The Land of Whirlpools was, in reality, just a small village. Most of its inhabitants had red hair, and they all watched the genius from the Uchiha Clan with curiosity.
"I'll let you experience these two jutsu first." As Uchiha Mu spoke, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and drew everyone into a genjutsu.
Uzumaki Ashina was powerful enough to break free of the genjutsu quickly, but it also gave him a firsthand understanding of Uchiha Mu's strength. A battle between experts could often be decided in a single instant. As he had suspected, Uchiha Mu had already reached the level of Hashirama and Madara.
He then began studying the two jutsu. One required no hand seals, while the other needed only one. Simple yet powerful, they were exceptionally good ninjutsu. He began considering whether to share some of their forbidden jutsu as well.
After all, Konoha knew them too. He might as well gain another powerful ally. That should keep his clan from having to face the other shinobi villages alone.
By the time he finished that thought, he had already mastered both jutsu. After breaking out of the genjutsu, he immediately performed the Multiple Shadow Clone Technique and the Rasengan. The genius of the older generation was truly overwhelming.
"These are for you." Uzumaki Ashina tossed Uchiha Mu a scroll. Apart from the Reaper Death Seal, he had given him most of their other sealing jutsu and barriers. He considered it an investment.
"Mm. Could I stay here for a few days?"
"Of course." Uzumaki Ashina nodded and led Uchiha Mu and the three youngsters toward the village. As they walked, Uzumaki Men could clearly sense the differences between this place and the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation.
The first was the infrastructure. The village was crowded, its roads narrow, and its civilians lacked the vitality of the people in their nation. Ultimately, the shinobi clans of the Warring States period had become villages and nations, but they still governed them exactly as they had before.
"Uzumaki Ashina, could I experience the Uzumaki Clan's healing ability?" Uchiha Mu asked the presumptuous question, then added, "Of course, if my jutsu succeeds, I'll share it with you too."
"Sure. Bite me. I have that constitution myself." Uzumaki Ashina offered himself as a test subject. He wanted to see what ingenious idea Uchiha Mu had come up with this time.
"Uh..." Biting a decrepit old man was hardly appealing, but for the sake of medical ninjutsu, Uchiha Mu went through with it. He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and bit down, carefully observing the chakra inside Uzumaki Ashina's body.
He was also a veteran of the Warring States period, and he soon understood the principle behind it. Releasing his bite, he used his hand to perform the Mystical Palm Technique, which would otherwise only appear in the future.
"Medical ninjutsu?" Uzumaki Ashina's eyes widened. Sure enough, Uchiha Mu had already had an idea from the start and had merely lacked inspiration. With Ashina providing that inspiration, Uchiha Mu had quickly mastered the jutsu.
"Mm, not bad. It doesn't need hand seals either, though it requires extremely precise chakra control. Now we'll have some insurance against injuries." Uchiha Mu nodded. Once he returned, he intended to seek out some potential medical ninja. Yucheng had Yang Release chakra, so he would teach her first.
Before that, however, he would have to help her refine her chakra control.
"Oh? Could you explain the principles to me through genjutsu?"
"Got any fish?"
"We can just buy one. We live by the sea, so we live off it." Uzumaki Ashina immediately left with the Body Flicker Technique and soon returned.
Through genjutsu, Uchiha Mu guided Uzumaki Ashina into using the Mystical Palm Technique on the fish. As a veteran ninja, Uzumaki Ashina quickly mastered it.
"Excellent. You really are a genius. This could be taught widely." Uzumaki Ashina was delighted. The jutsu was a natural fit for their Uzumaki Clan.
"Haha, I'm just standing on the shoulders of those who came before me." Uchiha Mu smiled. The main reason ninjutsu became so varied in the future was that certain people in the present were simply too powerful.
Take Hashirama, for example. He healed automatically and had never even considered creating a ninjutsu based on that regenerative ability. Madara also bulldozed through everything with sheer power. With his Mangekyō Sharingan, he had no need for flashy tricks.
Even the future Madara, despite possessing the Rinnegan, rarely used the lesser abilities of the Six Paths. He was simply too strong to bother spending time mastering an ability that might be weaker than his own taijutsu.
"How interesting." Uzumaki Ashina had barely finished speaking when Uchiha Mu walked toward a young woman.
"Hello there. I'm Uchiha Mu." Uchiha Mu greeted her warmly. The young woman before him bore a strong resemblance to Kushina Uzumaki. He wanted to see whether he could talk a character from the original story into coming with him.
"Hello? I'm Keiko Uzumaki." Keiko Uzumaki was startled. Seeing the crest on Uchiha Mu's clothes, she knew he belonged to the Uchiha Clan.
"Hey, Uchiha Mu. Don't you already have a Hyuga woman? Why are you coming after a woman from my Uzumaki Clan too? Have you never considered finding a woman from your own clan?" Uzumaki Ashina hurried over to stop him. Keiko Uzumaki was a relative of his. Mito had already gone to Konoha; he couldn't let Keiko leave as well.
"What do you mean, coming after her? You make it sound so ugly. I just want to take her out to see the wider world. You shouldn't be bound by your clan. You have rights of your own." Uchiha Mu held out his hand.
Keiko Uzumaki froze. No one had ever spoken to her like that before. Given her special status, she would most likely serve the same purpose as Mito. Still, she had enjoyed the advantages her clan provided, so she had never complained.
Yet now, hearing Uchiha Mu's words, her heart raced. Could I really live for myself?
"Dump that Hyuga woman first, and then I'll consider it," Uzumaki Ashina shot back. He firmly believed in monogamy and had little liking for the ways of the daimyo and nobles.
"How about this, then? I've established a Ninja Academy in the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Village to teach ninjutsu. You could send your children there to study too. What do you think?" Uchiha Mu asked with a smile.
He intended to introduce the various forms of ideologically influenced overseas study from his previous life to the shinobi world as well. He would certainly teach real skills, but he would not neglect their thinking either. When the Uzumaki Clan truly faced annihilation, they could essentially integrate into the Hundred-Clan Shinobi Nation without conditions.
The Uzumaki Clan was powerful. It would be too much of a waste to watch such a shinobi clan perish. He would bring them all under his command.
"You really do jump from one thing to another. All right." Uzumaki Ashina nodded in agreement. His reason for accepting was that the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan was renowned throughout the shinobi world as the eye that copied.
The Uchiha had mastered vast numbers of ninjutsu, so there was no shortage of things they could teach. Training against the Sharingan would also help the children improve rapidly. The widespread advice to flee from an Uchiha in a one-on-one encounter said it all.
"Would you like to see another country, Keiko?"
"Yes." Keiko Uzumaki agreed almost without thinking, then stole a glance at Uzumaki Ashina.
"Oh, fine. Go, then, go. While we're at it, how about having your student, Uzumaki Men, spar with our youngsters?" Uzumaki Ashina gave up. He intended to assess Uchiha Mu's teaching ability, which would determine how many children he would send over to study.
"No problem." Uchiha Mu was pleased with the outcome. He then turned to Keiko Uzumaki. "Will you leave with us when the time comes?"
"Yes," Keiko Uzumaki replied softly. This might be her first trip away from home, and her last. She would treasure it and see what the outside world had to offer.
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