Chapter 699: Random S+ Skill

After receiving the latest intelligence from his spy, Ebizō immediately went to find Chiyo and informed her of what they had discovered.

“It’s now certain that Sasori is in Six Paths City. My people personally saw him walking through the city with Nagato of Ninshū,” Ebizō said.

“Judging from Sasori’s behavior, there is also a very high probability that he has joined Ninshū.”

As the head of Sunagakure’s intelligence department, Ebizō was extremely rigorous when dealing with information.

Since his informant had not definitively confirmed that Sasori was a member of Ninshū, Ebizō would not describe it as an absolute fact.

“Sigh…”

Chiyo let out a long sigh, her face filled with exhaustion.

She understood how strict Ebizō was when evaluating intelligence.

If even he said there was a very high probability, then it was practically confirmed.

“How did things end up like this…”

Chiyo frowned deeply.

Sasori joining another ninja organization was already troublesome enough.

But of all organizations, he had joined Ninshū.

Unless Ninshū was willing to halt its expansion and remain satisfied with its current territory, conflict between Ninshū and Sunagakure was inevitable.

Ninshū’s continued growth would undoubtedly threaten Sunagakure’s interests, and Sunagakure could not simply stand aside and watch it happen.

It was an irreconcilable conflict of interests.

If such contradictions could be ignored so easily, the Shinobi World Wars would never have happened in the first place.

Would Ninshū truly stop expanding?

Chiyo did not believe so.

Even the Amegakure of the past had dared to challenge the Five Great Ninja Villages.

The current Ninshū surpassed that former Amegakure in nearly every aspect.

How could an organization like that stop moving forward simply because opposition might arise?

Chiyo loved her grandson deeply.

If Sasori’s life ever depended on her sacrificing her own, she would choose Sasori’s survival without hesitation.

But she could not betray Sunagakure for him.

Chiyo had been born near the end of the Warring States Period.

When she was five years old, Hashirama Senju established Konoha, becoming the first to usher in the era of the Ninja Villages.

In a sense, the history of Sunagakure was also the story of Chiyo’s own growth.

She had watched the Village rise from the barren desert.

She had witnessed it become one of the Five Great Ninja Villages and struggle constantly to grow stronger.

During that same period, Chiyo herself had gone from a talented young ninja to a legendary puppet master renowned throughout the Ninja World.

Sunagakure had been built through the efforts of countless Sand ninja.

But Chiyo was undoubtedly one of the most important among them.

How could she betray the Village she had helped build since childhood?

This was her home.

“It still hasn’t reached the worst possible situation,” Ebizō said.

“I’ll have my people make contact with Sasori and try to persuade him to leave Ninshū.”

Ebizō was worried about what would happen to Chiyo if Sasori eventually died at the hands of a Sunagakure ninja.

Chiyo had already lost loved ones and children before.

But at least those deaths had been caused by enemy ninja.

If her own Village were responsible for killing her grandson, that would be entirely different.

“There’s no need.”

Chiyo shook her head.

“I’ll leave for Ninshū myself shortly.”

She wanted to speak with Sasori personally.

Even if the journey might be extremely dangerous, she still intended to go.

“That’s too dangerous. You know that even Hiruzen Sarutobi wasn’t a match for that man,” Ebizō warned seriously.

Chiyo was undoubtedly powerful.

But claiming that she surpassed Hiruzen would be ridiculous.

Based on the strength Sōsuke had displayed so far, whether Chiyo could return alive would depend entirely on Sōsuke’s intentions.

If Sōsuke decided to attack her, Chiyo would almost certainly die.

“The conflict between Sunagakure and Ninshū hasn’t erupted yet. That makes now the best time to go,” Chiyo replied firmly.

Her decision had already been made.

Although Sunagakure had begun secretly contacting Iwagakure about jointly suppressing Ninshū, there had not yet been any open confrontation between the two sides.

On the surface, Sunagakure and Ninshū still maintained peaceful relations.

No direct conflict had occurred.

Realizing that he could not persuade Chiyo to abandon the idea, Ebizō changed his approach.

“Then speak with the Fourth Kazekage first and have him contact Ninshū.”

“Go there as an official representative of Sunagakure. Whether the stated purpose is negotiations, cooperation, or something else doesn’t matter.”

With the identity of an official Sunagakure representative, Sōsuke would at least have more reason to exercise restraint.

No matter what, Sunagakure was still one of the Five Great Ninja Villages.

Ninshū, meanwhile, was only an emerging force seeking further development.

Ninshū was the challenger.

…

Land of Fire, Konoha.

Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound, large numbers of Uchiha ninja were moving in groups toward Naka Shrine.

Today marked the thirtieth day since the first group of Uchiha ninja had been transferred out of the Police Force to carry out external missions.

To build upon the results and further advance the reform of the Police Force, Shisui had specifically asked Fugaku to convene a clan meeting.

The Uchiha who had been transferred out would present their achievements and share the experiences they had gained during the past month.

“Yakumi, are you still not used to being away from the Police Force?” an Uchiha ninja asked his friend curiously.

Because Uchiha Yakumi had spent most of the past month either familiarizing himself with his teammates or carrying out missions, the two had barely seen each other recently.

“I wasn’t used to it for the first few days, but things became much better afterward,” Yakumi replied with a smile.

“It’s a little more tiring, but it’s also more challenging, and I earn more money.”

“How much did you earn this month?” his friend asked with interest.

“Not that much. Only about four hundred thousand ryō.”

Yakumi spoke casually.

“I spent quite a lot of time getting familiar with my teammates, so I probably spent less than two thirds of the month actually carrying out missions.”

“You earned four hundred thousand ryō in less than twenty days?”

The Uchiha ninja looked surprised.

His own monthly salary was only two hundred thousand ryō.

By that calculation, Yakumi could earn the equivalent of three months of his salary in a single month.

“More or less.”

A trace of pride appeared on Yakumi’s face.

Before leaving the Police Force, his monthly salary had only been one hundred and seventy thousand ryō.

Although Yakumi was an Uchiha jonin with a two tomoe Sharingan, he was still relatively young.

He lacked seniority and held a low position within the Police Force, so his salary had been considerably lower than that of veteran Uchiha jonin.

Similar conversations were taking place throughout the clan.

Those who had remained in the Police Force were naturally curious about how their transferred clansmen were doing.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha who had left the Police Force had no intention of wasting such a perfect opportunity to show off.

Some bragged about how much money they had earned.

Others competed over who had completed the most missions or accepted the highest ranked commissions.

Listening to all of this made the Uchiha still serving in the Police Force feel increasingly uncomfortable.

The Police Force paid less.

It had more rules.

There was less freedom.

The work itself was monotonous and rarely gave them opportunities to fully demonstrate their strength.

The Police Force’s authority also overlapped with that of the Anbu.

However, the Anbu stood above the Police Force in status.

So while the Police Force appeared to possess broad jurisdiction, most of the work it actually handled consisted of minor everyday problems.

Anything truly important was usually handled by the Anbu.

“Clan Head, when will the second group be selected for transfer?” an Uchiha jonin impatiently asked as soon as the clan meeting began.

Watching his friends receive recognition from the Hokage while also earning large amounts of money had made him want to join them.

“That’s right, Clan Head. Why not hold a martial arts competition? Let strength decide who gets the positions,” another Uchiha suggested.

Many Uchiha had never been completely convinced by the first selection list.

They believed their own strength was no worse than that of the people who had been chosen.

Seeing the clan members displaying such enthusiasm from the very beginning of the meeting, Shisui nodded inwardly.

At this point, all he needed to do was continue pushing the reform forward step by step.

Eventually, the problems surrounding the Police Force would naturally be resolved.

In the past, one of the main reasons so many Uchiha entered the Police Force was that only Uchiha ninja were permitted to serve within it.

The clan had to provide enough personnel to keep the organization functioning.

Combined with several other factors, this had gradually created a culture in which serving in the Police Force became a source of pride for the Uchiha.

Now, however, the Police Force was no longer exclusive to the clan.

The prevailing attitude was also beginning to change.

In the future, there would be little reason for Uchiha ninja to continue flooding into the Police Force.

“Everyone, there’s no need to rush,” Fugaku replied.

“Furthermore, the selection process considers overall suitability, not simply combat strength.”

Konoha certainly needed powerful ninja to complete missions.

However, Mugetsu was even more concerned with helping Shisui complete his life mission.

After answering the clan members’ questions, Fugaku officially announced the beginning of the meeting.

One by one, the transferred Uchiha jonin stepped forward to report what they had accomplished over the past month.

“Over the past thirty days, I led my team in completing two A Rank missions and five B Rank missions, earning a total commission of…”

“My team completed three A Rank missions…”

“I completed six B Rank missions and one A Rank mission with my squad.”

Those who had completed many missions and earned large commissions stood tall with confident smiles.

Even those whose results were less impressive did not appear discouraged.

Instead, they quietly resolved to work harder.

After all, even if their earnings were slightly lower than those of their clansmen, their current conditions were still better than when they had served in the Police Force.

“I believe the clan should pay more attention to the rumors circulating about the Uchiha within Konoha,” Inaho said when it was his turn to share his experience.

“They make things much more difficult when we first join a new team.”

“Those outsiders are truly hateful. How dare they slander the Uchiha like that!” an Uchiha ninja exclaimed angrily.

“Why should the Uchiha have to explain ourselves to them? If those fools want to misunderstand us, let them,” another Uchiha said indifferently.

Hearing those responses, Shisui understood that he still had a long way to go before the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha could truly be resolved.

Some of the negative rumors surrounding the Uchiha had, in fact, been caused by the clan’s own behavior.

“That won’t solve anything,” Inaho immediately refuted.

“Communication is necessary. A good relationship within the team is extremely important if you want missions to be completed efficiently.”

If Inaho had maintained his old aloof attitude and refused to do anything, forget completing missions together.

He might have been replaced as captain immediately.

If a team was dissatisfied with its captain, the members had the right to request reassignment.

Given Inaho’s situation at the time, he was the newly appointed captain.

If his teammates had all complained, the person most likely to be replaced would have been him.

Moreover, Inaho did not believe his teammates had been wrong.

If someone had to be blamed, it should be the people who had spread those exaggerated rumors in the first place.

“Inaho is right,” Shisui said, openly supporting him.

“In fact, this is also a form of ability. Being able to coordinate a team effectively is proof of strong leadership.”

There was nothing wrong with loving the clan.

But that did not mean treating everyone outside the clan as though they were beneath consideration.

Yakumi and several other Uchiha who had experienced similar situations also voiced their support and shared their own opinions.

The clan elders likewise expressed support for Shisui’s position.

Not everyone who sided with Shisui necessarily agreed with every one of his ideas.

Fortunately, what mattered at the moment was that enough momentum had formed behind the reform.

After the clan meeting ended, Shisui distributed a new questionnaire.

He wanted to know how many Uchiha had changed their views because of the reforms he had promoted.

The results of this questionnaire would also influence the selection of the second group of Uchiha to leave the Police Force.

At the same time, Mugetsu’s system responded to Shisui’s progress.

[Disciple Uchiha Shisui’s strength has increased, advancing the reform of the Police Force and taking another step toward resolving the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha.]

[Progress Reward: Chakra +3000, Random Skill Extraction Scroll Fragment · S+ Mastery Level x2, Yin Release Chakra Comprehension Boost.]

Shisui’s life mission had reached another milestone, triggering the sixty percent progress reward.

“Four fragments.”

Mugetsu examined the reward.

“After combining three into one complete draw, I’ll still have one fragment left.”

Just like Optional Skill Extraction Scrolls, Random Skill Extraction Scrolls required three fragments to be combined into one complete Extraction Scroll.