Homecoming, Reflections

Chapter Thirty-Seven: Homecoming, Reflections

"Dead? The Chinoike Clan will be imprisoned from now on, and the task of guarding them has been given to us Uchiha?"

"That's right. It's a long-term mission with generous pay. There's no reason to refuse it."

"Don't worry too much about the clan. Before deciding to accept this mission, we hired Fuma Clan shinobi. Even if the Senju Clan tries to attack, they won't succeed."

"Alright, let's all head home first. Even if we aren't afraid of the Senju Clan, without the few of us holding down the fort, it still feels like something could go wrong with the clan."

They learned that the Land of Lightning's daimyo had still died, killed by Qian Hong of the Chinoike Clan after being controlled by a genjutsu and forced to commit suicide. That meant the Land of Lightning mission had come to an end.

The Uchiha received the mission reward: a full two hundred million.

They had also gained a long-term mission—guarding the surviving Chinoike Clan shinobi.

As they were about to leave, Uchiha Jobu saw Shinteng Zoi. The man, who should have been dressed in noble attire, was actually wearing formal robes reserved for a daimyo. His identity had changed from noble to the new daimyo of the Land of Lightning.

Of course, whoever became the daimyo of the Land of Lightning had nothing to do with the Uchiha. Pay them to carry out a mission, and Uchiha shinobi would serve you. Otherwise, don't bother them with idle chatter.

The journey was peaceful, and they returned to the clan without incident.

Uchiha Jobu found Izuna Uchiha and asked, "You want to start with the Blood Dragon Eye and try to repair your shattered Sharingan?"

The Sharingan Tobirama Senju had traded back had been tampered with. There was a tiny scratch on the eye, like cutting a slit into a bag filled with water. All the ocular power contained within the Sharingan had leaked away, making the eye unusable even after it was recovered.

However, during their battle with the Chinoike Clan shinobi in the Land of Lightning, Izuna Uchiha had begun to consider the Blood Dragon Eye. He felt that it resembled the Sharingan. Besides both being red ocular Kekkei Genkai, both could use ocular power to cast genjutsu.

"I want to try."

Izuna Uchiha wanted to transfer the ocular power of the Chinoike Clan's Blood Dragon Eyes into the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan.

Izuna Uchiha did not want to replace his eye with one provided by another clansman, while repairing his shattered Sharingan required a vast amount of ocular power. Since he could not sacrifice members of the Uchiha Clan, he could only turn his attention to the Chinoike Clan shinobi.

As both were ocular Kekkei Genkai, they surely had something in common. If they could find a way to transfer ocular power, not only could his shattered Sharingan be repaired, but the overall strength of the Uchiha Clan's members could also be increased.

"Indeed. Since they're both ocular Kekkei Genkai, there must be areas where they overlap."

"That's what I think too. As long as we find a method to transfer ocular power, it will be an enormous benefit to the Uchiha."

"If it can truly be done, then we may need to treat the Chinoike Clan differently. Not merely imprisoning them as the Land of Lightning's daimyo requested, but raising them as a resource capable of providing us with enough to use."

"This matter needs Big Brother to make the decision."

"I'll handle Madara Uchiha. You focus on researching whether the Blood Dragon Eye can truly transfer ocular power."

"Alright."

Uchiha Jobu felt that Izuna Uchiha was becoming more and more like Shimura Danzō. Had losing one eye made him equip the character template of Konoha's Darkness?

To be honest, Izuna Uchiha had once been quite lively, cheerful, and kind to his clansmen.

But now he seemed very silent, like the shinobi of an organization called Root that would later exist in Konoha—without emotion and without light.

Hopefully, they could discover a method of transferring ocular power. Once his shattered Sharingan was repaired, the emotions Izuna Uchiha had abandoned should return.

At least, that was what Uchiha Jobu hoped.

When he returned to his own home, he found a table full of prepared dishes and a maid waiting quietly nearby.

Ying respectfully said, "Lord Jobu, you've returned. I've kept the food warm the whole time. You can eat now that you're back."

He had handed organizations similar to the Anbu and Root over to Izuna Uchiha, so he no longer held much power in his hands. Yet this maid of his seemed quite gifted. Whether as a shinobi or in helping train and manage the subordinates chosen from the refugees, she had performed exceptionally well.

Should I give Ying more responsibilities?

After returning from the Land of Lightning, Uchiha Jobu had been considering how to begin establishing the Ninja World's first shinobi village with the Uchiha at its core.

First of all, throughout the Warring States period, the Uchiha Clan had always been one of the top shinobi clans. Their strength utterly overwhelmed ninety percent of the Ninja World's shinobi families, and they possessed the Sharingan, an ocular Kekkei Genkai that had intimidated the Ninja World for centuries.

That was why many nobles were willing to hire Uchiha Clan shinobi, believing them to be worth the price.

However, in the eyes of other shinobi clans, whether in the Land of Fire or elsewhere, the Uchiha Clan had a terrible reputation. Their methods were domineering, overbearing, and unreasonable, so few shinobi clans were willing to associate with them.

In terms of reputation, they were completely inferior to the Senju Clan.

Did the Uchiha Clan need to change its current reputation? No, not at all.

This was the Warring States period, an age of unparalleled cruelty. What use was a good reputation? It might earn favorable comments from other shinobi clans, but it did nothing for the clan's growth or development.

As Uchiha Jobu sat down to eat, he wondered whether he should use forceful, thunderous methods to compel weaker shinobi clans to join the Uchiha, or learn from the heroes of Liangshan—suppress them first, then offer aid, and finally win over their hearts.

No matter how he chose to begin, he would need people to carry it out.

Uchiha Jobu could not show himself personally. He needed to find ways to increase his own strength. He could not simply assume that having a cheat meant he could coast to victory. Opening treasure chests did not make him invincible, nor was he some reborn great emperor.

Without sufficient strength, any plan was useless.

Only with overwhelming strength could he fulfill all his ambitions. By then, even if the Uchiha Clan failed to win people's hearts and no shinobi clan was willing to join them, he could still suppress them through force.

At that thought, Uchiha Jobu's eyes flashed as he murmured thoughtfully, "The Chimera Technique."

After the Shinobi Village Era arrived, during the Third Ninja World War, a dead-last shinobi from Konoha developed a special secret technique capable of devouring different Kekkei Genkai. It was called the Chimera Technique.

Improving his own strength was naturally best, but if the strength of his subordinates rose as well, many matters would become far more convenient.

For example, the few subordinates trained by Konoha's Ainz Snake had strength that was more than sufficient even against Konoha, one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages. If they had not encountered the cheat-enabled Twelve Young Powerhouses, Konoha's worthless Special Jonin would not have been enough to withstand a single beating from the Sound Five under Ainz Snake's command.