Chapter 59: Mission — The Jinchūriki of a Tailed Beast
"Was that really just a joke?"
After parting ways with Gōenji, Obito gradually slowed his steps as he replayed Gōenji's words in his mind. Eventually, he stopped altogether.
He turned and looked in the direction Gōenji had disappeared.
Obito was naturally optimistic and kindhearted, but he wasn't stupid.
When it came to the lives of his comrades, he was more sensitive than anyone. He barely knew Gōenji, yet for some reason, he trusted him.
What if everything Gōenji said was true?
What if awakening the Sharingan really required witnessing the death of a comrade?
Then...
Then I'd rather never awaken the Sharingan.
Obito clenched his fists tightly.
"Damn it... But without the Sharingan, how am I supposed to surpass Kakashi and make Rin admire me? Why should I believe him? We're obviously only a little bit apart!"
The more he thought about it, the more flustered he became. He scratched his head and ears in frustration.
Make him sacrifice one of his teammates?
He really couldn't do it!
In the end, Obito returned home dejectedly.
Today, he just wanted to take a good bath and wash away his bad mood.
Not long after he left...
Beneath the streetlights, a white head slowly emerged from the shadows.
It looked in the direction Obito and Gōenji had gone.
"Uchiha Gōenji, Uchiha Obito, Uchiha Shisui..."
"As expected. I still think Obito has greater potential and would be easier to manipulate to carry out the plan."
After all, as one would expect from Madara's clan, every generation produced exceptional individuals.
The white figure sank back into the earth and disappeared.
...
The lights came on.
Inside his brightly lit study, Gōenji sat at his desk.
"Considering how emotionally sensitive Obito is, those words will definitely take root in his heart. Let's wait and see whether anything changes. The timeline will definitely change."
"Will Madara change his plans? Or will Obito soar into the heavens and become the third Uchiha genius of this era?"
Gōenji was filled with anticipation.
There was something exciting about being able to consciously interfere with the course of history.
As expected, life was a process of constant change.
He pulled several sheets of calculation paper from the bookshelf.
"Heat-transfer control... An oil film can reduce the heat transferred to the material beneath it. It's like a burning mountain range. If I can control the flames on the outer layer, I can isolate the heat from what's beneath it. That's also a form of control."
Therefore, he needed to use Shape Transformation to create a Chakra film similar to an oil layer—something that could reduce the damage his own technique inflicted upon him.
"From a thermodynamic perspective, using oil vaporization for cooling is a phase-change heat-absorption process. If I apply that principle to the Fire Release Chakra Mode, it should function as a phase-change energy-storage system within the technique, allowing controlled burst output."
"When grilling meat, you turn it over to heat it evenly. That's a matter of balancing temperature distribution. I also need to establish a Chakra circulation system that balances energy inside and outside the body."
"If I combine that with phase-change heat absorption, perhaps the Fire Release Chakra Mode could even absorb an enemy's Fire Release, reducing my own Chakra consumption... It might even be possible to absorb the enemy's Chakra."
"Hmm... I haven't thought this through enough. I need to keep studying. Perhaps I can use principles such as the Seebeck effect or Doppler cooling to improve its feasibility..."
Line after line of calculations appeared on the paper.
Ideas poured through Gōenji's mind.
Before long, he had completed the initial framework of the first version of the Fire Release Chakra Mode.
Then would come the second version, the third...
Until the technique was finally complete.
There was still a long way to go, but he didn't feel that his progress was slow.
If studying in his previous life had been this simple, he wouldn't have spent an entire month desperately grinding his way to jōnin rank in the Naruto mobile game.
And he certainly wouldn't have remained stuck at Bronze in King of Glory.
Even in cultivation simulation games, he had needed to follow the big players around and shout, "666!"
His learning ability in his previous life had been ridiculously weak.
Fortunately, he was different now.
The past was the past.
The present was the present.
...
The days of studying passed quickly.
Another half month went by.
Gōenji never saw Obito and the others again.
He only learned from Grandma Natsume that they had returned to the battlefield once more.
Because Fūjin's injuries had been less severe than his, she had already returned to the front lines, leaving only a letter behind telling him to take good care of himself.
As for the battlefield, Gōenji was already a jōnin of Konoha and therefore counted among the village's senior personnel.
Information constantly flowed into his hands.
The AB Combo from Kumogakure.
The puppet forces of Sunagakure.
The Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist from Kirigakure.
The Demolition Corps of Iwagakure.
Various other combinations and elite units continued appearing across the battlefield.
This revealed the true strength of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
It wasn't only Konoha that had earned its reputation.
Gōenji read through all the reports with great interest, committing the information to memory so that he would be prepared if he ever encountered these forces.
That was one of the marks of a professional shinobi.
"As for me... I really can't hesitate anymore. I have to return to the battlefield, or I'll become a disgrace to the Uchiha clan. Seriously."
Gōenji stood upon a stretch of scorched earth.
At the center of the devastated ground, the phantom of an enormous Chakra blade was slowly fading away. On closer inspection, the outline of a sword could still be distinguished.
Liquid resembling magma remained at the bottom of the crater.
As for Gōenji himself, his clothes were tattered. Swirling patterns appeared across his skin before slowly fading, revealing the raw, reddened skin beneath.
It looked as though his skin had been scorched red by extreme heat.
It was only today that he had finally succeeded in using the unexpected technique he had developed.
As a result, Konoha had finally dispatched him back to the battlefield.
At least with this new move, if he encountered a troublesome enemy, he could catch them off guard and kill them with a single decisive strike.
Just as expected.
After returning to the Uchiha compound, Gōenji was approached by someone wearing a cat-faced mask.
"Gōenji, your body has been recovering for quite some time now. Konoha is in a critical situation and needs your strength. This cannot be delayed any longer."
The ANBU shinobi spoke solemnly.
"My goodness. The Hokage is supposed to be the most considerate person around. Why did he send you to tell me this?"
"Don't be so serious. Here, have an apple. It's on me."
Gōenji sighed and handed him an apple from the table.
The ANBU shinobi ignored him.
"We've received intelligence that Kirigakure intends to deploy a Tailed Beast on the battlefield. We need you to provide support. These are the details of the mission and the intelligence we've gathered."
The ANBU shinobi took out a scroll.
He flicked the apple out of Gōenji's hand and placed the scroll in front of him.
"Fine, fine. But they're deploying a Tailed Beast?"
Gōenji accepted the scroll, his brows drawing tightly together.
No way.
Aside from Killer B of Kumogakure, were there really any other people capable of controlling a Tailed Beast?
He could perhaps believe that the jinchūriki of Sunagakure might be able to do it.
But Kirigakure?
He didn't think they were capable of controlling one.
Moreover, there had been no incident in the original story where Kirigakure deployed a Tailed Beast in this manner.
Unless...
The Tailed Beast itself was willing.
Gōenji opened the scroll.
Inside were the intelligence reports Konoha had collected.
Because of Konoha's stubborn resistance, casualties in every village had continued to mount since the beginning of the war.
Eventually, Kirigakure could no longer tolerate the situation.
They had decided to deploy a Tailed Beast to interfere with the war.
Undoubtedly, this would dramatically increase Konoha's casualties.
I can't believe you were the first ones to lose patience.
Weren't you supposed to be the ones who could endure the longest?
Gōenji couldn't help complaining inwardly.
Forget it.
Shinobi villages were filled with schemes and internal struggles.
The scenes and events shown in the original story could never fully reveal the conflicts taking place behind the scenes between the various villages.
After all, being a shinobi was a cunning and dangerous profession.
His mission was to rendezvous with Fugaku and the other jōnin currently stationed in Kirigakure's territory, then find an opportunity to eliminate the jinchūriki and prevent Kirigakure from sending the Tailed Beast into Konoha's territory.
If they couldn't properly control the Tailed Beast, then as long as the jinchūriki was killed, the Tailed Beast would temporarily become ineffective.
"Seriously..."
Gōenji looked at the intelligence report in his hands.
"This is really dangerous..."