Chapter 11: The Stimulus Isn't Deep Enough Yet
Over the next few days, Uchiha Kei continued executing his newly-devised plan: taking out scattered Iwa shinobi patrols while rescuing Konoha prisoners who were relatively easier to extract.
It had to be said—Byakugan was extremely useful in this kind of mission. With Hyūga Ayaka's abilities, they were able to avoid more heavily guarded enemy patrols and repeatedly ambush smaller squads with precision.
By now, their team had grown to nearly twenty people. But Kei wasn't entirely satisfied—of the group, only two were jōnin, and the rest were mainly chūnin.
In this era, genin usually fell into one of two categories: those worth nurturing… and cannon fodder.
Those worth training naturally had guardians or mentors and weren't sent to the most dangerous missions.
And the fodder?
Did they even count as people?
No intelligence, weak skills—most of them died to random area-of-effect jutsu or stray attacks.
They were essentially just bodies to fill ranks, and maybe, if luck favored them, land a final blow here or there.
Frankly, Kei's squad weren't much different—they were just bigger cannon fodder. He knew that well enough. Laughing at weaker comrades when you're barely better yourself wasn't worth the effort. At least Kei was self-aware.
As for why jōnin were so rare among the rescued? Simple: they were strong and skilled in battlefield adaptation. Unless overwhelmed by multiple enemies or caught in an ambush, they were tough to take down or capture.
This wasn't stealth warfare—this was the frontlines.
In a sneak attack, you capitalized on surprise. But on the frontlines, shinobi were prepared. While accidents happened, being surrounded by allies meant someone might save you at the last second.
A focused jōnin was deadly—and much harder to capture. Most of them either escaped or died in battle. The few that got caught? Pure bad luck. That's why there were so few among the prisoners.
Chūnin, on the other hand, were the main harvest. It was tragic.
Still, even among the rescued, many were hesitant. They figured this had nothing to do with them anymore—they just wanted to return to Konoha's rear guard. After all, not everyone was ready to throw their life away.
Thankfully, Yamanaka Masato, one of the jōnin Kei rescued, stepped in.
He helped keep these nin in line. With the Yamanaka clan name and Uchiha Kei's surname backing him, the others reluctantly agreed to keep going.
"But my experiments are starting to lag," Kei muttered to himself one night.
Every evening, he carved out time to review his progress and test small experiments, subtly and carefully.
He knew the evolution path of the Sharingan—but breaking through the current barrier was proving difficult. His spiritual energy was strong, no doubt, but it still wasn't enough to cross that invisible threshold.
Lately, he had started to feel the presence of a wall—thick and impenetrable. No matter how he pushed his mental strength against it, it wouldn't budge.
It was a bittersweet realization: he was glad to have found the "checkpoint," but frustrated he couldn't cross it.
"Maybe the stimulus just isn't strong enough," he thought. "But what could truly stimulate me?"
"I've grown numb to death, and I don't really have any emotional attachments..."
The famous "kill your closest" trope for unlocking the Mangekyō Sharingan was essentially about destroying a person's emotional anchor, triggering a devastating psychological collapse that ignited unimaginable mental power.
But it wasn't always about literal murder—look at Sasuke.
He killed Itachi and didn't awaken the Mangekyō.
Only after Obito twisted his worldview and plunged him into guilt, hate, and emotional turmoil… that was when his eyes evolved.
"Yep, the Uchiha clan's full of nutcases," Kei couldn't help but think sarcastically.
"Well, except me. I'm definitely not one of them."
Since the environment made documentation and deeper experimentation impossible, Kei eventually shelved his attempts for now.
There was still a mission to complete. The deeper they moved into enemy territory, the heavier the pressure became.
They were now far behind the Iwa lines, where enemy patrols were everywhere. One misstep, and none of them would make it out alive.
—
At sunrise, the team set out again.
They kept standard squad formations—small teams with separate responsibilities. That way, if one unit was discovered, they could deal with it independently. In enemy territory, fewer people actually increased survival chances.
From a high tree branch, Kei silently observed an enemy camp ahead. He signaled to the group behind him.
It was another prisoner holding site—they had been targeting these relentlessly.
But luck wasn't on their side today. According to Hyūga Ayaka's Byakugan, there were too many shinobi in this one.
Clearly, their repeated strikes had finally drawn Iwa's attention. They had tightened security and increased their interrogation efforts…
"That's the fourth body," Ayaka whispered, her voice cold.
"There were seven captives. Now only three remain. Yamanaka-senpai wants us to prepare. If we can save them, we save them. If not, we create a diversion and scatter."
"Typical jōnin—always following the Hokage's ideals," Kei muttered under his breath.
"Fine. Their lives are in fate's hands now. Wait until the others move before engaging. We need a clear escape route."
"Don't need you telling me that," Ayaka responded coolly.
Imai Kenta just nodded quietly behind them, the picture of an obedient subordinate.
But just as they were about to act—
a messenger hawk suddenly soared overhead…