Uchiha Aoba

(The brain storage area)

Year 43 of Konoha.

The Third Kazekage had disappeared from Sunagakure.

After Chiyo and Ebizo organized a search party and came up empty, they pinned the blame on Konohagakure. They did it to conceal certain matters and redirect the village's increasingly fierce internal struggle over who would become the Fourth Kazekage.

The entire village of Sunagakure united in its thirst for revenge, determined to make Konohagakure pay. The higher-ups decided to send Rasa, one of the candidates for Fourth Kazekage, at the head of a force into the Land of Fire.

Fortunately, Shimura Danzō's Root wasn't just sitting around doing nothing. They had already placed people to keep an eye on Sunagakure, so Konohagakure wasn't caught off guard.

When news of Sunagakure's invasion of the border reached them, Third Hokage Sarutobi Hizashi acted at once. He appointed Orochimaru commander-in-chief of the front lines and sent him with a force to reinforce the defenders and launch a counterattack.

For a time, the two sides fought fiercely along the border. The conflict dragged on for nearly three years without either side gaining the upper hand.

On the battlefield.

Shuriken, Kunai, and Explosive Tags hurtled through the air, occasionally joined by a jutsu or two.

"Kill all the Konoha Ninja!"

"Revenge for Lord Third Kazekage!"

"What's gotten into these Sand Ninja all of a sudden? Their attacks are way too fierce today."

A Konoha Chunin dodged a Kunai, then knocked aside a sword swinging at him. He wondered to himself what had gotten into the enemy, never noticing the inconspicuous Shuriken flying toward him from the side.

"Die!"

A Sand Ninja's furious roar rang through the air.

Just as danger closed in, a Shuriken shot from somewhere not far behind.

With a sharp clang, the two Shuriken collided. The Konoha Chunin was saved, while the Sand Ninja's Shuriken ricocheted back at a clever angle and buried itself in the attacker's forehead in the blink of an eye.

The Sand Ninja collapsed in a pool of blood, disbelief written across his face.

Only then did the Konoha Chunin realize what had happened. A flash of fear crossed his eyes.

"Don't let your guard down on the battlefield, senior."

The warning came from beside him. A figure flashed past and charged ahead.

A green flak jacket, a Konoha Forehead Protector, and a Gunbai-patterned arm guard fluttering in the wind.

"Uchiha..."

The Chunin shuddered, but felt a wave of relief. "Have reinforcements arrived?"

Uchiha Aoba didn't give a second thought to the Chunin he'd saved on the way. He was simply pleased to have taken out an enemy so soon after arriving at the battlefield. All he could think about now was killing more Sand Ninja.

The Two-Tomoe Sharingan spun in his eyes. His movements were far too sharp for a twelve-year-old boy, and ordinary Sand Ninja with Chunin-level strength were no match for him.

Blood spattered Uchiha Aoba's face and soaked his flak jacket.

But just then—

Faced with the arriving Konoha reinforcements, Sunagakure's frenzied assault stalled. Then its forces retreated like a receding tide, soon leaving the battlefield to those too badly wounded to escape.

"Don't pursue the enemy too far!"

"Clear the battlefield at once! Search for the wounded!"

"Tch!"

Hearing the orders from behind, Uchiha Aoba lopped off the head of a badly wounded Sand Ninja with one slash. Only then did he sheath his sword, wearing a dissatisfied expression.

"He's so young, yet he has such a bloodlust. I guess the Uchiha really are the Uchiha."

A regular Konoha Ninja nearby was searching for wounded comrades. Seeing Uchiha Aoba's expression and what he'd done, he couldn't help but click his tongue in surprise.

Still, nobody thought it was wrong. On the battlefield, they wouldn't treat badly wounded Sand Ninja. Even if they took them back, it would only be to extract information during interrogation. They might as well make use of them before killing them.

Then they noticed Uchiha Aoba looking their way—or, more precisely, at the badly wounded Sand Ninja they had captured—and immediately started to panic.

"Hold on, Uchiha kid! You can't kill all of them!" A Chunin waved a hand to stop him.

"We'll treat their wounds a little, then hand them over to the Interrogation Department in the rear to extract information."

"I know."

Uchiha Aoba gestured for him to calm down. "I was only taking a look."

"Do you need any help?"

"No, thanks. You've done enough. Get back to camp and rest." The Chunin smiled as he declined.

"Ah!"

Uchiha Aoba sighed in disappointment and turned back toward camp.

[Battle concluded. Calculating rewards...]

[Enemies killed: three Sunagakure Chunin and one Sunagakure Genin. Panel fusion increased by 1.6%.]

[Host: Uchiha Aoba, Konoha Chunin]

[Bloodline: Uchiha Clan]

[Character Panel: Uchiha Madara, Fusion: 26.8%]

[Abilities: Two-Tomoe Sharingan unlocked, Shuriken Throwing Technique, Intermediate Swordsmanship, Intermediate Taijutsu, Intermediate Genjutsu, Five Basic Nature Transformations mastered (C-Rank, B-Rank)]

[Overall strength: Elite Chunin, one step away from Jonin]

"Up by 1.6%?"

Uchiha Aoba's eyes lit up when he saw the increase in his panel's fusion rate.

Sure enough, killing enemies on the battlefield was the fastest way to grow stronger. Completing missions before joining the war hadn't been slow, but they took too long. Even a single C-Rank Mission took at least three to five days, and only raised his fusion rate by 0.5%. There was no need to even mention D-Rank missions.

Besides, according to the system's rules, killing non-ninja enemies—bandits, for example—didn't increase his fusion rate.

So if Uchiha Aoba wanted to improve through missions, he would have to take on at least B-Rank Missions.

But at his current Chunin rank, he couldn't take B-Rank Missions often. Even when he occasionally joined his squad on one, it would take ten days to half a month. It simply took too long.

As for fusion-rate gains, B-Rank Missions let him fight enemy ninja and earned him around 1.5% each time.

All in all, the battlefield was still the fastest way to increase his fusion rate.

"One Genin gives 0.1%, and one Chunin gives 0.5%."

Uchiha Aoba thought to himself, As long as I stay safe, taking out eight more Chunin and two more Genin will bring my fusion rate to 30%. My strength will undergo another transformation then.

He had been in the Naruto World for eleven years. He'd entered the Ninja Academy and unlocked the system at the age of five, and six years had passed since then.

Uchiha Aoba understood the system well by now.

The panel had a total fusion rate of 100%, and every ten percent brought a qualitative change. That aside, at 30%, he would definitely unlock the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. By then, he would rank among the stronger Jonin.

But that still wasn't enough.

Every Konoha Ninja knew about the awkward position the Uchiha Clan faced in Konoha.

To truly protect himself, a 30% fusion rate was still far from enough.

So this wasn't the time to get complacent.

Uchiha Aoba took a deep breath and set himself a modest goal.

Raise his fusion rate to 50% during the war.