Manipulating Windmill

Shuriken: Manipulating Windmill.

A secret Uchiha technique, developed bit by bit through the Sharingan's superhuman dynamic vision. It was a combat technique even ordinary clan members could use.

It required a bit of finesse.

With the Sharingan, it was easier to control.

Earlier, when he had used steel wire to surround those three Cloud Ninja with flames, he had used this technique as well.

Bzzzt—!

Whoosh, whoosh—!

The shuriken scattered across the distance abruptly pulled taut under Goenji's control, and in an instant, the steel wires encircled the Cloud Ninja.

"Damn it!"

Caught off guard, the Cloud Ninja's hands and feet were bound by the tightened steel wires, leaving him unable to move.

Boom—!

At that moment, a despairing sight unfolded before the Cloud Ninja: enormous flames spread along the steel wires from the enemy's mouth.

Fire Release!

"No..."

The Cloud Ninja was utterly despairing.

Boom—!

Sizzle, sizzle—!

Seeing that the attack had landed, Goenji smiled.

He had learned this combination of Manipulating Windmill and Fire Release from Sasuke Uchiha's move against Orochimaru in the original work.

Clearly, the enemy did not possess Orochimaru's strength and had died in a single strike.

Fire Release was still quite powerful.

It had seemed so weak in the original work only because the enemies they faced were too strong, making Fire Release appear weak by comparison.

He still remembered that during the Konoha Crush, Aoba Yamashiro had killed many enemy ninja with Fire Release.

As expected, his use of Fire Release had grown more proficient.

His aptitude for Fire Release truly far surpassed his aptitude for other ninjutsu. After using it merely twice, combined with the arrangements in his mind, he had already reached this level.

After all, without long-term training, it was impossible to achieve shape transformation—turning the Great Fireball into a form that could spread along steel wires.

After using Fire Release several times, his understanding of it had deepened further.

"Luckily, Uchiha have plenty of chakra. Otherwise, I really wouldn't be able to use it more than a few times."

After sighing, Goenji moved his "feet" and went to support Tekka Uchiha.

The chakra issue was far better than if he had transmigrated into a civilian.

For example, Sasuke Uchiha in the original work possessed an enormous amount of chakra, seemingly no less than Naruto's.

That was the effect of bloodline inheritance.

Chakra consisted of spiritual energy and physical energy. Uchiha with their bloodline truly held every advantage.

Whether in spiritual energy or physical energy, the Uchiha far surpassed other ninja.

Whoosh, whoosh—!

Two against one, with Uchiha Goenji's Three-Tomoe Sharingan added to the mix—the enemy naturally stood no chance.

After several exchanges, Goenji's shuriken pierced through his head.

Pfft!

The moment the enemy was dealt with, Tekka Uchiha finally collapsed to the ground. His chakra had been completely exhausted.

Just now, he had forced himself to use Taijutsu and coordinate with Goenji to eliminate the enemy.

He looked at Goenji, his eyes filled with shock, and exclaimed, "I never thought you'd awakened the three tomoe. You really have become much stronger!"

Tekka Uchiha had never doubted the power of the Uchiha Sharingan.

Nor had he ever felt jealous of Goenji.

The Uchiha were meant to be this strong.

If Goenji possessed three tomoe yet was still weak, Tekka would have questioned how he had even obtained the Sharingan.

"Yeah!!! So many companions died before I awakened it." As Goenji recalled the final emotions of the previous owner of this body, his heart ached slightly.

The companions he had always fought alongside had died before his eyes. For an Uchiha, that feeling was truly agonizing.

Especially for someone with intense emotions.

The previous owner had been such a person.

Hiss!

Before the memories had even lingered for long, the pain from his injuries jolted Goenji awake again.

Boom—!

At that moment, a towering giant suddenly appeared in the middle of the battlefield, wielding an enormous club.

Bang, bang, bang!

Against the ninja of Kumogakure, even a casual swing of that club unleashed tremendous power.

"It's the Akimichi clan's secret technique!"

Still disguised as a Kumogakure ninja and carrying out sneak attacks, Goenji raised his brows slightly at the sight.

Unlike the clan in the original work that had barely any presence beyond the margins, the Akimichi clan's position in Konoha fully deserved its status as one of Konoha's pillar clans.

That was because the Akimichi clan's role across the battlefield was no weaker than the Uchiha's.

Battlefield machines.

That was the Five Great Ninja Villages' assessment of the Akimichi. It was not merely the "Chō" of Konoha's Ino–Shika–Chō—it was an appraisal earned on the battlefield.

Why were so many people terrified of Tailed Beasts? Because of their absolute suppression of lower-ranking ninja and their massive size.

The Tailed Beast Ball was merely one reason to fear them.

War involved too many people. Unlike small-scale battles, when the Akimichi used Complete Expansion, every punch, kick, club swing, and strike could sweep through a huge area.

Sure enough.

Goenji's Sharingan saw it clearly. As Akimichi Dōtō, one of Konoha's Jonin in this operation, began to display his might, the enemy was instantly scattered by the sudden assault, and many died.

One chakra signature after another vanished from his Sharingan's vision.

"The Akimichi clan's secret techniques are terrifying!"

Goenji marveled at the Akimichi clan's might. Their secret techniques, especially in large-scale warfare, were practically humanoid Tailed Beasts.

Though their attacks were not as powerful as a Tailed Beast's.

Given ninja physical capabilities, there was no difference. Either way, one blow meant death.

Akimichi Dōtō's chakra circulation also appeared within Goenji's Sharingan.

However, he knew he could not use the Akimichi clan's secret techniques.

There were far too many intricacies involved.

It was not merely a matter of chakra circulation.

No wonder the Sharingan's copying ability could only copy basic five-element ninjutsu. Other secret techniques and Kekkei Genkai could not be copied.

Still, it was not as though he had learned nothing.

At the very least, he had gained some insights into the Akimichi clan's Taijutsu.

Though he had no use for it.

It could serve as accumulated knowledge for his own Taijutsu.

Perhaps it would come in handy someday.

As Konoha counterattacked, Kumogakure's assault gradually fell into decline. Since they were on Konoha's territory, they began to retreat slowly.

Goenji killed several more ninja.

Soon afterward, he watched as the Cloud Ninja withdrew one after another, leaving corpses strewn across the ground.

"Damn it!"

Corpses lay everywhere—Konoha's and Kumogakure's alike.

Severed heads, charred bodies, bodies broken at the waist, kunai driven into skulls.

Every sight made Goenji feel the cruelty of war.

And this was merely a fragment of war.

It strengthened his resolve to become stronger. He had yet to experience the beauty of the Shinobi World, and he did not want to die.

Supporting Tekka Uchiha, he slowly made his way toward the gathering troops.

At the center, Akimichi Dōtō had already slimmed down, showing just how much he had expended earlier.

If Goenji was not mistaken, the man might even have used secret medicine.

Not everyone possessed the talent of Chōza Akimichi and Chōji Akimichi from the original work. They had the potential to become clan heads.

It was too tragic. Of the team of seventy or eighty people, only a little over twenty remained.

By Goenji's estimation, even in the Shinobi World, this could not be considered a minor local battle.

[I've been single for twenty-eight years. Recently, a younger girl has been flirting with me. What should I do?]