Guiding Confidants and Making Arrangements

After bidding farewell to Elder Uchiha Raimon, Uchiha Tenshu quickened his pace on the journey home. His expression was calm and composed, yet his heart was brimming with anticipation and plans for the future. The first step was to return to the place where he and his companions trained together.

When Uchiha Tenshu arrived at the familiar spot, his companions were all training with intense focus, completely unaware of his arrival.

Hmm! Not a single one is slacking off; they always remember my instructions. Only those who work this hard are qualified to be cultivated. And only people like this are worthy of standing by my side! Otherwise, no matter how much I teach, I cannot drive the growth of those who do not put in the effort.

Uchiha Tenshu nodded in satisfaction and walked from the distance toward the crowd. A faint, warm smile tugged at the corners of his mouth before he gave a light cough to draw everyone's attention.

The group stopped what they were doing, turned to look at Uchiha Tenshu, and rushed over with joy in their eyes.

"Big Brother Tenshu, you're back!"

They gathered around him one after another.

"Hmm! I have some news to share with everyone," Uchiha Tenshu continued. "For the next few months, you will need to train independently! Ikki, you will be in charge of the team when the time comes!"

This news left the companions dejected. They began to whisper and discuss among themselves before asking again.

"Big Brother Tenshu, has something happened? Isn't it going well for us to train together?" Shakukotsu Ikki asked, puzzled.

"Yeah, Big Brother Tenshu, what exactly happened?"

Kamado Taro was equally confused.

"Could it be that someone felt that what you've been teaching us is a problem and tried to stop it?" Akakagami Taiga suddenly speculated.

The others began to guess along those lines as well.

"Damn it, there must be villains in the clan. Why would they do such a thing? There must be traitors causing trouble."

"Exactly! To come up with some Elite Ninja Training Program—it's just too much!"

Uchiha Tenshu watched their reactions, feeling secretly satisfied. These seven people were confidants he had meticulously cultivated through various means and measures. Not only were they outstanding in strength, but they were also fiercely loyal to him. Under his guidance, they had not only developed critical thinking skills but also possessed a strategic vision far beyond the ordinary, understanding a tiny bit of political intrigue.

Of course, Uchiha Tenshu hadn't taught them too much.

But even so.

Each of them had turned into a "hot-blooded youth" of sorts, lacking any reverence for the clan or the village.

And this was exactly what Uchiha Tenshu needed.

After all, only such people could follow him wholeheartedly, even if it meant leaving Konoha Shinobi Village.

These seven people were his future foundation, far more important than ordinary clansmen. With them, Uchiha Tenshu believed he could radiate influence to even more people through these confidants and build a massive force.

Uchiha Tenshu was fully confident that each of them possessed sufficient leadership ability and, under his guidance, could become a leader capable of guiding others forward.

By the lowest standard, if each person could command seven others just as he did now, he would possess forty-nine completely trustworthy confidants. And these forty-nine people would, in turn, influence even more people. In this cycle, a powerful force would gradually take shape.

Thinking of this, a glimmer of ambition flashed in Uchiha Tenshu's eyes. He knew well that achieving this goal would not be easy, but he had enough confidence that, relying on his own wisdom and ability, he would certainly succeed.

Then, Uchiha Tenshu explained his mission briefly and began to provide each person with guidance tailored to their specific training needs.

For Kamado Taro's swordsmanship, Uchiha Tenshu taught him his own Uchiha Style Swordsmanship.

He even pointed out several secret sword techniques he had developed himself, shared his visions for swordsmanship, and offered some hypotheses regarding breathing methods within sword arts.

Among these, the breathing method was inspired by the Seven-Day Breathing Method developed by a taijutsu genius from Sunagakure in the original story. By combining it with the breathing techniques and sword styles from Demon Slayer, Uchiha Tenshu had imitated several moves and techniques, making him a pioneer of breathing-based swordsmanship.

Akakagami Taiga's family was relatively mediocre; although they had about a hundred people, only a dozen or so were ninjas. They had spent years managing the ledgers for the Uchiha clan's estates, earning their keep with their brains. Taiga himself had good talent, possessing innate Water, Fire, and Earth Chakra, which gave him certain bonuses when using those three types of ninjutsu. Uchiha Tenshu chose to guide him down a path of ninjutsu combinations: using Fire Style for offense, Water Style for support, and Earth Style for defense—a versatile, "jack-of-all-trades" choice.

As for Shakukotsu Ikki, who excelled in Fire Style, Uchiha Tenshu taught him the key points of Fire Style nature transformation to help him build a solid foundation. Afterward, he taught him the simplified hand-seal techniques he had developed.

As his primary confidant, once a ninja of his type mastered these simplified hand seals, his strength would inevitably skyrocket.

It was the same for the others.

Uchiha Tenshu gave each person professional, pointed guidance. Whether it was ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu, or swordsmanship—in every aspect of ninja training, Uchiha Tenshu crushed them without exception. This was exactly why the youths admired him so much; having followed the Uchiha clan for years, their families worshipped power just the same.

In their eyes, Uchiha Tenshu was someone with immense talent and outstanding strength who was also incredibly kind to them, which naturally made them trust and admire him deeply.

"Ikki, from now on, you will be the one to supervise them!"

After finishing all the training guidance, Uchiha Tenshu's face was as warm as a spring breeze, a faint smile hanging on his lips as he spoke softly to the eldest of the group, Shakukotsu Ikki. He knew well that Ikki was the one who trusted him most among his confidants and was the most sharp and agile subordinate by his side; he could handle this well.

The Shakukotsu clan, where Ikki belonged, had once been like a brilliant pearl during the turbulent Warring States period, shining under the glory of the Uchiha clan. As a subsidiary family dedicated to refining minerals, they had constantly contributed to the Uchiha clan's war supplies and were an indispensable, powerful helper. Because of this, they had suffered heavy blows, always being one of the technical families that the clan's enemies prioritized eliminating.

However, with the rise of Konoha, like a surging torrent, all the families poured in, and this once-safe harbor began to teeter in the tides of the era.

Except for a small amount of minerals retained by the major clans, the rest were like plundered treasures, bought up by Konoha and the Land of Fire to become Konoha's war supplies.

At the same time, all the mineral-refining personnel from the families gathered in Konoha like migratory birds. This undoubtedly dealt a heavy blow to the Shakukotsu clan. The Uchiha clan's demand for minerals decreased with the arrival of peacetime, and Konoha's demand wouldn't provide them with orders, not to mention the drop in weapon prices during the peaceful era.

From then on, the remaining members of the Shakukotsu clan, left over from the end of the Warring States period, lived a life that grew worse by the year, until Shakukotsu Ikki became Uchiha Tenshu's subordinate and followed by his side. As Uchiha Tenshu's alcohol business grew, it became difficult to use such a massive amount of funds openly. To have a sufficient reason to utilize more wealth, he came up with a few small inventions and handed them to the Shakukotsu clan to produce, earning a share of the profits.

Although it didn't make them wealthy overnight, it allowed the Shakukotsu family, whose life was becoming increasingly difficult, to slowly hold on.

It was precisely because of this series of actions.

The members of the Shakukotsu Clan were immensely supportive of Shakukotsu Ikki remaining by Uchiha Tenshu's side, all believing that Uchiha Tenshu was their clan's opportunity to change their destiny; as long as Uchiha Tenshu grew strong, they would inevitably be granted positions of great importance.

Needless to say, Shakukotsu Ikki, as the person directly involved, was moved beyond words, treating him with the absolute loyalty one would reserve for a faith.

And it was precisely because of this.

Whenever there was an important matter.

Uchiha Tenshu would entrust it to him.

Now, with his departure time uncertain.

The task of maintaining this small group.

Could only be left to him!

"Yes, Big Brother Tenshu!"

Shakukotsu Ikki patted his chest in assurance, his eyes filled with loyalty and approval as he looked at Uchiha Tenshu.

Following that.

After waving goodbye to everyone, Uchiha Tenshu returned to his cold, quiet home alone, like a solitary wild goose.

He first stood before his parents' memorial portraits for a while.

Afterward.

He entered the pitch-black secret chamber all by himself.

Inside the chamber, the smile on Uchiha Tenshu's face receded like the tide, vanishing without a trace.

Though the secret chamber was small, it felt like a sealed cage, so dark and suffocating that it could strike fear into one's heart.

Yet Uchiha Tenshu remained expressionless, sitting cross-legged without a care, closing his eyes like a monk in meditation as he began to regulate his breathing.

In his mind, he had to carefully contemplate the impact of recent events on himself, searching for clues within the various threads of evidence like a detective sifting through minute details.

Deep within his consciousness.

The light of a certain mysterious fragment grew deeper, like a star in the night sky, flickering with a mesmerizing glow.

Uchiha Tenshu sat quietly in this endless darkness as time slipped away second by second, like fine sand in an hourglass. Silence and loneliness followed him like shadows, gradually forming a thick cocoon around him.

However, Uchiha Tenshu felt not the slightest discomfort; on the contrary, he was like a fish in water, thoroughly enjoying such an environment. His brain became increasingly active, like a bonfire being ignited.

Only in this darkness could Uchiha Tenshu shed his disguise like a chameleon, casting aside all the masks he wore in the outside world to release his inner self without reservation, observing his own essence as clearly as a bright mirror.

It was a world filled with schemes, and he was no longer content to remain beneath others; his ambitious desires burned like a raging fire, yearning to devour everything in the world.