Half a Year

In this region.

Kumogakure and Konoha had clashed countless times.

Blood had flowed like rivers. The people of the Land of Hot Springs no longer dared travel back and forth along this road; even going out in their daily lives required careful consideration. Once they encountered a battle between the ninja of the two nations, even if it was merely a clash between Genin, ordinary people dragged into it had only one outcome: death. The principle followed by Konoha Ninja was to avoid harming civilians whenever possible under normal circumstances.

But if mission completion or their own safety was involved.

Sorry.

Killing civilians.

For Konoha Ninja.

Was just as easy.

At the end of the day, few ninja in this world truly regarded civilians outside their own country as worthy of notice. To put it more harshly, once they stepped outside their own shinobi village, what did the lives and deaths of civilians in other regions have to do with them?

During the half year Shōji had spent on this front line.

He had long since grown accustomed to such an atmosphere.

When one was burdened by concerns over even one's own affairs, there was no thought left to spare for matters beyond oneself.

Of course, whenever possible, Shōji would still look after the civilians of the Land of Hot Springs within the limits of his ability while carrying out missions. Just like the fervent Uchiha Clan emotions left behind by "Shōji," this negligible "kind heart" was also a "special legacy" left behind by Liu Heng's consciousness.

It could be called hypocritical benevolence.

He had never cared how others viewed it. So long as his own conscience was at ease, that was enough.

After all.

Who didn't have a false mask or two?

Another thing worth mentioning was that over the past half year, due to his repeated flawless completion of missions and the extremely high level of personal strength he had displayed during combat—even when he had deliberately held himself back—

After receiving Nara Suzaku's approval and being reported to the village.

With the approval of the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.

Shōji had now become a bona fide Jōnin of Konohagakure.

Unlike before, when he had to carry out missions under Akimichi Motoyasu's command, last month, after receiving approval for Jōnin status, Shōji had been arranged by Nara Suzaku to independently lead a squad on sabotage missions.

Including that very first mission.

Over the past half year.

More than thirty Kumo Ninja had died at Shōji's hands, including three Jōnin. The Uchiha Clan had always possessed a great reputation in the shinobi world, and the strength Shōji displayed had drawn the attention of the Kumo Ninja. Dodai, the Frontline Commander, had even made plans and issued orders to encircle and eliminate Uchiha Shōji.

But for one thing, the Kumo Ninja could not spare a force with such a powerful lineup.

For another, Shōji was highly skilled at pursuit battles and generally would not easily give the Kumo Ninja an opportunity to ambush and surround him.

Therefore.

Shōji remained active on the battlefield.

He had become the most renowned and imposing among the Uchiha ninja—and indeed all Konoha Ninja—stationed along the border region.

Nara Suzaku had also relied on Shōji's strength.

To repeatedly complete several highly difficult sabotage operations.

This had kept the situation in Konoha's hands thus far. Perhaps because of this intense pressure, the strain on the Kumo Ninja had gradually increased. Recently, the frequency of their frontal assaults had dropped considerably.

Instead, the frequency of reconnaissance and surprise attacks around Mount Fengzui to the west had sharply increased.

Unable to determine the Kumo Ninja's intentions for the time being, Nara Suzaku could only strengthen reconnaissance and security in the western area, preventing the Kumo Ninja from truly taking the opportunity to move south through Mount Fengzui and invade the Land of Fire. Although the likelihood of Kumogakure launching a war on a larger scale was extremely low, Kumogakure was the most warlike among the Five Great Shinobi Villages.

Suzaku still had to guard against them suddenly losing their heads.

Thus.

During this period.

Shōji's squad frequently appeared in this area.

Together with their other comrades, they were responsible for linking up with nearby defensive and reconnaissance outposts, as well as suppressing activity around Mount Fengzui.

Today.

At the same time.

Shōji likewise led his squad members into the northeastern area of Mount Fengzui, cautiously remaining alert for Kumo Ninja who might appear at any moment.

Especially now that it was already December and winter had arrived.

Heavy snow could fall in the Land of Hot Springs at any time.

If that happened.

It would become much harder for the reconnaissance side to gather intelligence.

Therefore, during this period, multiple Konoha squads had instead launched frequent sorties, conducting reconnaissance from many directions to gather useful intelligence. Since neither side intended to engage in large-scale frontal combat, over the past three or four months, confrontations had basically taken place in squad-sized formations. Even the largest clash had involved only four or five squads, numbering twenty or thirty people.

Drawing on the combat experience he had continuously accumulated over this period, Shōji had further shortened and solidified the process of adapting to his own strength. His Lightning Release techniques, Fire Release techniques, swordsmanship, and use of the Sharingan, combined with the original owner's memories and experience, had all reached a state of consummate mastery.

The only regrettable thing was that he had never found an opportunity to test his Mangekyō Sharingan. One reason was that he was never acting alone and had companions with him—companions he could not trust completely. The other reason, naturally, was that there had not been a single suitable opponent worthy of making Shōji use those eyes.

But Shōji was not in a hurry. The fulfillment of this period had already satisfied him greatly. Just as he had planned, he had also developed Homura and another peer named Fenglin into reliable clan companions.

That already counted as completing his initial goal.

Even though his second goal still showed no sign of progress thus far.

"Captain, someone passed through here just now. They tried to erase their tracks, but some traces remain. It should have been a Kumo Ninja reconnaissance squad."

After gathering intelligence from the surrounding area, a Chūnin responsible for examining tracks in the squad returned to Shōji's side and reported with a hint of respect.

Ever since they had entered this period of stalemate and attrition, most squads sent out by both the Kumo Ninja and Konoha had suffered casualties. Only a small number of squads made up of particularly lucky or exceptionally strong people could remain unstoppable.

Shōji was one of the latter.

In the nearly two months since he had become a Jōnin and led squads into battle.

Not to mention deaths.

Not even a single serious injury had occurred.

Shōji alone could often deal with the enemies who attacked them.

The members of his squad suffered, at most, minor injuries, and this only made them respect and admire Shōji more.