At this moment,
The field was silent, so quiet that one could hear a pin drop.
The Uchiha clan members looked horrified, not daring to breathe.
Afraid that even a single breath,
Uchiha Shana might immediately cut down Uchiha Jin on the spot!
Under the gaze of everyone, Uchiha Shana's face was now as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Provoked so recklessly by Uchiha Jin, even if he had a good temper, he was starting to lose it!
Only Uchiha Shana's eyes gleamed with crimson cold light, three Tomoe revolving slowly within his Sharingan, glaring directly at Uchiha Jin.
An extremely oppressive killing intent gradually spread throughout the hall.
As if in the next moment, this elder would draw the longsword from his back and chop Uchiha Jin into pieces like cutting fruit!
However, at this moment, Uchiha Jin, who was being watched, didn't have the time to pay attention to this oppressive atmosphere at all. Right now, he was staring blankly at the subtitles appearing before his eyes.
[Ding!]
[You bravely just clashed with Uchiha Shana and obtained a random skill from the target: Uchiha Style - Manipulating Threads Shuriken Jutsu (Mystical Grade).]
[Your Heart of Steel layer count has increased.]
In an instant,
Uchiha Jin blanked out for a moment, a massive stream of knowledge pouring into his mind.
From various shuriken styles to the material of threads, and from techniques of Ninja Tool Throwing to the skills of hidden strength and delicate force, knowledge flooded through his mind.
In the blink of an eye, he comprehended, analyzed, mastered, became proficient, crossing one hurdle after another that would normally require time and effort.
Again and again, he crossed thresholds that required engraving into muscle memory amidst life and death struggles,
until —
Mystical Grade Achieved!
Uchiha Jin had mastered the Mystical Grade Uchiha Style - Manipulating Threads Shuriken Jutsu!
"Hmm?!"
"What... what's going on?" Uchiha Jin was dumbfounded.
No kidding, a Shuriken Jutsu of this level would make the windmill shuriken young Sasuke played with in the original story look like child's play.
There are no shortcuts in mastering Shuriken Jutsu; it can only be accumulated over time.
To reach this level of Shuriken Jutsu, one would at least need to be on par with Sasuke who lost his arm battling Otsutsuki Momoshiki.
But just like that, he clashed head-on with Elder Uchiha Shana and actually obtained it!
However, thinking about Uchiha Shana's terrifying record of surviving an assassination attempt on the Second Hokage, Uchiha Jin felt reassured.
Is this the confidence of the older generation of Uchiha artists?
This... this... honestly, it's worthy of the Heart of Steel, it has a kind of beauty in its value!
Awesome!
But why hasn't the Elder chopped me down yet?
On the field,
Silence lasted for three whole minutes before Elder Uchiha Shana turned his head with a somewhat speechless expression.
He finally confirmed that this Uchiha Jin was just a reckless youth who had no idea what fear was at all. Even under his terrifying killing intent, this kid seemed completely unaffected, staring back at him with wide eyes.
If they kept staring like this, the situation would become awkward.
Only then did Uchiha Shana snort coldly:
"Since you're so eager to die for Konoha, I can't stop you."
"You, step forward!"
Uchiha Jin immediately jolted, snapped out of his trance, and looked up at the Elder. There was no joy on his face from receiving a mission; instead, he looked bewildered.
Wait a minute, this script isn't right!
Just a moment ago, Uchiha Jin was ready to sacrifice himself on the spot and said such words to Uchiha Shana.
He was just short of chuckling sinisterly...
But Elder, why aren't you chopping me down?
Why not just casually slice me with a knife!
You, a hawkish big shot, can't you show a bit of manly spirit?
"Excuse me." Uchiha Shisui couldn't help but sigh.
Looking at Uchiha Jin's expression, it was clear how dangerous war really was; this young man understood it very well.
Look at him, even Shisui's face has gone pale.
But even so, he bravely stepped forward.
"Since that's the case..."
Uchiha Shisui activated his Sharingan and walked out from the crowd, speaking solemnly to Uchiha Shana:
"Elder, the mission is still short of one Genin. Please allow me to join the battle."
Uchiha Shana looked at the approaching Uchiha Shisui, furrowing his brow slightly, his gaze falling on Shisui's crimson Sharingan.
"You're Kagami descendant, Shisui?"
"Yes, and allow me to be a bit willful this time. I wish to choose the mission to the Land of Rain."
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Shana remained silent, merely giving Shisui a brief glance before moving on to assign tasks to other ninjas.
This was tacit approval.
As the leader of the hawk faction within the Uchiha clan,
he naturally had an adversarial relationship with the dove faction, and Shisui's development was something he didn't need to worry about.
Within the dove faction, someone who graduated early from the Ninja Academy, awakened the Sharingan, and was the genius grandson of the former Clan Head, naturally received nanny-like nurturing throughout.
Compared to Shisui, what Uchiha Shana was more concerned about now was Uchiha Jin's issue.
Although the hawk faction itself adhered to the philosophy of talent development by throwing children off cliffs.
Those who could fly naturally soared freely, becoming hawks with free will.
Those who couldn't ended up as a lump of dog shit at the bottom of the valley. Perhaps in these increasingly chaotic times, this was considered a kind of fortune.
But Uchiha Jin...
He hadn't even grown all his feathers, yet he was already thinking about flying. The level of his stubbornness was simply astonishing.
Even he, as an extremely radical hawk faction leader, felt that this kid might be a bit too extreme...
Soon, the personnel allocation was complete. Uchiha Shana coldly scanned the crowd and announced indifferently:
"For the Land of Rain battlefield, Jonin Shinichi will serve as Squad Captain, with Special Assistants and Genin Shisui forming the team. They will depart first to the border camp and await further instructions. The Hawk Messenger Scroll has been sent, and Uchiha members will provide support in due time."
"As for you all, I want to emphasize one thing: your lives belong to the Uchiha, to yourselves, but not to Konoha. You'd better understand this clearly!"
"For the Land of Hot Water, Valley of Hell, I myself will serve as Squad Captain, with Chunin Seiichiro and Genin Jin forming the team, rushing to reinforce the Valley of Hell garrison."
"Team members, assemble at the village gate tomorrow morning at eight o'clock."
"That's all. Dismissed!"
Uchiha Shana was always decisive in style. Immediately after announcing the tasks, he disappeared with a Body Flicker technique.
The ninjas present glanced at each other for a moment, then dispersed without hesitation. The security department did not tolerate idleness.
Soon, only Uchiha Shisui and the contemplative Uchiha Jin remained in the hall.
Uchiha Jin furrowed his brows slightly.
Due to Shisui's interruption, he ended up with the assignment to go to the Valley of Hell.
In comparison, he would have preferred to go to the meat grinder battlefield in the Land of Rain.
The Land of Rain battlefield had been in continuous conflict since the eve of the Shinobi War until its end, spanning five full years. During this time, the forces of Iwa, Suna, and Kumo collaborated, pushing the front lines from the Land of Rain all the way into the Land of Fire.
In the end,
the most devastating battle for Konoha in the Third Great Ninja War erupted —
the Battle of Mount Kikyo.
Therefore, Uchiha Jin preferred to go to this place because it was genuine and truly comparable to a meat grinder battlefield.
However, he considered another question quietly.
In the original storyline, without his involvement, Uchiha Shisui would likely only have been able to choose to go to the Land of Hot Water and later integrate into the frontline against the Hidden Mist. Without Uchiha Jin taking the initiative to seize a spot, the dovish faction would not have allowed Shisui to choose freely. Even if Shisui had stepped forward voluntarily, he would have been assigned to the relatively safer frontline against the Mist.
Then came the emergence of the renowned "Body Flicker" Shisui.
Now,
because of his appearance, the plotline has quietly begun to change, like a butterfly flapping its wings.
Will Uchiha Shisui die in the Land of Rain because of this?
Without Shisui's subsequent actions, would Uchiha Itachi still unlock the Mangekyo Sharingan and become the lunatic who massacred the entire clan?
Uchiha Jin suddenly realized
that his appearance itself, his determination to deceive, the choices he made, had silently altered many things.
Ahead, it seemed a thick fog had already enveloped everything, obscuring visibility as far as the eye could see.
This sent a shiver down his spine.