiece."
Before you continue