First Mission!

Uchiha Shunichi had spent a long time in the laboratory, but the experiment's progress remained unchanged.

It had an effect, but it was completely unstable.

Even Uchiha Shunichi, with his Regression ability, had no desire to inject those experimental results into his own body.

That was because this was not a one-time thing—it would have lasting effects on the body. The results might look good at first, only to suddenly worsen months or even years later.

"This world's science... really isn't rigorous at all!" Uchiha Shunichi frowned.

At that moment, he finally understood why Orochimaru had conducted human experiments.

Scientific research in this world had no formulas and no systematic explanations. Most experiments were simply: someone had an idea... so they went and did it!

As for whether it would succeed... that depended on luck.

The strength of chakra lay in the fact that this energy could suppress all kinds of cellular reactions, and it could even link together two completely unrelated things.

For example... Bloodline Limit Transfer.

Scratching his head, Uchiha Shunichi decided to give up for the time being. He could not bring himself to conduct human experiments, and developing human clones required a great deal of funding. Uchiha Shunichi did not want to resort to robbery yet, nor did he want to betray the village for now.

However, Sarutobi Hiruzen was absolutely not someone he could trust. He would wait until Tsunade became Hokage. That woman... should be able to recognize the value of my research.

For the next stretch of time, Uchiha Shunichi fell into an incredibly boring routine.

Yes, truly boring!

Naruto Uzumaki was generally safe within the village. As a result, the Anbu assigned to protect him spent most of their time idling around.

Fortunately, the assignment allowed them plenty of freedom. They did not have to watch Naruto Uzumaki while he was out on missions with Kakashi, and they could relax while he slept at night.

In fact, Uchiha Shunichi was not the only one growing impatient. Even Second Pillar was getting fed up.

Every day, they were stuck with childish missions like catching cats, chasing dogs, or cleaning up trash. It was truly irritating.

At last, Naruto Uzumaki was the first to lose patience. He complained to Sarutobi Hiruzen and asked for a more advanced mission.

Sarutobi Hiruzen agreed and assigned an escort mission to Team 7.

Just as Naruto Uzumaki received his new mission, Uchiha Shunichi received one as well. This time, they were not merely protecting Naruto—the Anbu had a mission of their own.

"Heading to the Land of Waves to eliminate rogue ninja? But don't we have another mission?"

Uchiha Shunichi looked at Tenzō in confusion. No matter what, he had not expected to leave Konoha before Team 7 did.

"We only need to keep a certain distance. At a ninja's speed, if anything happens, we'll make it there in time!" Tenzō did not seem particularly concerned. Or rather, he trusted Kakashi Hatake's strength.

"I understand." Uchiha Shunichi nodded and asked no further questions.

Tenzō was still somewhat uneasy. "This is your first mission outside the village. Your strength has been recognized, but anything can happen during a mission. If something unexpected occurs, ask me for help immediately."

There were, admittedly, quite a few good people in Konoha. Although Uchiha Shunichi knew Tenzō's mission surely included monitoring him, those words still made him feel somewhat favorably toward the man.

"Mm. I've always been calm. Nothing unexpected will happen." Though he had never killed anyone, Uchiha Shunichi had already slaughtered over a thousand white mice in the laboratory.

Some of those mutated white mice were not much smaller than humans.

Moreover, Uchiha Shunichi had been trying to develop cloning, but he had never found a way to solve the problem of replicating a person's soul.

After all, all he wanted to create was a body. He did not need a person with a soul. If it had a soul, there would be far too many variables in the experiment.

"Good. Get ready. We leave in an hour!" Tenzō clearly had little faith in Uchiha Shunichi's assurance.

In truth, he could not be blamed. Before someone had been on the battlefield, no one could say for certain what would happen. Some adapted well, while others simply could not.

Following behind Team 7, Uchiha Shunichi stepped out through Konoha's gates for the first time. The scenery outside felt unfamiliar, yet it improved his mood considerably.

However, that good mood ended once they reached the next town...

The town itself was fairly tidy, but the streets were filled with sallow, emaciated villagers, and the surrounding courtyards were somewhat rundown.

"This place..." Uchiha Shunichi was puzzled.

Although he had long known that many people in the world of ninja suffered greatly, he had never imagined that the Land of Fire had places like this. The Land of Fire was, after all, the most prosperous of the Five Great Nations.

"Looks very different from the village, doesn't it? This place is remote, it has no valuable specialties, and most importantly, it's close to the border..." Tenzō did not seem to care much.

He had grown up during wartime. Although he had not been to the battlefield many times, he had seen plenty of Root's cruelty and the suffering endured by ordinary people in this world.

"No. I just didn't expect this place to be in such a state." Uchiha Shunichi shook his head.

Looking around at the scene, Tenzō said with some emotion, "Not every place is Konoha. This place is actually considered fairly decent."

"All right, let's rest up first. Go gather information and meet back here in fifteen minutes. This is the mission target. Be careful not to expose yourselves," Tenzō said.

Uzuki Yugao and Gekko Hayate clearly already knew the target, so the mission dossier Tenzō handed over was specifically for Uchiha Shunichi.

Uchiha Shunichi took it and glanced through it. The target was a ninja he did not recognize at all. According to the information, the man was a Special Jonin who had fled during the war out of fear of battle.

After scanning it twice and memorizing the information and the target's appearance, Uchiha Shunichi returned the dossier to Tenzō.

Observation was a skill every ninja had to master. Of the Three Basic Techniques taught at the Ninja Academy, the most difficult was not the Clone Technique, but the Transformation Technique.

It was not because the Transformation Technique itself was particularly difficult, but because it required careful observation. Especially when transforming into someone else, one needed to observe not only their build, but also their clothing, belongings, and various habits.

In a sense, Naruto Uzumaki truly was a genius. He simply had never had a good teacher to guide him.