Starting with the Uchiha clan, they began cultivating demonic arts.

Chapter 26 Discussion

"I'm not really troubled by anything, but I don't know what the situation is like on the battlefield right now, or when I should go to the front lines. I'm a little unsure about that."

"After all, I'm terrified of dying. Going to the battlefield without knowing anything would easily make me a martyr."

Uchiha Tou blinked and asked without any politeness, causing the Third Hokage's eyelids to twitch and Kakashi next to him to gasp.

This guy is way too blunt! Asking about such military secrets right off the bat? And he's being way too direct!

"The matter of the war is a secret of Konoha... You are still Chunin and Genin, so I cannot tell you for the time being."

"Of course, if you're willing to take the test, I believe you can easily become Special Jonin. How about it? Want to give it a try?"

"Forget it. At my age, if I become a special Jonin, wouldn't I just become a target on the battlefield? It's better to be a Genin. The opposing ninja villages won't pay much attention to me. At most, I'll encounter some Chunin opponents."

Before Kakashi could even speak, Uchiha Tou immediately refused to become a Special Jonin. If it were just about becoming a Jonin directly, Uchiha Tou might actually have considered it, but as for Special Jonin, well, forget it.

There are no more than a hundred Jonin in Konoha. Even the Hokage has to be elected by a vote of Jonin. Because of this, every Jonin has a certain amount of power in Konoha. If they are willing, they can easily build up a small faction in Konoha.

Although Special Jonin are also called Jonin, they lack the most important right to vote for Hokage, and in the end, they are just high-level henchmen.

It can be said that the most important purpose of the Special Jonin level is to place some lone ninjas whose strength has reached the level of Jonin as a shield to prevent them from entering the higher levels. Of course, Uchiha Touyu did not want to become a high-level fighter.

Especially now that Uchiha Touyu is in the same class as Asuma, he basically won't encounter any dangerous missions. But if he becomes a special Jonin, the Third Hokage will definitely transfer him out and use him to the extreme.

The Third Hokage's forehead veins bulged. Although he had already learned about Uchiha Tou's personality from his son, seeing him in person made him realize how incompatible this guy's cowardly nature was with ordinary ninjas.

"Touya, you must understand that for a ninja, constantly running away won't lead to true growth. Only by continuously embracing challenges and becoming the strongest ninja can you truly find peace of mind..."

"Lord Hokage, does becoming the strongest ninja guarantee our safety?"

Uchiha Tou interrupted the Third Hokage, looking at him with a strange expression.

"Of course, the stronger the ninja, the safer they are. If you are strong enough, ordinary ninjas will run away at the mere sight of you."

"But it seems that none of the Kage from the Five Great Ninja Villages have ever died of old age, have they?"

The Third Hokage: "Σ(っ°Д°;)っ!!"

Faced with Uchiha Tou's gaze, the Third Hokage finally had no choice but to retreat. After this incident, he had no intention of saying anything more to Uchiha Tou or Hatake Kakashi. He left after offering a few perfunctory words of concern.

"Feiyu, you've got some nerve! You even dare to tease the Hokage!"

Seeing the Third Hokage leave, Kakashi Hatake breathed a sigh of relief and said to Touu Uchiha with some surprise.

"It's fine to make a joke, it's much better than being sent to the battlefield without any warning! You have to understand that this is the very beginning of the Ninja World War, and those who go to the battlefield at this time will really just be cannon fodder."

Uchiha Tou shrugged and said nonchalantly.

Just kidding, if he were to fall asleep at the hands of the Third Hokage today, he'd probably be heading straight to the battlefield tomorrow! When life and death are at stake, who cares if you're the Hokage?

"But this should only buy us some time. Since we've become ninjas, we'll eventually have to go to the battlefield."

"Delay it as long as possible. The intensity of the Fourth Shinobi World War is basically in the first and last few months. Therefore, the intensity of the battlefield should drop significantly after a few months. It won't be too late to go to the battlefield then."

"Aren't you afraid the Hokage will be angry? As the Hokage, it would be very easy for him to punish you!"

In response to Kakashi's question, Uchiha Touyu merely gave a cold laugh:

"Heh... let him do what he wants! If he really dares to give me a death-defying mission like assassinating an enemy general, then I'll just defect!"

After obtaining Sakumo Hatake's soul, Tomo Uchiha was already prepared for things to go wrong and decided to pack up and leave.

After all, with his current strength, even if he were to become a rogue ninja, the safety factor would be much higher than if he were directly involved in the Ninja World War.

Generally speaking, elite Jonin-level rogue ninjas are rarely targeted by major ninja villages unless they pose a significant threat, due to their strength. Rogue ninjas whose lives are truly in danger are mostly ordinary Jonin and Chunin.

Well, as long as a genin fakes his death and doesn't know anything about key secrets, the ninja village doesn't have enough manpower to investigate. So, as long as you are well prepared, defecting isn't that dangerous.

That's why Uchiha Touya acted so indifferent when facing the Third Hokage. He figured he could just give up easily. He really didn't believe that Konoha would care so much about someone like him, a marginal figure, during the Third Shinobi World War.

Kakashi was stunned by Uchiha Tou's words, his mouth agape:

"Feiyu, defection is no joke!"

"That's true. When I leave Konoha, I'll leave a resignation letter. I'll just write something like, 'The world is so big, I want to go see it!'"

"This... I've never heard of a ninja being able to resign..."

"hehe!"

A cold smile appeared on Uchiha Tou's face as he spoke calmly:

"Yes, ninjas not only can't resign, they can't retire either. Unless they become disabled, they have to keep working until they die!"

"Not only that, even students who graduate from ninja academies normally are only twelve or thirteen years old at most. As far as I know, even ordinary people can't start working until they are 14 years old!"

"You start working as a butcher when you're thirteen or fourteen. If you're lucky, you can butcher people for fifty or sixty years, and maybe the village leaders will take pity on you and let you retire with all your injuries..."

"Hey Kakashi, do you really think being a ninja is a perfectly reasonable profession?!"

Kakashi opened his mouth, his mind racing, but he couldn't utter a single word.

Before Uchiha Hiyu spoke, Kakashi didn't have any particular feelings about the ninja profession. After all, all the ninja villages did it this way, and he hadn't seen any other ninjas complain.

But after listening to Uchiha Hiu's words, Kakashi realized that the profession of ninja, which puts one's life on the line, is both cruel and harsh, practically squeezing every ninja's flesh and blood and youth dry.

"Now that you mention it, I'm a little confused. Ninjas... are they really that miserable?"

"Heh, so many ninjas have brainwashed themselves into becoming tools. Isn't that tragic?!"

(End of this chapter)