Uchiha Kaien was still thinking about how to use [Summon: Phantom Beast], and the more he thought about it, the more excited he became. His cheeks flushed red with excitement, his breathing growing a little rapid, and his slender, pale legs—white like mutton-fat jade—began to swing unconsciously. The gentle sway of those delicate legs had an oddly mesmerizing effect.
Pulling a golden trait felt like hitting the jackpot—like winning five million ryo out of nowhere. A windfall from the heavens, plain and simple.
Kaien was practically buzzing with energy. Activating his Sharingan, he found a strand of fur from the black cat he kept.
With a thought, the phantom beast materialized.
Since it hadn't yet mimicked anything, the phantom beast appeared as a shapeless, irregular white mass, like a small floating cloud. Kaien brought the cat fur into contact with the creature, and instantly it began to transform—its body darkened to a sleek black, with only its four paws retaining their snowy white color.
It perfectly mimicked the cat.
And this version? It was way stronger than the real deal. This thing had half of Kaien's power.
Against a chunin, it would be a one-hit KO. Even against a jonin, it could hold its own if it went all out.
Of course, for now, he could only use it in secret. It wasn't time to reveal this trick just yet. Kaien decided to have the phantom beast maintain its disguise as a black cat in its idle state—or just keep it sealed away entirely.
At last, he had a proper alternate identity!
He could finally avoid that awkward situation of having to play both the villain and the hero.
Kaien plucked a strand of his own hair and placed it on the phantom beast.
The creature shifted again, rapidly reshaping. Soon, a delicate black-haired girl—cute and doll-like—stood in front of him.
"Looking at myself like this… yeah, this is definitely going to be misleading."
Kaien circled around the phantom beast, which now wore his own appearance in disguise.
When it came to combat-related traits, the phantom beast could only inherit half his strength. But for support-based traits? It seemed to inherit them fully.
That made Kaien very satisfied.
From now on, anything that required sacrificing his dignity—he could just send the phantom beast to handle it. He'd watch from a distance.
Now that he thought about it, the Moon's Eye Plan had to be put into motion.
Without that, how was he supposed to gather enough information matter on the Ten-Tails?
And information matter clearly wasn't easy to come by. Mimicking basic things was simple enough, but the more complex the object, the stricter the requirements for information matter became.
That was the conclusion Kaien had come to after studying the phantom beast for a while.
The reason it could mimic him without difficulty was because [Summon: Phantom Beast] was his trait to begin with.
Then Kaien remembered his idiot system.
"System, what's required to simulate a Tailed Beast?"
[Answer: Core, purified chakra from the Tailed Beast.]
Kaien had only asked on a whim, not expecting much—but the system actually gave him an answer.
Looks like if he wanted enough information matter to mimic the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path, he'd need to call in a favor from Old Man Madara.
Just breaking off a chunk of the thing wouldn't be enough. Otherwise, [Summon: Phantom Beast] wouldn't be classified as a gold-tier trait by the system.
Still, Kaien wasn't discouraged. So what if he needed to gather Tailed Beasts?
That lined up perfectly with the Moon's Eye Plan. Aside from the final step—Infinite Tsukuyomi—he was actually starting to feel a little motivated to be a villain again.
But the one he wanted most… was the Nine-Tails' information matter. Its golden form looked cooler than even a Ten-Tails Jinchuriki.
Looks like the short-term goal was to build a relationship with Kushina. Once she became a Jinchuriki and the Nine-Tails' chakra started leaking out… that would be the perfect moment to swoop in and collect.
Conveniently, just this morning, he'd promised to help Minato pursue Kushina. Wasn't that the perfect excuse to get close?
...
A few days later—
After completing a string of basic missions, Uchiha Kagami finally decided it was time to let Uchiha Kaien and Namikaze Minato take on something more challenging.
—A B-rank escort mission.
B-rank missions involved nobles or intel that could affect the entire village. The enemies they'd face were no longer just bandits—disposable threats that could be cut down without a second thought.
This time, they might run into real danger—foes on the level of chunin.
In the black market, bounties on nobles weren't uncommon. Kidnapping a noble's child could bring in a fortune.
Of course, most rogue ninja groups didn't have the guts to directly demand ransom after a kidnapping.
Usually, they'd have a client post a bounty anonymously through underground channels and handle hostage exchanges behind the scenes.
But once a noble hired elite shinobi from a Great Ninja Village, those rogue ninja were essentially signing their own death warrants.
Every jonin from the Five Great Nations was a strategic asset with unmatched power. Bounty hunters roaming the ninja world, with their limited jutsu repertoire, couldn't hope to stand against them. One jonin was enough to wipe them out.
Just look at how the daimyōs were protected by the Twelve Guardian Ninja. Jonin weren't exactly common.
Even the leaders of small ninja villages usually only had jonin-level strength. Only places like the Land of Rain stood out as exceptions.
The Land of Grass could maybe be counted too—both were considered top-tier among small villages.
"So… this mission could get dangerous. Are you two ready?"
Uchiha Kagami's gaze swept over the two young hawks before him.
Chicks had to leave the nest someday. Taking Kaien and Minato on a B-rank mission wasn't a careless decision—it was carefully calculated.
With his own strength, completing a B-rank mission was easy. In fact, Kaien and Minato might even be able to handle it on their own. That was the confidence behind his decision.
He only hoped there wouldn't be any surprises.
But then again, every time he went out, something unexpected did happen...
Kagami let out a barely audible sigh, then stepped forward to meet with the mission client.
[Mission: B-Rank] Client: Lord Yuten of the Forestry Guild, Land of FireDetails: After a vacation in Konoha with his son, Lord Yuten wishes to hire elite Konoha ninja to escort them safely back to his domain.
Reward: 150,000 ryo
...
"Once we wrap this up, we should have time for a good stretch of training."
Kaien's outfit was designed for mobility. With Lightning Blade in its sword-form and all his gear stored in a summoning bracelet, he didn't need a tool pouch or a bulky travel pack. He could summon whatever he needed in a flash.
"Yeah, and the pay's not bad either," Minato agreed, nodding. "A hundred and fifty thousand—after Kagami-sensei takes his cut, we'll still have enough left to stock up and focus on our training."
"After this mission, let's go find Kushina and train together. I haven't forgotten my promise."
Kaien's eyes gleamed. He was practically drooling over the thought of the Nine-Tails' chakra. But for now, the beast was still sealed inside Uzumaki Mito.
That meant he had to start by building a solid relationship with Kushina—so he could help her control the Nine-Tails with his Sharingan, of course...
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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