Minato's Shock and Decision

Following the caravan, they entered the Land of Tea without a hitch.

Uchiha Yuzhen knew that this mission would soon come to an end.

He sat on the roof of the carriage, pulling out a hilt engraved with runes.

This was the hilt of the Kubikiribōchō!

While clearing the battlefield, Yuzhen had discovered it, surprisingly not completely dissolved by the Scorch Release.

He naturally knew what the Kubikiribōchō was.

It was a special ninja sword that possessed the attribute of "immortality."

This "immortality" meant that even if the blade were damaged, it could restore itself whenever it cut someone.

It absorbed the iron elements from the blood to repair the blade.

Seeing that the hilt was intact at the time, he had picked it up, thinking the Kubikiribōchō could be restored.

It was just as he had suspected.

The core of this sword lay in the hilt; as long as the runes engraved inside could come into contact with blood, it could recover.

That was not even the most important part.

When Uchiha Yuzhen gripped the hilt, something unexpected happened.

He had actually extracted an affix from the ninja tool—or rather, the special weapon!

[Vampiric Immortality (Blue)]: Can restore metal implements by absorbing iron ions from blood.

A special affix!

It was just like the [Eye of the Divine Realm (Red)] that Obito had given him.

Both were conditional, one-time-use affixes.

The [Eye of the Divine Realm (Red)] was restricted, requiring the Sharingan to reach the Mangekyō Sharingan level before it could be used.

Once used, it would vanish.

As for the Kubikiribōchō's [Vampiric Immortality (Blue)] affix, it needed to be attached to a metal implement.

At this moment, Uchiha Yuzhen had only one thought.

That was, upon returning to the village, even if he had to sell everything he owned.

He had to get his hands on a katana made of chakra metal!

He would attach this affix, which could make metal weapons "immortal," to it.

By doing so, he would complete his future signature weapon!

He would then upgrade the affix through the Affix System, turning his weapon into a true divine artifact.

Thereby making himself even more powerful!

At this very moment, Uchiha Yuzhen felt a sense of anticipation about returning to the village.

Thinking of this, he called out to Minato, who was walking in front: "Minato-sensei, I've made a discovery!"

His reasoning was simple.

Since he had already obtained the affix from the ninja sword, this blade, which could be summoned back by Kirigakure, was useless to him.

It might be useless to him, but it was useful to the village!

The Seven Ninja Swordsmen required seven specialized ninja swords to truly form that group, didn't they?

Why did the five great ninja villages like to create such high-profile groups?

It was simple: for the sake of reputation!

The higher the reputation, the more noble clients would trust in the strength of your village.

And the higher your share of missions would be!

With a higher share of missions, there would naturally be more money.

With more money came more resources, allowing the ninja village to develop and grow stronger.

"So... after Kirigakure loses this ninja sword, they will definitely come to Konoha to inquire about it."

"Then the village can use this as a bargaining chip to negotiate conditions favorable to Konoha."

Uchiha Yuzhen had already reached Namikaze Minato's side, speaking to him eloquently.

The words above were Yuzhen's sincere thoughts.

There was a selfish motive as well.

That was, he knew nothing about sealing techniques, so he likely wouldn't be able to keep this Ninja Blade.

With a simple summoning technique, it would just fly away.

It was better to hand it over to the village to build some goodwill with Namikaze Minato.

And to secure a tool for himself within the village.

Of course, due to the stereotypes ingrained by the manga and anime, he feared that Sarutobi Hiruzen was no longer in his "Ninja Hero" state at this moment.

He worried it was the "appeasement Hokage" of the later years, which was why he had said a few extra words to Namikaze Minato.

Hearing this, Namikaze Minato shook his head with a chuckle as he took the hilt of the Kubikiribōchō from Uchiha Yuzhen's hand.

"I have to say, Yuzhen... you don't really think the village's top brass are all nice guys, do you?" After Namikaze Minato slapped a sealing technique onto the hilt, he clutched his head, feeling a bit of a headache, and sighed to Uchiha Yuzhen.

He felt that his student must have gotten his information from somewhere unknown.

From Yuzhen's words, he could sense that the boy was terrified that the village would unconditionally return the Kubikiribōchō to Kirigakure.

Regarding this, he felt his student was being whimsical.

Not to mention that Lord Third, as the "Ninja Hero," would never do such a thing!

That "Darkness of the Shinobi," Mr. Danzo, a staunch member of the Hawk Faction, would never allow such a situation to occur either.

Seeing Namikaze Minato's helpless expression, Uchiha Yuzhen was momentarily stunned.

The village's top brass weren't all nice guys?

Indeed!

With Danzo around, it was impossible for the village's leadership to be entirely composed of nice guys.

But what about Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had always pursued a policy of "appeasement," and the team he led?

Weren't they exactly like that in the manga?

Wait! Uchiha Yuzhen suddenly realized something.

He remembered that in the early stages, Sarutobi Hiruzen still held the title of "Ninja Hero."

Thinking of this, "So that's how it is, Minato-sensei... then I can rest easy." Yuzhen immediately nodded in response to Namikaze Minato.

He had figured it out; since you said so, I will believe it.

Regardless, I have handed over the special ninja tool, and given your character, Namikaze Minato, my contribution will certainly be recognized, so I don't need to worry about that aspect.

Immediately after, having finished the handover of the ninja tool, they finally arrived at the capital of the Land of Tea.

This mission had truly reached its end.

The mission in the Land of Tea was completed with a very smooth handover.

After declining the caravan leader's offer and signing the mission completion report, Team Minato set off on the road back to the village.

Konoha is located in the heart of the Land of Fire.

Traveling back from the Land of Tea, the pace of a ninja squad made the journey quite fast.

Before long, in less than two days, Team Minato returned to Konoha.

It was noon, and the sun was shining brightly.

Outside the gates of Konoha, Namikaze Minato smiled warmly at the members of Team Minato:

"Everyone has worked hard; you are dismissed for now."

"As the Jonin leader, I will submit the mission report and collect your mission rewards while I'm at it."

"We will meet at the Akimichi Clan's Yakiniku Restaurant this evening to celebrate the successful completion of our first mission!"

"Yes! Minato-sensei!" (X4)

Namikaze Minato waved goodbye to his students with a smile.

Once he turned around, his expression instantly became incredibly grave.

At this moment, Minato was wondering how on earth he should submit this report!

This report was going to be a massive headache!

As an exceptionally brilliant figure, he knew that among the village's upper echelons, everyone except Lord Third harbored wariness, disgust, and jealousy toward the Uchiha.

He could feel it.

Uchiha Yuzhen had been far too outstanding during this mission!

The enemy ninja, Juzo Biwa, was one of the hallmarks of Kirigakure.

One of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen!

A ninja of that caliber was undeniably one of the pinnacles among the tens of thousands of ninjas across the Five Great Shinobi Nations.

Yet, he had been killed by Uchiha Yuzhen, a youth who had only debuted a few years ago!

Then, the problems arose.

Uchiha Yuzhen had not awakened his Sharingan long ago.

He had jumped straight from just awakening it to the Three Tomoe.

Such talent for the Sharingan, aside from the late awakening, was impeccable in every other aspect.

It was truly jaw-dropping!

His learning ability was even more unexpected.

Flying Thunder God, Nintaijutsu, Ninjutsu.

And his adaptability in combat!

Not to mention that unheard-of ability to copy Kekkei Genkai...

Adding all these things together, even Namikaze Minato was startled.

How could this still be called a genius?!

This was simply a monster!

Thinking that such a monster had become his student, he, as the teacher... absolutely could not let darkness taint Yuzhen; he had to guide him properly.

He had to make Uchiha Yuzhen a ninja who truly embraced the "Will of Fire."

The only good news right now was that...

Among the village's high-ranking officials, the only one who did not hold excessive prejudice against the Uchiha was the Hokage himself!

It seemed he really needed to have a proper discussion with Lord Third.

With that thought, Minato cleared his mind and strode toward the Hokage Building.

Unlike Minato, who was suffering from a headache over how to submit his report, Yuzhen began a real inventory once he returned home.

He opened his System Panel.