After the graduation ceremony was held, Shisui was indeed not assigned to any team. Instead, just as he had guessed, he returned to his clan to receive continued family training.
In particular, after being provoked by Higashino Makoto, he awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan on the spot. With that, the Uchiha clan was even less likely to let him go out.
Originally, Higashino Makoto had told him to keep it hidden for the time being. But he was not a member of the Uchiha clan and could not understand their pride, nor could he understand how immense the meaning of the Sharingan was to their clan.
Moreover, Shisui also told him that once someone awakens the Sharingan, their chakra becomes different from before. Shinobi without sensory abilities might not notice it, but in the eyes of those three-tomoe experts within the clan, it would stand out like a bright lamp in the darkness—it was impossible to conceal.
An eight-year-old with a two-tomoe Sharingan—this was an extremely rare genius even in the recorded history of the Uchiha clan. He immediately became a great treasure within the clan. How could they possibly let him join some small squad and waste time?
One had to know that the outside world was not peaceful right now. If he were to die outside while carrying out missions, that would be an enormous loss to the Uchiha clan.
A genius who dies halfway has no meaning at all.
Of course, this did not mean that the clan would keep Shisui shut at home as a greenhouse flower. That would likewise prevent him from gaining proper training and growth.
Instead, he would be taken by elite clan members to experience blood and fire.
They suffered from a persecution complex and did not trust protection from outsiders—including the village. Even some people within the village itself were, in their view, sources of danger.
Shimura Danzō: "…"
"I don't know anything at all! Don't dump every blame on my head!"
What? A naturally evil Uchiha clan has produced a genius who awakened the two-tomoe Sharingan at the age of eight? Come—let this old man see what is going on!
Gekkō Hayate, on the other hand, followed the standard ninja procedures, obediently formed a team with others, and began his pleasant life as a genin.
The original four-person group—now only Higashino Makoto and Uzuki Yūgao were left. He could still run into Gekkō Hayate from time to time, but Uchiha Shisui? He had vanished.
As for Higashino Makoto, aside from occasionally teaching Uzuki Yūgao, he threw the rest of his time back into the training that obsessed him.
...
Time does not stop for war; war grows ever more cruel as time passes.
Early summer. The temperature was rising, and the sun was high.
Inside a training ground far from the main urban district, Higashino Makoto held the short blade his father had given him and infused it with a stream of Wind Release chakra.
This blade could be considered a weapon passed down in the Higashino family. A fair amount of chakra metal had been mixed in during forging, and its energy flow was extremely smooth.
If it were made entirely of chakra metal, how comfortable would that be to use? Unfortunately, that was basically impossible. Chakra metal production was extremely low, and the price was so high it could make Kakuzu explode on the spot five times.
The sharp Wind Release attribute condensed along the blade into a visible, tangible cloak of chakra—but that was far too conspicuous.
Higashino Makoto continued to control it and rein it in. In the end, the chakra's color faded until it was almost invisible, then it was compressed and contained within the blade. The blade's exterior returned to an ordinary appearance, but its inner essence was no longer something that could be compared to what it had been before.
Higashino Makoto casually swung it twice. Several pale, nearly invisible crescent-shaped blade waves cut through the air at extreme speed, piercing straight through several large trees before finally dissipating.
This was the main offensive method Higashino Makoto had developed for himself after training the sharp cutting nature of Wind Release desperately—its edge was hard to block, and its speed was extremely fast.
Most importantly, its size could be adjusted. Small ones were like miniature bullets—take one to the heart and you were guaranteed to ascend to heaven on the spot. After increasing the amount of chakra, a single blade wave could shave the forest in front of him flat.
The inspiration for this hand-seal-less ninjutsu came from the B-rank Wind Release: Vacuum Wave / Vacuum Serial Waves of Danzō, as well as the A-rank Wind Release: Vacuum Sword of the future elite jōnin Shirakumo Hayama.
But that was something more than ten years later. Who knew whether this senior had already developed Vacuum Sword by now? If not, then he would become the copyright holder.
Higashino Makoto was someone who valued efficiency. He did not like methods that the enemy could easily dodge, because wasting chakra was wasting life.
So he was not very satisfied with the Vacuum Wave series that required hand seals and had to be expelled from the mouth. Vacuum Sword also actually required hand seals. Although there were not many, the wind blades it produced were, just like Vacuum Wave, far too obvious.
Relying on his extremely high level of chakra control, Higashino Makoto combined the strengths of the two ninjutsu and refined them further, finally developing an instant-cast, high-speed, nearly invisible blade wave.
Higashino Makoto gave it a name: Wind Release: Shadowless Sword.
Activating the Body Flicker Technique, Higashino Makoto appeared inside the forest. With a light tap of his toe, he snapped an extremely thin steel wire on the ground, triggering the trap.
Dense volleys of kunai and shuriken shot in from all directions, their targets aimed straight at the figure standing at the center.
Higashino Makoto stood perfectly still. His sword-wielding right hand moved in a blur of afterimages as countless wind blades precisely intercepted the projectiles midair.
Clink, clink, clink, clink!
A continuous series of crisp sounds rang out. Before the kunai and shuriken could reach Higashino Makoto, they were struck down in midair and fell weakly to the ground.
Unlike before, when they had merely been blocked, this time the kunai and shuriken were not only stopped—they were split cleanly in half, the cuts smooth as mirrors.
Finally, a thick, heavy log, driven by tremendous elastic force and inertia, slammed toward Higashino Makoto. It was dismembered halfway by successive wind blades he swung out, accompanied by nonstop cracking sounds as splintered wood flew everywhere.
Higashino Makoto was very satisfied with this result.
Next, it was time to develop auxiliary offensive methods and defensive ninjutsu, with the same requirement: instant activation. He had long since formed ideas for that.
It could only be said that forming hand seals to cast ninjutsu looked cool, but it was inefficient. For performance, it was fine; for teaching others, it also worked. But when fighting himself, he demanded only fast, accurate, ruthless instant kills.
Who would stand there rambling for half a day and then form seals to clash techniques? He would not do it even if he were standing on the right side.
Whoever wanted to be that honest ninja could go ahead—he certainly was unwilling.
After the ninjutsu test was complete, Makoto looked at the pile of broken kunai and shuriken scattered across the ground and sighed inwardly. Fortunately, he had used battle-damaged items accumulated from regular training. If they had all been brand new, it would have been a serious loss—fine steel ninja tools were not cheap.
Extending his right hand, the chakra gathered in his palm transformed into a flowing current of wind, sweeping the shattered shuriken and kunai together into a single bundle and dropping them into the prepared backpack.
In fact, if chakra was not used for combat, it was also very convenient in daily life.
As for cleaning up the battlefield, that was something he did after every training session. A ninja had to keep their intelligence confidential—this was a rule Higashino Jirō had warned him about more than once. Therefore, every time he trained, he kept his perception active to prevent anyone from spying.
For example, right now, several human figures appeared within Higashino Makoto's perception.
He recognized the chakra signatures of two of them. The other two were unfamiliar—especially one of them, whose chakra felt sunny and powerful.
He immediately guessed who had arrived.
Higashino Makoto finished tidying up the steel wires woven through the forest and concealed himself atop a large tree not far away.
Soon, a loud, boisterous voice approached from afar: "I already told you, I didn't sleep in. I just ran into an old granny who needed help on the way here, that's all."
A lazy voice replied, "Whatever. It's the same as always. I never expect you to be any help anyway. 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 dead weight?"
"You know, the more useless someone is, the louder they shout."
"Ahhh—damn it! You smug bastard Kakashi, I'll kill you!"
"Obito! Kakashi!"
A crisp female voice called out just their names, yet it immediately put an end to the quarrel as if by magic.
Following behind the three of them was a handsome young man wearing a green flak jacket, with bright blond hair styled in a flashy cut. He wore a sunny smile, seemingly long accustomed to the bickering among his students.
However, when he walked closer to the place where Higashino Makoto had just been training, his smile faded. He glanced at the marks on the grass and the scattered splinters of broken wood.
The thick-nerved Uchiha Obito noticed nothing unusual, but Kakashi was different. He asked in a low voice, "Minato-sensei?"
Namikaze Minato looked around, then shook his head. "These aren't traces left by a battle. Someone was training here just now—probably a companion from the village. They've already left."
Kakashi nodded and said nothing more. This was an internal training ground of the village; situations like this were common. Thus, the four of them continued on, gradually moving farther away amid their usual banter.
On a tree not far away, Higashino Makoto smiled faintly. Just now, he had confirmed one thing—Namikaze Minato indeed possessed fairly good sensory abilities.
However, the perception that came with his training in natural energy was even more remarkable. It was finer than ordinary sensing and could also conceal his own presence.
For Namikaze Minato to discover him, there was only one way: to enter the Toad Sage Mode of Mount Myōboku—assuming he had already learned it by now.
Watching the four figures recede into the distance, Higashino Makoto felt a touch of emotion. This might be the last time he would see this team in such a harmonious, friendly state.
By now, Obito and the other two were already twelve years old.
Before long, fate would push them onto completely different paths. All of a ninja's tragedies were concentrated within this very team.
Higashino Makoto had never thought of intervening.
The reasons were simple: first, he had never been interested; second, he currently lacked the ability; third, it was too dangerous—there was no way to explain the source of the information without dragging 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 had taken the lead in breaking the laws of heaven and earth, blurring the cycle of life and death.
Death, in this world, was not the end of life.
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