Accepting the Mission

Afterward, Shin experimented with Yomotsu Hirasaka. This technique could be used for offense, shortening the distance for long-range ninjutsu, disrupting and ambushing opponents, or even for emergency evasion and escape; its utility was immense.

The chakra consumption of Yomotsu Hirasaka was manageable, and Shin found it acceptable; using it during combat was perfectly fine.

In truth, Shin's chakra reserves could handle the drain, but his ocular power could not. After all, it was only a Mangekyou Sharingan, and its ocular power was limited.

Without his Perfect Sage Body, he wouldn't be able to use these ocular techniques more than a few times before facing the risk of going blind.

Blindness occurs when ocular power is exhausted. Once the Mangekyou Sharingan's ocular power is spent, it cannot be replenished. There are two ways to solve this: the first is to evolve into an Eternal Mangekyou, and the second is to transplant First Hokage Cells and survive the process.

Shin possessed the same Perfect Sage Body as the First Hokage, so he didn't worry about ocular power consumption, as he could recover it. However, he was concerned that his ocular power wouldn't be enough to go around.

Recovery also takes time; if he were in the middle of a battle, there would be no time to wait for his ocular power to restore.

If he evolved into an Eternal Mangekyou Sharingan, he could use his ocular power almost at will, as the recovery rate would match the consumption.

He needed to find a way to evolve his Mangekyou Sharingan into an Eternal Mangekyou as soon as possible, otherwise, his ocular power would truly be insufficient.

Shin wasn't worried about the evolution itself. As long as he had enough time, he would eventually evolve into an Eternal Mangekyou even if he did nothing at all.

After his Three-Tomoe Sharingan evolved into the Mangekyou Sharingan, Shin felt the resonance between the Mangekyou Sharingan and his own body.

Influenced by the Perfect Sage Body, Shin's ocular power was slowly increasing. Once it reached a certain threshold, the Mangekyou Sharingan would transform into an Eternal Mangekyou.

As expected, the Sage Body and the Sharingan are interdependent. The two represent Yin and Yang, and the convergence of Yin and Yang is the ultimate truth.

"I should head back, or Kushina will come looking for me."

Shin picked up his katana and walked toward the Senju Clan Grounds.

The sword in Shin's hand was no ordinary blade; it was the one he had retrieved from the Uzumaki clan shrine back then.

After researching the records, Shin concluded that this sword was likely one of the Kusanagi Sword variants.

There is more than one Kusanagi Sword in the Naruto World—there are eleven in total. Uchiha Itachi's Totsuka Blade is also one of the Kusanagi Sword variants.

The Kusanagi Sword in Shin's hand lacked the extension ability of Orochimaru's blade and the sealing power of Uchiha Itachi's Totsuka Blade, though it did possess the ability to channel chakra, much like the one used by Uchiha Sasuke.

The greatest strengths of Shin's Kusanagi Sword were its durability and sharpness; it could slice through steel as if it were nothing—truly cutting iron like mud.

It didn't matter that it lacked other special abilities. All Shin needed was a blade that could unleash his swordsmanship; as long as it was in his hands, it was the strongest divine weapon.

Returning home and seeing the prepared meal, Shin's expression shifted slightly.

"Who made this?"

Shin looked at Tsunade and Kushina with a wary gaze. Although the food looked excellent and emitted a fragrant aroma, in Shin's eyes, it was the deadliest of poisons.

"I made it," Mikoto said, emerging from the kitchen with a bowl of miso soup.

"Oh, so Mikoto made it. Then there's no problem."

Shin sighed in relief and sat down, completely ignoring the pitch-black expressions on the faces of Tsunade and Kushina.

"Mikoto, you didn't go home?"

"What, are you saying you don't welcome me, Shin?"

Mikoto looked at Shin with a slightly gentle gaze, which made him feel a sense of danger. Was it an illusion? Mikoto was so gentle, how could she be dangerous? It must be an illusion.

"Of course I welcome you here, Mikoto. I was just curious."

"I'm the one who asked Mikoto to come with me," Tsunade said.

Knowing that Mikoto had no family left, Tsunade had invited her over to stay and sleep with Kushina, so that Kushina wouldn't keep running into Shin's room at night.

Shin and Kushina were both grown up now; how could they still sleep together? In any case, Tsunade didn't want to see them sharing a room.

Early the next morning, Tsunade brought the three of them to the Hokage Office to accept missions.

You don't need to see the Hokage for standard missions, or the Hokage would be worked to death.

However, since Shin and his team had just graduated, they needed the Hokage's approval to accept missions above Rank D.

"Third Hokage, I want to take on a higher-level mission. Please sign the application form for me."

Tsunade held the application and placed it in front of the Third Hokage.

"A higher-level mission?"

The Third Hokage frowned slightly, looked at Shin, Kushina, and Mikoto, then shook his head and said, "No."

"They have only just graduated. It is best to start with Rank D missions to gain some proficiency."

"What is there to be proficient at with those? Are we supposed to get good at farm work so that if we fail as ninjas later, we can go plant crops or raise pigs?"

Sarutobi Hiruzen's mouth twitched. In truth, Tsunade was right; those D-rank missions were essentially useless and served no purpose in honing their skills.

"But if they take on other missions, what if something dangerous happens?"

"I'll take responsibility if anything goes wrong. Just tell me if you're going to sign it or not."

Tsunade slammed the application directly onto Sarutobi Hiruzen's desk.

"Fine."

Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded and signed the application. With Tsunade leading the team, he was actually quite at ease with most missions.

Afterward, Tsunade brought Shin and the others to the place where missions were assigned.

"What kind of missions do you want to take?" Tsunade asked Shin and the others.

"The kind that involves bloodshed."

After glancing at Kushina and Mikoto, Shin spoke to Tsunade.

It didn't matter what mission they took, as long as it was one that would allow Kushina and Mikoto to grow.

For a novice ninja who had just become a Genin, the best way to grow was to kill someone personally.

If one lacked the resolve to kill, they shouldn't become a ninja, for this was not a profession of mercy; slaughter would always accompany a ninja.

Tsunade nodded and said, "Then we'll take that C-rank mission: wiping out the bandits."

Tsunade handed the application to the mission administrator and accepted the bandit extermination mission.

The mission to wipe out bandits was one that basically every ninja squad had taken at some point, which was why it was very hard for bandits in the Naruto World to get by.

Newly graduated Genin would move on to higher-level missions after performing D-rank missions for a period of time.

Directly confronting other ninjas was impossible; taking newly graduated Genin to deal with real ninjas was nothing more than a suicide mission.

One had to have truly seen blood, or even killed someone personally, before they could become a ninja with real combat effectiveness.

They wouldn't kill the innocent—ninjas were not executioners—so they could only kill bandits. After all, bandits were a cancer that committed every evil imaginable, and killing them was a service to the people.

In the Naruto World, bandits were both detestable and pathetic creatures, frequently killed by ninjas to serve as whetstones for newcomers.

"Notification for Master: there is a new mission. Would you like to view it?"

The system's voice rang out in Shin's mind.

Shin silently opened the mission panel in his mind and saw the bandit extermination mission.

[Exterminate Bandits: Wipe out the bandits located near Xitian Village. Mission Reward: Common Copy Card x1. No penalty for failure.]