Ninja Ice House

Chapter 606 Family Ties

Shinjuku Town, not far from Konoha Village, already possesses all the favorable conditions to become a mega-city. If it weren't for human intervention to prevent excessive expansion, it would probably have already swelled into a mega-city even larger than Konoha Village is now.

Ultimately, this is a "port city" that developed by leveraging the influence spilling over from Konoha Village and the powerful influence of the Kosugi family.

It serves as both a window for young ninjas to understand the secular world and the best buffer zone for outsiders to establish contact with the ninja village.

For example, many missions that are not suitable to be posted in Konoha Village can be offered at the bounty office here; and some high-ranking ninjas who have spare capacity or urgently need money and want to earn some extra income can also come here to try their luck.

Not only ninjas, but also a wide variety of combat professions such as wandering ninjas, down-on-his-luck samurai, and masters of secret arts can be found here.

Even the profession of cursed witch, which should have been extinct long ago, is said to have appeared.

Of course, mysterious figures such as psychics, exorcising monks, and Onmyoji contributed most of the material to the urban legends of Shinjuku.

It was in this environment that the "Fighters Association," which had a foundation built up over many years, became the largest cross-national, cross-village, cross-clan, cross-profession, and even cross-race group in the Land of Fire and even the entire ninja world, thanks to the "King of Fighters" challenge held by the Gusugi family.

That's right. I don't know where these fish-man guards, half-beast warriors, siren mages, or even intelligent summoning beasts came from, but they all successfully registered as fighters with a universal number throughout the ninja world.

Today, it's no longer news that one or two fighters suddenly transform into monsters occasionally appear at the "King of Fighters" quarterly tournament venues all over the ninja world.

At first, it startled everyone, who thought some kind of demon or monster had appeared. But after seeing it so often, people were no longer so surprised.

Although many people still gather around to watch the spectacle, by now, they are no longer frightened or panicked by a slightly strange appearance.

For example, right now, on the quarterly tournament stage leading to the finals on Oki Island, a fishman Tide Hunter wielding a steel harpoon but using Water Release and Lightning Release techniques is locked in a fierce battle with a dual-sword samurai with agile movements and a face that has slight rabbit-like features.

Among the onlookers, one or two fighters with somewhat unusual characteristics could be seen assessing the strength of the two on the stage.

In a luxurious hotel across the street, in front of a floor-to-ceiling window with a superb view, Uchiha Mikoto, holding her sleeping child, smiled gently and said:

"Quanmei, you've been here for a few days now, shouldn't you go and take care of your own things?"

"I've finished my work and am currently on vacation."

"Thank you for your hard work regarding Itachi's matter."

"It's not much trouble, madam. He was my childhood sweetheart and friend back then, but unfortunately..."

It ended without a trace, with not much to tell, and naturally, no particularly special emotions.

Of the past ten years or so, the experiences of the last few years have been more profound.

The white moonlight is ultimately just the white moonlight; he was merely a memorable companion on life's journey, someone with whom we shared a part of the road and unforgettable memories. As for more unforgettable things, sorry, we didn't have time to do them before childhood and youth ended prematurely.

On the contrary, the experiences at the Ninja Academy in recent years, and the teaming up with Karin and Yakumo Kurama, are more memorable than when the Uchiha clan was still around.

Among the clansmen, some who were secretly rescued under the protection of the Gusugi family harbored thoughts of revenge, but not many missed the seemingly leisurely, high-status but actually oppressive family life of the past.

This is one of the main factors that made Uchiha Izumi and Uchiha Mikoto feel complicated.

The family's past existence did not bring satisfaction to its members; on the contrary, they are now more at ease and comfortable.

Even Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha have three half-siblings... no, they have four more younger brothers and sisters.

It's unclear how these two brothers actually view the situation.

Of course, Itachi Uchiha is not completely dead yet and is waiting to be treated and nurtured to recover. Sasuke Uchiha is too busy to take care of himself. Although he transplanted his older brother's eye power and advanced from the three-tomoe Sharingan to the Mangekyou Sharingan, he quickly achieved the feat of having the eternal Mangekyou Sharingan. However, this rapid improvement has meant that his combat power has not been fully utilized.

Fortunately, one of the brothers had escaped the vortex of fate by faking his death, and the other had greatly improved his strength and was capable of protecting himself, which greatly reduced Mikoto Uchiha's worries.

"Have the Zuo Jin and You Jin brothers left?"

"Yes! Itachi's condition has improved a lot and he is basically out of danger. However, it will take a long time for him to regain his conscious mind. It will probably be difficult for him to communicate for a while."

"Those twin boys didn't look very old, about the same age as Sasuke. They were also unfortunate people. Young Commander Gushan has protected many such talented and extraordinary individuals?"

"It's not a matter of how many or how few. I'm afraid even the young governor can't remember how many strange and wonderful talents he has under his command. If he doesn't try to perform well, he'll probably be marginalized in the future."

"That's true!"

The Gusugi family is so powerful, and the young commander is even more unfathomable. Based on the power they have revealed so far, they are not necessarily much weaker than the current Konoha Village. In fact, if they take into account the potential for mobilization in the secular world and prepare for war with all their might, even the Konoha Village at its peak might not be able to withstand them.

"Will there still be Uchiha... or Sharingan users in Konoha in the future?"

"Maybe!"

Uchiha Izumi answered uncertainly,

"This shouldn't actually be a problem; it should be decided by the Uchiha clan. Especially... Sasuke, he's currently the only one in the ninja world who can truly be called an Uchiha orphan. The others... are basically just wandering ghosts who can't show their faces in public!"

The two chatted for a while, watching the exciting duel on the arena outside. After exchanging some more words, Uchiha Mikoto suddenly asked:

"You met Tatsumi, right? How did you feel about the fish-man guards he led? How did you manage to really possess the Sharingan?"

"Very few, but not just one or two!"

Uchiha Izumi replied regretfully.

"Bloodline flowing out, and this isn't the kind that's transplanted later, but rather an innate bloodline limit awakening. The Uchiha bloodline is flowing out... and it's even one of those half-finished products from the lab. Is bloodline limit something that's so easy to replicate?"

When they learned that the power of the Sharingan flowed through the bloodline within the Fish-Man race, the Uchiha clan's so-called persistence and pride seemed like a joke.