Once the clan head uncovered the secret letters in Nara Shiozuki's house proving he had been communicating with Orochimaru, the restless Danzō faction inside the Nara clan instantly fell silent.
Even though they had Danzō's backing and could usually stand toe-to-toe with the clan head, getting involved with an S-rank missing-nin from Konoha was different. No matter how arrogant they were, they didn't dare show their teeth at a time like this.
Of course, not everyone believed Shiozuki had actually betrayed the clan.
Some of the smarter ones were convinced it was just another move by Nara Shikaku to crush the Danzō faction.
But no matter what they thought, things had already reached this point. Keeping their mouths shut was the smartest play.
Because of that, Shikaku's work went extremely smoothly.
Whether it was the open investigation into the clan traitor or the quiet suppression of non-main-branch forces, he faced almost no resistance.
Shikage wasn't sure why Danzō hadn't made any moves in response, but overall, the result was excellent.
Not just for the clan—for him personally, it was even better.
...
Three days later, Nara clan training ground.
Shikage lay lazily in a rocking chair, checking the attribute panels of all his current shadow soldiers.
"Four jōnin-level shadow soldiers, twelve chūnin-level, and four genin-level."
"Finally hit twenty. Halfway through the class quest."
While his father was busy purging clan members, Shikage had taken the chance to reap a huge harvest.
Since he already had Shisui's shadow secured, there was no point being picky about quality right now. Better to finish the quest first.
So the Nara shinobi gave up their lives.
They had been Nara clan in life—they could stay Nara clan in death too.
He named the four jōnin shadows No.2, No.3, No.4, and No.5.
No.2 was naturally Shisui's shadow. No.3 and No.4 were Nara Suzaku and Nara Shiozuki respectively. No.5 was a high-ranking Danzō faction member that Shikaku had cleaned out.
The rest of the new chūnin and genin shadows came from non-main-branch Nara shinobi.
Stroking his chin, Shikage thought about how to complete the other half of the class quest.
"Right now, only No.2 (Shisui) has the potential to promote into a Shadow Knight."
"So equipping him with the [Shadow Vassal · Uzumaki Naruto] template is the best choice."
"Unfortunately, Naruto's template only boosts leveling speed and learning efficiency right now. It doesn't give No.2 any direct power increase."
"Looks like it's still going to take a long time before he can promote."
Shikage sighed.
The class quest being stuck meant he couldn't increase his shadow soldier limit yet.
Still, his mentality was solid. He only felt annoyed for a few seconds before letting it go.
"Whatever. Shadow soldiers are still external power, after all."
"Improving myself feels way more satisfying."
Shikage opened his system panel and looked at [Shadow Imitation Technique (Lv.3)] and [Shadow Binding Technique (Lv.3)] in his skill list, a satisfied smile spreading across his face.
They had finally reached level three. All that sleep-deprived training over the past three days had been worth it.
Spending so much time on just these two techniques wasn't actually efficient for him.
The reason he did it was mainly thanks to the generous loot drop from Nara Shiozuki.
The moment he killed the man, besides gaining his shadow, Shikage had also obtained a very practical skill stone—[Rune Stone · Shadow Imitation Binding Technique].
Just as the name suggested, it was a fusion technique combining Shadow Imitation and Shadow Binding.
Not only could it completely bind the enemy with shadows, it could also control their movements to a certain degree.
It looked ordinary on the surface, but the key point was this: the control didn't require the user to perform the same actions themselves!
The reason Shiozuki had held significant influence inside the Danzō faction was precisely because he had mastered this advanced Shadow Imitation Binding Technique.
And now that powerful technique had been stolen by Shikage.
He crushed the rune stone and watched with anticipation as the two skills in his panel fused into a brand new one.
[Shadow Imitation Binding Technique (Lv.3)]
"As expected, it directly inherited the original skill levels!"
Shikage's lips curved upward, clearly delighted.
Skill levels were easy to raise at the beginning, but the difficulty multiplied with each level.
For an advanced secret technique like Shadow Imitation Binding—on the same tier as Shadow Gathering and Shadow Strangle—leveling it up normally would've taken far longer than the basic three shadow techniques.
Getting it straight to Lv.3 saved him at least two months of grinding.
Just as Shikage was savoring his new technique, Shikaku walked over.
He had actually been watching from a distance for a while. Only after confirming his son was taking a break did he speak:
"Shikage, your mother has completely taken over the Deer Management Bureau."
"This is the 'living expenses' she's giving you. I still don't understand why you need so much money…"
Shikage ignored his father's grumbling. His eyes lit up as he swiftly snatched the thick stack of bills from Shikaku's hand.
"That's none of your business."
Counting the money happily, Shikage couldn't help but admit his parents were quite capable.
They had seized full control of the family assets so quickly.
"Oh, right." After struggling to stuff the 300,000 ryo into his pocket, Shikage asked curiously:
"Has the investigation into Shiozuki secretly working with Orochimaru been wrapped up?"
Shikaku's expression turned serious.
"It has."
"He was helping Orochimaru test drugs!"
At those words, Shikaku's face darkened. After all, the Nara Research Institute was under his supervision.
Right under his nose, Shiozuki had been conducting human experiments that the village had explicitly forbidden.
"Drugs?"
Shikage raised an eyebrow. He suddenly remembered the plot from the original story—Mizuki's curse mark activation.
Mizuki's curse mark had been one of Orochimaru's early experimental products, far inferior to the completed version.
To activate it, Mizuki had needed a certain prohibited drug.
And the source of that drug… was the Nara Research Institute!
—Damn, so Orochimaru had his eyes on our family's institute this early.
Shikage muttered to himself. Although Orochimaru had touched his money, he wasn't planning to go after the snake right now.
Killing him would be too much of a hassle…
What he was interested in was the drug that could awaken Mizuki's curse mark.
That drug could massively boost strength in a short time, but the side effects were brutal—it burned through life force and could easily kill the user.
But shadow soldiers weren't human.
Plus, shadow soldiers could be revived at any time.
—Maybe I can let No.1 test this drug?
No.1's strength had already fallen behind him.
Especially after having the Naruto template taken away, he was basically useless now.
The only reason Shikage hadn't discarded him yet was because of his "first time" complex.
If this drug could help No.1 grow stronger, he was more than willing to try it.
So he said:
"Let me take a look."
"Don't worry, I won't eat it."
"Just pure curiosity."