Chapter 60: Shelving the Plan, A-Ranked Mission
Notes:
The Land of Rivers is a country bordering the Land of Wind and the Land of Fire.
The Land of Rain is a small country nestled between the Lands of Earth, Fire, and Wind.
The Great Elder's beard trembled with excitement as he returned to his seat, looking positively radiant. "This is excellent, truly excellent… You are a genuine Uchiha prodigy. The Sharingan's innate ability to copy is well-known, but most clan members are limited by their chakra natures, preventing them from fully unlocking its potential."
"You're different. You possess all five chakra natures. Given time, I believe you could even surpass Sarutobi Hiruzen—the 'Professor' himself."
Uchiha Tonan nodded with a modest smile. Lifting the teapot, he poured tea into the Great Elder's cup and said, "Oh, I nearly forgot to mention—I was recently promoted to Chunin."
The Great Elder composed himself and regarded Tonan's respectful demeanor thoughtfully. The more he observed, the more his estimation of Tonan rose in his mind. After a brief pause, he chuckled, "I was aware of your promotion, but since you only recently committed to ninjutsu, I thought it best to let you focus on that a bit longer before expanding your focus. Yet, I didn't expect you to command all five chakra natures."
"Since that's the case, feel free to study as many low-level clan ninjutsu as you wish. As for advanced combination ninjutsu… Have you mastered the Flicker Clone Technique?"
Tonan shook his head lightly. "I'm still training it, but it won't be long before I succeed."
The Great Elder nodded approvingly. "Don't rush. The Flicker Clone Technique is exceptionally taxing to perform. With your talent, though, I have no doubt you'll master it soon. I recommend focusing solely on it for now, conserving your energy by avoiding extraneous advanced techniques."
Tonan smiled and said, "I will follow your advice, Great Elder."
"Very well, wait here a moment." The Great Elder rose and stepped into the storage room. After a short time, he returned carrying a sealed scroll and handed it to Tonan.
"This scroll contains all the clan's low-level ninjutsu. Apart from lightning and fire styles, there are relatively fewer ninjutsu of the other chakra natures."
Tonan returned the smile. "That's fine. This is more than enough. By the way, Great Elder, there's something I wanted to discuss—I intend to purchase a property with beautiful surroundings within the village and establish a welfare home."
"A welfare home?" The Great Elder frowned slightly. Tonan nodded and explained, "The home will serve as both an orphanage and a retirement home."
The Great Elder pondered for a moment, then seemed to understand Tonan's plan. Though skeptical of its practicality, he chose to respect Tonan's decision. "What scale are you considering?"
"Starting with something roughly the size of the Ninja Academy. We can expand later if needed."
The Great Elder's brow furrowed deeper, as though weighing a complex problem. After a long pause, he sighed and said, a little embarrassed, "Tonan, while I manage the clan's finances, the other elders review the monthly budgets as well."
Tonan shook his head and clarified, "I'm not asking the clan to fund this. I've inherited Senior Motoyoshi's assets, totaling about twenty million ryo."
The Great Elder's expression became even more awkward.
"Is that insufficient?" Tonan asked, confused.
The Great Elder nodded gravely. "If it were twenty years ago, it would've been enough. But now, Konoha's land prices have skyrocketed. Twenty million won't even cover suburban land."
"How much will I need?"
Raising two fingers, the Great Elder replied, "Two hundred million ryo—just to purchase land in the outskirts."
Tonan drew a sharp breath, then remained silent for a long moment. Finally, he stood, bowed to the Great Elder, and said, "I understand. I will return to training now. Farewell."
At home, Tonan carved a wooden statue of Motoyoshi. Later, in a secret chamber, he unrolled the sealed scroll. As he reviewed the clan's ninjutsu, he contemplated his next moves.
Tonan's plan was to build a welfare home to shelter Konoha's orphans and elderly alike. This would earn their trust and allow him to secretly "harvest" their chakra and knowledge in cycles—much like tending crops. The orphans would replenish his chakra and spiritual energy, while the elders would provide valuable ninja experience and techniques.
He hadn't anticipated Konoha's exorbitant real estate prices to derail his plan so severely.
With the minimum guaranteed reward for an S-rank mission set at one million ryo, Tonan calculated he would need to complete over a hundred such missions just to raise two hundred million ryo.
Looks like this plan will have to be put on hold.
In the following days, Tonan accompanied Namikaze Minato and Hatake Kakashi on routine C-rank missions. Mostly, he used the downtime to learn new ninjutsu or train with Kakashi.
In the prime of his physical development, Tonan's strength surged daily. Yet, he wasn't certain how far he'd advanced—without a worthy opponent or a chance to truly test himself, he kept his true power under wraps, especially around Kakashi and others.
It was notable that Tonan often ran into Sarutobi Shinnosuke by "coincidence." Each encounter included a lesson in ninjutsu and inquiries about his well-being. Tonan sensed Shinnosuke was deliberately trying to earn his trust, subtly courting him to their side.
Moreover, whenever Tonan accompanied Minato to the Hokage Residence to report mission outcomes, Hiruzen casually—or perhaps intentionally—mentioned Shinnosuke's virtues: Konoha's attentive green sprout, a guardian of the village, and so on. It felt like an awkward introduction for a blind date!
Given this, Tonan didn't resist growing closer to Shinnosuke. After all, Hiruzen still held the reins of power.
But peaceful days are always short-lived.
That day, Minato received an emergency alert. His team assembled once again at the Hokage Residence.
Hiruzen skipped handing out mission sheets, instead explaining the details gravely.
"This is an A-rank sub-mission of a larger S-rank operation. Recently, there was a coup d'état in the Land of Rivers, suppressed by its daimyo. Many of the rebels were rogue ninjas. After the coup failed, they kidnapped Princess Haruka of the Land of Rivers and fled to the Land of Rain. The daimyo is enraged and has issued an S-rank rescue mission to Sunagakure, Amegakure, Iwagakure, and Konoha simultaneously."
"This changes the mission's nature. Whichever village rescues Princess Haruka will demonstrate its strength and mission success. Hatake Sakumo, captain of an Anbu unit, and Aburame Torune, captain of Root, have already deployed. With their skills, I believe the princess's rescue is well within reach."
"As for your team, you will be stationed in five towns along the Land of Fire border, acting as reinforcements. After receiving the hostage, you will escort her safely from the Land of Fire back to the Land of Rivers. Protecting the hostage is your utmost priority."
"Your other two teammates are already waiting at the village gate. Follow their lead when the time comes."
"Yes, sir."
Team Nine responded in unison and departed the Hokage Residence, heading toward the village gate.