"Get out of here, get out of here! This is a proper establishment; minors are not allowed!"
Amidst the rude curses, Uchiha Ci was thrown out the door by two burly, tough-looking men.
Uchiha Ci, looking displeased, got up while muttering curses.
"Tch, and they dare to call it a 'proper establishment' when they won't even let minors in?"
"He~tui!" (Sound of spitting)
Hearing the commotion from Uchiha Ci, the villagers nearby looked at him with strange expressions.
"You used a Transformation Jutsu to get in; you think we wouldn't see through it?" The big man at the door smiled disdainfully, his face full of scorn.
"Scram! If you don't leave, I'll call the adults from your clan to come take you back!"
These words immediately made Uchiha Ci shrink back.
He glared fiercely at the two "watchdogs."
If it weren't for the fact that social death isn't covered by insurance...
"You still dare to turn your head and look inside? Believe me, I'll call someone." The big man wrinkled his nose and made as if to shout into the establishment.
Uchiha Ci quickly dismissed the alluring thoughts in his mind and ran out of that section of the alleyway in despair, covering his face.
By the time he walked back onto the main street, there were already fewer people around.
The full moon silently watched over everything in the world.
The early spring wind, still carrying the chill of winter, blew against his face. Uchiha Ci shivered, and his mind finally calmed.
At that moment, Uchiha Seiichiro, his clansman and fellow team member, wandered out of an alley, a bottle of alcohol in his hand.
Seeing Uchiha Ci, Seiichiro looked him up and down. Noticing the dusty marks on Uchiha Ci's clothes, he couldn't help but smirk.
"Hey, if it isn't the 'glory' of our Uchiha clan?"
"What's the matter? Got thrown out?"
Uchiha Ci's face immediately tightened: "No, I just got stepped on by an elephant while walking down the road."
"Haha, who hasn't been young and reckless?" Seiichiro's face was flushed, smelling of alcohol, and he smiled slyly.
"I get it; I understand everything."
"After all, we're about to go on that kind of mission."
Seiichiro's tone grew low, and the look he gave Uchiha Ci changed several times, as if he had thought of something unbearable.
He suddenly frowned and said impatiently:
"You're Ci, right? Listen carefully—"
Seiichiro paused, narrowing his eyes slightly:
"Don't expect me to help you on this mission."
[Uchiha Seiichiro's hatred for you has increased.]
Uchiha Ci glanced at the subtitles that suddenly appeared before his eyes, raised his eyebrows slightly, and then replied calmly, "Don't worry, Seiichiro-senpai."
"I won't hold you back."
"Haha, seems like you still don't understand what you've done!" Seiichiro's face darkened upon hearing Uchiha Ci's polite reply.
"I don't know why the Great Elder chose you for this mission."
"However, according to our faction's original plan, this mission was supposed to be carried out by three clansmen of Jonin level."
"In the end, because of your little ninja games, the Great Elder changed his mind. For no good reason, I, a mere Chunin, got dragged into this dangerous mess!"
Uchiha Seiichiro's eyes gradually turned colder, and he snorted coldly.
"You have no idea what kind of lunatics you're going to face on this mission!"
"Without the Sharingan, you're no different from a plaything in front of those maniacs!"
Uchiha Ci raised his eyebrows slightly. What was in the Land of Yu(Hot Water)? How could he not know after reading the original work?
The destination of this mission.
The people in Hell Valley of the Land of Yu are none other than the Chinoike [Blood Pond] Clan.
Their Ketsuryūgan [Blood Dragon Eyes] reflect a hatred for the Uchiha clan that has lasted from the Warring States Period until now!
Uchiha Seiichiro was actually right.
Without the Sharingan, he had no advantage against the Ketsuryūgan, another dojutsu Kekkei Genkai.
The Ketsuryūgan, this ocular Kekkei Genkai, is very similar to the Sharingan, and both require intense emotional stimulation to awaken.
Unlike the Sharingan, once the Ketsuryūgan is awakened, it possesses abilities like hypnotic suggestion, illusion amplification, blood release ninjutsu, and creating human bombs simultaneously, making it comparable to the two Tomoe Sharingan.
As the ocular power increases, even more terrifying abilities may emerge.
For an Uchiha who hasn't awakened his eyes or has just awakened them, being completely outmatched in bloodline ability against a Chinoike clan ninja is almost a guaranteed loss.
Moreover, the Chinoike clan has been living year-round in a godforsaken place like Hell Valley, where birds don't even crap; everyone has developed exquisite physical skills to hunt birds for food.
Their throwing skills are at least at a proficient level.
Conventional ninjutsu is also countered by their blood ninjutsu, which alters the properties of water in the environment of a blood pool filled with boiling hot springs.
Crushed in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu—all three areas.
Facing such hellish difficulty, even if Uchiha Ci possesses the superb Uchiha-style silk shuriken technique, he can only stare blankly.
Just don't be too perfect.
Ahem, Uchiha Ci means, What a formidable enemy.
He will do his utmost to overcome it!
"Whatever, what would a little brat like you understand even if I told you?" Uchiha Seiichiro took a swig from the bottle and murmured to himself, looking somewhat dazed.
"I just opened the second tomoe... why, why does it have to be me?"
He squatted down, holding his head in his hands, pain and fear on his face.
Uchiha Ci looked at Uchiha Seiichiro squatting on the ground, pursed his lips slightly, sighed, stepped forward and patted his shoulder, then fell silent.
What he had worried about had still happened.
Because of him, the plot had changed, dragging this poor guy into it.
Although the two weren't familiar, Uchiha Ci still felt a bit of pressure in his heart.
He shook his head and could only say seriously in the end:
"Seiichiro-senpai, don't worry, my stance remains the same."
"If someone must die, it will be me."
Uchiha Ci spoke with grave emphasis.
"You just need to protect yourself. I am already mentally prepared to die!"
"What did you say?" Uchiha Seiichiro raised his head, surprise in his tone.
Then, his expression darkened slightly, and he sighed.
In his opinion, Uchiha Ci was still too naive, speaking without thinking.
Only when this kid truly faced death would he understand what fear was.
Being from the same clan, what he had said today was already too much; he couldn't bear to be too harsh on the other party.
After all, Uchiha Ci was still just a child now.
"Forget it, forget it. This is my fate."
For a moment, as if resigned to his fate, Uchiha Seiichiro carried the bottle of alcohol, swayed past Uchiha Ci, and staggered toward the road home.
Under the clear light of the full moon, his disheveled figure looked like a lost dog that couldn't find its way home.
Suddenly, Seiichiro turned his head slightly and asked in a deep voice:
"Kid, can you tell me the reason? The reason you did this?"
Uchiha Ci was slightly taken aback.
He scratched his head, looking somewhat embarrassed.
You can't just say it's for insurance fraud.
For a long time,
Uchiha Ci stood in the cold wind blowing against his face, under the cold, ruthless moonlight, and the elongated shadow of the massive Hokage Mountain.
He slowly clenched his hand into a fist and placed it on his chest, over his heart.
"Reason?"
Uchiha Ci's face was obscured in shadow, but the tone that followed was as sharp as a knife piercing a vulnerable heart.
"I often wonder, what can a mediocre ninja like me accomplish?"
"What is the meaning of the village? Of Uchiha?"
"But after thinking it over, in the end, I can only confirm one thing."
"Without power, nothing can be accomplished."
"Therefore, I am willing to throw myself into the flames of war to search for the path for the existence of my medical insurance and these eyes between life and death!"
"Then, use these eyes to illuminate the world!"
"Recast the glory that belongs to me, Uchiha Ci!"
Looking at Uchiha Ci standing upright in the cold wind, as firm as a statue,
"Oh?"
Uchiha Seiichiro looked at such an Uchiha Ci, nodded slightly, his expression softening a little, recalling what Lord Shisui—also a dove but of extremely noble status—had said to him earlier when he found him.
"I see."
After a moment of silence, Uchiha Seiichiro left these words and departed.
Uchiha Ci, left behind, was confused, his eyes evasive and his face puzzled as he scratched his head.
"No, what the hell did you understand?"
Thump thump thump (sound of frustration). Everything I wanted to say is just falling on deaf ears, you know.