Stage Tasks and Long-Term Tasks

Konoha Academy had begun its new term.

This year's Konoha Academy drew exceptional attention.

Because the heirs of all the major ninja clans had, for the most part, entered the academy this term.

Among them, Naruto and Sasuke attracted the most attention.

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was one thing, but the Uchiha Clan, which now maintained only a superficial relationship with Konoha, had actually sent Sasuke to school as well.

And Uchiha Deputy Clan Head Natsuki had personally brought him.

Perhaps there was another meaning behind what this represented.

Was it a gesture of goodwill from the Uchiha Clan, or something else?

Although Neji was a grade above them, he got along very well with Sasuke and Naruto.

Since Naruto had begun interacting with Natsuki, gained an elder who cared about him, and made friends with Sasuke and Neji,

he spent far less time causing mischief.

He also no longer deliberately played pranks to make people hate him.

Whether they were commoners or nobles, anyone who could enter the Ninja Academy had some awareness of Sasuke and Neji's identities.

With friends from the two great dojutsu clans protecting him, no one dared cause trouble for Naruto.

Naruto was doing somewhat better than in the original world.

After a long journey, the Cloud Village Envoy finally arrived in Konoha.

After extensive discussions and negotiations, all the terms were finally settled, and they prepared to formally hold the Peace Agreement Signing.

To mark the occasion, Konoha also held a grand Peace Celebration.

Konoha's villagers might not like Cloud Village, but no one liked war.

Many villagers joined the celebration.

Several of Konoha's Commercial Streets were even packed with crowds.

Meanwhile, under the pretense of attending the celebration, the Cloud Village envoy investigated information everywhere.

They discovered a startling fact.

The current Uchiha Clan had actually all retreated into their own clan compound.

And all responsibility for security patrols had been transferred to members of the Hyuga Clan.

Meanwhile, the Hyuga Clan's defenses had become much looser.

Yugito compiled all the information and could not help but feel relieved.

She then took out a patrol map of the Hyuga Clan and studied it carefully.

Cloud Village had paid a considerable price to obtain it.

"Nagasaki Shinichi, have you thought it through? Perhaps it would be better to send someone else."

Yugito asked with some regret.

"My lord, all three of my older brothers died in the war. Now, I have only one thought left—revenge."

"Whether we succeed or fail, we can still gain something from it."

Nagasaki Shinichi's eyes were hollow, and his entire body gave off an air of death.

"Yugito, why aren't you out having fun? The celebration is especially fun, yo, yo, you fool, you damn fool."

Killer B walked in with his utterly mismatched cadence.

He was the leader of the entire envoy. He had just taken a few laps around Konoha, accompanied by several Advisor Elders sent by Konoha.

Yugito said, "Killer B, stop playing around. Get ready. Tomorrow, we may need your strength."

Killer B put away his hip-hop demeanor and clenched his fist tightly.

Konoha's liveliness had nothing to do with Natsuki.

He had no interest in such festivities. Besides, after some time spent dragging their feet, the Uchiha Clan's new compound had been completed.

The instant the compound was finished.

[Ding... Development Task: Leave Konoha, become independent and self-reliant. First Stage completed.]

The host has obtained knowledge related to Konoha-style Sealing Jutsu.

A vast amount of Sealing Jutsu knowledge surfaced in Natsuki's mind one piece at a time.

Natsuki was invigorated. This truly solved his most urgent problem.

Besides the relatively famous Four Symbols Seal, Sealing Jutsu had another especially important application.

That was the Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique, whose formulas also relied on Sealing Jutsu.

It was precisely what the Uchiha Clan, who lacked an Investigation Barrier, urgently needed.

They only needed to inscribe barrier formulas at various key locations, then activate them with Chakra.

The Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique would provide feedback whenever outsiders entered its range.

Without this technique, such a vast area as Konoha would be especially vulnerable to enemy infiltration.

Based on the current size of the Uchiha Clan Compound, roughly three people per shift would be enough to cover the entire area.

Now they no longer had to fear Konoha's surveillance.

Back then, the Third Hokage had built tall buildings near the Uchiha Clan Compound to openly monitor them.

Now that they had moved away and there were no tall buildings, he used Anbu to secretly monitor them instead.

Natsuki had long been fed up with it, but it was inconvenient to catch those mosquitoes every day.

Now, Konoha's spies had to be pulled out one by one.

Natsuki quickly found three suitable people: Uchiha Keimei, Uchiha Iori, and Uchiha Daichi.

All of them possessed talent in Sealing Jutsu.

Keimei had once been Natsuki's teammate. Although his Combat Power was not high, he was highly capable.

His Older Brother was Yōya, the loud and scatterbrained one who had already left with Itachi.

The other two were Natsuki's new teammates, and they had been working together quite well recently.

Since Itachi's departure had taken away more than half the people, many clan members had been reassigned into new teams.

Using that as an excuse, Natsuki had instructed all Uchiha Clan Members to choose safer assignments whenever selecting missions.

He was worried that the Third Hokage would tamper with their missions and deliberately send the Uchiha to their deaths.

Fortunately, the Third Hokage had not played any tricks in that regard, and no accidents had occurred recently.

[Ding... Long-Term Task: How can a faction have only strong members from its own clan?]

[Recruit non-Uchiha Elites.]

[Upon success, acquire target specialty.]

Oh? The system finally had a new function. Natsuki had waited so long the flowers had withered.

But target specialty? What did that mean?

Natsuki had a faint guess, but he would need to test it.

For non-Uchiha people, Konoha would be the easiest place to start.

After all, it was right nearby. He would think it over first.

While lost in thought, Keimei, Iori, and Daichi arrived.

Keimei had a baby face and a slight build. He was quick-witted, and his ninjutsu was precise.

Like Izumi, Iori was one of the rare Medical Ninja among the Uchiha Clan.

She had smooth, long hair, a tall figure, and powerful sensory abilities.

Natsuki had also discovered that she possessed a rare talent for Spacetime techniques.

Daichi was a standard all-rounder with virtually no weaknesses. Both his ninjutsu and taijutsu were formidable.

"Captain! Lord Natsuki! Vice Clan Head!"

The three of them addressed him differently. Natsuki had become Vice Clan Head too quickly, and many people had yet to get used to it.

Natsuki nodded. "I called you here today because I have something for you to do."

"Please give your orders, Captain."

It was Uchiha Keimei who spoke. He was the most familiar with Natsuki.

"When our clan compound was still in Konoha, Konoha built towers around it without restraint in order to monitor us."

"Our entire Uchiha Clan had no privacy at all. Now that we have left the old site and moved somewhere new, there are still quite a few Anbu watching us from all around."

"Next, the Uchiha Clan will establish a Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique as well, and you are the people I have chosen."

The Uchiha exchanged glances. Not just anyone could use the Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique.

The Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique required both setup and operation. Operating it would not be a problem for the three of them.

But setting it up required Barrier Jutsu, and that kind of Barrier Jutsu was a secret technique of Konoha. The Uchiha Clan did not possess it.

However, since the Vice Clan Head had summoned the three of them, he must have a way to solve the problem.

None of the three spoke.

They waited for Natsuki to continue.

Seeing how composed they were, Natsuki was satisfied.

Natsuki traced a line across his left arm with his hand, and rows of Sealing Jutsu formulas appeared.

"Those are the formulas for the Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique!?"

The three were somewhat shocked. They had not expected Lord Natsuki to know Sealing Jutsu as well!

Natsuki smiled but did not explain where the formulas had come from.

Instead, he began teaching them how to circulate Chakra and how to inscribe the formulas.

The three felt both grateful and nervous. They were grateful for Lord Natsuki's trust, but nervous that they might not learn well enough and disappoint him.

Yet they soon discovered that they seemed especially familiar and compatible with Sealing Jutsu.

They could easily understand all the knowledge Natsuki explained. Daichi even offered some ideas of his own.

The three listened to the knowledge of Sealing Jutsu with great interest, as though they should have known this technique from the start.

Lord Natsuki truly has an eye for talent. The thought arose in each of their minds.

Seeing how enthusiastic they were, Natsuki spent several hours teaching them the Defensive Sensory Barrier Technique in full.

"Have you learned it?"

Upon hearing Natsuki's question, Keimei instinctively tested the barrier formula in his hand. Soon, the glow of a barrier formula lit up in his palm.

Iori and Daichi tested it in their hands as well, and the light of barrier formulas soon appeared.

Natsuki nodded in satisfaction. Sure enough, this was among their talents. With the knowledge in hand, they could learn it quickly.

All three wore excited expressions. Learning a technique in a single evening was simply unbelievable.

The barrier formulas in their hands transformed into various shapes.

This showed that they could already use the skill at a basic level.

"About how many more days will you need before you can set up the barrier?"

After discussing it among themselves, Keimei answered:

"Reporting to Captain, we will need roughly seven days to become familiar with the formulas, along with some materials."

"However, the setup itself will likely take around two weeks."

"Fine. Tomorrow, Iori, report this to Fugaku. Daichi, coordinate with the patrol teams. Keimei, prepare the materials."

"Once the preparations are complete, begin setting it up immediately. I want to see the barrier in three weeks."

"Yes!"

"Tonight, I'll pull out all the Anbu spies first."

Natsuki stretched his limbs. At last, he would no longer have to be watched by those irritating flies.