Developing new ninjutsu!

It was no place to chat outside, so they decided to return to the clan homeland before discussing anything else.

Uzumaki Gamu looked around as he walked. "Six years have passed... not much has changed." Apart from a few small details, the layout of the Clan Homeland was essentially the same as before he left.

"It's been like this since we were kids. What could have changed?" Mito quipped. Ultimately, the clan homeland was just a village. Its layout wouldn't change without some major development. Generally speaking, unless someone was getting married, who would build a new house for no reason?

Then Mito accompanied Uzumaki Gamu back to his house. He opened the door and found his room as neat as ever, as though the passage of time had left it untouched... well, he could easily guess why.

Uzumaki Gamu looked at Mito. "You've been cleaning my room for me, haven't you?"

"Mm... I couldn't exactly leave it to someone else~" Mito said helplessly.

"That's my dear little sister~" Uzumaki Gamu wanted to ruffle her hair, but when he reached out, he realized... she was taller than him now!

Mito was already 165 centimeters tall (for reference, Tsunade was 163 centimeters), while Uzumaki Gamu, who was just over fourteen, was only 158-almost half a head shorter than her!

Watching her second brother reach out and fail, left standing there in embarrassment, Mito laughed and ruffled his hair. "Hahaha, now it's my turn to pat your head~" Oh ho~ the tables had turned?

"This is a little awkward~ but... I should be taller again in a year or two~" Uzumaki Gamu realized his growth pattern was much like Naruto's. Naruto was 166 centimeters tall at sixteen, so... he should be about as tall as Mito in two years? Then over 180 after another few years?

Of course, if he really matched Satoru Gojo in everything except hair color, he could reach 190 centimeters-a male model's build and those long legs. Just thinking about it was enough to make him drool!

"That's still years away!" Mito intended to enjoy every moment of being taller than her second brother. Then it was time to get down to business, so she asked, "So... where have you been all these years? Why have you barely grown? Don't tell me... this is as tall as you'll ever get?"

"Well... would you believe me if I said it's actually only been a few months since we parted?" Uzumaki Gamu asked after a moment's thought.

"Huh? That's..." Mito was confused. She understood every individual word, but put together, they stopped making sense.

"I went to another dimension, where time flows differently. Only a few months actually passed for me... I never expected six years to have passed here." That damned system could've explained this properly! If it was just a difference in the flow of time, I should've wrapped things up faster. But if I'd return six years later no matter what, then... I should've stayed longer! Had a little more fun over there~

"Something like that actually exists?" Mito was dazed. Since her second brother had said it, she believed him without a hint of doubt.

Still, believing him didn't make it any less astonishing. She could only marvel at how vast the world was and how many wonders it held!

"Oh, right, I brought you a present!" Uzumaki Gamu handed Mito the mirror set he had just used. "This is a glass mirror imported from America. It's not the best available, but around here, it's an absolute treasure!"

Mito accepted the mirror. "This is... a mirror? It's so clear. I can see my face so distinctly?"

"Those old bronze mirrors were a bit too crude for looking at your face. This one's much better~ now you won't have to run to the river and use your reflection in the water to put on makeup!" Uzumaki Gamu explained.

Mito said, speechless, "That's not really something a ninja needs, is it?"

"Well... not necessarily! Mirrors like this can sometimes work wonders! Besides... even for a kunoichi, a mirror is very useful!" Speaking of which, should I make some money manufacturing mirrors? Uzumaki Gamu wondered. Glass mirrors like this didn't exist in the current era. If he could mass-produce them... at the very least, nobles from every country would scramble to buy them!

From a safety standpoint, being a merchant was considerably better than leading mercenaries-ninja!

And making glass mirrors was simple, too-the silver mirror reaction. They had learned it in their high school textbooks!

Wait, making mirrors sounds simple in my head, but how am I supposed to get silver nitrate and aqueous ammonia in this world? Make them myself? Give me a break~ I gave all my chemistry knowledge back to my high school teacher after starting university! Uzumaki Gamu sighed helplessly. After so many years, he only remembered a few simple reactions from his textbooks. The complicated ones... he had forgotten long ago.

At university, he could still remember some things from high school and middle school. After graduating... even tutoring a middle school student would be a struggle!

Ah, only when knowledge was needed did you regret how little you knew!

But... couldn't ninjutsu make up for that shortcoming? Especially now that he had the Six Eyes.

I can try it later! Uzumaki Gamu had found himself a new research topic: using ninjutsu to streamline industrial production.

Taking it a step further, he could change how ninjutsu was used, turning it away from war and toward improving productivity!

As for Mito, she didn't really care much about makeup. After all, natural beauty was hard to hide.

Still, it was a gift from her second brother, so she carefully put it away. Then she turned her attention to something else. "Second Brother, your eyes...?"

"This was the reward for that trial... the Six Eyes! What do you think? Pretty sparkly, right?" Uzumaki Gamu pointed at his eyes and showed them off.

"Sparkly? A little, yes, but... they feel more lonely than anything~" Mito answered. She, too, had a knack for seeing straight to the heart of things!

"Don't make me sound like some lonely soul with nobody to turn to~" Uzumaki Gamu complained. Still, the original owner of those eyes, Satoru Gojo, had indeed been rather lonely. He had plenty of students, but only those two truly cared about him. Most people were thinking about how to fight after his death, and not one considered how to help him win~

Could these eyes be cursed? I don't want to end up all alone! Uzumaki Gamu wailed inwardly. Dying like that in his previous life had been miserable enough. He had been hit by a Dayun truck before he'd enjoyed much of anything... surely this life couldn't be even worse?

Just then, Mito asked curiously, "So... what can those eyes do?" As a ninja, she naturally prioritized their practical uses!

"Well, you're my little sister, so of course I won't keep anything from you. But... you absolutely mustn't tell anyone what these eyes can do~" Uzumaki Gamu warned her. Other than his identity as a reincarnator, he could tell her anything (and even that... wasn't necessarily something he could never reveal). She was the person he trusted most, after all. Still... a warning was necessary!

"Mm, I won't!" Mito had already decided to take this secret to her grave. She would tell no one... not even her future husband or children!

That was the bond between brother and sister! (Daigu: ...Am I someone else's child, then?)

Then Uzumaki Gamu told Mito about the abilities of the Six Eyes.

After listening, Mito exclaimed in shock, "That's... practically a combination of the Sharingan and Byakugan!" The Byakugan's long-range vision and ability to see through things, the Sharingan's observational abilities-the Six Eyes had both!

"Mm, more or less! Anyway, these eyes made me a whole lot stronger all at once. Now I can use ninjutsu with a flick of my hand, without any windup~" As he spoke, a flame sprang up in his palm. "I can even do this~"

Under Uzumaki Gamu's control, the flame became a bird of fire and began flying around his room. Atomic-level control was truly terrifying!

Well, in the Jujutsu World, this ability could only do so much. You only had that one innate technique, after all. No matter how creatively you used the ability, it still came down to lapse, reversal, then combining the two. Even someone as incredible as Satoru Gojo merely used those same three tricks over and over.

But in the Hokage World, there was so much more he could do!

After all, ninjutsu could be learned!

Of course, that was something for later!

Mito analyzed it calmly. "If that's really what those eyes can do, then paying six years for them was worth it!"

"Um... I didn't pay six years for them~" Uzumaki Gamu protested. Wait, I'm not personally affected by these time jumps. That also means... if I run enough instances, could I jump straight to Shippuden in just a few years? A few years might be a bit optimistic, but now he genuinely had a chance to live until Shippuden while still in his prime!

No, that feels like I'd miss a lot of interesting things... so ideally... I'd stay in my own world when major events happen, then do missions during the boring stretches in between? Well, at least that's pretty much how this trip worked out! Spending those six quiet years cooped up at home would definitely have been boring. Skipping straight past them was much more enjoyable!

The only problem was... he had left his little sister lonely for years!

That did make Uzumaki Gamu feel guilty!

"Hey, Second Brother... will you do missions like that again?" Mito suddenly asked.

"Huh? Why ask that all of a sudden?" Uzumaki Gamu asked curiously. Wouldn't most people assume a mission like that was a one-time thing?

"...I just got the feeling you were going to leave again," Mito answered.

"Well... maybe. The rewards really are amazing, after all!" Uzumaki Gamu answered. His very first mission had given him the Six Eyes and the Futsu-no-Mitama Sword (he hadn't yet figured out what the sword did, but it was a divine artifact, so it had to be incredible~). Future missions would surely offer even better things!

Even if the rewards were only on par with this time's, they would still be extremely useful treasures!

Hearing that, Mito said nothing more. She simply watched Uzumaki Gamu with a worried expression.

Uzumaki Gamu stepped forward, reached out, and ruffled her hair. "Don't worry. At least I won't be leaving again anytime soon. Besides... in a little while, I plan to travel around the Shinobi World. I'll learn to use these eyes and explore their abilities further as I go!"

With the Six Eyes, Uzumaki Gamu finally had what he needed to survive in this chaotic Shinobi World. Next, it was time to properly explore his second homeland and discover what this world was really like!

Just like the Sage of Six Paths had done!

At the same time, he needed real combat to train these new eyes. The more they saw, the more knowledge he would gain, and the more techniques he could use... that was no empty boast!

When he had seen the Hozuki Clan use their Hydrification Technique earlier, the Six Eyes had already shown him how it worked. With their help, he might be able to use it himself given enough time!

So, in theory, could Uzumaki Gamu potentially use every ninjutsu?

He didn't know, but as the old saying went, practice was the sole criterion for testing truth! When he couldn't figure something out, trying it himself was never the wrong choice!

"...You're going to travel around the Shinobi World?" Mito thought for a moment, then said, "I'm coming too!"

"Huh? What about things at home? Besides..." Aren't you planning to get married? By Uzumaki Gamu's estimate, she and Hashirama should be getting married around now. Would running off with him really be all right?

"...For now, it won't be a problem." It seemed Mito had plans of her own. "Don't brush me off by saying I'm too weak this time. I'm already strong!" After Uzumaki Gamu had called her weak last time, she had never let up on her training. She was now the third-strongest fighter in the clan!

"...All right! I'll take you with me!" After considering it, Uzumaki Gamu agreed!

Heaven came first, earth second, and his little sister third! She rarely made a selfish request. How could he possibly refuse her?

If anyone dared object, he'd smack them around like a spinning top! Even Hashirama! Uzumaki Gamu now had the confidence to say that! (Whether he could actually win was another matter.)

Besides, Hashirama and Madara had been getting along famously lately. He probably wasn't thinking about taking a wife just yet? Of course, Uzumaki Gamu didn't know any of that for now.

After finishing with his own affairs, it was time for Uzumaki Gamu to learn what had happened in this world during his six-year absence.

Mito then told him what had happened. Mostly, it was minor news about this relative's child getting married and that relative's family doing something or other! The only major event was the ongoing campaign by the three allied clans to wipe out the Kaguya clan!

Uzumaki Gamu asked, "Then was that why the Land of Water ninja were with the Kaguya clan?"

Mito shook her head. "I don't know. According to the reports sent back earlier, today was supposed to be the all-out assault on the Kaguya Clan Homeland. I don't know why members of the Kaguya clan came here with Land of Water ninja..."

"Then I suppose only the people on the front lines know what happened..." Uzumaki Gamu nodded. So, next he should go to the front lines and find out?

He'd have to be bored out of his mind to go to the front lines~ he had finally made it home. Couldn't he spend a few days lounging around?

And so Uzumaki Gamu entered relaxation mode and began living like a retiree within the clan homeland!

"Ah... I can't sit still! These eyes are so much fun~" Uzumaki Gamu remarked in the Uzumaki Clan Homeland's training grounds. Calling the very thing that had made Satoru Gojo famous "so much fun"... well, Gojo himself would probably have said the same?

Just then, Mito entered the training grounds and looked at him in confusion. "Second Brother, what are you... doing here?"

Once inside, Mito saw Uzumaki Gamu holding a glowing rod... was that ninjutsu?

Upon seeing Mito, Uzumaki Gamu immediately waved his glowing rod around, showing off. "See this beam saber? It's so cool... I'm a Jedi!" He had gone straight into posing as a Jedi!

Wait, what exactly was that thing in his hand?

Well, it was ninjutsu, but a new technique Uzumaki Gamu had cobbled together himself. Its provisional name was Storm Release: Beam Saber.

Storm Release was a kekkei genkai! It was a form of ninjutsu created by simultaneously mixing lightning-nature and water-nature chakra. Judging by its name and effects, the laser's offensive and destructive power came from "lightning." But lightning alone couldn't be freely controlled. Adding the "water" attribute allowed the technique to flow freely like water, transforming lightning into a laser whose direction and angle could be controlled at will.

A kekkei genkai was a technique that could only be inherited genetically through blood relations. Normally, only people of the same bloodline could inherit it, while others could not learn it. Even the Sharingan couldn't copy it.

Kekkei genkai also fell into two broad categories, the first being these combined nature releases.

When two chakra nature transformations merged, they produced a new release, called a "kekkei genkai." For example, wind + water = ice, and earth + water = wood. Combining the same two attributes didn't necessarily produce the same new attribute. Usually, only a tiny minority of ninja could develop such new releases themselves. Once successful, the new release would be recorded in the ninja's genes and passed down to their descendants through their bloodline. (These nature-release kekkei genkai could also be learned. For example, the Third Tsuchikage learned Dust Release from the Second Tsuchikage. As for whether someone could learn it... that depended on talent!)

The other category consisted of abilities gained through a ninja's bodily organs differing from those of ordinary people, such as the Sharingan and Byakugan.

Normally, Uzumaki Gamu did not possess the Storm Release kekkei genkai! But after awakening the Six Eyes and gaining atomic-level chakra control, he could easily mix two streams of chakra and fuse them into a new release.

In theory, Uzumaki Gamu could master not only kekkei genkai formed from two chakra natures, but also kekkei tōta formed from three, and kekkei mōra formed from four or more through study and training. What's more... he could even learn Six Paths Senjutsu!