Uchiha's personal opinion

"Since this is the village's decision, I respect it," Uchiha Tokumitsu replied indifferently.

"Hmm..." The Third Hokage nodded slightly.

"However, after sending more personnel, the commander of the ninja army will need to be replaced. What do you think, Tokumitsu-kun?"

"The entire Northwest Border Defense Force is staffed by our clan's ninjas. I dare not act on my own initiative in this matter. Please, Hokage, discuss it with our clan head." Uchiha Tokumitsu politely declined.

"Of course, the village will not deprive meritorious officials of their authority without cause; they will certainly provide additional compensation." The third patriarch took a deep drag on his pipe.

A thick plume of smoke shot out like an arrow.

"The Jonin of the Fire Gate will continue to serve as the commander of the border defense forces. One-third of the Uchiha clan's ninjas will be withdrawn, and the village will send another person as the deputy commander, along with 800 reinforcements..." The Third Hokage listed the requirements. "Tokuko-kun, what do you think?"

"This matter is of great importance and requires a family meeting for discussion. I dare not act on my own initiative," Uchiha Tokumitsu replied curtly.

"As for Tokumitsu-kun, based on Jonin Sakumo's suggestion, the village plans to form a mobile force. Also due to Sakumo's suggestion, we plan to appoint you as the deputy commander. What do you think?"

Mobile forces?

Uchiha Tokumitsu's brow twitched. He felt like this was a fire brigade constantly on the move.

"This matter still needs to be discussed at a clan meeting..." Although Uchiha Tokumitsu was somewhat tempted, he still refused to agree so easily.

"This matter has been discussed with the Uchiha clan head, and he expressed his approval," the kind-faced Third Hokage said casually. "Furthermore, earlier today, Advisor Mitomon also had effective communication with Elder Setsuna, and the two sides reached a consensus... It's just that Elder Setsuna probably hasn't had a chance to tell you yet."

Since we've already discussed it with the Uchiha clan head and elders, why bother telling him anything else? Announce the results? Force him to accept? Are you kidding me?

Upon hearing this, Uchiha Tokumitsu couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.

Uchiha Tokumitsu wasn't particularly concerned about losing control of the Grass Country garrison. However, he was somewhat dissatisfied with the clan head's attitude in the matter.

When he received the Hokage's request to return to the village for a 'special report,' he communicated with his clan quite a bit, but he never expected it to end like this.

While it's understandable that actions taken from a family perspective inevitably involve trade-offs, and the family might have gained other benefits while relinquishing the deputy commander position, it's still frustrating to be used as a bargaining chip without anyone noticing.

Moreover, he went from being a powerful deputy commander of a border force to a so-called deputy commander of a mobile force with an uncertain future.

As he stepped out of the Hokage Building, Uchiha Tokumitsu took a deep breath.

Outsmarting an old fox is a really brain-teasing thing.

However, it's also a good thing. The commander of the garrison camp is still a member of the Uchiha clan, so the clan's interests in the Land of Grass have been preserved, which is an acceptable outcome.

Mitokado Homura stood at the window of the Hokage's office, watching Uchiha Tokumitsu and his group leave. He turned to the Third Hokage and said, "Hiruzen... now you can give up. This guy is an incurable Uchiha radical. Don't waste your energy on him anymore."

The third generation leader closed his eyes and continued smoking his pipe without saying a word.

Chapter 55 A Brand New Experience

Regarding the transfer from deputy commander of the Northwest Border Defense Force to deputy commander of the newly established Mobile Force, Uchiha Tokumitsu and his father, Uchiha Nakagen, had some discussions.

Uchiha Nakagen expressed his opinion rather cautiously, believing that although it was not a promotion, it was still a relatively good place, at least he wouldn't have to be stationed abroad for years and be surrounded by unpredictable risks.

The mother, Emiko, was quite optimistic about this, believing that her beloved son would be able to stay in the village more often from now on, which made Emiko, as a mother, feel somewhat gratified.

Elder Setsuna, however, believed that the Uchiha clan had secretly seized power in the Land of Grass by taking control of the northwestern border defense forces. They had obtained numerous missions from the Daimyo and wealthy merchants of the Land of Grass, from which they had already reaped considerable benefits. These benefits would not be diminished by the return of Uchiha Tokumitsu. Although some Uchiha ninjas were recalled and other ninjas or civilian ninjas were transferred in, the commander of the Land of Grass garrison was still Uchiha Himon, which was still acceptable to the Uchiha clan.

Another particularly crucial point is Uchiha Tokumitsu's age.

His age is not even young.

Even in the war-torn Warring States period, it was extremely rare for a ninja commander to be under ten years old. In this relatively peaceful era of the Five Great Nations, it would be somewhat inappropriate to send a child to the battlefield.

It's likely that after the Second Shinobi World War truly breaks out in a few years, the bizarre practice of various countries sending five- or six-year-old children to the battlefield will surprise even Elder Setsuna, who thinks the times have changed, to the point of his eyes popping out.

While Uchiha Tokumitsu outwardly accepted Elder Setsuna's advice, he couldn't help but mutter a few words to himself.

But since they were his elders and their actions were all for his own good, Uchiha Tokumitsu wouldn't be so ungrateful as to harbor any resentment.

But if you're unhappy, you're unhappy.

After all, power is the most wonderful poison in the world, and those who have tried it often find it hard to escape its wonderful taste.

When he had some free time, Uchiha Tokumitsu continued to ponder his personal training.

The next day, Uchiha Tokumitsu went to the secret archives of the Hokage Building to exchange for the two techniques promised by the Hokage. After reviewing the ninjutsu catalog, he exchanged for two relatively obscure secret techniques.

Spiritualization Technique and Multiplicative Explosive Tags.

He did want to exchange for powerful secret techniques like the Reaper Death Seal and the Impure World Reincarnation, but the problem was that the ninjutsu catalog he was given didn't have these relatively well-known forbidden techniques. He couldn't even find the powerful genjutsu Dark Travel Technique, which was specifically designed to counter eye techniques. So he had no choice but to pick these two slightly more famous secret techniques from a bunch of wood and water ninjutsu.

The Spirit Transformation Technique is an S-rank soul technique that allows the soul to leave the body, transforming oneself into a living soul. This allows one to travel across distances and kill enemies, control their bodies, and enter their mental world. The most famous user to date is the village's Jonin, Kato Dan. However, Uchiha Tokumitsu and Kato Dan were strangers, and Tokumitsu's purpose in acquiring this technique wasn't simply to assassinate through spirit transformation. Rather, he hoped to learn from it and combine it with Yin Release to discover new ways to enhance his strength.

Another important reason is that the feeling of the soul leaving the body is similar to the feeling of the primordial spirit traveling in the void. If the spiritual transformation technique and the Yin Escape technique's special creation ability of 'creating form in the formless' could be combined to create a secret technique similar to 'external avatar', that would be quite amazing.

The Multiplicative Explosive Tags technique is a special summoning secret art exclusive to the wealthy. Its principle is to continuously summon explosive tags, which, once activated, will trigger a series of explosions at a concentrated point. As long as the first explosive tag hits the target and responds successfully, it will continuously summon new explosive tags for a cycle of explosions until the target is blown to ashes.

The biggest drawback of multiplying explosive tags is that they are expensive.

But coincidentally, the Uchiha clan, as the most famous fire-style ninja clan in the ninja world, has no shortage of explosive tags; and Uchiha Tokumitsu, as the young master of a faction, has no shortage of money.

So, after acquiring the two techniques, Uchiha Tokumitsu pondered them for a while. The Spirit Transformation Technique required a long period of practice and was unlikely to show results in a short time, but after a few days of practice, he was able to use the Mutual Multiplication Explosive Tags Technique quite skillfully.

They've reached the point where they feel uncomfortable if they don't detonate thirty to fifty explosive tags every day.

As for his so-called deputy commander of the mobile unit, he selectively put it aside for the time being in the face of the brand-new ninjutsu.

……

"Multiply Detonating Tags!"

In the Uchiha training grounds, Uchiha Tokumitsu began his daily routine, ostensibly for training but actually for playing with explosives.

The explosive tags, thrown using a concealed weapon technique, swiftly attached themselves to an iron dummy, and then continuously summoned explosive tags to detonate at a fixed point.

"Boom boom boom boom boom..."

With just twelve detonating tags, a dummy made of fine iron was reduced to ashes.

That was so awesome!

No wonder blasting can be considered an art.

Indeed, there is a certain artistic element in it.

Watching the scorching sparks fly everywhere after the dummy was blown to smithereens, Uchiha Tokumitsu felt quite satisfied.

Just as he was about to get ready to begin his swordsmanship training, Uchiha Tokumitsu suddenly stopped what he was doing and placed his right hand on the hilt of the sword at his waist.

"Come out!" Uchiha Tokumitsu, his hand on the hilt of his sword, didn't even turn his head.

“De Guangjun, it’s me.”

Three people emerged from the woods at the edge of the training ground: Uchiha Fugaku and two ANBU members.

What kind of weird combination is this? Uchiha Tokumitsu turned around, loosened his grip on the hilt of his sword, and watched the three approach slowly, feeling quite puzzled.

"The Hokage sent word to summon me, so I brought the Anbu to find you," Fugaku Uchiha explained calmly.

Uchiha Tokumitsu glanced at Fugaku a few times before turning his gaze to examine the two Anbu members.

One has a dog's face, the other a mink's face.

Animal mask, a light suit of armor, complete with knee pads, gaiters, and a short sword. The standard attire of an ANBU ninja.

Uchiha Tokumitsu had also dealt with the Anbu a few times, but he felt that these two had a somewhat strange demeanor compared to the Anbu he had encountered before.

"Is there something you need?" Uchiha Tokumitsu asked slowly, with a scrutinizing gaze.

"Uchiha Tokumitsu, the Hokage has ordered you to come with us. Please come with us." The dog-faced ANBU conveyed the order in a rigid and indifferent voice.

The cold and harsh tone, which sounded like a summons for a criminal, made Uchiha Tokumitsu's face darken instantly, and Uchiha Fugaku's face also turned a little black.

"The Hokage wants to see me?" Uchiha Tokumitsu asked with a hint of amusement, his left index finger unconsciously flicking the cord binding his sword hilt. "Did he specify when and why?"

"Uchiha Tokumitsu, we're not here to answer your questions." The dog-faced ANBU member truly lived up to his name, not only wearing a dog mask but also displaying some of his sycophantic habits. His tone suddenly became sharp: "Come with us immediately, and you'll find out when we get there!"

"Hmph!" Uchiha Tokumitsu sneered twice.

In an instant, he reversed his grip on the hilt with his left hand and drew the sword from its sheath.

"Snap—"

With two almost simultaneous sounds of masks shattering, the masks of the two ANBU members were abruptly shattered by Uchiha Tokumitsu, revealing two young faces filled with fear.

He prefers to take action rather than just talk.

Standing to the side, Fugaku Uchiha still had a dark expression on his face, ignoring Tokumitsu Uchiha's attack.

Uchiha Tokumitsu's ability to change his expression also showed Fugaku, a centrist member of the Uchiha clan, what the arrogance of the Uchiha clan really meant.

Uchiha Tokumitsu held a katana in his left hand, the gleaming tip of the blade pointing directly at the ANBU's nose. "Excuse me, I just finished training and I'm all dirty. I'm planning to go home to take a shower and change my clothes. Please go back and let me know. I'll go directly to the Hokage Building to visit the Hokage-sama later."

The two ANBU members remained motionless, their faces filled with anger as they stared intently at Uchiha Tokumitsu.

"You guys are really stubborn..." Uchiha Tokumitsu sighed insincerely, "I've already tried to find excuses for you, and this is making things very difficult for me..."

“Uchiha…”

The secret service was about to say something.

With a flick of his wrist, Uchiha Tokumitsu unleashed a chakra sword beam from his katana at the two ANBU members, sending them flying several meters away before they collapsed to the ground.

"The armor is of decent quality." Uchiha Tokumitsu casually sheathed his sword. He had controlled the force of his strike, converting the killing power of the sword energy into a knockback force; otherwise, these two ANBU members would have been more than just knocked away.

The two secret agents had no choice but to help each other to their feet. They dared not utter any more harsh words and, looking somewhat disheveled, dragged their injured bodies away quickly.

Fugaku Uchiha watched all of this silently.

He also somewhat regretted bringing these two clueless ANBU members to find Uchiha Tokumitsu.

“Tokumitsu-kun…” Fugaku Uchiha opened his mouth and greeted Tokumitsu Uchiha, but then felt he didn’t know what to say.

He opened his mouth, seemed to want to say something but then stopped, and simply shook his head a few times.

"Cousin Fugaku." Uchiha Tokumitsu maintained a facade of respect for his cousin, who was from the eldest branch of the family. "Is there anything else?"

"without……"

"I'm sorry, Tokumitsu-kun." Fugaku Uchiha shook his head again. "If I had known, I wouldn't have brought them into the clan's training grounds..."

"So what..." Uchiha Tokumitsu casually formed hand seals and used Earth Release ninjutsu to level the training ground that he had blasted into craters. "These ANBU bastards who rely on their master's power are too ungrateful. I'm just teaching them a lesson..."

"But after all, it was the Hokage who summoned us. It wouldn't be right to be so disrespectful, would it?" Fugaku Uchiha carefully considered his words, afraid of suddenly provoking his young but exceptionally arrogant and domineering cousin.

His eccentric and arrogant nature was one thing, after all, the Uchiha clan had no shortage of such people. The key was that his martial prowess far exceeded what one would expect for his age. Even though he was the eldest son of the clan and the designated successor to the clan head, he still had to act as magnanimous and tolerant as possible in front of Uchiha Tokumitsu.