At this moment, the scene was completely silent—you could hear a pin drop.
The Uchiha clan members wore expressions of terror, not daring to breathe.
They feared that if they did, Uchiha Setsuna would slice Tsukasa into pieces right then and there!
Under the watchful eyes of the crowd, Setsuna's face was now as dark as the bottom of a cooking pot.
Even the most patient man could no longer tolerate such reckless defiance from Tsukasa.
Setsuna's eyes flashed with a cold crimson glow, and three tomoe slowly spun within his Sharingan as he stared directly at Tsukasa.
An extremely suppressed killing intent gradually spread throughout the hall.
It seemed as if the Great Elder was about to unsheathe the long sword from his back and cut Tsukasa into pieces like sliced fruit!
But at this moment, the scrutinized Tsukasa had no time to pay attention to this oppressive aura.
He stared in bewilderment at the system messages that appeared before him:
[DING!]
You bravely confronted Uchiha Setsuna, gaining a random skill from the target: Uchiha Style - Wire Shuriken Manipulation Technique (Master Level).
Your Heart of Steel level has increased.
At that moment, Tsukasa was dazed as a vast stream of knowledge flooded his mind.
From the various shuriken throwing styles and steel wire materials to advanced techniques, hidden applications, and subtle power manipulation of ninja tools—all this knowledge flowed through his consciousness.
In an instant, he understood, analyzed, absorbed, and mastered techniques that normally required years to hone.
He overcame muscle memory that typically required life-and-death battles to inscribe into one's body—
Until he achieved complete mastery!
Tsukasa had gained master-level proficiency in the Uchiha Style Wire Shuriken Manipulation Technique!
"What?!"
"What the hell?" Tsukasa was stunned.
Seriously, with this level of shuriken technique, even the Fuma Shuriken that Sasuke wielded in the original series wouldn't be worthy of carrying his equipment bag.
There were no shortcuts to mastering shurikenjutsu—it could only be accumulated through countless hours of practice.
This level of skill required at least the same proficiency as the one-armed Sasuke who fought Otsutsuki Momoshiki to match him.
Yet he had achieved it through a single direct confrontation with Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna!
However, Tsukasa felt somewhat relieved when he thought of Setsuna's terrifying record of attempting to assassinate the Second Hokage and still surviving.
Is this the confidence of the older generation of Uchiha masters?
This... this is honestly incredible numerical growth!
Amazing!
But why hasn't the Great Elder cut me down yet?
Three full minutes of tense silence passed.
Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna finally turned his head away, speechless.
He had confirmed that this Uchiha Tsukasa was a complete fool, utterly unaware of danger.
Under his terrifying killing intent, the boy seemed completely unfazed, just staring blankly at empty air.
If this continued, the situation would become awkward.
Setsuna snorted coldly: "Since you're so eager to die for Konoha, there's nothing I can do to stop you."
"You—step forward!"
Tsukasa shuddered, regaining his focus and looking up at the Great Elder. Instead of showing joy at receiving a mission, his face was filled with confusion.
Wait, this isn't how the script was supposed to go!
Tsukasa had just spoken to Setsuna with the intention of being killed on the spot.
He was almost ready to let out some maniacal laughter...
But Great Elder, why didn't you kill me?
You should have just cut me down with your sword!
A hawkish leader like you—can't you show some backbone?
"Tsukasa-kun," Shisui sighed.
From Tsukasa's expression, it was clear the young man was fully aware of the dangers of war.
Look at his face, pale with fear.
But even so, he bravely stepped forward.
In that case—
Shisui activated his Sharingan and walked out of the crowd. He said solemnly to Setsuna:
"Great Elder, we're still short one genin for this mission. Please allow me to join."
Setsuna frowned slightly as he watched Shisui approach, his gaze falling on the young man's scarlet Sharingan. "You're Kagami's grandson, aren't you? Shisui?"
"Yes. And please allow me to be selfish just this once—I want to choose the mission to the Land of Rain."
Upon hearing this, Setsuna remained silent, merely glancing briefly at Shisui before moving on to continue assigning tasks to the other shinobi.
This was tacit approval.
As the leader of the Uchiha clan's hawk faction, Setsuna naturally conflicted with the dove faction, and Shisui's development wasn't something he needed to worry about.
Within the dove faction, a prodigy with connections—someone who had graduated early from the Academy, awakened the Sharingan, and was the grandson of a former clan leader—would naturally be nurtured with the utmost care.
Compared to Shisui, Setsuna was currently more troubled by the issue of Uchiha Tsukasa.
Although the hawk faction's philosophy of cultivating talent was to throw children off a cliff—those who could fly would naturally become soaring eagles, while those who couldn't would fall to the valley floor and become fertilizer, which might be considered a mercy in these increasingly chaotic times.
But Tsukasa... he hadn't even fully matured yet, and he was already thinking about taking flight. His stubbornness was simply astounding.
Even he, a leader known for his extreme hawkish views, felt this kid was a bit too extreme...
Soon, all personnel were assigned. Setsuna glanced coldly at the crowd and announced indifferently:
"For the Land of Rain battlefield: a team consisting of Jonin Uchiha Shinichi as captain, Chunin Uchiha Tetsuo as second-in-command, and Genin Uchiha Shisui will report to the border camp to await further orders. A messenger hawk has been dispatched, and Uchiha members will be there to receive you."
"I have a special warning for all of you: your lives belong to the Uchiha—to yourselves—not to Konoha. You'd better understand this!"
"For the Land of Hot Water's Hell Valley: a team consisting of myself as captain, Chunin Uchiha Seiichiro as second-in-command, and Genin Uchiha Tsukasa will reinforce the Hell Valley garrison."
"Team members will meet at the village entrance tomorrow morning at 0800 hours."
"That's all. Dismissed!"
Setsuna, always a man of swift and decisive action, announced the missions and vanished instantly using the Body Flicker Technique.
The assembled shinobi exchanged glances for a moment but didn't linger—the Police Force headquarters couldn't remain unattended.
Soon, only Shisui and the contemplative Tsukasa remained in the hall.
Tsukasa frowned slightly.
Because of Shisui's interference, he had ultimately been assigned to Hell Valley.
He would have preferred the meat-grinder battlefield of the Land of Rain.
The conflict there would last for years, from the eve of the Third Great Ninja War until its conclusion. During this time, the combined forces of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure would advance the front, pushing from the Land of Rain all the way into the Land of Fire.
Finally, the Battle of Kikyo Pass—Konoha's most devastating defeat during the Third Great Ninja War—would erupt.
Therefore, Tsukasa had desperately wanted that assignment, because it was a genuine meat-grinder battlefield.
But his influence was negligible, and getting any dangerous mission was already fortunate.
He could only accept the assignment—there was nothing else he could do.
He was preoccupied with another issue entirely.
In the original timeline, without his interference, Shisui would have been assigned to the Land of Hot Water and then joined the fight against Kirigakure.
Without Tsukasa taking the initiative to grab a spot, the dove faction would never have allowed Shisui to make such a willful choice. Even if Shisui had stepped forward, he would definitely have been assigned to the relatively safer Mist front.
That's where the legend of "Shisui of the Body Flicker" was born.
Now, because of his appearance, the timeline had begun to change quietly, like a butterfly's wings creating a hurricane.
Would Shisui die in the Land of Rain because of this change?
Without Shisui in the future, would Itachi awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan and become the one who slaughtered the entire clan?
Tsukasa suddenly realized that his very presence—his desire to commit insurance fraud and the choices he had made—had silently changed many things.
Ahead, it seemed as if a dark fog had descended, obscuring everything.
This made him shudder with unease.
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End of Chapter 4
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