Chapter 43: Wanting to Find a Dream with Just a Singular Heart
Ninja Academy.
...
"Chōchō Akimichi, Shikadai Nara, Inojin Yamanaka—Team 10."
"Boruto Uzumaki, Sarada Uchiha, Mitsuki—Team 7."
"As for the final remaining person…"
Shino Aburame looked toward the silent Shuyu. This year, there just happened to be one extra student.
"I'll take charge of this one."
Sasuke entered from the back door of the classroom. Naturally, the genius of the Uchiha clan had to be taught by him personally.
It wasn't just about not wasting Shuyu's talent as a ninja—Sasuke also wanted to deepen the bond between Shuyu and the Uchiha clan, hoping that one day, a grown Shuyu could protect Sarada.
"Dad!"
"Uncle Sasuke!"
"..."
...
"So, instead of being placed into a team, you were taken on directly as Sasuke's disciple."
"Well, that complicates things a little. If Sasuke stays in the village too often, you won't be able to move around freely. And if this goes on too long, Shikamaru will definitely start to suspect something."
That evening, upon hearing Shunhi's explanation, Uchiha Itachi nodded slightly.
He had mixed feelings about becoming Sasuke's student. The kid who used to follow him around, constantly talking about revenge, had now become someone he had to look up to.
[Hulk Virus x10]
This was something Shunhi had exchanged for after saving up a few days' worth of ramen money—just the thing to lure Sasuke out of the village.
"Flaming Cloud Evil God, you're coming with me tonight."
Itachi, who was in the middle of eating ramen, paused. "A new mission from the organization?"
"Yeah, it's about a virus developed by the Umbrella Organization."
Shunhi had already planned it all out. He still had a few clone props that hadn't been used—albeit low-level ones, mostly Genin or civilian level, with the strongest at Chūnin level. But that was more than enough to pose as the Umbrella Organization and fool Konoha. After all, in Shunhi's lore, Umbrella was merely a research-focused group that didn't require combat strength.
Precisely because it lacked combat prowess and was obsessed with research, it had formed a partnership with S.H.I.E.L.D., becoming a subordinate organization—autonomous, but sharing its research results with S.H.I.E.L.D.
"You're only taking me?"
Itachi asked, his expression unreadable.
"Well, Minato and Kushina are part of the Justice League. Even though they're currently working for S.H.I.E.L.D., they still have moral lines they won't cross. When it comes to morally questionable acts, they'll hesitate."
Hearing this, Itachi finally understood the distinction between the Avengers and the Justice League within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Simply put, the Avengers were those willing to do anything, while the Justice League still had a moral baseline.
Itachi nodded, set down his chopsticks, and resumed his adult form.
He had no objections to being classified as someone without a moral baseline. After all, Itachi had never considered himself someone who did. If he had, he wouldn't have slaughtered his entire clan for the sake of his younger brother.
"This time, we're heading to the Land of Water."
The only country yet to sign a peace treaty was the Land of Water.
No one knew exactly why its daimyo had become so arrogant and refused to sign a treaty with Konoha, but that didn't matter to Shunhi's plan.
After several rounds of travel and repeated use of the Flying Thunder God technique, it took them three full hours to reach the Land of Water. By then, Shunhi was utterly exhausted and flopped to the ground in an undignified heap.
Three hours of travel had completely drained him.
He downed another mana potion from the system. With his chakra reserves restored to about 80%, he climbed back to his feet. Counting that one, he'd already used four of them on this journey.
"This is also a product of the Umbrella Organization's research. It rapidly replenishes chakra and has no side effects. The only downside is that it's difficult to produce and not ready for mass distribution."
Offering that brief explanation to emphasize Umbrella's value, Shunhi then led Itachi into the daimyo's residence.
"Who are you?"
Blocking their path was Ao, stationed by the daimyo's side. His left arm, left leg, and right eye had all been replaced with scientific ninja tools.
During the Fourth Great Ninja War, Ao had lost his left limbs to the Ten-Tails' Tailed Beast Bomb. As for his right eye, once capable of Byakugan, it had been forcibly removed and returned to Konoha after the war, due to Kirigakure's fear of Konoha's might.
"..."
Shunhi couldn't be bothered to deal with such a minor character. He turned to Itachi and nodded—time to put the Sharingan's genjutsu to use.
...
"Flaming Cloud Evil God, use your Sharingan to put him under genjutsu."
Seeing that Ao hadn't reacted at all, Shunhi figured Itachi didn't understand his intention and gave the command outright.
"I already did. But genjutsu doesn't work on him."
Itachi's Mangekyō glared at Ao.
"My body's been modified with scientific ninja tools—I'm now completely immune to genjutsu."
"Water Style: Wave Surge!"
After quickly forming seals, Ao spewed a torrent of water from his mouth like a cascading waterfall, aiming it at Shunhi and Itachi.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames erupted, scorching the gushing water from Ao's mouth. Steam hissed and billowed into the air.
"Truly worthy of the Mangekyō Sharingan—how enviable."
"I believe the daimyo of the Land of Water would be very interested in your arrival. Please, come with me."
After a simple test, Ao's attitude abruptly shifted.
In a room bathed in lamplight, the daimyo of the Land of Water sat behind a wooden desk, silently observing the three as they entered.
"Lord Daimyo, these two are from S.H.I.E.L.D. They have something to discuss with you."
The daimyo, appearing to be around fifty, nodded. With an air of stern authority, he stared down the two behind Ao and asked, "What is it you want?"
"What a rude tone—can't even muster a polite greeting. But fine, getting to the point is good too."
"Daimyo of the Land of Water, we've come to help you."
Shunhi pulled out a silver-white briefcase containing five vials of the Hulk Virus. Embossed on the front was a red-and-white umbrella logo.
"What can you help me with?"
Ao may have recognized their strength, but that didn't mean the daimyo would trust them so easily.
"Let me introduce ourselves first. We're from S.H.I.E.L.D. I'm Deputy Director Husky, and he's Flaming Cloud Evil God, a member of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Avengers Division."
"We don't know what your ultimate goal is—but what we can offer are the means to help you achieve it."
As Shunhi spoke, he opened the silver-white case on the desk in front of the daimyo.
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