Sword Leap Flame, Shadow Clone!

Uchiha Yakumi nodded from the side, his eyes filled with a touch of gratification.

As Uchiha Shingen's direct superior, he understood Uchiha Shingen far better than Fugaku, the clan head, ever could.

"That child Shingen possesses talents and gifts that many of our clansmen lack."

"After what happened tonight, his lazy nature should be reined in a bit. The fact that he's starting to crave ninjutsu instead of bonuses is a good sign."

"He must have sensed it too—that his current strength is still far from enough."

As he spoke, Uchiha Yakumi looked toward the direction where Uchiha Shingen and Shisui had vanished, his face filled with a touch of longing:

"Perhaps by the time their generation grows up, the Uchiha's situation will be better than it is now."

Fugaku remained noncommittal, his gaze shifting toward the Hokage Building as his expression gradually turned cold:

"I could pretend not to see the surveillance Danzo added in secret before."

"But for him to strike directly at Shingen and Shisui, he has already crossed the Uchiha's bottom line."

"If I let him continue to act recklessly, the next time might not be as simple as targeting two children. He must be made to give an account!"

"The Hokage needs to show a clear stance as well."

"Otherwise, I won't be able to hold back the pack of mad dogs within the clan."

The voice fell.

The two walked side by side toward the brightly lit Hokage Building.

Uchiha Shingen neither knew nor cared what had happened in Konoha that night.

He considered himself a small fry; he had neither the ability nor the need to concern himself with what these big shots were doing.

All he had ever wanted was a simple job and a peaceful life of lying flat.

Upon returning home.

Uchiha Shingen couldn't wait to place the newly acquired ninjutsu scrolls on the table.

The most eye-catching was undoubtedly the scroll for the Sword Leap Flame at the very top. The crimson scroll was covered in the wear and tear left by its previous readers.

Uchiha Shingen slowly unfurled it and read through it word by word.

Soon enough.

Uchiha Shingen had a preliminary understanding of the Sword Leap Flame.

It was a rare form of Nintaijutsu that allowed the user to slash out massive amounts of fire-attribute chakra like sword energy without the need for hand seals.

The strength of the technique depended on the user's own chakra levels and their mastery of Uchiha Fire Style Mastery.

The higher the level of both, the more powerful the Sword Leap Flame became.

If this were a game, it would be a powerful skill that combined both mechanics and raw stats, one that could be used all the way to the end.

At the same time, as a form of Nintaijutsu, the potential for expansion of the Sword Leap Flame was undoubtedly excellent.

This scroll recorded a former user who had combined the Sword Leap Flame with the Body Flicker Technique to develop a special ninjutsu called the Sun Halo Dance.

Not only was it more powerful, but it even possessed some characteristics of Wind Style.

Later on, this Uchiha predecessor had even earned the title of Flame Tachi in the ninja world thanks to this ability.

"This can serve as a primary offensive method, and it can evolve alongside the improvement of my base stats. I'll make this the focus of my training from now on."

With that, Uchiha Shingen set aside the Sword Leap Flame scroll and turned his attention to the other scrolls on the table, opening and flipping through them one by one.

"The Sharingan's exclusive genjutsu, Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes, the Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change to see through and reflect an opponent's genjutsu, Uchiha Fire Style Mastery..."

"These are all quite practical abilities. The clan head really put some thought into this."

After scanning through these scrolls, Uchiha Shingen saw that it was already past two in the morning and was just about to turn off the lights to sleep.

However, his gaze was involuntarily drawn to the last scroll on the table.

"Forget it, it's already this late anyway. I might as well look through them all so I can prioritize my training."

He reached out and picked up the final scroll, but upon unfurling it, he discovered it only contained a common ninjutsu:

"Shadow Clone Technique?!"

"Splits the user's chakra equally to create a physical clone. The clone possesses independent consciousness and can perform physical attacks and release ninjutsu."

"Furthermore, upon the clone's dispersal, it returns fatigue, memories, and experience to the original body."

"..."

"Wait a minute!"

"Memories and experience too?!"

Uchiha Shingen's finger stopped on that line of text.

If he could just learn the Shadow Clone Technique and let his clones train in ninjutsu, wouldn't he be able to continue slacking off at his post in the Police Force?!

Uchiha Shingen became interested immediately and began to flip through the scroll with great enthusiasm.

It was not until the sunlight outside the window shone upon the scroll in his hands that he realized it.

Uchiha Shingen realized that, without noticing, he had uncharacteristically pulled an all-nighter.

He had just prepared to lie down for a few minutes of rest when the alarm clock on the table let out a sharp, urgent ring.

"Fine."

"An all-nighter it is, then."

"This body is young; once or twice in a while won't be a problem."

A few minutes later.

Uchiha Shingen dragged his groggy head out the door, skillfully clocked in at the entrance of the Police Force, and then walked toward the familiar South District 4 while yawning.

Shisui, Tezaku, and the others had already arrived.

After Uchiha Shingen briefly assigned their tasks, he turned his head and saw Jiraiya sitting in a teahouse in the distance, waving to greet him.

"Yo!"

"I was held up by the old man for a while these past few days, but now it's time to restart our grand undertaking!"

"Shingen-kun!"

Uchiha Shingen thought of the events of last night and intended to refuse, but upon remembering the hundreds of millions in royalties, he held back.

He walked a few steps to the familiar tea table and, looking down, realized that Jiraiya's discarded drafts were scattered messily across the surface.

"What were you doing last night... you wrote all night and have nothing to show for it?!"

"I just wrote these this morning."

Jiraiya shook his head, noticed Uchiha Shingen's unsteady gait and the dark circles under his eyes, and wore an expression that said he understood:

"Young people have good stamina, but you still need to know how to show restraint. Messing around at your age will affect your development."

Uchiha Shingen's mouth twitched, and he immediately retorted:

"Can you even mess around if you wanted to, you old bastard? I'm afraid you'd have to go to the bathroom a dozen times a night, wouldn't you?!"

Jiraiya's old face flushed red, and he denied it flatly:

"Nonsense!"

Noticing Uchiha Shingen's skeptical gaze, Jiraiya hurriedly changed the subject:

"You have no idea, the old man was furious last night. Danzo was practically chewed out, and the Root organization has completely canceled all surveillance on the Uchiha."

"You don't have to worry about anyone attacking you in the middle of the night anymore."

Uchiha Shingen lowered his eyes to look at the manuscript paper on the table, his lips pressed thin, his heart far from calm.

He felt a sense of stifled indignation.

If Jiraiya had arrived even a step later last night, he and Shisui likely would not have survived.

Yet, the punishment received by the instigator was merely the removal of surveillance that should never have existed in the first place, along with a light, verbal reprimand.

He suddenly understood why the voices calling for a coup within the Uchiha clan had never ceased.

It was truly unfair, but this was the reality the Uchiha faced.

Seeing him remain silent, Jiraiya sighed inwardly and said:

"This is already the best possible outcome."

"If you don't want to wade through the muddy waters of Konoha, why not come travel with me? We can go all over the ninja world and complete our masterpiece."