On the watchtower of a Konoha border outpost, the sentry's binoculars suddenly jolted.
On a distant hillside, over thirty Uchiha ninjas were escorting a group of red-haired men and women towards the outpost.
The sentry shouted down, "Open the gates quickly! Shun has returned!"
The outpost gate swung open, and the members of the Divine Demon Squad strode in with their heads held high. The sixteen Uzumaki clan members, though in tattered clothes, had a renewed spark of hope in their eyes as they were protected in the center.
An Uchiha ninja rushed out from the outpost and asked, "Hey, Tekka, where have you been? Why did you bring back so many Uzumaki clan members?"
Tekka's two-tomoe Sharingan spun proudly as he said, "We went to Kusagakure. Our 36 men fought against over 500 Kusagakure ninjas. They lost over 90 men, and we didn't even lose a single hair, haha! I've never had such a satisfying fight."
The news spread like wildfire throughout the outpost.
Within half an hour, every corner was buzzing about the Divine Demon Squad's feat. The squad members were surrounded by their former comrades, vividly describing the earth-shattering battle.
"You didn't see it, all thirty-six of us formed hand seals at the same time, and the wall of fire shot up higher than the mountains."
"Those useless Kusagakure ninjas actually tried to block it with Water Release? Haha, they were instantly steamed alive."
"The leader of Kusagakure was so scared that he surrendered and obediently released the Uzumaki clan members."
Soon, the matter of Shun breaking into the Land of Grass to rescue 15 Uzumaki clan members and killing over 90 Kusagakure ninjas was reported to the higher-ups.
Not long after, Uchiha Yūsuke ran over and said, "Shun, Fugaku-sama and the others want to see you."
A hint of playfulness flashed in Shun's eyes as he said, "Uncle Yūsuke, I'll be right there."
A moment later, in the high-level conference room, Shun pushed the door open, and four gazes shot at him like arrows.
Fugaku sat calmly in the main seat. Yashiro crossed his arms under his chin, his brows deeply furrowed. Unkai and Tetsu sat on either side, their expressions complex and hard to decipher.
Seeing that there were only four of them in the conference room, Shun appeared quite composed and calm.
He smiled confidently and said, "Clan head Fugaku, Elder Yashiro, Uncle Kurama, Uncle Kazama, you all look well. I wonder which young lady you spent last night with. Haha."
Unkai's eye twitched slightly, while Tetsu responded with dry laughs.
Yashiro slammed the table and said, "Shun, you just became a Squad Leader, and you unauthorizedly mobilized 35 subordinates to attack Kusagakure. Do you know your mistake?"
The air in the conference room seemed to solidify, but Shun's expression remained calm. He slowly walked to the conference table, found an empty chair, and sat down gracefully.
The air in the conference room seemed to freeze instantly. But Shun calmly walked to the empty chair and sat down gracefully.
He crossed his hands on the table and replied with an undiminished smile, "Although the Uzumaki clan has been destroyed, Konoha has not dissolved the alliance. According to the original alliance, as a Konoha ninja, I have an obligation to rescue our allies trapped in Kusagakure."
Upon hearing this, Fugaku nodded slightly. They didn't truly want to blame Shun, it was merely to test his on-the-spot performance.
After receiving intelligence from Kusagakure, what they were actually more concerned about was the change in the Divine Demon Squad. After all, the Divine Demon Squad had only been formed for a little over a day, yet it had displayed such formidable combat power.
Fugaku's voice was deep and powerful. "I heard that Kusagakure dispatched over 500 people, and you killed over 90 of them. Tell me about the situation at that time."
Hearing the question, Shun stood up straight and replied, "At that time, over 500 Kusagakure ninjas charged at us. All 36 of us activated Divine Demon Transformation, then collectively used a Wind and Fire combination Ninjutsu to counterattack. We created a wall of flames over 1000 meters long and 30-60 meters wide, instantly killing a portion of the Kusagakure ninjas."
The conference room was silent, even Yashiro's eyes were wide.
"There were also some Kusagakure ninjas who tried to block us with Ninjutsu like Earth Release: Earth Style Wall and Water Release: Water Formation Wall. I had my team members perform the combination Ninjutsu again, and the flames, carried by the wind, drilled into the gaps of their defenses. Those guys hiding behind the earth walls were all roasted alive."
Tetsu unconsciously gulped. "And then?"
Shun shrugged and said, "The leader of Kusagakure surrendered, handing over 15 Uzumaki clan members."
The four people in the room looked at each other. They had originally thought it was achieved through some strategy, but they didn't expect the process to be so simple and violent.
Yashiro recovered from his shock and asked incredulously, "Isn't your Divine Demon Transformation a B-rank Ninjutsu? They learned it in just one day?"
Shun's tone carried a natural pride. "What's so surprising about that? Our Uchiha ninjas have a very solid foundation in Ninjutsu, and with their Sharingan, they naturally learn Ninjutsu very quickly. It's just that their control over Wind Release Ninjutsu isn't good, which reduced the power of the Wind and Fire combination Ninjutsu."
Fugaku's eyes sparkled with excitement as he said, "Shun, I want to promote your Divine Demon Transformation throughout the Uchiha clan. Anyone above Chunin can learn it."
Shun had already considered this issue in advance.
"Clan head, I have no objections. The Divine Demon Transformation Ninjutsu only materializes a head and a pair of arms, so Chakra consumption is very low. And because there's an extra head for analysis, the efficiency when practicing Ninjutsu is twice the usual, which can be used to accelerate the training of the clan's advanced combat power."
Hearing that Divine Demon Transformation had such a function, Unkai and Tetsu's eyes lit up.
Seeing their fervent gazes, Shun pretended not to notice and said, "Actually, our current focus should be on the Kirigakure battlefield. I heard that to counter Kirigakure's attack, Hiruzen had Ninja Academy students graduate early. With the elderly and children conscripted from the village, they barely managed to gather 3000 people to face the Kirigakure army."
"Also, elder Kagami's 8-year-old grandson, Uchiha Shisui, awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan on the Kirigakure battlefield and earned the title 'Shisui of the Body Flicker.'"
Unkai exclaimed, "An 8-year-old with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Your Uchiha clan has produced another genius."
Fugaku sighed, "Shisui's talent is comparable to the Uchiha ancestors."
Yashiro lowered his head, his expression somewhat gloomy. "When we Uchiha and Senju established the village, it was to prevent children from going to war. That beast Hiruzen actually sent an 8-year-old child to the battlefield. Has his Will of Fire been eaten by dogs?"
Tetsu hesitated, "Why haven't we received any news about the Kirigakure battlefield? Are the higher-ups deliberately concealing it?"
Upon hearing this, Unkai let out an angry roar. "Damn it, these people are beasts! We're fighting desperately on the front lines, and they're sending our children to their deaths on the battlefield."