"Destroy everything here. This mission must never leak out. Once we return, I'll personally report to Lord Hokage."
Minato Namikaze's calm voice carried absolute authority.
It was clear that he already understood how deep this went.
Smuggling ninja tools—combined with collusion from Kirigakure—was no small matter. Mishandling it could bring serious consequences to the village.
During the battle earlier, he'd even extracted more inside information from the enemy.
"So, when it involves the village, the only thought is to cover it up?"
Uchiha Shien felt a twinge of disappointment.
He didn't believe for a second that Minato couldn't see the rot behind the incident.
And when the man said he'd "report to the Hokage privately" after erasing all traces here—well, that was as good as saying it'd be buried.
"Yes, sensei!" Uchiha Shien answered, masking his thoughts.
Disappointed or not, orders were orders.
Soon, the group set fire to the valley.
It was then that Uchiha Shien discovered something the anime had never shown—the spoils of war.
No wonder some shinobi still took low-paying missions so eagerly.
Captured loot, it turned out, could be divided freely among the mission team. The village didn't interfere.
Of course, that was the unspoken rule.
If they found something truly valuable, the village had the right to seize it—since the "right to interpret" always rested with the Hokage's office.
Still, this time they'd earned a fortune.
Over hundreds of thousands of ryō in total loot, with each of the three genin pocketing tens of thousands.
As for the crates of smuggled ninja tools—Minato sealed them all in a scroll to take back to the village himself.
Just one kunai was worth over ten thousand ryō. There were hundreds of kunai per crate, and dozens of crates in total. The value was staggering.
Only someone like Minato—raised from childhood under the Will of Fire—could stay this honest.
If it were Uchiha Shien, a poor transmigrator desperate for cash… there was no way he'd turn that treasure over.
Still, there was a silver lining. Handing in the loot earned them contribution points.
Contribution Points—a valuable village currency.
They could be exchanged for resources, tools, or even ninjutsu.
The catch? You had to actually meet the Hokage for it to matter.
For ordinary civilians, that was nearly impossible. The system was a trap. That's why even some Chunin from civilian backgrounds didn't know a single C-rank jutsu.
But with Minato as their team leader—and a direct student of Sarutobi Hiruzen's lineage—earning contributions was practically a hidden perk of being in Team Three.
As the flames devoured the valley, Minato turned to leave.
For Uchiha Shien, this mission had yielded more than just money.
He'd gathered a vast number of rare materials—plants, animals, herbs—that didn't exist inside the village.
Before this, his range had been limited to Konoha, and he'd had to sneak around just to collect samples.
But out here? It was like a mouse diving into a rice jar. Everything was fair game.
Plants, beasts—anything with research value was his target.
As for explaining his behavior? He didn't need to.
Minato, as their instructor, definitely knew Uchiha Shien's background. He'd seen the healing salves Uchiha Shien had created. For a researcher, collecting samples was perfectly natural.
"Here, Uchiha Shien. If you don't mind, take this sealing scroll," Minato said, noticing the absurdly large bundle on Uchiha Shien's back.
He tossed over a sealing scroll without hesitation.
A Sealing Scroll!
A rare treasure.
The base market price for a single one was at least one hundred thousand ryō—and even then, they were almost impossible to buy.
"Thank you, Sensei!" Uchiha Shien said, unable to hide his excitement as he caught it.
He knew exactly why Minato could afford to hand one over so casually—Uzumaki Kushina.
Minato's girlfriend was a member of the Uzumaki clan, the most powerful sealing arts bloodline in the world.
With a girlfriend like that, no wonder he could toss around sealing scrolls like spare parchment.
Checking the scroll, Uchiha Shien found it could hold about three cubic meters of space and would last only for a limited time before collapsing.
Still—plenty of room for his specimens.
With this, he could bring back everything he'd collected.
A few days later.
Team Three returned to Konoha.
"…!" Yamanaka Koji stared blankly at the village gates.
"Don't block the road," Uchiha Shien reminded him.
The gates were crowded with merchants and returning ninja. Standing still in the middle of the path was asking for trouble.
Before entering, they had to complete the registration process.
After signing the records, Minato turned to them.
"Mission complete. Team dismissed."
And with that, he vanished.
The smuggling incident had to be reported to the Hokage immediately—no time to escort his students further.
"I'm heading home!" Koji waved and hurried off.
Kakashi, meanwhile, quietly walked toward the training grounds.
The Hatake clan had been wiped out—he had nowhere else to go. Training was the only thing that filled the silence.
Now Uchiha Shien understood how Kakashi managed to become a Jonin at only twelve years old. That robotic work ethic wasn't talent—it was obsession.
As for Uchiha Shien himself, he went straight to his laboratory.
The materials he'd brought back would keep him busy for a long time.
If luck was on his side, he might even develop something groundbreaking.
And among his harvest was one particularly exciting find—lizards.
Not normal lizards, though. These had extraordinary regenerative abilities.
The discovery made him think of the Shouzaki Lizard from the anime—a creature as powerful as Manda or Gamabunta, maybe even rivaling a tailed beast.
Unfortunately, when he asked around, there was no such place as Shouzaki Castle.
Depressing!
If it existed, he'd be set for life.
Still, these regenerative lizards he'd found could help him develop stronger healing formulas—ones he'd be keeping for himself, not others.
After all, in a ninja's life, injuries and maiming were routine. And he had no intention of ending up crippled.
At the same time, he was starting to plan his next step— How to acquire the two jutsu he wanted most.
The first—Medical Ninjutsu.
The temptation was enormous.
In terms of combat, medical ninjutsu wasn't that impressive—even Tsunade, its founder, wasn't known for sheer destructive power.
But for biological research? It was god-tier.
And the second— Sealing Jutsu.
An art of extremes.
Its lower limit was practically useless. Its upper limit? It could seal Kaguya herself.
Both disciplines had limitless potential— And both were tightly restricted knowledge.
The Hokage's faction guarded them jealously.
Neither the Hyuga nor the Uchiha had access to complete systems of medical or sealing jutsu—that alone showed how deep the control went.
Of course, certain clans had their own specialized seals— Like the Hyuga's Caged Bird Seal or the Uchiha's Four Red Yang Formation.
But what Uchiha Shien wanted was something different— A complete, systematic understanding of sealing and medical techniques.
Knowledge far beyond what the Academy library could offer.
Now, though—with Minato Namikaze as his teacher— That might finally be possible.
Through him, Uchiha Shien might find a way to learn what was forbidden to most.
◇ I'll be dropping one bonus chapters for every 10 reviews. comment
◇ One bonus chapter will be released for every 100 Power Stones.
◇ You can read the ahead chapter on P@treon if you're interested:
patreon.com/FicHaven786