After the graduation ceremony, Shisui was indeed not assigned to a squad. Just as he had guessed, he returned to the clan to continue receiving cultivation from the Family.
In particular, he had been stimulated by Higashino Shin to open his Two-Tomoe Sharingan on the spot, making it even more impossible for the Uchiha Clan to let him leave.
Originally, Higashino Shin had told him to try and hide it for a while, but as someone who was not of the Uchiha Clan, he could not understand their pride, nor could he understand how immense the significance of the Sharingan was to their clan.
Furthermore, Shisui told him that once the Sharingan is awakened, the Chakra becomes different from before. Ninjas without sensory abilities might not notice, but in the eyes of the Three-Tomoe masters within the clan, it is as conspicuous as a bright lamp in the darkness; it is impossible to hide.
An eight-year-old with a Two-Tomoe Sharingan was a rare Genius even in the recorded history of the Uchiha Clan. Now, he had become the clan's great treasure. How could they possibly let him join some squad and waste his time?
One must know that the outside world is currently not peaceful. If he were to die outside while on a mission, it would be a colossal loss for the Uchiha Clan.
A Genius who dies halfway through their journey has no meaning.
Of course, this did not mean the clan would lock Shisui at home like a flower in a greenhouse; that would also prevent him from training and growing.
Instead, he would be taken by clan masters to experience blood and fire.
They suffered from persecution complex and did not trust the protection of outsiders, including the Village. In fact, certain people within the Village were the very source of danger themselves.
Danzo Shimura: "..."
I don't know anything, don't throw every blame onto my head!
Nani? A Genius from the naturally evil Uchiha Clan appeared, opening the Two-Tomoe at age eight? Come, let this old man see what's going on!
Gekkō Hayate, on the other hand, followed the normal Ninja procedures, obediently forming a squad with others and beginning a pleasant life as a Genin.
Of the original group of four, only Higashino Shin and Yūgao Uzuki remained. He could still occasionally run into Gekkō Hayate, but Uchiha Shisui? The person had simply vanished.
As for Higashino Shin, besides occasionally teaching Yūgao Uzuki, he spent the rest of his time immersed in the business of Cultivation that he was so addicted to.
---
Time will not stop because of war, and war becomes increasingly cruel as time passes.
Early summer, the temperature was getting hot, and the sun was high in the sky.
Inside a training ground far from the main urban area, Higashino Shin held the short blade gifted by his father and injected a stream of wind-attribute Chakra into it.
This blade was considered an ancestral weapon of the Higashino Clan. During its forging, quite a bit of Chakra Metal had been mixed in, allowing for very smooth energy flow.
If it were made entirely of Chakra Metal, it would be even more convenient. Unfortunately, that was basically impossible; the production of Chakra Metal was extremely low, and the price was high enough to make Kakuzu explode five times on the spot.
The sharp wind attribute condensed on the blade into a visible, physical Chakra coat, but this was too obvious.
Higashino Shin continued to control and restrain it. Finally, the color of the Chakra faded completely until it was nearly invisible, and then it was compressed and retracted into the blade. The blade returned to its ordinary appearance, but its internal essence was now completely different.
Higashino Shin swung it casually a couple of times. Several crescent-shaped blade waves, so faint they were nearly invisible, sliced through the air at high speed, piercing through several large trees before finally dissipating.
This was the primary offensive method Higashino Shin had developed for himself after desperately practicing the sharp cutting nature of the wind attribute: irresistibly sharp and extremely fast.
Most importantly, the size was adjustable. Small ones were like miniature bullets; a single shot to the heart would guarantee you'd ascend to heaven on the spot. After increasing the Chakra volume, a single blade wave could give the forest in front of him a buzz cut.
The inspiration for this seal-less Ninjutsu came from the Pot Shadow Danzo's B-rank Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Vacuum Wave/Vacuum Serial Waves, as well as the future Elite Jonin Shirakumo Hayama's A-rank Ninjutsu, Wind Release: Vacuum Sword.
However, those were things of more than a decade later. He didn't know if this Senior had developed the Vacuum Sword yet; if not, he would become the copyright holder.
Higashino Shin was a person who valued efficiency and did not like his methods to be easily dodged by enemies, because wasting Chakra was wasting life.
Therefore, he was not very satisfied with the Vacuum Wave series that required hand seals to be spat from the mouth. The Vacuum Sword actually required seals as well; although there weren't many, the resulting Wind Blades were just as obvious as the Vacuum Waves.
Relying on his extremely high Realm of Chakra control, Higashino Shin synthesized the advantages of both Ninjutsu and improved them, finally developing an instantaneous, high-speed, and nearly invisible blade wave.
Higashino Shin named it: Wind Release: Shadowless Sword.
Using the Body Flicker Technique, Higashino Shin appeared in the forest. With a light press of his toe, he snapped an extremely thin steel wire on the ground, and the trap was activated.
Dense Kunai and shuriken shot in from all directions, targeting the figure standing in the center.
Higashino Shin stood still, his right hand holding the sword blurring into an afterimage as countless Wind Blades accurately sniped the projectiles.
"Clang clang clang clang!"
A continuous string of crisp sounds rang out. Before those Kunai and shuriken could hit Higashino Shin, they were struck down in mid-air, falling feebly toward the ground.
Unlike before when they were merely blocked, this time the Kunai and shuriken were not just stopped but were split in two from the middle, the cuts as smooth as a mirror.
Finally, a heavy log was carried by immense spring force and inertia toward Higashino Shin, only to be dismembered mid-way by his continuously swung Wind Blades. For a moment, cracking sounds were constant, and wood chips flew everywhere.
Higashino Shin was very satisfied with this result.
Next, it would be time to develop auxiliary offensive means and defensive Ninjutsu. The requirement was also instantaneous casting, for which he already had ideas.
One could only say that while performing Ninjutsu with hand seals looked cool, it lacked efficiency. It was fine for a performance or for teaching others, but for his own battles, he only required fast, accurate, and ruthless instant kills.
Who would stand there rambling with you for half a day and then perform seals for a beam struggle? He wouldn't do it even if he were standing on the right side.
Whoever wanted to be an honest Ninja could be one; anyway, he was unwilling.
---
After the Ninjutsu experiment was completed, Higashino looked at the broken Kunai and shuriken scattered across the ground and sighed in his heart. Fortunately, he used battle-damaged goods accumulated from daily training; if they were brand new, it would be a waste of money. Ninja tools forged from fine steel were not cheap.
Extending his right hand, the Chakra condensed in his palm turned into a stream of flowing wind, swirling the broken shuriken and Kunai on the ground into a ball, which then landed in the prepared backpack.
Actually, if Chakra isn't used for fighting, it's also very convenient for daily life.
As for cleaning up the battlefield, that was something he did every time after training. A Ninja must keep their own information confidential; this was a regulation Higashino Jiro had warned him about more than once. Thus, every time he trained, he would keep his sensory abilities active to prevent anyone from spying.
For example, right now, several figures appeared in Higashino Shin's perception.
He recognized the Chakra signatures of two people, while the other two were very unfamiliar—especially one of them, whose Chakra felt sunny and powerful.
He immediately guessed who had arrived.
Higashino Shin cleaned up the steel wires wrapped around the trees and hid himself atop a large tree not far away.
Soon, a boisterous voice approached from a distance: "I told you I wasn't oversleeping, I just met an old lady who needed help on the way here."
A languid voice rang out: "Whatever. It's the same as before anyway; I don't expect you to be able to help. As long as you don't drag us down, I'll thank the heavens."
"What did you say, you bastard Kakashi! Who are you calling a dead weight?"
"People shout louder the more useless they are."
"Ah~~ You bastard, stuck-up Kakashi, I'm going to kill you!"
"Obito! Kakashi!" A crisp female voice merely called their names, and it immediately acted like magic to stop the bickering.
Following behind the three was a handsome young man wearing a green flak jacket with yellow spiky hair. He wore a sunny smile, seemingly accustomed to the bickering between his students.
Only when he approached the place where Higashino Shin had just trained did his smile fade, and he glanced at the marks on the grass and the scattered wood chips.
The thick-headed Uchiha Obito didn't notice any abnormalities, but Kakashi was different. He asked in a low voice, "Minato-sensei?"
Minato Namikaze looked around and shook his head, saying, "These aren't marks left by a battle. Someone was just training here; it was likely a comrade from the Village, and they've already left."
Kakashi nodded and said nothing. This was an internal training ground for the Village, so such situations were common. Thus, the four of them continued to drift further away amidst their daily bickering.
On a tree not far away, Higashino Shin smiled slightly. He had just verified one thing: Minato Namikaze indeed possessed excellent sensory abilities.
However, the sensory ability he gained from cultivating Natural Energy was even more miraculous—finer than ordinary sensing and also capable of masking his own presence.
There was only one way for Minato Namikaze to discover him, and that was to enter the Toad Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku, provided he had already learned it by now.
Looking at the receding backs of the four, Higashino Shin felt somewhat emotional. This might be the last time he would see the harmonious and loving scene of this team.
Calculating the time, Obito and the other two were already twelve years old.
Before long, destiny would push these people in completely different directions. All the tragedies of the Ninja World were concentrated within this team.
Higashino Shin had never thought about interfering.
It was simple: first, he had never been interested; second, he temporarily lacked the ability; third, it was too dangerous, and he couldn't explain the source of his information, which would drag his friends and Family into it.
Most importantly, this was not the world of his previous life. In the Ninja World, the boundary between life and death was very blurred.
Because someone took the lead in breaking the laws of heaven and earth, blurring the cycle of life, death, and Reincarnation.
Death is not the end of life in this world.