Chapter 139: Tailed Beast and Celestial Arts: The Dawn of Uchiha Expansion

Shisui's two suggestions were by no means baseless.

The cause of most Blood Mark disease flare‑ups is that the power manifested by the Blood Mark is too great for a frail body to bear, causing it to deteriorate continuously.

The most notable trait of the Uchiha lineage is the Copy Wheel Eye; if those eyes were removed, the body might no longer bear the burden, and recovery could be possible.

As for Tsunade, being the most famous medical ninja in the ninja world, she may have unknown methods and could possibly treat the Blood Mark.

After all, the Uchiha are villagers, and Shisui knows that Tsunade is a heavy gambler who owes a lot of money; as long as enough money is offered, he believes she will certainly step in to help.

Having made the decision, Shisui did not hesitate further; he immediately selected two members from the clan, then called a medical ninja, and the three, together with Shisui's Shadow Clone Jutsu and Shiliuye, slipped through a breach in Muyu's Barrier under cover of night.

Now Muyu remains chaotic, people are idle, internal strife never ends, and no one pays any attention to the Uchiha.

The five left Muyu and immediately headed toward Tangzhiguo.

Unfortunately, the Uchiha's cooperation with Danzo has only just begun, and they have bigger moves ahead; Shisui cannot leave, so he can only send a Shadow Clone Jutsu to follow.

Fortunately, although Shiliuye looks sickly, she remains lucid, and her hard power has indeed increased considerably; even if trouble arises on the road, Shiliuye can handle it.

After completing these tasks, dawn broke; Shisui hesitated briefly but then decided to write a letter to Sima Yi detailing what happened in the clan. He even prepared himself for a scolding, since this time he had indeed been reckless.

Meanwhile, the Tangzhiguo front line.

Not long after daybreak, Sima Yi got up on schedule; after his observations, he had gradually come to understand the terrain of both sides' battlefield.

He also gained a clear grasp of both sides' strength.

Especially the terrifying creature known as a jinchuriki, which Sima Yi observed from afar.

He must admit that, in his eyes, this being is hardly human; its immense strength and massive chakra reserve leave even low‑rank ninjas unfit to serve as mere cannon fodder before it.

Moreover, the opponent possesses powerful long‑range area attacks; a single one of her can exert tremendous pressure on Muyu's side.

Nevertheless, this alone does not shock Sima Yi; after all, the Uchiha records describe many ways to deal with tailed beasts even without the Copy Wheel Eye, and he knows a bit about those methods.

What shocks him most is that this creature was casually subdued by the First Hokage and then sold to the enemy.

Sima Yi stared at that terrifying silhouette, recalled the record, and a fine sweat broke out on his forehead.

He couldn't help recalling the descriptions of the First Hokage and Madara Uchiha's abilities he had read in books.

Moving mountains, filling seas, reshaping terrain, striking the far shore of the ocean—if that isn't hyperbole, it means Sima Yi is no ordinary man; he quickly calmed down, and then discovered that Muyu also has a ninja who can confront a jinchuriki without resorting to sealing techniques—this person is Jiraiya.

Entering the command camp, the battalion commanders began to learn the reports sent back by the infiltration squad and the reconnaissance squad.

During this period, as reinforcements arrived, Muyu's defenses grew increasingly solid, and Yunyin's side began to feel restless.

Later, seizing the opportunity, they launched a large‑scale infiltration battle, and even the Two‑Tail jinchuriki got involved.

But Jiraiya's strength is not to be underestimated; after obtaining intelligence on the Two‑Tail jinchuriki, he immediately led men to surround it. Had Yunyin's support not arrived in time, most of the ninjas protecting the Two‑Tail would likely have perished on the battlefield.

As for the Two‑Tail jinchuriki, without pre‑prepared sealing techniques it's hard to keep the opponent under a group of ninjas' protection.

"Since our last clash, Yunyin has been much more honest; the next phase may be a prolonged standoff, but everyone must not become complacent—after all, the opponent still has a jinchuriki present," he said.

Learning from the previous lesson, this time Muyu's counter‑recon squad and reconnaissance squad have been deployed beyond ten li; at this distance, as long as they can intercept the enemy's infiltration and recon squads, Yunyin's side will find it hard to obtain Muyu's intelligence.

Sima Yi stood quietly aside, listening to Jiraiya's arrangements, silently recalling Jiraiya's intelligence.

Born a commoner, he apprenticed under a third‑generation master at a young age; he is cheerful, fond of literature and the wind and moon, and may harbor affection for his fellow disciple Tsunade.

He experienced a fateful encounter, mastered a legendary celestial technique, saw his power surge, and during the Second Great Ninja War fought alongside two other comrades against the then‑renowned Banshen Shanjiao Yu Banzang, earning the title of the Legendary Sannin and also becoming the Fourth Hokage's teacher.

In a world that values bloodlines, a commoner reaching such heights and even training another commoner to become Hokage greatly surprised Sima Yi.

He then noticed the celestial technique in the intelligence; he hadn't expected that a battlefield would present both a tailed beast and a celestial technique—two things that piqued his interest.

After recounting the recent battle situation, Jiraiya seemed to sense Sima Yi's unease, glanced sideways, and asked, "Elder Yi, do you have any differing opinions?"

Jiraiya had people covertly observe Sima Yi; he knows Sima Yi has been studying the enemy and our situation lately, so any change here likely reflects a different viewpoint, and he still recalls the matter of selecting the subsequent commander.

In Sima Yi's view, Jiraiya's command is conventional and steady, with a balanced layout; no clever tricks are evident, but it's unlikely to go wrong. Its hallmark is reliability, and if Sima Yi were in command, he would also choose this time‑buying, force‑tying method.

But now he wants to assert authority and give Jiraiya a pretext to recommend him, so he must achieve some merits.

Seeing the audience, Sima Yi immediately said, "The command layout still leans defensive; logically, as long as the Elite Forces' counter‑recon front is not breached, our defensive line will remain as solid as a rock."

Upon hearing Sima Yi endorse Jiraiya's approach, all ninja clan representatives present showed slight changes in expression.

Compared with small‑scale infiltration skirmishes, they favor direct battlefield melee.

Although a direct battlefield yields higher overall casualties, their clan's ninja losses would actually be fewer.

Because small‑scale infiltration concerns the entire army's intelligence and deployment, both the reconnaissance squad and the counter‑recon squad are elite selections, representing the greatest effort from these ninja clans.

Recon and counter‑recon rely on Elite Forces; over prolonged periods, the loss of senior ninjas would deeply sadden everyone present. Unless Muyu's great cause and some special reasons intervene, they would never wish to fight Yunyin this way.

Sima Yi, after praising, then shifted his tone and continued, "However, since the reinforcements arrived, our army has remained passive, never taking the initiative. Prolonged defense inevitably saps morale, and the battlefield sits at the border; the populace's prolonged fear could harm Muyu's reputation.

In my view, we should seize an opportunity to go on the offensive, pushing the front back into Tangzhiguo's territory."

These are all obvious, and everyone understood, simply listening quietly for what follows.

Jiraiya nodded, acknowledging Sima Yi's offensive intent, "When I arrived, a battle had already taken place; both sides suffered casualties. Yunyin is not easy to handle, and a full‑scale assault could cost many lives."

Both sides maintain a bottom line: they cannot endure excessive damage.

Hearing this, Sima Yi stroked his beard and smiled, "I have a plan that might be worth trying."

The crowd froze, turning toward him, and some asked, "What method?"

Sima Yi remained silent, instead looking toward the two Hyuga inside the tent.

"Hmm?"

A few days later, Muyu.

"Sure enough, as soon as a war starts, the village's goods spike in price; the people of the Lightning Country are really annoying."

"Sigh, when will there truly be peace~"

On the street, two women carrying baskets shopped for vegetables, and upon seeing the price changes again, they couldn't help voicing complaints.

"It's unavoidable; we don't want prices to rise, but the situation is just that."

The vegetable seller laughed cheerfully, yet his eyes scanned the two women back and forth.

The villagers of Muyu are still rather fierce; the two, seeing this, paused their hands with money, then rolled their eyes and shouted, "What are you looking at? Keep looking and I'll shove garlic up your nose!"

"Eh, heh."

The boss gave an awkward smile, about to say something to ease the mood, when a person suddenly came from behind the two, lowered his head, timed it, snatched the two's wallets, and then fled quickly to the distance. The three froze, then shouted, "Someone, catch the thief!"

The shout attracted many eyes; the crowd instinctively gathered here, the surroundings instantly became chaotic, and the thief in the scene seemed not to be the only one.

Someone else shouted, "There's a thief here too, grab him, don't let him run!"

"Who's touching my thigh, get out!"

"Dammit, don't push, don't push, I stepped on… I stepped on!"

"What's going on, where are the Uchiha? Hey, don't push, my dish!"

The cries kept coming, the scene grew chaotic; some even reached for the vendors on both sides, until the Uchiha arrived to keep order, and the crowd gradually steadied.

"My wallet was stolen, the thief ran that way, can you help me get it back?"

Then a woman pushed through the crowd, pointing at the street with an anxious face, and said.

As soon as she spoke, another person stepped forward and said, "My wallet is also lost."

The Police Department members heard and did not hesitate; after one stayed to register, the others rushed toward the indicated direction.

After they left, someone sighed, "What's happening lately? The Village is getting more chaotic, where is the Hokage? Haven't seen him for a long time; I hope nothing's wrong."

"Nonsense, isn't the Third right inside the Hokage Building? How could anything happen!?"

"Then tell me why these incidents are increasing in the Village lately?"

"That must be the Uchiha being lazy!"

Meanwhile, at the Hokage Building.

Zhuan Qin Xiaochun and Mizuto Monen stared in shock at Tuan Zang, who was working.

Since that day, Tuan Zang hadn't come to the Hokage Building for a while; they thought he had changed his mind and was preparing to retire.

But for some reason, today Tuan Zang came back to handle Leaf's administration.

Although puzzled, the Third did not strip Tuan Zang of this authority; they could only let him act.

Having another person to help with these chores actually made them feel relieved.

At that moment, Tuan Zang suddenly picked up a document and said, "Leaf's recent public security is poor; how do you think we should handle it?"

The two were stunned; Tuan Zang rarely asked for their opinions on administration, but thinking of Leaf's security, it must involve the Uchiha, so without hesitation he said, "It's definitely the Uchiha's fault; have them reform immediately!"

Tuan Zang nodded, then set the document aside.

Both felt surprised and uneasy, exchanged a glance, then quickly found a reason to leave and discuss.

After they left, Tuan Zang sneered, picked up the document again, which turned out to be a Police Department expansion application.

"Leaf, only under my leadership can we regain past glory! Only I am the true Shadow!"

The struggle in Tuan Zang's eyes lasted only a second, then he calmly stamped the approval seal.

That night, the document was delivered into Shisui's hands.

"Master, the items have arrived; we can start tomorrow."

In the study, Shisui and Yan Shifan stared at the document, discussing tomorrow's details, while several Police Department captains stood nearby.

After Shi Liu Ye rested, another captain position opened in the Police Department.

The original captains were Hui, Dao Huo, Yang Zhe, and Shi Liu Ye; now three of them are absent from Leaf, so Shisui had to transfer Tie Huo to be captain of the First Squad, then promote two others to be captains of the Third and Fourth Squads.

Everyone knew tomorrow's operation; Dao Huo asked anxiously, "Will the Police Department clan members agree to this?"

Shisui smiled and said, "Don't worry, I've already prepared in advance; they won't oppose."

Seeing Shisui's confidence, the four relaxed immediately.

The six continued discussing details, then each rested; at dawn the next day, Shisui brought Yan Shifan to the Police Department.

"From today onward, the Third Elder will be in charge of assigning Police Department missions."

Shisui gathered everyone and pushed Yan Shifan to the front; the crowd exchanged glances, having known Yan Shifan beforehand, they raised no objections.

Currently the clan has only three elders; the Grand Elder survived two clan upheavals and remains Grand Elder, while the other elders were stripped of their positions and confined to the ancestral hall.

The Second Elder is Sima Yi, the Third Elder is Yan Shifan; both were newly appointed by Shisui at the clan council, and the Police Department clan members still hold a certain reverence for them.

Yan Shifan, seeing no one object, nodded satisfactorily, not in vain having prepared beforehand.

"Today the Police Department's First and Second Squads will conduct patrols; the remaining two squads are to post this notice throughout Leaf, ensuring every villager knows its contents."

Yan Shifan took out a large poster; the Police Department members glanced at it and immediately read its contents.

The gist was that due to some unspeakable reason, Leaf's people have become restless, chaos reigns, crime rates have surged dramatically, and the Police Department lacks manpower to protect villagers' safety.

For the villagers' sake, the Police Department can only expand its forces, but most of the Uchiha Elite Forces have gone to the battlefield, so this time it requires the strength of all Leaf ninjas; any ninja may apply to join the Police Department.

After reading the notice, the crowd's reaction was surprisingly calm.

So calm that Dao Huo, Tie Huo, and two others wondered whether these people were really Uchiha.

Shisui had anticipated this, having spent several days speaking with every Police Department member.

After gradually learning the clan members' personalities, Shisui held the Village, clan, future, honor, friends, family and other ideals like blades, easily manipulating them; now each person is full of hope and confidence in the evolving clan.

Of course, there are always a few stubborn ones, but they are few.

After all, Shisui not only wields invisible blades; he also has a visible one—a chakra‑metal katana. With that sword, the remaining people quickly compromised.

"Very good!"

Shisui stepped forward, brimming with fighting spirit, shouting, "This time, for the Uchiha!"

"For the Uchiha!"

He shouted again, "For the Leaf!"

"For the Leaf!"

"Let's go!"

(End of chapter)