A Mistaken Foray into the Heavenly Family, Shimura Danzō Trial Card

The moment he stepped out of the experimental base and sunlight fell on his face, Uchiha Jun realized that his back had somehow broken out in a thin layer of sweat.

Putting on an act for Orochimaru was even more exhausting than fighting a Jonin.

He leaned against the mountainside, tilted his head back to look at the sky, and let out a long breath of foul air.

A twelve-year-old Genin had remained as calm in a human experimentation base as if he were strolling through his own backyard.

The pressure was imaginable.

Fortunately, Uchiha Jun was an "Outer Realm Heavenly Demon." He had never regarded the Shinobi World natives as people to begin with. On top of that, he had been baptized by a wave of Konoha "local specialties" as a child and had gone through the experience of being labeled one of the "Konoha Twin Districts" during his time at the Ninja Academy.

Uchiha Jun's view of the people of Konoha, and even the natives of the Shinobi World as a whole, had become even more detached.

They were just like NPCs in the games he had played in his previous life.

Perhaps it was precisely this mentality that Orochimaru had interpreted as "arrogance."

It also served as a reminder to Uchiha Jun. Before obtaining Kage Level strength, he needed to rein himself in a little.

Fortunately, Kage Level strength was not far off for Uchiha Jun!

"Still, today's gains were indeed substantial—being able to take A-Rank Missions alone means I can openly leave Konoha and do things that aren't convenient for others to know about."

He lowered his head and looked at his hands, the corners of his mouth slowly rising.

"Next—"

"Little brother Shimura Danzō, you've lived this long. Don't let those 'credit points' go to waste. I'll borrow your 'ID card' and cash in a surprise!"

After returning to the clan grounds and organizing his equipment, Uchiha Jun hurried straight to Konoha's mission hall.

There were not many people in the mission hall. Small groups of ninjas stood around the mission board, selecting assignments.

With manpower in short supply during the war, most of the ninjas who could still stand here were injured or had just been pulled back from the front lines to rest and recuperate.

The person responsible for issuing missions was a bespectacled Chunin in his early thirties. His expression looked like someone owed him eight million ryō.

"A Genin? Taking an A-Rank Mission?"

The bespectacled Chunin pushed up his glasses and looked Uchiha Jun up and down, his brow furrowing deeply enough to crush a fly.

"Kid, did you take a wrong—"

Before he could finish, Uchiha Jun slapped the recommendation letter onto the desk.

Two seals were stamped on the letter—one was the snake-pattern seal of Orochimaru, one of the Konoha Sannin, while the other was the red fire-character seal of Sarutobi Hiruzen, the Third Hokage.

The bespectacled Chunin visibly stiffened for a moment, and the fingers adjusting his glasses trembled slightly.

He had never dreamed that after spending most of his life doing clerical work in the mission hall, he would see two names capable of sending his blood pressure soaring on a single sheet of paper.

Orochimaru and the Third Hokage—one was the coldest war machine, while the other represented Konoha's highest authority. Both names had appeared together on one recommendation letter!

"My apologies, I failed to recognize greatness—"

"Cut the fucking nonsense. What A-Rank Missions are there? The requirement is somewhere near the Land of Rivers."

The bespectacled Chunin hurriedly pulled out a stack of mission scrolls and flipped through them page by page as he explained.

"There is currently great demand for A-Rank Missions. They are mainly assignments to escort important personnel to the border of the Land of Rivers."

"This is the nearest route, but because it is close to the border region between the Land of Grass and the Land of Rain, intelligence indicates that remnants of Iwagakure forces have recently been active there."

Uchiha Jun's gaze shifted.

The Land of Rivers.

He was extremely familiar with this place.

The Land of Rivers lay between the Land of Fire and the Land of Wind and was one of the main battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War.

It had remained in a state of chaos year-round, its situation as complicated as an overturned Go board.

But in Uchiha Jun's plans, the Land of Rivers had another irreplaceable value.

—Uchiha Hikari!

Uchiha Hikari was an original character from the game and the holder of the Mangekyō Sharingan, "Yachihoko." During the Warring States Era, the main Uchiha Clan had raised her as a "weapon" to strengthen their ocular techniques. In the end, she was sealed away through the combined efforts of the Senju Clan and Sarutobi Clan.

The reason he knew she had been sealed in the Land of Rivers was that, when he played the Naruto game in his previous life, nearly all the Uchiha Clan side quests had been concentrated in this area.

Uchiha Hikari was comparable to a "mini Ten-Tails." Her "Marked Tsukuyomi" could cover the entire Shinobi World, while her "Yachihoko" could mobilize enormous amounts of chakra regardless of distance. She was utterly broken, and most importantly, she was still young and seemed to harbor considerable hatred toward the Uchiha Clan.

Once he unsealed her, he could negotiate with her and see whether he could use "returning to the Warring States Era through the power of the Dragon Vein and helping Uchiha Hikari take revenge" as leverage to recruit her.

If that did not work, Uchiha Jun had another plan prepared, such as capturing a few Uchiha Clan ninjas and letting Uchiha Hikari kill them to vent her anger.

A "limited" pet needed a few prerequisite taming conditions. Nothing wrong with that.

"This one, then."

Uchiha Jun did not bother being picky. He selected the mission directly and tucked the mission scroll into his ninja tool pouch.

"Also—"

The bespectacled Chunin had just been about to say, "Be careful," when Uchiha Jun had already walked out of the mission hall.

At Konoha's main gate.

Uchiha Jun met the employer for this mission—Nakamura Masao, an official of the Land of Fire.

The man was probably in his early forties, fair and fat, clearly a civil official who had spent his life sitting in an office.

He wore the standard court robes of a Land of Fire official, a black court cap on his head, and a decorative short sword at his waist, its hilt set with several gemstones.

"You... are the ninja responsible for escorting me this time?"

Nakamura Masao looked at the twelve-year-old boy before him. His expression shifted from expectation to suspicion, then from suspicion to dissatisfaction.

"Bastard! Is my life only worth the protection of a Genin?! Damn it, I paid the money for an A-Rank Mission!!"

Uchiha Jun could not be bothered to waste words on him and directly demonstrated the power of Water Release.

Water Shockwave erupted from the ground and, in an instant, turned the forest not far from them into a complete mess.

When Nakamura Masao saw that, his expression changed from fury to shock.

"Th-this... this is a Genin?!"

The way Nakamura Masao looked at Uchiha Jun changed completely, and his attitude became much more humble.

He had thought Konoha was trying to fool him. So this was a "super genius." In that case, no problem.

The rest of the convoy also breathed sighs of relief. After all, the employer's life was their life.

"Remember two rules. First, all actions during the journey are to follow my command. Second, if danger arises, don't run around. I'll protect you."

Uchiha Jun had no notion that "the customer is always right." If Nakamura Masao dared to act up, he would simply equip [Uchiha Sasuke] and hit him with a Genjutsu, letting him experience Flying Thunder God firsthand.

Nakamura Masao had no complaints about that. After all, this was wartime, and the pressure on ninjas was immense. They could be alive today and dead tomorrow.

If someone kept pressuring them at a time like this, what if they snapped?

The convoy consisted of more than thirty people. After leaving Konoha, they traveled west along the official road.

Uchiha Jun followed at the rear of the convoy. As he watched Nakamura Masao's fat back inside the carriage ahead, he was still pondering the Ninja World Recruitment Scroll.

Yesterday, he had drawn fifteen A-Rank Ninja Fragments. Not a single good thing had appeared. Every single one had turned into Shimura Danzō fragments.

[Shimura Danzō Fragment: 15/40]

Fifteen fragments, just about half a card.

Thinking about it made Uchiha Jun feel stifled. If those fifteen fragments had been Skeleton Dog fragments, he would already be riding Susanoo and singing, "I'm Going to Eat Chicken."

But after calming down, Uchiha Jun was not quite as irritated anymore.

Shimura Danzō it was, then.

Although he was not the mecha pilot he wanted, it was still genuine Kage Level strength.

Complete mastery of Wind Release ninjutsu, Sealing Technique: Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing, and Izanagi Revival Coins.

—Although he did not have any new Sharingan to use as "Revival Coins," the Kage Level chakra reserves and combat experience alone were enough for him to swagger through the Five Great Nations.

He looked over Danzo's abilities on the panel:

[Current Character: Shimura Danzō (A)]

[Quality: A-Rank Ninja (Kage Level) (15/40)]

[Traits: Wind Release Mastery, Sealing Technique Mastery, Konoha elder-level combat experience, Izanagi (ten eyes, one minute each)]

[Skills: Wind Style: Vacuum Great Sphere, Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves, Wind Release: Chakra Wind Sword, Sealing Technique: Curse of Karma, Summoning Jutsu: Baku (unavailable, summoning beast not owned), Sealing Technique: Reverse Four-Symbols Sealing (Ultimate)]

Although it was only a trial card, a sealing technique like Self-Exerting Curse Binding Seal could directly lock down an enemy's movements, making it extremely efficient for captures.

On this trip to the Land of Rivers, he needed two things—one was the seal coordinates for Uchiha Hikari's prison, and the other was funds to launch the next stage of his plan.

And both of those things could be obtained using "Shimura Danzō."

As for who would take the blame after he got them?

Naturally, it would be Shimura Danzō, the Ninja World Sun Xiaochuan.

As repayment for borrowing his ID, Uchiha Jun decided that he absolutely had to raise the "Shimura Danzō" account into the Ninja World Sun Xiaochuan!

As Uchiha Jun traveled, he calculated in his heart. The more he thought about it, the more he felt that Shimura Danzō was simply a scapegoat bestowed by heaven.

After leaving the Land of Fire and approaching the Land of Rivers, Uchiha Jun immediately began to act.

He first created three Shadow Clones and hid them in the shadows as reserve forces in case the convoy encountered danger.

Then, the moment everyone's sight was obscured by dense branches and leaves, his real body left the convoy and turned northeast.