Can't I Just Grind Commissions in Peace?

Many jutsu from the Naruto world seemed to have practical value on the Honkai: Star Rail set. The techniques here were performed through Chakra, a form of biological energy extracted from one's own body, and thus were not subject to the limitations of Imaginary energy.

In other words, if they could figure out how to transplant "Chakra" and make it broadly compatible with human transplants, it would become an ability system even more widespread than Nen.

There were already "Rebirth Samsara," "Impure World Reincarnation," and the incomplete "Living Reincarnation" among the resurrection techniques alone.

That incomplete "Living Reincarnation" in particular was said to be capable of granting life even to puppets... It was somewhat like turning inorganic matter into organic matter.

If this technique were used on a robot implanted with the Anti-Organic Equation and truly turned it organic, then according to the logic of the Anti-Organic Equation... would that robot immediately shoot itself in the head?

In a sense, Chakra truly was as omnipotent as Honkai Energy. It could travel through space-time, create limited illusory worlds, resurrect the dead, craft miniature celestial bodies by hand, alter reality under specific limits, and forcibly modify personalities under certain conditions...

Although many of those abilities relied on Sage Eyes, there was no denying that Chakra was still the source of their power.

"Our main objective in the ninja world this time is to obtain 'genetic' samples from those five or six clans. Ideally, we should find several volunteers willing to cooperate with partial experiments..."

"Volunteers for experiments? Where are you going to find people selfless enough for that?"

Mei raised an eyebrow. Any experiment involving work on the human body inevitably required genuine human experimentation. The Hypermutation Surgery for Flame Chasers was a typical example. Although Kevin's successful case had been an accidental, irreproducible one, his success had indeed provided some ideas and approaches for the next Hypermutation Surgery.

But...

For some strange reason, she had retained no useful memories whatsoever of that operation she had personally performed.

It was as though some cognitive barrier prevented her from breaking through the fog.

"So, next we'll go look for some volunteers."

Shirou smiled faintly. After tapping his phone several times in succession, he projected a collected map of the ninja world. He pointed at an island located between three major nations and said,

"The Land of Whirlpools. It is a clan-state founded around the Uzumaki Clan as its sole core. Its clan head serves as both Daimyo and ninja village leader, making it one of the rare anomalies in the ninja world."

"This clan is a distant relative of Konoha's Senju Clan. They naturally possess Kekkei Genkai such as 'extremely powerful vitality,' 'vast Chakra reserves,' and 'mastery of Sealing Jutsu.' Those traits are also highly inheritable. In the current ninja village era, every major ninja village possesses a Chakra Beast with a status similar to nuclear weapons, known as a 'Tailed Beast.' Since these Tailed Beasts cannot be directly controlled, they are sealed inside human bodies, allowing those people to wield their power."

"Jinchuriki—that is what ninja villages call such people. Yet the vast majority lack the qualifications to contain a Tailed Beast. Forcibly sealing one inside them will cause the Tailed Beast to run wild, resulting in widespread disaster. The Uzumaki Clan is naturally proficient in Sealing Jutsu, which makes them the most ideal Jinchuriki material."

"However, the Land of Whirlpools is not among the Five Great Nations and receives none of their protection. They are natural Jinchuriki material, and their only reinforcements are their distant relatives, the Senju Clan—but the Senju Clan is now nearly extinct as well... Given this situation, do you think the Uzumaki Clan would be willing to proactively provide us with some volunteers?"

"What did Konoha say?"

Within the ancestral altar grounds of the Land of Whirlpools, the elders and clan heads had gathered together, their expressions grave.

Uzumaki Ashina, the clan head, asked an elder who had returned after delivering a letter to Konoha about the answer they had awaited for so long.

The elder who had returned from Konoha fell silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"Konoha said that without authorization from the Daimyo of the Land of Fire, they cannot send a large force of reinforcements to aid us. At most, they can arrange two Anbu squads to escort the younger clan members into Konoha."

"They're taking advantage of our misfortune!"

Some elders immediately flew into a rage, their brows standing on end as they loudly condemned Konoha's unjust conduct during the meeting.

After all, although the Uzumaki Clan had not joined Konoha's ninja village, Uzumaki Mito, the First Hokage's wife, had come from the Uzumaki Clan. During Konoha's early days, the Uzumaki Clan had contributed greatly, even gifting Konoha many precious secret techniques in the field of Sealing Jutsu.

Among the Five Great Nations, aside from Konoha, the Sealing Jutsu of the other nations could practically be described as inferior. Yet because of its marriage ties with the Uzumaki Clan, Konoha had gradually developed an unrivaled standing in Sealing Jutsu. Calling the Uzumaki Clan Konoha's teacher in Sealing Jutsu would not be an exaggeration.

But now, the elder brother who had taught them Sealing Jutsu, the Uzumaki Clan, was about to face calamity, and Konoha was still trying to profit from their crisis. They wanted to take all the outstanding youths to Konoha without paying anything in return. Wasn't that simply devouring a family with no heirs?

"Enough, Yūjin. Calm down a little."

Clan Head Ashina remained restrained. As the ruler of a nation and head of a clan, he could not lose his reason like the others.

He suppressed his anger and calculated every possibility in his mind.

Sending part of the clan to Konoha was indeed a way to preserve some of them, even if Konoha clearly intended to take advantage of their plight.

Although the joint forces of Kirigakure and Kumogakure had concealed their tracks, the Land of Whirlpools was an island nation isolated overseas. They were not foolish enough to be completely ignorant of the outside world.

Only a few years had passed since the First Great Ninja War. Kumogakure and Kirigakure of this era certainly did not have the nerve to provoke Konoha again. Among the nations surrounding Konoha, the only one likely to be targeted was probably... the Land of Whirlpools.

Moreover,

The other side did not seem to be making much effort to conceal its intentions.

The Land of Whirlpools had remained peacefully tucked away in one corner, living its quiet little life. Uzumaki Ashina also understood why his nation had suddenly met with disaster. It was nothing more than the crime of possessing a treasure.

Their innate aptitude for becoming Jinchuriki and their vast store of Sealing Jutsu made the clan a tempting prize. Had they joined one of the Five Great Nations, like the Hyuga and others, and received the protection of a ninja village and country, that would have been one thing. But their predecessors had chosen to establish a clan-state on this nameless island, cutting off the possibility of gaining anyone else's protection.

After the First Great Ninja War, the Second Hokage Tobirama Senju had died. The God of Shinobi and demigods who stood at the very pinnacle of the ninja world were gradually leaving the stage of history. The importance of the Tailed Beasts was rising, and while the Senju Clan and Uzumaki clan had once been connected by marriage, the Senju Clan could no longer gather enough ninja to come to their aid. Besides, the Senju were registered as a ninja clan of Konoha. Without Hiruzen Sarutobi's approval, how could they leave the village?

"Ye, arrange for some clan members to go to Konoha. Take Kushina with them as well."

"Clan Head!"

"Say no more. Preserve the land but lose the people, and both land and people are lost. Preserve the people but lose the land, and both can be preserved. So long as the Uzumaki Clan still has bloodlines outside, one day we will return to the Land of Whirlpools and rebuild our homeland."

"Let the young ones go. We old men will stay behind. We must let outsiders see the spirit of the Uzumaki Clan. Those willing to shatter alongside us may remain. Those willing to preserve the clan's bloodline may leave."

After Uzumaki Ashina finished speaking, he closed his eyes. The Uzumaki Clan had known peace for too long. Although they possessed the talent to become ninja, their ancestors had secluded themselves in this corner to avoid the slaughter of the ninja wars. As a result, the current Uzumaki Clan had few outstanding ninja; most were merely scholars devoted to Sealing Jutsu.

He also knew that the combined ninja forces of the two nations about to arrive in the Land of Whirlpools were far beyond what they could resist. But even so... someone had to remain here and prove something to the world.

Even a scrawny dog had the strength to bite back when facing a powerful enemy.

"The Uzumaki Clan is going to perish by my hand, Uzumaki Ashina's hand. I truly have no face to meet my ancestors in the Pure Land."

The old clan head murmured silently to himself. He rested with his eyes closed for a moment, then suddenly... realized that the elders, who had been arguing moments ago, had fallen silent without warning. He could not help opening his eyes, and in that very instant, he met a pair of blood-red eyes.

"Sharingan?!"

The instant that thought surfaced, Chakra surged through his body as he attempted to disrupt its flow and resist the genjutsu that the Sharingan was about to unleash.

But...

That method was only effective against ordinary genjutsu. Before a dojutsu originating from the Mangekyō Sharingan, struggle had no meaning at all.

In that instant, his consciousness was suddenly seized by a feeling of weightlessness. When it faded, a delicate young girl who still retained a trace of childishness stood before him, three windmill-like blades turning in her eyes.

"Mangekyo?"

The old clan head sighed inwardly. If it were an ordinary Sharingan, he might still have had a chance. But a Mangekyo... he had no chance at all.

"Do not struggle. The precision required to spare ants without harming their lives is somewhat troublesome, but I can manage it. Be grateful, boy from the Uzumaki clan."

The delicate girl spoke slowly, her cold arrogance carrying a resemblance to a certain enemy from the past.

Wait, boy?

Uzumaki Ashina raised his brows and stared in disbelief at the childish-looking girl who did not seem even fifteen years old. How dared she call an old man nearing seventy or eighty a boy?

"You may call me Nameless. I have come on another's behalf to deliver a message."

"Who is this other person?"

"A group capable of saving the Land of Whirlpools, provided that you are willing to submit to him."

"...Submit? Which ninja village are you people from?"

"Ninja villages? Those meaningless gatherings have no reason to exist at all!"

Perhaps the words "ninja village" had struck some sensitive nerve, because a trace of hatred involuntarily surfaced on the girl's face.

"Your Uzumaki Clan has now become an abandoned pawn of the Senju Clan. And I... am a revenant seeking revenge against the Senju Clan and the Uchiha Clan."

"Once, you stood alongside those Senju bastards and sealed me in a lightless prison. And now... I have worked very hard to restrain that fury and discuss matters with you calmly."

"Boy, my patience is running out. If you do not intend to nod right now, then... before Kumogakure and Kirigakure arrive, I alone can raze your entire Land of Whirlpools to the ground!"

"What that brat Madara Uchiha could do, I can do as well!"

"The Ninja Era Is Over!"

"Nice to meet you, Uzumaki Clan Head. I am Shirou Emiya."

After the clan meeting ended, Uzumaki Ashina watched the clan's elders leave, some indignant and furious, others still frowning in thought. He felt a chill spreading from the depths of his heart.

There were clearly thirty or forty of the Uzumaki Clan's highest-ranking ninja present, yet not a single one had noticed that two people stood beside him at that very moment, speaking to him alone.

Uzumaki Ashina could not help swallowing. The old man even felt as though his heart could barely withstand the pressure.

If those two truly harbored malicious intentions, the thirty or forty people present would likely have no ability to resist. And if their upper ranks were beheaded, the remaining Land of Whirlpools and Uzumaki Clan would have no means of resistance at all.

"Lord Emiya, may I ask what orders you have for the Uzumaki Clan?"

The old clan head finally set aside the small measure of pride in his heart and lowered his head directly to the two "juniors" standing before him.

"As long as the Uzumaki Clan can survive, we are willing to pay any price."

"Good. We do not actually need to rule you. We merely wished to avoid excessive disputes during negotiations. Directly displaying some force often makes one side more obedient and willing to quietly listen to what the other side has to say."

"...Yes."

No matter how much he grumbled inwardly, the old clan head could only follow the other party's words.

"We need a foothold. The Land of Whirlpools is suitable because it is isolated overseas. But you need not worry. There are only a dozen or so of us. We will not have much impact on your clan, nor will we interfere with your clan laws and such. At most, we will engage in mutually beneficial cooperation in certain areas."

"Only a dozen people... Lord Emiya, how can fewer than twenty people resist at least three thousand ninja from Kumogakure and Kirigakure?"

"Would you ask Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha that question?"

Shirou laughed. The old man froze, then stared at Shirou and Uchiha Hikari in disbelief.

"Is one of you two a ninja comparable to the First Hokage?"

"At the very least, dealing with that rabble will not be troublesome. Besides, I can offer you two options. One is for me to personally act and intimidate the ninja alliance. The other is for me to provide you with a special ninja tool, which you may use to fight them yourselves."

"A special ninja tool?"

The old clan head looked surprised. Naturally, he did not doubt that they could produce such a ninja tool. This era was not that far removed from Hashirama Senju's time, and the various Ninja World Divine Artifacts once possessed by the Uchiha Clan had achieved great renown. To say nothing of ancient history, even the Second Hokage's death a few years ago had been inseparable from the Six Paths Divine Artifacts worshiped by Kumogakure.

"May I ask what this ninja tool does?"

"Explaining all its functions would be rather tedious. To put it simply, it's big and hard!"

Big!

Hard!

The moment he heard those two words, the old clan head became interested. The Uzumaki Clan had inherited straightforward dispositions, and most of them disliked convoluted things. This simple, brutal description of something big and hard spoke directly to the old man's heart.

"It is approximately four hundred meters tall. As for hardness... A-rank Ninjutsu should be unable to break through its defenses."

"I'll buy it! Whatever you want, even if the entire clan has to sell our blood, we'll do it!"

The Uzumaki Clan might not excel at much else, but their vitality was truly legendary. They were famously tough. Naruto had fallen who knew how many times while pulling pranks as a child, yet he had never been seriously hurt. Their Yang Release was truly on another level.

"As it happens, we really do need you to sell us some blood."

The Uzumaki Clan was quite interesting. Other clans only needed to pull out a single trait and use it until the end, but this family had been reduced to only a few lonely ninja-world orphans, and yet abilities kept emerging one after another. In the end, they even produced a mutation like the Jōgan that even the Ōtsutsuki Clan called absurd. Its specific function remained unknown—perhaps the author had not filled that plot hole yet—but that did not stop those crazy aliens from praising it.

"How much do you need? Just say the word. So long as it does not cost the lives of my clan members, you may draw even this old man's blood as you please!"

These people only wanted their blood. The people outside wanted their lives, even to erase their household registry and wipe the Land of Whirlpools from the map.

Compared with those people, the force represented by the two before him could truly be described with the word "kind."

It was only some blood. When children in the clan fell and split their heads open, they could smear on some saliva, and the wound might scab over by the next day. The young and strong were even more outrageous. If they were slashed and could not receive treatment in time... the wound would heal before the doctor arrived.

Well, though the Land of Whirlpools did not have many doctors.

"Fine, let's settle your immediate trouble first. But we need to go through a few procedures. Fill out this form, then sincerely commission me. Only then can I begin handling the matter."

Sincerely? If he were not sincere at a time like this, he would probably have to slap himself dozens of times even after reaching the Pure Land.

In roughly three to five minutes, the old man filled out the form and handed it to Mr. Emiya. Shirou took it directly, and the commission prompt sounded. It was a One-star commission.

Still, even mosquito legs added up over time. Shirou had lived through hard times before. Back in his Type-Moon hometown, earning points had been even harder than it was now.

"Two Creation Engines. In exchange, we need genetic blood samples from your entire clan, along with ten initial Uzumaki volunteers from different age groups. Is that acceptable?"

"As long as we can obtain those two ninja tools you mentioned, forget ten people. This old man can bring you thirty."

Hearing that, Shirou nodded with satisfaction. If the people in his hometown had been this easy to talk to, he would not have needed to travel all the way to Honkai: Star Rail to earn points.

Of course, the people of Honkai: Star Rail were not good at asking for help either.

Otherwise, they would not have waited until he engineered a little embarrassment for them before being willing to cooperate with him properly.

After putting away the commission form, Shirou saw that no one else remained on the open-air altar of the Uzumaki ancestral grounds. He dispelled the Faceless King Noble Phantasm, stepped out from empty space, then casually opened the Aurora Curtain and brought Old Uzumaki to the temporary camp.