"The mission in the Land of Wind?!"
After his match with Kakashi, Uchiha Yuzhen's eyes lit up when he heard the news.
He was desperately short on money!
There was no helping it...
Flying Thunder God was powerful, but the technique had one "fatal flaw."
It cost a fortune!
Specialized Kunai were expensive!
He'd spent the past few days training.
He'd already blown through every last bit of his previous mission's pay.
Now, hearing about a mission, he was thrilled.
A mission outside the village meant a hefty payout!
"That's right, that's right! We took this mission with Minato-sensei. Obito-sama will explain the details!" Uchiha Obito seemed unable to hold back after being quiet just moments ago.
He hurriedly jumped in,
and launched into an explanation for Uchiha Yuzhen.
The rest of Team Minato were happy to let Obito have his moment in the spotlight.
After all, his antics helped liven things up.
After Obito's lengthy explanation,
Uchiha Yuzhen had a general grasp of the mission.
The Ninja World was unsettled at the moment.
The Second Shinobi World War had ended a few years ago.
But the various countries hadn't...
resolved the economic problems left in its wake.
Now, those problems were coming to a head.
Every human conflict ultimately came down to one thing.
利益!
Self-interest!
For Sunagakure, economic concerns were especially urgent.
Though the Land of Wind was vast, ninety-nine percent of its territory was desert.
Barren land meant a weak nation.
A weak nation meant less support for its hidden village.
For Sunagakure, now at the height of its power,
that was unacceptable.
Sunagakure understood the Daimyo's position, too. The country's limited strength meant—
even the landlord had no grain to spare; he simply couldn't provide much financial support.
So what could they do?
It was simple: invade another country.
When both the Daimyo and the Kazekage thought that way,
the neighboring Land of Rivers looked extremely tempting.
Unlike the Land of Wind,
the Land of Rivers bordered the Land of Rain but, unlike it, wasn't plagued by constant rainfall due to its terrain.
It had abundant rain and fertile soil.
And as a neighbor of the Land of Fire, it also enjoyed a major advantage in trade.
Though the Land of Rivers was smaller than the Land of Wind,
it was by no means weaker in national strength!
So Sunagakure took action.
The Third Kazekage personally led the kidnapping of the Daimyo of the Land of Rivers and his son.
Now, the Land of Rivers' request for aid had reached Konoha.
Konoha immediately arranged for the available combat forces
to head out.
That meant Namikaze Minato!
He would lead a Jonin team made up of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio, Inuzuka, and Aburame.
Their mission was to rescue the hostages!
After receiving the mission, Namikaze Minato discussed it with the Third Hokage.
He believed the members of his team
included Kakashi and Yuzhen, both of whom had Jonin-level combat strength.
And Obito wasn't weak, either.
He'd earned the nickname "Dead Last" in the Elite Class.
The dead last in the Elite Class couldn't really be weak.
He had at least the skills of an ordinary Chunin.
After all, he came from a ninja clan.
He had a much stronger start than a civilian ninja.
And Rin Nohara was already a medic-nin, the kind of ninja who was essential on a mission.
So, after discussing it with the Third Hokage, Team Minato joined the operation.
After hearing Obito's explanation,
"Then we leave this afternoon, right?" Uchiha Yuzhen raised his eyes and asked them.
"Right. A rescue mission calls for speed."
Hearing that, Yuzhen felt relieved.
He squeezed the Ninja Blade that had just been held against Kakashi's neck.
This blade—
was made of Chakra Metal.
Fugaku had given it to him a few days ago.
Yuzhen was very pleased with his new weapon.
It was better than he'd expected!
It was razor-sharp, and its chakra conductivity was excellent, too.
After he equipped it with the [Vampiric Immortality (Blue)] Affix,
he'd tested it as well.
It had become just like Kubikiribōchō: even if it was damaged,
absorbing blood could restore the blade.
And the blood didn't have to come from a human.
Any carbon-based life-form with iron in its blood would do!
Now—
his weapon's upgrade was complete.
After spending the past few days integrating Flying Thunder God into his abilities,
his strength had also undergone a tremendous transformation!
That was right!
He'd reached Elite Jonin level.
His status panel had changed.
Host: Uchiha Yuzhen Gender: Male Age: Twelve Strength: Elite Jonin Affixes: [Eye of the Divine Realm (Red)], [Child of Time and Space (Gold)], [Genius (Gold)], [Phantom Fate (Gold)] [Uchiha (Purple)], [Scorch Release (Purple)], [Steel Training (Purple)] [Sharingan (Blue)], [Fire Style (Blue)], [Wind Style (Blue)], [Yin Style (Blue)] [Uchiha Style (Blue)], [Natural Energy Affinity (Blue)], [Flying Thunder God Technique Formula (Blue)] Combat Points: 170.
After integrating Flying Thunder God,
the panel had rated him as an Elite Jonin.
And his potential as an Elite Jonin was extremely high.
At the lower end, he could instantly defeat an ordinary Jonin, like Kakashi just now.
At the upper end, he could use Flying Thunder God to remain undefeated and hold his own against a Kage.
"At this stage—or rather, before this mission—this is probably as strong as I can get."
Kakashi's challenge had earned him 100 Combat Points.
Unfortunately, all the Affixes on his panel were currently Blue or higher.
He didn't have enough points to upgrade any of them.
Still, Uchiha Yuzhen knew very well
that his current strength was already more than enough to face any challenge.
The confidence Flying Thunder God gave him was immense.
And he'd already chosen his next goal.
Combining Flying Thunder God with Uchiha Style
fell under the realm of "ninjutsu."
Once he'd mastered that aspect,
he would turn his attention to "genjutsu" and "taijutsu."
He believed that after this mission, further study of the Affixes he'd extracted from Shisui and Guy
would definitely let his strength...
reach a level of all-around excellence across ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu!
"Yuzhen? Yuzhen? Are you listening? What are you thinking about..." Namikaze Minato's puzzled voice interrupted his thoughts.
Yuzhen came back to himself.
Seeing the puzzled look on Namikaze Minato's face, Uchiha Yuzhen said sheepishly,
"I was wondering: the Third Kazekage is personally leading the mission. Do we have any more detailed intel?"
"After all, the team led by a village's Kage shouldn't be made up of nobodies, right?!"
Hearing Yuzhen's question, Namikaze Minato grew serious, too.
"You're right, Yuzhen. According to the intel we received..."
"It isn't just the Third Kazekage... He's also brought Sunagakure's Puppet Corps."
"One of them is Sasori of the Red Sand, Sunagakure's genius puppeteer."
"As the Puppet Corps' leader..."
"he must not be underestimated!"
Before you continue