Camp

After a long while, Uchiha Yasashiro finally stopped his ecstatic, uninhibited laughter.

At the same time, Yin Jie snapped out of his daze. He first looked straight ahead at Tsunade, the tomoe in his eyes slowly turning.

Her pale golden hair, delicate brows, bright brown eyes, and the forehead protector engraved with the leaf emblem all came into view. Yin Jie's expression instantly tightened, his heart giving a slight leap as his pupils contracted.

He recognized Tsunade.

However, concealed by both the night and the curtain of rain, no one noticed the change in Yin Jie's expression.

Then, his gaze shifted to Uchiha Yasashiro, standing not far from Tsunade's side with unconcealed delight written across his face.

Short brown hair, distinctive markings beside his eyes, and the Sharingan in his gaze—eyes anyone who had watched Naruto could recognize at once.

After searching his memories from his previous life for a moment, Yin Jie confirmed the man's identity.

He was Uchiha Yasashiro, a veteran member of the Hidden Leaf Police Force in the original story.

After Shisui Uchiha's death, he had gone with two other veteran Police Force members, Inabi and Tekka, to question Uchiha Itachi.

The moment he recognized Uchiha Yasashiro, Yin Jie's taut nerves relaxed. He had already understood his own identity.

The abnormality in his eyes was none other than the Uchiha Clan's bloodline limit—the Sharingan!

Although he had no idea why an Uchiha like him had appeared in the Land of Rain, since he had awakened the Sharingan bloodline limit, Uchiha blood undoubtedly flowed through his veins.

The Uchiha Clan—those who knew, knew.

They were the clan that loved most deeply, and also the clan that revered power above all else.

And the pair of Sharingan Yin Jie had just awakened was the very symbol of that clan's power.

Letting out a soft breath, the now-relaxed Yin Jie looked farther away, toward the vague figures approaching through the rain.

Byakugan, ninja hounds, hoods, pineapple heads...

Yin Jie silently identified these distinctive traits belonging to the Hidden Leaf Village's major ninja clans. A guess formed in his heart. It seemed the Hidden Leaf was preparing some major move in the direction of the Land of Wind.

"Lady Tsunade! What about this child...?"

Having calmed his excitement, though the corners of his mouth still could not help but curl upward, Uchiha Yasashiro spoke up.

He could have made the decision himself without Tsunade's consent. Even leaving the team at this moment to escort Yin Jie back to the village would not have been a problem.

After all, this concerned a bloodline inheritance from a bloodline clan that had been left outside. Every bloodline ninja clan would inevitably place such a matter at the very core of its concerns.

Therefore, even if the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, arrived in person, he would have no grounds to reprimand Yasashiro over it.

Of course, Uchiha Yasashiro had no intention of taking Yin Jie straight back to the village now. He understood the purpose of this mission clearly enough.

The Hidden Sand Village's offensive had been intensifying lately, and the front-line battlefield still sorely needed an Uchiha jonin like him with a three-tomoe Sharingan.

More importantly, under Tsunade's leadership, their team was heading out as reinforcements to prepare a grand plan against the Hidden Sand—one that might very well decide victory or defeat in a single battle.

Besides, he was a member of a team under Tsunade's command. And while serving in the Hidden Leaf Police Force, the word he valued most had always been "rules."

And beyond that—

Although Tsunade came from the Senju Clan, the Uchiha Clan's longtime rival—

As the strongest female ninja in the Hidden Leaf and a top-tier medical ninja, both her strength and her way of doing things had earned the admiration of many Uchiha clansmen.

Taking everything into account, Uchiha Yasashiro felt it was necessary to seek Tsunade's opinion first.

"Rumble!"

A muffled thunderclap exploded across the sky.

Tsunade lowered her head and studied Yin Jie's scarlet eyes, which radiated an ominous aura. Her gaze then swept over his pale face, washed white by the rain.

After a brief silence, she said, "Take him with us to the front-line camp first..."

Before long, after a brief rest, the Hidden Leaf ninja set out once more for the front-line battlefield.

Yin Jie, meanwhile, was carried on Uchiha Yasashiro's back.

Though everyone traveling with them was a comrade from the same village and was unlikely to harm Yin Jie, Uchiha Yasashiro truly did not dare gamble on that.

It was better to personally watch over his clan's genius!

The next day.

Near noon.

The reinforcement team led by Tsunade arrived at the front line where the Hidden Leaf and the Hidden Sand faced off in the southwestern Land of Rain.

Though it was called the front line, the Hidden Leaf had set up camp in an abandoned town. Using the empty town as their base, they had established a tight defensive line against the Hidden Sand.

Thus, when Yin Jie awoke from his first deep sleep in days—made possible by Uchiha Yasashiro's protection—his eyes were met by soft sunlight streaming in through the window.

A rare sunny day in the Land of Rain...

Yin Jie sat up and looked out the window, his expression somewhat dazed.

The bed was far softer than those of the past few days. The air was fresh, free of dust and unpleasant odors. Along with the gentle, bright warmth of the sunlight, everything felt so unreal.

Then Yin Jie came back to himself. In an instant, everything that had happened the night before surged through his mind like a tide.

"Uchiha Yin Jie..."

Yin Jie accepted his new identity without the slightest ripple in his heart.

After all, he had already encountered something as absurd as getting hit by a truck and transmigrating.

Then transmigrating into the Uchiha Clan was, perhaps, somewhat to be expected?

There had to be some benefits, after all!

After a long while, Yin Jie gently shook his head, reined in his wandering thoughts, and returned to a calm expression.

Then he pushed open the door and stepped outside. His gaze swept across the area as he examined his surroundings.

He wanted to see Uchiha Yasashiro as soon as possible, so he could learn about the current situation from him.

However, although he saw quite a few Hidden Leaf ninja hurrying back and forth through the town, every one of them was in a rush. Not a single Hidden Leaf ninja paid any attention to someone like him, who clearly did not belong here.