Yagokoro Omoikane

At night, the Senju ninja who were resting were jolted awake by a series of explosions. The veteran ninja on the battlefield rose out of habit, cursing as they rushed out to kill.

The newly arrived ninja, however, followed the formation with expressions of confusion.

Hiugo mingled among them and reached the city wall, only to discover figures clad in black sprinting toward them. Without waiting for the Senju ninja to attack, these figures detonated the Explosive Tags strapped to their own bodies.

Explosion after explosion rang out, accompanied by the splashing sound of rushing water.

At some point, Senju Meima appeared by his side. He watched the scene calmly and said:

"Such is the measure of the Kaguya Clan. Genma likely didn't provide you with the intelligence regarding this specific situation, did he?"

Intelligence is something that, no matter how well collected, must be verified by someone on the ground. His own father managed the front lines against the Uchiha, and since they rarely, if ever, came to this sector, there were naturally some gaps in information.

Hiugo manifested a Wood Style platform beneath his feet and looked at the scene below the wall:

"What is going on with these people? Is there really someone willing to sacrifice themselves just to damage a wall? Wouldn't it be better to just throw the Explosive Tags?"

Senju Meima spoke in a low voice:

"Hiugo, you must understand that these vassal clans are only accepted by the great clans because they have value, and the value of these people lies solely in the fact that they are human."

"They don't need to practice shurikenjutsu, they don't need training, and they don't even need Chakra."

"They only need to sacrifice the lives of a portion of their clansmen to receive the protection of the Kaguya Clan. The ridiculous part is that their only purpose is to disrupt our rest, not to destroy the wall."

Is this also a form of exchange?

Hiugo watched these ninja throwing their lives away, his mood complex:

"I knew life was cheap within the clan, but only after seeing it for myself did I realize I was still being too optimistic."

Meima sighed and said:

"If your enemies were all like this, what would you do?"

"Since they don't even care about their own lives, what is the point of saving them? I would send them on their way and hope they have a better life in the next."

Although the Senju Clan is a great clan and has always treated weaker clans well, not every clan can become a Senju vassal; after all, their limited strength is not enough to protect everyone.

Meima was very satisfied with Hiugo's answer:

"Very good. Now, go back and rest. You must try your best to get used to the battlefield. This is not the clan compound; there is no stable environment here. Your enemies will launch attacks in shameless ways, and what you must do is try your best to..."

Before he could finish his sentence, he realized the kid beside him had already vanished. The moment he said the word "rest," Hiugo was already on his way back.

Rather than lamenting the fates of others, listening to Senju Meima drone on was far less productive than resting and growing stronger to face the future.

In this man-eating world, only one's own strength can change everything.

Lying on his bed, listening to the intermittent sounds of explosions, Hiugo gradually drifted off to sleep. Perhaps due to physical exhaustion, he felt his soul slowly float upward, detaching from his body and soaring higher and higher.

When he regained control of his body, Hiugo looked around in confusion:

Where is this...

The soil around him was stained red; he seemed to be in the middle of a battlefield. A light rain fell from the sky, washing over mangled corpses. Ninja tools were scattered everywhere.

As he moved forward, Hiugo stopped in his tracks, his pupils constricting. He saw another "himself."

His hands were stained with blood, his face wet with what might have been rain or tears. He knelt before a corpse, trembling, while the three tomoe in his Sharingan spun rapidly, eventually transforming into a pitch-black Nine-Pointed Star Array.

A hoarse voice emerged from the "other" him, and a profound power erupted:

"Ya...go...ko...ro... Omoikane."

Yagokoro Omoikane?

Hiugo wanted to see clearly what was happening, but he felt a sharp pain in his eyes. Then, a sensation of falling took hold, and the surrounding scenery vanished in the blink of an eye. When he came to his senses, he was already sitting on his wooden bed. A faint light rose in the sky, bringing a trace of warmth.

The stinging pain in his eyes had subsided, leaving only a slight swelling. Hiugo dared not be careless; having experienced the blood-red space, he knew this dream was no longer just a dream.

He immediately formed a few hand seals, and the water formed a mirror. Through it, Hiugo saw a phantom Nine-Pointed Star Array appear over his pitch-black pupils. Under his gaze, this pattern gradually turned into a "black veil" that covered his pupils.

Hiugo channeled his Chakra to activate his Sharingan and discovered that the black veil masked the original two tomoe.

His ocular power remained completely unaffected, and the abilities of the two tomoe were still present; it was just that, in appearance, they were identical to his original black eyes.

Hiugo rubbed his eyes, muttering to himself:

"Should I go out and test it? If there are no issues, I can use the Sharingan in the future."

These eyes had always been a source of anxiety for Hiugo. Even though he had awakened them, he had been unable to use them for a long time, fearing trouble due to the hostile relationship with the Uchiha. But now, in the eyes of the clan's ninja, he had awakened Wood Style and was a legitimate Senju clansman.

The danger of exposing the Sharingan was not as high now. Hiugo also planned to "suddenly" awaken the Sharingan at some point on the battlefield to satisfy his training needs.

But if he had to choose, he would prefer not to expose the Sharingan to his clansmen, as that would be much less troublesome.

Who should he go to?

Hiugo thought for a moment and decided to go straight to Senju Meima. He was a clan-leader-level figure, after all; if he couldn't see through it, then he would be at least half-safe.

After what happened earlier, he was certain this guy was eager to "get close" to him.

Children know little, children have tempers, children...

In any case, this age had its own advantages, and there was no need to worry about saving face.

And so, Hiugo, who had just cursed Senju Meima yesterday, strolled into his room to ask for guidance.

Senju Meima did not think much of it; having served as First Elder for many years, how could he possibly bicker with a child? Besides, sharing a bit of cultivation experience was no great matter.

After interacting for a period of time, Meima expressed no suspicion, even praising him by saying his gaze was sharp, much like being stared at by the Uchiha Sharingan.

Clearly, the black veil manifested by the Nine-Pointed Star Array perfectly concealed the changes in his eyes, yet the lingering power was still enough to draw others' attention.

This ocular power could not be retained indefinitely; it was still being consumed, though the consumption required to maintain the "black veil" was relatively low. At the very least, there would be no issues in the short term.

In the days that followed, the Kaguya Clan's offensives were intermittent but highly persistent, and the reasons given by the captured ninjas were bizarre:

The weather was nice, so they came to fight; the bright sunshine was perfect for combat.

The weather was bad, so they fought; the obscured vision was perfect for a sneak attack.

They had supplies, so they fought; they would weaken the Senju before heading home.

They lacked supplies, so they fought; they would plunder some to bolster their strength.

In short, the reasons were strange and varied. Hiugo seriously suspected that the Kaguya had nothing but muscle inside their heads; otherwise, why would they be so fond of fighting, as if they felt uncomfortable all over if they didn't brawl for a single day?

Under such high-intensity combat, Hiugo's experience points grew continuously. After a brief period of integration, his strength increased by another notch, thanks to the combination of his Sharingan and his own Sage Body. He gradually gained a bit of fame on the battlefield, and the other Senju ninjas grew accustomed to dropping the word "genius," coming to view him simply as a ninja.