"Those great nations—the Land of Water, Land of Wind, Land of Earth, and Land of Lightning—aren't options for me."
Uchiha Tenshu immediately ruled out the great nations.
With his Uchiha bloodline, if he went to one of their countries, even if he wasn't conscripted and sent to the battlefield, they'd treat him as breeding stock for his Kekkei Genkai. He'd probably be reduced to skin and bones and die in bed within a few years.
"I may like beautiful women, but that doesn't mean I'll eat anything. I'm not willing to go to bed with just anyone!"
"Next, small countries near the borders of great nations, like the Land of Rain, are out of the question too. Whether it's their potential for development or the risk of becoming battlefields for the great nations, they're all outside my range of choices."
"By contrast, the Country of Roran on the edge of the desert, the Land of Snow in the far west, and the Land of Demons are all possible options. For one thing, they don't have many of the resources ordinary ninja need, so they're less likely to attract outsiders' ambition and attention. For another, Roran's Dragon Vein, the Land of Snow's technology, and the Land of Demons' priestess abilities are all unique treasures. It's just that no one in the Ninja World knows their worth!"
As for development potential, aside from the issue of war, these three countries also had natural barriers that small nations like the Land of Rain and the Land of Rivers lacked. Whether it was Roran's vast desert, the Land of Snow's icy mountains, or the Land of Demons' terrifying gorge, they all effectively isolated their territories. They could easily hold off dozens of enemies at once, giving them an overwhelming defensive advantage.
Never mind resources, food, and population.
For Uchiha Tenshu, who had come from the Middle Kingdom, those things were no real problem. Although he couldn't solve them himself, he knew how to go about it. He only needed to find enough scientists and workers, then use terrain-altering magic to transform the land!
With the Naruto World's black technology, simply copying the technology from his previous life would be enough to solve the problem of limited land.
Uchiha Tenshu had no doubt about the capabilities of this Naruto World's black technology. He had great faith in it.
Combined with ninja techniques, environmental limitations were no big deal.
All it took was the spirit of the Foolish Old Man who moved mountains, and an unyielding attitude. If it couldn't be done in one or two years, then he'd work at it for three or five. If that wasn't enough, then seven or eight. As long as he kept at it, success was inevitable.
Even the desert regions in the northwest of his previous life had been pushed back, bit by bit, by the toiling people, who had even used reforestation to reclaim the land.
With even more advanced black technology and supernatural powers to help him, how could he possibly be worse off than ordinary laborers?
"Only these narrow-minded ninja, with their petty, island mentality, refuse to develop their own homeland. They just covet the fruits of other people's labor and steal and rob them. Shameless to the extreme."
Uchiha Tenshu thought scornfully.
He gave no thought at all to the fact that he was poaching from Konoha.
So when it came to barren lands and all the hard work they required, Uchiha Tenshu, a man from the Middle Kingdom, would never lack the courage or the perseverance to take action.
This was the distinctive spirit of the Middle Kingdom, a legacy no one would forget even after crossing over to another world.
Otherwise, Uchiha Tenshu wouldn't have been planning to run away and start a business at the age of seven.
"After all, it's time for me, the heir, to take over the family business!" Uchiha Tenshu thought to himself.
"Now that I've chosen a place to move to, the next step is to gather funds and recruit all kinds of talent. I can't leave Konoha out of it either. It'd be best if I could convince some reliable people to come work for me."
Uchiha Tenshu's eyes shifted as all sorts of ideas took shape in his mind.
Konoha was the center of the Land of Fire, and countless ninja clans, large and small, had joined it. Even the weakest clan here had survived years of warfare and emerged as a group of exceptional elites. In other small countries, they'd be a force to be reckoned with. If he could recruit them, they'd become his greatest source of support.
Uchiha Tenshu knew this perfectly well, having been reborn with the cunning of an old fox. So even in his young body, he'd used displays of strength, shared profits, and psychological manipulation to gather a group of peers from Uchiha-affiliated families around him. After a little more time and training, they'd gradually become his confidants. It was a little underhanded to poach from his own clan.
But still, rather than have these people contribute to Konoha's funeral business in the wars to come, it was better to take them far away from the start and give the Uchiha Clan a new chance at survival.
Besides, in the original story, everything belonging to the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out.
It had all become nourishment for Konoha to feast upon.
Better to give it to him, a fellow Uchiha, from the start!
Uchiha Tenshu thought with a determined gaze.
After eating, he tidied up quickly and headed out to the Naka River.
"Ah! It's Big Brother Tenshu..." Kamado Taro, who had been training, stopped swinging his short sword and hurried over.
Shakukotsu Ikki's eyes lit up too, and he greeted him warmly. "Big Brother Tenshu, you're here!"
"Big Brother Tenshu..."
Akakagami Taiga said shyly, looking at Uchiha Tenshu with admiration.
At that moment, seven boys of the same age had gathered on the solid ice of the Naka River, which glittered in the morning sunlight. They were doing basic ninja exercises.
They were the group of spirited boys Uchiha Tenshu had gathered around himself. After all, even a hero needed help. Only by bringing more people together could he build a group centered around himself. After a series of displays of strength, martial guidance, and psychological manipulation, they were basically his loyal lackeys.
The moment they saw Uchiha Tenshu arrive, every one of them smiled and hurried over to greet him.
"Kamado Taro, Shakukotsu Ikki, Akakagami Taiga... You're all here early!"
Uchiha Tenshu smiled and nodded in reply.
Their names said it all. Although they were affiliated with the Uchiha Clan, they weren't part of its main family—or even a branch family.
They were members of small clans that had depended on the Uchiha Clan for generations.
There were plenty of clans like theirs. Over the centuries, countless families had risen through their ties to the Uchiha and perished because of them. In the Warring States Period, which was plagued by continuous warfare, these small clans were among the few that survived into the era of the ninja villages.
It was easy to understand.
No matter how powerful the Uchiha Clan was as individuals, it couldn't possibly take on the Senju Clan—a clan famed for its unity and numbers—on its own. Even if one clan beat the other, it wouldn't have a decisive advantage that would let it wipe out its opponent or claim enough spoils.
Besides, ninja didn't just fight. They also had to make a living in this world. Even the powerful Uchiha had areas they weren't suited to, such as commerce, smithing, or farming. The Uchiha Clan specialized in combat and prized strength above all else. How could they devote their energy to anything beyond fighting? It was only natural that they had some affiliated clans.
And every now and then, a woman from a branch of the Uchiha Clan would marry into one of those families. Perhaps one day, someone would awaken the Uchiha Clan's Kekkei Genkai—the Sharingan.
Just like Uchiha Tenshu's ancestors.
His great-grandfather, Toyotomi, had once married a woman from a branch of the Uchiha Clan. Although Uchiha Tenshu's grandfather hadn't inherited the Sharingan, his father, Toyotomi Yaoguang, awakened the Sharingan in a battle against the Senju Clan. He earned the favor of the Uchiha Clan's leaders, who gave him the Uchiha name. He also married Uchiha Ningning, a member of the main family, and eventually fathered Uchiha Tenshu.
That was why Uchiha Tenshu had the Uchiha surname rather than his father's old Toyotomi surname.
This showed that many of the Uchiha Clan's affiliated families already had Uchiha blood running through their veins.
Uchiha Izumi's family was the same. Before she awakened the bloodline that granted her the Sharingan, she had used her family's surname. But once her bloodline awakened, she had to return to the Uchiha Clan.
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