The shinobi of Xin City began to assemble, and massive amounts of supplies were mobilized. Xuan also had Akahane Yui write a formal decree and handed it to Uchiha Ran to rally the Akahane clan's forces.
About three days later, with everything prepared, Xuan and Shinji stood before the massive gathering of shinobi. With a grand wave of his hand, Xuan ordered, "Move out."
Instantly, the mighty shinobi army surged into the nearby forest, transforming into streaks of black shadows as they marched toward the Uchiha clan's main compound. The first batch of supplies also began its journey under the heavy escort of Elite Jōnin Uchiha Gō.
The forces accompanying Xuan this time represented the vast majority of the North's military might. Aside from the Peak Jōnin Uchiha Shinji, there were six Elite Jōnin: Uchiha Takeshi, Uchiha Ken, Uchiha Sakae, Akahane Hoshi, Akahane Horetsu, and Uchiha Gō escorting the rear.
Well, technically seven, including Akahane Yui, though Xuan didn't count her in the combat roster. In addition to these Elite Jōnin, there were twenty-three standard Jōnin (twenty Uchiha, three Akahane). Rounding out the force were four hundred Chūnin and five hundred Genin. It was a standard, fully equipped shinobi army. If this force were dropped onto the main battlefield, it possessed the absolute power to single-handedly dictate the tide of the war.
Of course, if the Senju completely lost their minds, held absolutely nothing back, and deployed Senju Unkan and his reserve forces, the Senju would still hold the overall advantage. But they didn't dare do that. Just like the Uchiha, even in this desperate, bleeding stalemate, they hadn't dared to mobilize Uchiha Fujin's southern forces. In the grand, chaotic melting pot of the Warring States Era, their enemies were never just each other.
To attain wealth and rank and not return to one's hometown is like walking in the dark wearing brocade garments.
Xuan felt his current actions perfectly embodied the concept of returning home in absolute glory. When he was first sent to the North, Uchiha Tajima had essentially sent him to die. Yet, through his own relentless efforts and absolute mastery of space-time Ninjutsu, he navigated the deadly web of the great clans. Not only did he slaughter the shadow guards sent to assassinate him, but he also firmly rooted himself in the North.
More than that, he successfully orchestrated the outbreak of an all-out war between the Senju and the Uchiha—a brutal, protracted conflict that still raged on today. During this chaos, he successfully pacified the North, seized absolute control of the territory, and was now marching straight to the battlefield to properly settle old scores with Uchiha Tajima. His current mood was night and day compared to when he had first left.
The only slight blemish on this perfect picture was his current foundational rank. His chakra density only met the standard of a regular Jōnin. Even within the System, there was no option to directly purchase 'Chakra Refinement'.
Actually, this was very easy to understand. Chakra refinement was a highly technical, time-consuming, and labor-intensive process that absolutely no one else could do for you. While natural talent played a major role, it wasn't an insurmountable chasm like learning certain high-level Ninjutsu.
Chakra, fundamentally, was energy produced by the perfect fusion of spiritual energy and physical energy. Physical energy was extracted drop by drop from the 130 trillion cells within the human body.
Ultimately, unlike Senjutsu, which utilized external natural energy, chakra was an internal power belonging entirely to the body itself. A shinobi produced chakra through their cells and then mentally refined and compressed it, transforming it into the energy most suitable for their own use.
Since it was heavily reliant on physical energy, it was naturally inseparable from physical development. Therefore, no matter how heaven-defying a genius you were, until your body matured enough to safely endure highly compressed chakra, you could not achieve the corresponding rank.
This was precisely why Xuan was still technically just a Jōnin. His twelve-year-old body had only just begun to develop; it simply wasn't robust enough to withstand the incredibly pure, dense chakra of an Elite Jōnin. Forcing it would only place a crippling burden on his physical vessel.
Of course, this rank was merely a baseline measurement of foundational strength; it did not accurately represent actual combat prowess. For instance, despite only having the chakra density of a regular Jōnin, Xuan could still easily assassinate Peak Jōnin.
By the same logic, characters from the original story—like Naruto hacking with the Nine-Tails, a thirteen-year-old Itachi wiping out his clan with the Mangekyō, or Might Guy and Rock Lee opening the Eight Inner Gates—could not have their true strength measured by simple foundational ranks.
According to Xuan's estimation, the ages of twelve to eighteen marked the period of most rapid physical development. Given his supreme aptitude, by the time he was fifteen at the latest, he would be able to refine his chakra to the absolute pinnacle of purity, officially reaching the Kage level.
Even now, as his spiritual power continued to strengthen, he could distinctly feel the daily changes in his body. He was confident it wouldn't be long before he officially stepped into the Elite Jōnin realm.
Once his chakra purity leveled up, the destructive power of his Ninjutsu would naturally ascend to an entirely new tier, elevating his overall combat strength even further.
Xin City in the North wasn't exactly close to the main clan compound. For a squad of Jōnin, the journey wouldn't take too long. But traveling with a massive army of Genin undeniably slowed their pace. Fortunately, Xuan wasn't in a hurry. Adopting the relaxed mindset of a tourist admiring the scenery, they traveled at a leisurely pace, stopping frequently.
Traveling like this, it took them a full seven days before they finally spotted the clan compound in the distance.
In truth, calling it a "compound" was a massive understatement; the Uchiha clan's headquarters was essentially a majestic, sprawling city. Rows upon rows of civilian houses connected seamlessly, wide streets stretched outward, extended perimeter warning lines were set up far in advance, and the Patriarch's grand estate stood out prominently in the very center. No matter how one looked at it, it vastly exceeded the typical scale of a shinobi clan.
"Halt!"
With a wave of his hand, Xuan stopped at the edge of the forest. The shinobi army behind him stopped in perfect unison. Gazing at the clan compound, which looked largely the same as when he had left, a myriad of complex emotions surged in his heart.
Countless memories surfaced. He thought of the little maid who used to timidly call him 'Master' from behind. He thought of the perpetually gloomy Uchiha Tajima, the desperately-trying-to-act-like-an-adult Uchiha Izuna, and the numerous peers whose names he had practically forgotten. Their faces flashed through his mind one by one.
Taking a deep breath, he forcefully suppressed these surging emotions. Restoring his usual calm composure, he waved his hand and ordered, "Move out. We enter the compound."
Instantly, nearly a thousand shinobi surged out of the forest, sprinting toward the Uchiha clan's gates. Through the enhanced vision of his Sharingan, Xuan noticed large tracts of newly cultivated wasteland flanking the compound. He was absolutely certain those hadn't been there before. Furthermore, the main streets were exceptionally desolate, with only a few women hurrying by occasionally. This level of bleakness was completely unimaginable in the Uchiha compound of the past.
Has the war with the Senju really drained the Uchiha to this extent? Witnessing this bleak scene, Xuan gained a new layer of understanding regarding the grim reality of the front lines. He feared that both the Uchiha and the Senju had already been pushed to their absolute limits.
Meanwhile, inside the Uchiha compound, within the administrative office managed by Uchiha Yutaka, a panicked shinobi stumbled through the doors. "Lord Yutaka! Terrible news! An army of roughly a thousand shinobi has suddenly appeared from the North, and they are marching straight toward the compound!"
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