Four youths dressed in uniform dark grey combat gear stood in the front row. They were about sixteen or seventeen years old, their figures as upright as pine trees. The scabbards of the ninja swords at their waists were polished bright, and the blades were unsheathed half an inch, revealing a cold, biting glint.
The three Genin in the back row were slightly younger, around twelve or thirteen years old. Their cheeks still carried a lingering touch of youth, yet their backs were straight, their hands pressed tightly against their trouser seams, and their eyes were filled with a determination far beyond their years.
"Greetings, Lord Shine!" The seven of them knelt on one knee simultaneously, their knees hitting the ground with a synchronized thud. Though their voices varied in pitch, they all carried absolute loyalty without the slightest hesitation.
The leading Chunin had neat, short hair, and a faint scar was visible beneath the stray hairs on his forehead—a mark left by years of training. When he looked up at Shine, his gaze was as steady as a mirror, without a trace of cowardice.
Shine walked forward slowly, his gaze sweeping across the faces of the seven. Although the Ninjas summoned by the System had no past memories, they were imprinted with absolute obedience to him. More importantly, their talent and Heart-Nature had been screened; with a bit of polishing, they could become independent combat forces.
He stopped in front of the leading Chunin and lightly tapped the other's ninja sword scabbard with his fingertip. "What is your name?"
"Reporting to My Lord, I am named Feng. These three Chunin are Rui, Ren, and Ci, respectively. The three Genin are named Chen, Sha, and Li." The Chunin's voice was flat, yet it carried a decisiveness that suggested he was ready for orders at any time.
Shine pondered for a moment. "From now on, you shall be the captain of this squad."
"Yes! My Lord!" the seven responded in unison, their voices gaining a touch of vivid gratitude. Even the eyes of the most youthful Genin, Li, shimmered with light.
Shine raised his hand, signaling everyone to rise, and his tone returned to its usual coolness. "Tomorrow morning, Jin will return to Konoha from the Land of Whirlpools. You will go back with him."
"After arriving at the base, Xiu will be responsible for your training. He will formulate plans based on your talents—the Chunin will focus on practical combat and tactical coordination, while the Genin will first solidify their Chakra control and basic Ninjutsu. In three months, I want to see you able to stand on your own."
Feng took a step forward and bowed to accept the order. "Please rest assured, My Lord! We will certainly go all out and never fail the trust My Lord has placed in us!"
Rui, Ren, and the others behind him also bowed in synchronization. Their dark grey figures merged into the night, like a sharp blade about to be sheathed.
Shine nodded and looked toward the direction of the Land of Whirlpools.
The wind in the forest blew again, ruffling the hem of his clothes and the stray hairs on the foreheads of the summoned Ninjas.
He knew that these seven figures were just the beginning—the base in the Land of Whirlpools would become his training ground, and these secretly accumulated sharp blades would eventually tear open the most critical gap in the future Ninja World storm.
"Chi, Yan, escort them to the hidden stronghold to rest and reorganize." Shine turned and walked out of the forest, his voice fading in the night. "Remember, without my command, do not reveal a single trace of your presence."
"Yes! My Lord!" Chi and Yan replied. Leading the seven summoned Ninjas, their figures quickly disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
Only a few fallen leaves, swirled down by Chakra, remained on the clearing. They rolled with the night wind and eventually sank into the humus soil, as if no one had ever been there—only the faint Chakra mark left by Shine indicated the secret of this nighttime summoning.
The battlefield on the Hidden Mist border was shrouded in a weave of blood and mist. The damp, cold air was permeated with the smell of rust and the scorched scent of burned Chakra.
The murky river water was dyed dark red, floating with broken ninja swords and tattered headbands. The distant forest had long been razed to the ground by the clash of Fire Release and Water Release, leaving only charred stumps standing in the mist like silent tombstones.
Uchiha Fugaku stood on a temporarily constructed command tower, his black cloak flapping loudly in the battlefield wind, and the clan crest on his collar was stained with mud and blood.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan stared intently at the battlefield ahead, the crimson tomoe spinning rapidly to capture every change in the combat situation—on the left flank, the Ninjas of the Hyuga branch Family were using their Byakugan to lock onto the Hidden Mist's sneak attackers, but their Gentle Fist could hardly break through the defense of the Yuki Clan's Ice Release. Several Hyuga Ninjas had been frozen into ice sculptures as soon as they closed in.
The civilian Ninjas on the right were in even worse shape. The Ninjas of the Hozuki Clan turned into liquid, ignoring the attacks of Kunai and Ninjutsu, weaving through the crowd at will and leaving behind a trail of screams.
"Clan Chief! The right flank is about to collapse! The Hozuki Clan's Water Transformation Jutsu is too troublesome, and the civilian Ninjas have already retreated!" An Uchiha Chunin stumbled onto the command tower, the wound on his left arm still bleeding, his voice full of anxiety.
Fugaku's expression grew increasingly grim. His fingertips gripped the wooden railing of the command tower so tightly that his knuckles turned white.
Under his command, the only ones who could truly exert combat power were over three hundred Uchiha Clan Members—there were fewer than three hundred Ninjas from the Hyuga branch Family, and most were mid-to-low-level combatants.
The more than two thousand civilian Ninjas were even more uneven. Facing the Bloodline Ninjas screened by the Hidden Mist's 'blood mist policy,' they were simply a drop in the bucket.
On the Hidden Mist side, just the Ninjas with the Yuki Clan's Ice Release, the Kaguya Clan's Shikotsumyaku, and the Hozuki Clan's Water Transformation Jutsu numbered over one thousand seven hundred, and every single one of them had Chunin-level strength and terrifyingly seamless coordination.
"Have the Uchiha Ninjas push forward! Use the Great Fireball Technique to suppress the Yuki Clan's Ice Release, and use the Sharingan to lock onto the Hozuki Clan's physical forms!" Fugaku ordered in a deep voice, his tone carrying an unquestionable authority.
He knew that these Uchiha Clan Members were the core strength of the Moderate Faction, and every loss pained him. But at this moment, there was no way back—once the defense line collapsed, all of them would be buried in this bloody mist.
Just then, a small red figure streaked across the battlefield like a gale.
Uchiha Shisui held a short blade, his ten-year-old body exceptionally agile in the chaos. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan accurately captured a flaw in a Hozuki Clan Ninja. The moment he used the Body Flicker Technique, his short blade had already pierced the opponent's heart—that was the weakness of the Hozuki Clan's Water Transformation Jutsu; one had to attack the instant they solidified their physical form.
"What a fast Body Flicker Technique!" Nara Shikagen, on the command tower, couldn't help but exclaim. His Family specialized in tactical analysis, but he had never seen a Ninja of such a young age combine the Body Flicker Technique and the Sharingan so perfectly.
Shisui's figure didn't stop; he lunged toward a Kaguya Clan Ninja. The opponent had just extended a bone blade when he was interfered with by Shisui's Genjutsu. In that brief moment of distraction, the short blade had already slit his throat.
A rare, gratified curve appeared at the corner of Fugaku's mouth, and a glimmer of expectation flashed in his eyes.
Shisui's strength was already extremely close to that of a Jonin. Such talent was enough to become a future pillar of the Uchiha.
He thought of the young Itachi at home and secretly calculated: once the war was over, he must have Itachi learn more from Shisui. If the two of them joined forces, they would surely allow the Uchiha to gain a firm foothold in Konoha...
Advance chapter available on pãtrêon Got1808