Today was the day Uchiha Shinsuke, as squad leader, would select his first batch of squad members.
At Guard headquarters, inside a quiet meeting room, a thick stack of paper files was neatly arranged in front of Uchiha Shinsuke.
Densely packed across the pages were detailed profiles of every genin and ordinary chunin currently available for selection within the Guard.
According to Guard regulations, a newly promoted squad leader could select three members from this list to form their own dedicated squad.
A Guard administrative staff member stood respectfully to the side, paper and pen in hand, ready to record Uchiha Shinsuke's choices at any moment.
"Squad Leader Shinsuke, this is the complete list of all eligible members, please take your time."
Uchiha Shinsuke gave a slight nod, his gaze passing over the paper list without immediately flipping through it.
His consciousness had long since sunk deep into the system interface within his mind.
[Clan Member List]
A virtual list that only Uchiha Shinsuke could see slowly unfolded.
Unlike the paper list, every name in the system list had two critically important core values clearly marked beside it: [Potential Value] and [Loyalty]!
This was Uchiha Shinsuke's true basis for selecting squad members!
What he intended to build was a core team that was absolutely loyal to him and could be completely controlled by him!
So-called "geniuses" who lacked sufficient loyalty, or worse, harbored ulterior motives, were not merely useless to him but would become time bombs buried at his side!
Uchiha Shinsuke's fingers tapped lightly on the tabletop as his gaze swept rapidly across the virtual list.
Under normal circumstances, selecting from that paper list would be no different from searching for a needle in a haystack, making it very difficult to find anyone who truly met his requirements.
But with the system, everything would become simple and efficient!
The list scrolled slowly.
Before long, several names successfully caught Uchiha Shinsuke's attention.
[Uchiha Min]
[Potential Value: 75 (Above Average)]
[Loyalty: 95% (Absolute Trust)]
[Notes: Female, 15 years old, genin, specializes in taijutsu, resilient personality, not given to words, comes from a branch family and receives little regard within the clan with limited access to resources, holds extreme admiration for the formidable strength the host demonstrated during the assessment.]
'Uchiha Min...'
Uchiha Shinsuke's gaze sharpened slightly.
95% loyalty!
This was nearly the highest loyalty toward him of anyone currently on the entire list!
And on top of that: taijutsu specialist, resilient personality, and a quite solid potential value.
Most critically, she came from a branch family and received little regard.
This meant that given sufficient recognition and resources, her loyalty would become unshakeable!
A good prospect!
Uchiha Shinsuke had made up his mind and continued reading down the list.
[Uchiha Tetsu]
[Potential Value: 70 (Average)]
[Loyalty: 90% (Highly Approving)]
[Notes: Male, 16 years old, chunin, specializes in genjutsu, perceptive and detail-oriented, moderate chakra volume, somewhat introverted in personality, deeply admires the strength the host demonstrated during the assessment.]
'This one is also good.'
Uchiha Shinsuke gave a nod.
A genjutsu specialist could compensate for the squad's weakness in control capabilities.
90% loyalty also fell squarely within the range of those who could be completely trusted.
The last spot...
[Uchiha Kai]
[Potential Value: 68 (Average)]
[Loyalty: 92% (Admiration and Reverence)]
[Notes: Male, 15 years old, genin, specializes in strength-based taijutsu, honest and straightforward personality, average ninjutsu aptitude, holds the host's powerful taijutsu in high regard.]
'Uchiha Kai...'
Strength-based taijutsu, an honest personality, and a loyalty rating of 92%.
Though his potential value was the lowest of the three, he made up for it with reliable loyalty, and people with straightforward personalities were often the most thorough in carrying out orders.
Besides, with the system's [Potential Activation] function available, potential value was not something that could not be changed!
These were the three!
Under ordinary selection criteria, they probably would not even qualify for the candidate list.
But what Uchiha Shinsuke valued was precisely their loyalty, their malleability, and that hunger to not remain ordinary!
"I've made my choice."
Uchiha Shinsuke raised his head, stopped tapping the table, and said evenly to the administrative staff member.
"Oh? That quickly?"
The staff member was visibly taken aback, as he had assumed Squad Leader Shinsuke would deliberate carefully for the entire afternoon.
After all, this was the serious matter of building one's own core team!
"Just these three."
The staff member looked at the three names and a flash of bewilderment crossed his eyes.
These three people... weren't they the most ordinary members the Guard had to offer? They had almost no presence to speak of, and their mission ratings were entirely unremarkable.
Min and Kai were not even chunin yet!
Squad Leader Shinsuke was actually going to choose them?
Surely there was a mistake!
Shouldn't he be picking those more powerful and well-known young talents? For instance, Uchiha Enka and Uchiha Mei were both clan-designated priority trainees, their strength already at the upper tier of chunin and even approaching Special Jonin.
What was the meaning of picking these misfits?
"Squad Leader Shinsuke, are... are you certain it's these three?"
The staff member felt his brain struggling to keep up and could not help asking once more to confirm.
"Certain."
"Understood, understood! I'll register them for you right away and notify them to report in immediately!"
The staff member did not dare ask another word and quickly bowed his head, recorded the names swiftly, then turned and left at a brisk pace.
The news spread through the Guard's internal circles before long.
The newly promoted genius Squad Leader Uchiha Shinsuke had selected three "ordinary" members to form his squad!
Countless people found this surprising and baffling.
"What? Squad Leader Shinsuke picked Min and Kai? Those two perennial genin?"
"And that Uchiha Tetsu: he's chunin, sure, but his strength is just so-so, and his personality is dull as a rock!"
"I thought for certain he'd pick Uchiha Enka and the others!"
"I can't make sense of it, truly can't make sense of it! What is Squad Leader Shinsuke doing? Lowering his own standing?"
Several young ninja who had previously placed high hopes on Uchiha Shinsuke, and had even wanted to proactively join his squad, now could not help feeling somewhat disappointed.
In their view, Uchiha Shinsuke's choices were a waste of talent and roster spots.
However, Uchiha Shinsuke paid not the slightest attention to any of these rumors from the outside.
A bunch of fools.
They did not understand in the least what mattered most in a squad.
Not reputation, not strength on paper.
What mattered was control!
Absolute obedience!
What he needed were three sharp blades that he could hold in his hand and point wherever he chose, not three "geniuses" with ideas of their own!
Min, Tetsu, and Kai were currently limited in strength, but their loyalty was extremely high and their potential was solid.
With the system's assistance, he had absolute confidence that he could forge them into an elite squad in the shortest possible time!
Before long, three figures appeared at the meeting room doorway, visibly nervous and ill at ease.
It was Uchiha Min, Uchiha Tetsu, and Uchiha Kai.
When they had received the notification, all three had assumed they were hearing things.
Squad Leader Uchiha Shinsuke had actually chosen them to join his squad?
It felt exactly like a dream!
Even now, standing at the meeting room doorway, their hearts were still pounding beyond their control.
"Reporting in, Squad Leader Shinsuke! Uchiha Min (Tetsu, Kai) reporting for duty!"
The three spoke in unison.
Uchiha Shinsuke's gaze swept across each of the three faces in turn.
"From this day on, you are members of my squad."
"Yes, Squad Leader!"
The three answered in unison again, their voices noticeably louder than before and carrying a hint of excitement that could not be suppressed!
"I don't care what you were like before, and I don't care how others see you."
Uchiha Shinsuke slowly rose from his seat and walked step by step to stand before the three of them.
"Now that you have joined my squad, the first thing you must remember, and the most important thing, is..."
Before he had finished speaking, Uchiha Shinsuke's gaze suddenly turned razor-sharp!
A powerful presence radiated out from him, pressing down on the three of them until they could barely breathe!
The color drained instantly from all three faces!
So this was... the Squad Leader's strength?!
His presence alone left them with no room to even form a thought of resistance!
"Absolute obedience to my orders!"
"My word is the rule!"
"In my squad, there is no room for any questioning or defiance!"
"Can you do that?!"
Uchiha Shinsuke demanded in a sharp, commanding shout!
"Yes!"
Overwhelmed by that terrifying presence, the three acted almost on pure instinct, straightening their chests with every ounce of strength they had and roaring their answer!
Uchiha Shinsuke gave a satisfied nod and slowly withdrew his presence.
The three immediately felt as though pardoned from a death sentence, gasping in great lungfuls of air, their backs completely soaked through with cold sweat.
This squad would be the cornerstone from which he would eventually take control of the Uchiha!
Establishing his authority was the necessary first step.
"Good."
"Starting tomorrow, you will undergo one week of special training."
"I hope that one week from now, I will see an entirely new squad."
"Dismissed."
The three did not dare show the slightest slack and, after bowing respectfully once more, left the meeting room with hearts full of shock and anticipation.
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