The Land of Whirlpools

Qiu Shan Uchiha had never expected to awaken a rare spatial dōjutsu himself.

His original plan had been to wait until his Sharingan evolved into the eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and he could copy dōjutsu again. Then he would find a way to kidnap Kakashi, the man who could go fifty-fifty with anyone, or control him with Kotoamatsukami, allowing him to copy the dōjutsu of Kakashi's Sharingan-Kamui.

He had never imagined that before he could even put that plan into action, he would awaken a spatial dōjutsu of his own. It was even more practical than Obito Uchiha's Kamui Dimension, because people could live inside Takamagahara for extended periods.

He could also use Space Marks instead of traveling. Still, compared to Kamui and Flying Thunder God, Takamagahara seemed less useful in combat. Although this dōjutsu could leave Space Marks, each jump required him to enter Takamagahara Space first before jumping to a marked location. In a battle between experts, that tiny delay could already decide victory or defeat.

Even so, Qiu Shan Uchiha felt he had come out ahead. He could copy or learn Flying Thunder God and Kamui later, but a space where people could live for long periods was something he could only encounter by chance, not seek out at will. After all, even Obito Uchiha's Kamui Dimension had a time limit. (Konan had nearly blown him to death with Explosive Tags.)

This was effectively a secure base for Qiu Shan Uchiha. He could advance to attack or retreat to defend, and if anything looked wrong, he could hole up inside. He no longer had to fear traps or being surrounded. As long as he stayed inside, even the Sage of Six Paths would be powerless against him.

Moreover, as Qiu Shan Uchiha explored this dōjutsu, he discovered that he could place a Space Mark on other people. Anyone bearing a mark could activate it with chakra and arrive on the island inside Takamagahara Space. In effect, they could reverse-summon themselves into Qiu Shan Uchiha's space.

Qiu Shan Uchiha could easily place a Space Mark on the people important to him. Of course, if he wanted to withdraw a mark, Qiushan could do so with a single thought. That way, he would no longer have to worry about the safety of those he cared about.

Qiu Shan Uchiha slowly opened his eyes and rubbed between his brows in frustration. It seemed that awakening these two dōjutsu meant he would have to revise his original plan.

Originally, Qiu Shan Uchiha had intended to use the attack on Shisui Uchiha as an opportunity to move the Uchiha District somewhere near the village. This would ease the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village while also taking them out from under the Third Hokage and Danzo's surveillance. With the Uchiha District still close to Konoha, they would not have to fear enemies surrounding them.

But now that Qiu Shan Uchiha had awakened a spatial dōjutsu-and one that made traveling throughout the entire Shinobi World convenient-he could move the Uchiha Clan far away from Konoha and leave the village behind entirely. With his spatial dōjutsu, if the Uchiha Clan faced an enemy they could not withstand, Qiu Shan Uchiha could return as soon as he received word.

After all, Konoha would become a hotbed of trouble in the future. As the nominal number-one ninja village in the Shinobi World, it already attracted plenty of attention.

Never mind the Ōtsutsuki Clan, who would frequently drop by Konoha for a stroll in the future. In just a few years, an antisocial individual spouting that "how many floors can a bag of rice carry" line would come to Konoha and unleash Super Shinra Tensei, flattening the entire village. Yes, completely flat.

While the ninja might have some ability to protect themselves, the clan members who had never become ninja would be virtually helpless against a ninjutsu that was practically a natural disaster.

So this was also a good opportunity for the Uchiha Clan to leave Konoha and get away from all that trouble. Besides, if the village kept guarding against them and refusing to let them grow stronger, they could simply step off the ninja village's chessboard and leave. They would stop playing its game altogether.

The Uchiha Clan had failed to seize its opportunities before, clinging to the Police Force as though it were a treasure. Little did they realize that the Police Force was an institution that offended people without giving them any say in village affairs. And by now, the great pie that was Konoha had already been divided up completely among the village's other clans, large and small.

If the Uchiha wanted to improve their relationship with Konoha's residents, they would have to give up the Police Force, an institution that made enemies. At the very least, they could not allow the Uchiha Clan to stand alone in opposition to the village's residents.

And if the Uchiha wanted to grow and prosper, they would inevitably have to take a share of someone else's pie, bringing them into constant conflict with the other clans, large and small. If the Uchiha acted too aggressively and caused too much of a stir, those clans would even unite against them.

Kotoamatsukami was not a cure-all. Its cooldown was far too long, after all, and the number of people it could change was limited.

Qiu Shan Uchiha also understood that, when it came to surviving in the Shinobi World, everything else was an illusion. Only his own strength was real.

Qiu Shan Uchiha rubbed his head in frustration. It seemed that if he wanted the Uchiha Clan to prosper and grow stronger, he would still have to separate them from Konoha. The Uchiha Clan had its own pride, too. They could not break their own backs just to get along with the village's residents.

Now that he had decided to take the Uchiha out of Konoha, there was still plenty to do.

Before the incident involving Shisui Uchiha occurred, he needed to choose a new site for the Uchiha Clan's Uchiha District outside the village. Ideally, it would be surrounded by sea, easy to defend and difficult to attack. It also needed to be far from the various countries, rather than right beside them.

Qiu Shan Uchiha stood and walked over to the bookcase, taking out a map of the Shinobi World. In this era, a reasonably accurate map counted as a strategic resource. If Qiu Shan Uchiha had not become a Jōnin, he would never have owned one.

Qiushan spread the map across the table and carefully searched for locations that met his requirements. He focused mainly on offshore islands and coastal areas.

By the time the sun reached its zenith, Qiu Shan Uchiha was staring at the map with a complicated expression, his eyes fixed on one particular spot. It was a large island, surrounded by sea yet not too far from the mainland. It also had farmland and fresh water, more than enough to support tens of thousands of people. It met Qiu Shan Uchiha's requirements perfectly.

What gave Qiu Shan Uchiha that complicated expression was the name marked on the island-the Land of Whirlpools.

Yes, it was Kushina Uzumaki's homeland, the place where the Uzumaki Clan had established a country. The Uzumaki Clan were distant relatives of the Senju Clan and had inherited part of the Sage of Six Paths' sage physique. They were renowned for their enormous chakra reserves, powerful vitality, and Sealing Jutsu.

They had been close to the Senju Clan for generations, and the wife of Hashirama Senju, the First Hokage, was Mito Uzumaki, a princess of the Uzumaki Clan. Back then, to help Hashirama Senju manage Konoha, she had sealed the Nine-Tails inside herself and become his first jinchūriki.