At this moment,
The room fell into complete silence.
You could hear a pin drop.
All the Uchiha present looked utterly shocked, not even daring to take a single breath.
They were afraid that if they exhaled too loudly, Setsuna Uchiha would lose it and cut Neo Uchiha into pieces right then and there!
Standing in the center of everyone's gaze, Setsuna's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.
Having been rebuked by Neo so recklessly, even someone with as much restraint as Setsuna was struggling to keep calm.
Setsuna's eyes flashed with a crimson glow. The three tomoe of his Sharingan slowly rotated as they locked onto Neo.
A murderous aura, heavy and oppressive, spread throughout the hall.
It seemed like at any second, the elder would draw the long blade from his back and dice Neo like a piece of fruit.
However, Neo—being the focus of all this pressure—was too preoccupied to care.
At this moment, he was staring in bewilderment at the text appearing before his eyes:
[Ding!]
[You bravely stood up to Setsuna Uchiha and obtained a random skill from the target: Uchiha-Style Wire-Controlled Shuriken Technique (Mastery Level: Sublime).]
[Your Heart of Steel layer has increased.]
In that instant,
Neo felt a massive stream of knowledge pour into his mind.
From the various types of shurikens to the properties of steel wire, from throwing techniques to applying force, subtle adjustments, and precise timing—all of it flashed through his consciousness.
In the blink of an eye, he understood, analyzed, mastered, and surpassed the countless barriers that normally required years of training.
He transcended the muscle memory forged through brushes with life and death,
Until he reached—
Sublime Mastery!
Neo had mastered the Uchiha-Style Wire-Controlled Shuriken Technique at a sublime level!
"Huh?!"
"What... what's going on?" Neo was dumbfounded.
No joke—this level of shuriken mastery made the childhood version of Sasuke's "Demon Wind Shuriken" trick look like child's play.
There were no shortcuts in mastering shuriken techniques—it required time and relentless practice.
To reach this level of mastery, you'd need to be at the level of Sasuke Uchiha fighting Momoshiki Otsutsuki with one arm missing before you could compare to Neo.
But somehow, just by standing his ground against Setsuna, Neo obtained this ability!
Then again, considering that Setsuna was a veteran who had assassinated the Second Hokage and lived to tell the tale, it made sense.
Is this the confidence of an Uchiha artist from the old generation?
Honestly... not bad at all. Heart of Steel really has an aesthetic beauty to it.
Amazing!
But wait—why hasn't the elder killed me yet?
In the hall,
Three minutes of silence passed.
Finally, Setsuna turned his head away in exasperation.
He had confirmed it—Neo really was just a reckless fool who didn't even know what fear was.
Under his terrifying murderous aura, this kid hadn't flinched at all. Instead, they were just staring at each other in a silent staring contest.
If they kept at it any longer, things were going to get awkward...
With a cold snort, Setsuna finally broke the silence:
"Since you're so eager to die for the Leaf, I won't stop you."
"You—step forward!"
Neo jolted, snapping out of his thoughts and looking up at the elder, his face filled with confusion rather than excitement.
Wait—this script doesn't feel right!
Neo had fully expected to die on the spot when he spoke out against Setsuna.
He was even ready to cackle like a lunatic as it happened...
But Elder, why haven't you killed me yet?!
Come on—swing your sword and end me!
You're a leader of the hawk faction! Can't you act a little more manly?
"Neo..." Shisui couldn't help but feel moved.
Looking at Neo's expression, Shisui knew how dangerous the battlefield was—and Neo knew it, too.
Look, Neo's face had gone pale from fear.
But even so, he still stepped forward bravely.
In that case...
Shisui activated his Sharingan, stepped out from the crowd, and spoke gravely to Setsuna:
"Elder, the mission team is missing one genin. Please allow me to participate."
Setsuna's eyebrows furrowed slightly as he looked at the scarlet Sharingan in Shisui's eyes.
"You're from Kagami's bloodline, right? Shisui?"
"Yes. Please allow me this one selfish request. I want to take on the mission to the Land of Rain."
Hearing this, Setsuna said nothing. He gave Shisui a brief glance before continuing to assign tasks to the other shinobi.
This silence meant tacit approval.
As the leader of the Uchiha hawk faction,
Setsuna naturally didn't get along with the doves. Besides, he didn't need to worry about Shisui's growth.
The dove faction would certainly pamper someone like Shisui—a genius who graduated early, awakened his Sharingan, and was the grandson of a former clan leader.
Compared to Shisui, Setsuna was more troubled by Neo.
The hawk faction's philosophy was to push their young off a cliff—
Those who could fly would soar like free eagles with their own will.
Those who couldn't would fall to the bottom and die—or maybe that was a lucky outcome in a chaotic era like this.
But Neo...
He wasn't even "fully fledged" yet and already thought he could fly. His stubbornness was astonishing.
Even someone as extreme as Setsuna found him a bit too much...
Soon, the assignments were complete.
Setsuna swept his gaze over the crowd and announced coldly:
"For the Land of Rain mission, Jonin Shinichi will act as the captain, supported by a Special Jonin and Genin Shisui. You will head to the border camp and await orders. The hawk messenger has already been sent—Uchiha members will rendezvous with you at that time."
"For the Hell Valley mission in the Land of Hot Water, I will act as the captain. Chunin Kiyoshiro and Genin Neo will form a squad with me to reinforce the defensive forces there."
"Mission members, assemble at the village gate tomorrow at 8 AM."
"That is all—dismissed!"
Setsuna always operated decisively—after issuing the orders, he vanished in a flash.
The remaining shinobi exchanged glances before departing. There was no room for idlers in the security division.
Before long, only Shisui and Neo were left in the hall.
Neo furrowed his brow.
Due to Shisui's intervention, Neo was assigned to the Hell Valley mission instead.
He would have preferred the battlefield in the Land of Rain—the true meat grinder of the war.
The conflict there had raged from the beginning to the end of the war, lasting a full five years. The combined forces of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure had pushed their way from the Land of Rain into the borders of the Land of Fire.
In the end,
It culminated in the most devastating battle of the Third Shinobi War—
The Battle of Kikyo Pass.
That's why Neo wanted to go there—it was a true grinder of flesh and bone.
But he was just a lowly genin, lucky enough to even receive a mission assignment.
There was no room for argument.
Neo was contemplating something else entirely.
In the original events, without his interference, Shisui would have been assigned to the Hell Valley mission instead and later joined the fight against Kirigakure.
Without Neo taking a slot, the dove faction wouldn't have let Shisui choose freely.
Eventually, Shisui would have been placed somewhere relatively "safe" and gained the title "Shisui of the Body Flicker."
Now,
Because of Neo's actions, the timeline had started to shift, like a butterfly flapping its wings.
Would Shisui now die in the Land of Rain?
Without Shisui, would Itachi awaken his Mangekyo Sharingan and become the clan-slaying madman he was in the original story?
Neo suddenly realized that his very existence, his desire to "cash out," and his choices had already begun to change many things.
Ahead of him, an ominous mist seemed to obscure his path.
He shivered violently.