The clansmen inside the room were engaged in heated discussion, each trying to use their own words to sway the others. While some were filled with worry, others were consumed by fanaticism. The line between the moderates and the hawks was clearly drawn at this moment.
Fugaku observed all these reactions from his position at the front. Suddenly, his gaze fell upon Kiyoshi. Compared to the other clansmen, Kiyoshi's expression was far too calm.
After a moment's thought, Fugaku understood the reason. Kiyoshi was one of the first to witness the catalyst that triggered the outbreak of war. The disappearance of the Third Kazekage was a massive event; it was only natural for it to become the fuse for war.
Fugaku sighed inwardly, marveling at how Kiyoshi was becoming more of a genius by the day. The most correct thing Yakumi had ever done was finding Kiyoshi.
"Kiyoshi, given your strength in being able to escape from so many Sand ninjas, you will also be participating this time."
Fugaku spoke. He then praised Kiyoshi for his brilliant actions, noting that he certainly hadn't tarnished the reputation of the Uchiha clan.
"What... this guy has actually reached such a level of strength?"
Obito lost all interest in chatting with Kaigen Uchiha. Kiyoshi had gone off and done something big again. He had heard that there were no shortage of experts among the pursuing ninjas, yet Kiyoshi was still able to escape. Unknowingly, the gap between them had actually grown even wider!
"Lord Fugaku, I want to go too!"
Obito quickly raised his hand, seemingly unwilling to fall behind Kiyoshi.
"You will go as well. Jonin Minato Namikaze will also be leading a team."
Fugaku waved his hand, signaling Obito not to be impatient. This time, those truly serving as the vanguard were the Jonin; most ninjas only needed to handle logistics work. Since they were going to war, building strongholds and transporting supplies were inevitable tasks. The Uchiha clan had a few outposts, but those were too far from the current mission site. Simply put, the Uchiha and Hyuga would be at the front, while the weaker clansmen would be the first to build strongholds and transport supplies alongside other ninjas.
"Fortunately, I already reconciled with Kiyoshi last time."
Hazuki Uchiha felt lucky in her heart, her soft hand lightly brushing her chest. It was just as she had guessed—Kiyoshi Uchiha's future achievements would not be simple. Perhaps he might even carve out a name for himself in this war.
...
Nighttime.
A white snake crawled onto the eaves, its vertical pupils watching the back of its master practicing below.
"Hiss... hiss."
It let out a confused sound. It didn't understand why its master spent every day looking at those slips of paper. Soon, it found a comfortable spot, curled its serpentine body, and took a short nap.
Below, Kiyoshi continued his training. He glanced at the Trait panel, where a new Trait had appeared: [Apprentice Sealing Ninja (Green)].
The Trait progress was more than halfway through and nearing completion. Yesterday, he had also obtained a [Trainee Sealing Ninja (White)] Trait. The effect was the same as the green one—both provided a bonus to the speed of Kiyoshi's sealing jutsu training. White added 5%, while Green added 20%. One only needed to reach the entry level of any random sealing jutsu to obtain such a Trait. The reason he hadn't had it before was because the Shrine Maiden's sealing techniques followed a completely different path. One could say they were two distinct systems.
The Shrine Maiden's sealing techniques were essentially developed to assist the Shrine Maiden's abilities. After Kiyoshi's chakra gained the Demon-Slaying attribute, the effects of using these sealing techniques were much better than before. Traditional sealing jutsu, on the other hand, were developed based on ordinary chakra.
"Once I learn all three of Maki's sealing techniques, the progress should be maximized."
Kiyoshi closed the Trait panel. Besides serving as support, sealing jutsu could also be used to augment oneself. For example, the [Strength of a Hundred Seal], which can store chakra, involves sealing and storing chakra in the center of the forehead.
"I need to find some test subjects."
Kiyoshi had Moryo's physical body in his possession. He wanted to try transplanting Moryo's power into test subjects. Once it passed clinical trials, he could use it on himself, thereby achieving rapid progress. One must know that the [Eight Inner Gates] is actually a key that can artificially open the eight 'gates' within the meridian system. To open the gates, one needs both the key and the qualification to withstand it. Might Guy and Might Duy trained daily specifically to adapt themselves to opening the 'gates'. Like Rock Lee—starting at five gates, ending at six gates, and still at six gates over ten years later in Boruto—it was a matter of insufficient aptitude. It's like having the key but lacking the wrist strength to turn it.
Once Kiyoshi mastered Moryo's power, he could use a "backdoor" method to turn it directly. The effects of Lightning Style body tempering would also be much better.
...
Several days passed. Kiyoshi had received his new ninja blade, and he gathered with his clansmen as a team to rush to the battlefield.
The situation was exactly as Hiruzen Sarutobi had expected. After the Land of Water assembled its troops, it began to march into the Land of Fire. After the Land of Lightning attacked the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth followed suit to fish in troubled waters, sending troops to attack the Land of Wind from the border where the Land of Birds and Land of Rain met.
At this moment, the Land of Wind was besieged on all sides. Compared to the Land of Lightning, which had to cross many small countries to reach the Land of Wind, the Land of Earth's momentum was even more fierce, even forcing the Land of Wind to seek aid from the Leaf.
The Land of Water also took advantage of the chaotic war situation, knowing that if the lips are gone, the teeth will be cold. The Land of Fire couldn't completely ignore the Land of Wind; otherwise, once things stabilized, the Land of Lightning would inevitably attack the Land of Fire. Therefore, the Land of Water wanted a piece of the pie.
The maneuvering and situation of these great nations were still too far off for the current Kiyoshi. At this moment, he was on the move. He had successfully obtained the green [Apprentice Sealing Ninja] Trait over the last few days. As he grew older, Kiyoshi's brain was constantly developing, not to mention the feedback from his ocular power and the Trait bonuses. This allowed Kiyoshi to learn anything faster than an ordinary person.
Before leaving, Kiyoshi had taken the Lightning Style ninjutsu from Samui under the table. The name of the technique was [Lightning Oppression: Horizontal Thousand Years], a C-rank jutsu. It involves jumping into the air, concentrating high-intensity current formed by Lightning Style chakra into the hand, and diving down to deliver a hand-axe chop to the opponent. In his youth, A had used this technique to chop off the left horn of the Eight-Tails with one hand. During the Fourth Great Shinobi War, A used this technique to crack the initial form of Madara Uchiha's Susanoo. One could say it was decent; the power depended entirely on the user's level.
(T/N:- A is raikage, don't know which one since all 4 of them have same name in wiki)
However, Kiyoshi set this aside for now. His current priority was learning Sasori's puppet techniques. A related white Trait had already appeared: [Trainee Puppeteer (White)], which provided a 5% bonus to training speed in this area. It was foreseeable that Kiyoshi would soon master the skill of emitting chakra from his fingertips to form chakra threads.
"We've arrived."
Fugaku Uchiha walked at the front, leaving some people behind to build a stronghold while leading another group toward the front line. Kiyoshi set down the sealing scrolls he was carrying on his back.
Large sealing scrolls were generally used for transporting supplies, but they still required people to carry them. In this regard, the Cloud had a solution that brought a huge advantage: the [Heavenly Transfer Jutsu], which could teleport any object to any location at the speed of light, unaffected by any conditions or terrain.
"Senior Kiyoshi."
A pleasant voice sounded; a woman was calling Kiyoshi.
***
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