Stone Tablet

Qiancao and Wuming settled down within the Senju Clan just like that.

To keep Wuming entertained, Qiancao told her various novels from his past life as stories—a quintessential skill for any transmigrator.

However, most of the time, Qiancao still practiced various ninjutsu under Wuming's guidance.

The benefit of having a chakra seal on his body was that Qiancao could practice hand seals in the courtyard without any reservations, never worrying about damaging the furniture.

Qiancao quickly mastered most of the Fire Style ninjutsu by leveraging the Sharingan's observational prowess; though he was unsure of their raw power, his speed in forming seals was now sufficient for practical combat.

During these days, Senju Arashi became increasingly busy. Friends living near the Senju territory, having heard she had returned unscathed, came to visit one after another, and she saw many friends every day.

Whenever mealtime arrived, she had to carve out time to deliver food to the two Uchiha friends she was keeping hidden away.

Qiancao's appetite grew larger by the day, and the amount of food Senju Arashi brought back increased accordingly.

This abnormal appetite surprised Senju Arashi, who even asked her mother, Senju Ryoko, to give Qiancao a physical examination.

The results showed everything was normal; Qiancao had no symptoms other than being easily hungry, so it was likely just the growing appetite of a child in a growth spurt.

What everyone didn't know was that the reason he was eating more and more was that his Sharingan was subtly transforming his body.

His originally somewhat frail frame gradually grew stronger, and if not for the chakra seal, Qiancao could have felt his chakra reserves growing robustly as well.

Since that day, Senju Raizo had not shown his face in front of the two Uchiha.

He secretly entrusted friends from various clans to refine Wuming's story and spread it far and wide.

The Uchiha Clan's years of cruel research into the Sharingan were documented as intelligence and delivered before the daimyo of various nations.

Some daimyo, waving the banner of righteousness, temporarily ceased cooperation with the Uchiha; for instance, the daimyo of the Toyotomi Clan dismissed the Uchiha ninjas among his retainers and replaced them with Senju ninjas.

But more daimyo began sounding out the current Uchiha clan leader, Uchiha Gaku, asking whether there were any more useful weapons like Wuming within the Uchiha Clan.

Only then did Uchiha Gaku realize that Uchiha Naoto's Sharingan research project had caused such a massive disaster.

Furious, he summoned all the ninjas from the Sharingan research group overnight, intending to hold Uchiha Naoto accountable.

The flickering firelight cast Uchiha Gaku's face in a gloomy, shifting light. He sat in the main seat, listening as Uchiha Hiri described the events of that day below.

Uchiha Hiri recounted the day's events one by one, still omitting their life in the valley, claiming only that she had been knocked unconscious by Senju Arashi and remained in a coma for several days before returning to the clan alone.

After hearing the cause and effect, Uchiha Gaku suppressed his rage and said to Naoto, who stood to the side, "I only knew that a clansman named Uchiha Keisuke died together with Senju Arashi."

"There were so many twists and turns in this, why did you keep it from me all this time?"

Naoto acted as if nothing had happened, saying blandly, "You once promised me that everything regarding the Sharingan research would be left to my responsibility."

Uchiha Gaku was momentarily speechless. At the time, his struggle for the leadership position against several brothers had reached a stalemate, and it was his support for Uchiha Naoto to establish the Sharingan research group that had secured Naoto's backing.

As one of the few experts in the clan to have awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, Uchiha Naoto held a transcendent status, and it was only with his support that Uchiha Gaku had successfully become the clan leader.

"Even if you have a plan, you should tell us so I can be prepared!" Uchiha Gaku said with a bitter smile.

Seeing that Gaku still maintained some respect for him, Naoto took the initiative to explain, "I simply wanted to conduct a new experiment, which is why I set Wuming free."

"Now that the Senju Clan has more and more allies, our Uchiha reputation is declining daily. It is time to take the initiative to show weakness and hide ourselves."

Uchiha Gaku's anger subsided slightly upon hearing this explanation.

As the Uchiha leader, no one understood the clan's situation better than he did. Although they appeared to have the upper hand in the struggle against the Senju, they had placed themselves in an extremely conspicuous position.

However, Uchiha Gaku was still somewhat uneasy: "Those two brats' Sharingan—they won't fall into the hands of the Senju Clan, will they?"

Naoto replied, "I have planted a seal on them. If the Sharingan leaves their bodies, it will automatically be destroyed. Their Sharingan is very safe." These words caused Hiri, who was bowing her head nearby, to stir.

After becoming clan leader, Uchiha Gaku had seen the stone tablet hidden beneath Naka Shrine, and having awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, he had read most of its contents.

Once the powers of the Senju and Uchiha clans were combined, one would obtain power comparable to the Sage of Six Paths; that was why he had agreed to Uchiha Naoto's research request.

The Sharingan held the potential to reach the realm of the Sage of Six Paths, so further research was always the right move.

Moreover, this organization could also handle the recovery of Sharingan, preventing the Senju Clan from obtaining them.

Of course, this reason could not be spoken aloud to the clansmen present; Qiancao and Wuming's Sharingan had to be recovered.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Gaku said to Uchiha Eiki, who was watching the drama from the side, "Take a few clansmen and go capture those two little brats."

Uchiha Eiki did not agree immediately, instead casting his gaze toward Naoto.

Naoto merely smiled from the side. He knew in his heart that with Eiki's ability, it was basically impossible to snatch the two back from the Senju, but if he didn't let Gaku try, Gaku would never be satisfied.

Seeing Naoto's expression, Eiki groaned inwardly; as someone who feared trouble above all else, he was in for a miserable time.

Uchiha Gaku asked Naoto again, "You have had the most contact with those two brats. What is their next destination?"

Naoto smiled, "They have the chakra seal I set upon them. If I am not mistaken, their next target is the Land of Whirlpools, to find the sealing experts of the Uzumaki Clan to remove the seals on their bodies."

Qiancao and Wuming were indeed ready to depart.

They had changed into robes bearing the Senju Clan crest, and Qiancao was carrying the beetle that Aburame Kei had given him.

Having stayed in the Senju territory for ten full days, the two had not left Senju Arashi's small courtyard, and the beetle in his hand had, of course, not been given away.

Senju Ryoko handed a gift to Senju Arashi: "This is for your aunt; tell her to come visit more often when she has time."

On the other side, Senju Raizo pulled Senju Seiichiro aside to instruct him: "Protect your sister well, and don't lose those two Uchiha brats either."

Seiichiro agreed with a smile. This time, fearing that something might happen to Senju Arashi again, Raizo and Ryoko had strongly insisted that Seiichiro accompany them for protection.