Training Crows

Preparing the supplies could not be done overnight. They still had to wait for the Sand Jonin to arrive. Only once both sides had assembled could the transport begin.

This was to prevent either side from resorting to dirty tricks.

The schedule was set for roughly one week later.

"With a Jonin protecting you, there won't be any problem."

Anticipating the pressure that came with a high-level mission, Tsunade crouched halfway down to meet his eyes and offered some reassurance.

"You'll only be responsible for treating the people in the team. Of course, you might end up getting a high-level mission for free."

"If you run into danger, make sure you stay close to the Jonin."

Unless they deployed elite personnel and risked making enemies of both the Sand Village and Konoha, there was absolutely no chance of danger arising.

"Alright."

A week was enough time for him to prepare. He needed to train the crows until they could be used.

After leaving Tsunade's laboratory, Uchiha You needed to buy a few things.

The prices of ninja tools did not fluctuate much at this stage. The Hokage could keep them in check, and weapon shops would not dare fleece people during wartime. There was no point making money if they would not live long enough to spend it.

The title Hero of the Shinobi was not given for nothing. Of course, as long as the price increase remained reasonable, everyone would turn a blind eye.

"Explosive tags, kunai, and shuriken are necessities. Tsunade will have the medical equipment ready."

"Money... I'm poor again."

Those three items alone had cost quite a lot. Being a ninja was a high-cost, high-return profession. As one's strength increased, one could earn more money, but one would also spend more.

At present, the only way to make money was by taking missions.

He had a few ideas in mind, but the current situation and his age prevented him from putting them into practice.

The best ways to make money were all written in Konoha's criminal code!

When he returned home to feed the crows, he found that they had all been trained and could carry out some simple tasks.

As he displayed the power of his Sharingan, a scarlet gleam flashed in Uchiha You's eyes. He could see the crows' eyes beginning to synchronize with his Sharingan.

This method effectively allowed the crows to perform certain commanded movements.

"Bird Clone Technique!"

He attached his chakra to the crows. Ten crows gathered together, forming a clone identical to Uchiha You.

Compared with an ordinary Clone Technique, this clone could catch opponents off guard. Unless someone observed carefully, they would not notice when he had replaced himself with a crow clone.

It also consumed far less chakra.

"Whew!"

"The effect is better than I expected."

However, when he dispelled the clone, he noticed that something was wrong with the crows.

The ten crows began shedding feathers. Uchiha You caught one in his hand and lifted its fallen feathers, only to discover a layer of dense down growing beneath them.

"The place where I live contains a large amount of radioactive elements. It looks like the crows have been affected by the radiation."

Uncertain whether the crows' changes were good or bad, Uchiha You did not recklessly move them to a normal environment.

If they adapted to their surroundings, it would clearly help improve You's strength.

He imagined ten crows containing uranium elements landing on an enemy. An intense radiation source could instantly rob them of their ability to fight.

He carefully nurtured them, forming hand seals as his Sharingan began another round of interaction.

Over the next few days, Uchiha You did not go out. He seized the time to strengthen himself and train those crows.

However, things did not go quite as he had expected. The crows' development had gone smoothly at first, but later, nine of the ten crows rapidly began to weaken.

Unable to withstand the invasion of radioactive elements, their bodies warped into the shapes of some kind of monster before their cells ruptured and they died.

Uchiha You carefully observed the sole survivor. Its body had already become noticeably different from that of an ordinary crow.

It was a size larger than normal crows, and its eyes contained shapes resembling tomoe. It would actively devour objects containing radiation, using that method to grow stronger.

As for its claws and beak, any place scratched by the crow would suffer radioactive decay.

Unlike poison, no one in the Shinobi World besides him could remove radioactive elements. Even Tsunade's Medical Ninjutsu could only maintain a balance and barely keep someone alive, while they continued suffering the torment of illness.

"The results are better than I expected, but unfortunately, there's only one."

After experimenting on many animals, he could now confirm that crows had a greater ability to withstand radioactive elements than ordinary animals. There was absolutely no problem using crows as his summoned beasts!

"Once this mission is over, I can buy more crows."

The Uchiha Clan's crows were very expensive. They were fine breeds produced through artificial cultivation and selection, then cared for by Jonin within the clan.

Expanding the scale was certainly possible, provided he had enough money. If he only bought a few dozen, they would not pay him any attention.

The Sand Village worked more efficiently than expected. These supplies were not important to Konoha, but to the impoverished Sand Village, they were no different from timely aid in a snowstorm.

They could cultivate quite a few high-quality ninja.

After Ebizo returned, the Third Kazekage sent an Elite Jonin to lead the team: two Jonin and three Chunin in total.

Konoha also dispatched two Jonin, one of whom was specifically assigned to protect Uchiha You's safety.

With the luxurious lineup of four Jonin, they could easily carry out an S-rank mission. Transporting these supplies would not be a problem.

Within the transport team, Uchiha You spotted a ninja who had a grudge against him.

It was Uchiha Shuiyun!

The other man hid in a corner of the team and cast him a venomous glance, only for his eyes to meet Uchiha You's.

"There's actually him in the Chunin team Konoha sent?"

To be honest, once members of the Uchiha Clan awakened their Sharingan, their strength improved enormously. It was no surprise that he had been selected.

But having this man in the team would only make Uchiha You uncomfortable.

Once all the teams had assembled, Uchiha You found a haystack at the back and flipped himself onto it to sit down. None of the ninja present said much about his actions.

Before departure, it had already been made clear that Uchiha You was a medical ninja. Who knew whether they would encounter danger on this mission? A medical ninja's role was no less important than a Jonin's.

No one would pick a conflict with a doctor.

Uchiha Shuiyun kept his distance from him, but that cold, sinister gaze never left Uchiha You.

"Damn You, just you wait!"