"Three tomoe."
"How is that possible. Wasn't Uchiha Jin a waste."
"You hid your strength on purpose, but why."
Looking into Jin's eyes, the three tomoe spun. Yoshio, Ryo, and Isamu trembled so hard their bones felt cold.
Terrifying.
For the Uchiha, the Sharingan meant everything.
With three tomoe open, no one could still believe Jin was trash.
But why hide it.
In their minds, if you had power, you flaunted it, earned better training, killed more enemies on the front, and let the world witness the Uchiha's glory.
Jin, sparked to kill, had no interest in answering.
The dead did not need explanations.
Six Powers, Shave!
In a heartbeat his feet stamped the ground dozens of times.
THOOM! Air cracked, and Jin's figure vanished from their sight.
So fast.
Even their Sharingan caught only the faintest blur.
The next second, slipping past the Great Fireball and the rain of blades, he blinked into place behind Yoshio.
Six Powers, Finger Pistol!
THUD!
His right forefinger snapped out. Chakra condensed to a bullet at the tip. Bone shattered. A black hole burst open in Yoshio's chest.
The heart was pulp in an instant.
"…"
"…"
Isamu and Ryo went stiff, scalp prickling, Sharingan wide with dread.
Even seeing the three tomoe, they had not truly grasped it. If they could not win, could they not at least run.
Yoshio had been one of the clan's elite.
One of the top chunin in the village.
Now he was dead in a single move, without a chance to resist.
The gap was too vast.
Regret flooded them.
Had they known Jin was this strong, they would never have come.
If you were this strong, why not say so earlier.
Insane.
Their mouths pleaded while their minds raced.
"Jin, spare us."
"We were forced. It was all Yoshio."
"We are small fry. Do not stoop to our level."
"You can trust us. We will forget today."
"I swear by the Sage of Six Paths, we will never speak a word."
"…"
They were not fools.
At Jin's speed, escape was impossible.
Begging was all they had.
It did not help.
Jin vanished again. In less than ten seconds, two more bodies hit the ground.
Like Yoshio, gaping holes in the chest. Hearts shredded to rags.
Jin stood where he was.
He looked down at the three corpses with a calm, frosty gaze.
As if he had stepped on three ants.
"Hmph. Begging."
"If begging worked, why train ninjutsu."
"Time to go."
He murmured and disappeared.
Silence returned to the forest edge.
Time slid by.
Roughly two hours later, a white figure budded from the earth like a plant.
He peered at the corpses and muttered.
"How pitiful. Holes right through the chest."
"That taijutsu was fierce. Was that brat really an Uchiha."
"Another fine sprout among Madara-sama's kin."
"An unexpected harvest."
"I should report this to Madara-sama at once."
He turned to leave.
A blur slammed into being beside him.
Six Powers, Rankyaku - White Thunder!
A figure too fast to follow whipped through the air in a tight backflip and carved a pale blue line.
The white creature stared, blank.
Before a thought could form, his body split in two.
In the next heartbeat, Jin, who had already left, appeared again.
Arms folded, face composed.
He glanced down at the white thing and spoke in a low voice.
"I knew it."
"Madara is not dead yet. How could Konoha, especially the Uchiha, be without White Zetsu watching."
"Good thing I am cautious. I walk the way of lying low."
"Otherwise that old corpse would have me pinned already."
He sighed.
Then he looked at White Zetsu at his feet and called inward.
"System, out."
"Do not pretend to be stupid. Storage space is standard. Do not think I do not know."
"Hurry up. Hand it over."
He was a bit nervous.
He had no idea whether this lazy system had a storage space.
In a word, he was bluffing.
DING. The host is noisy.
Storage space delivered. Stop bothering me.
Later.
At the voice, he exhaled.
Guessed right.
Without another word he stowed White Zetsu, then left.
Quiet returned to the forest edge.
Time slipped on.
More than two hours later Jin appeared again.
"Good."
"Looks like I did not get tailed."
"Now for business."
He dashed to his backyard and started digging.
About ten minutes later, he unearthed—
A corpse. Encased in ice, a Cloud forehead protector still on the brow.
Jin fell into thought.
Two years ago.
He had been a third-year student, getting ready for bed, when a Cloud ninja slipped into his home.
After he caught the intruder, he pried out the truth.
The Cloud team was hunting bloodline limits.
Uchiha. Hyuga. All fair game.
This one had been unlucky, running into Jin, a pig in a tiger's skin.
Jin killed him quietly. Something told him the body would be useful later.
So he froze it in ice.
And now, it was.