"Get lost! This is a respectable establishment! No minors allowed!"
With a harsh shout, two burly men tossed Neo Uchiha out the door.
Neo Uchiha climbed to his feet, cursing under his breath.
"Damn it! How can a place that doesn't allow minors call itself respectable?"
"Heh—tui!"
Hearing the commotion from outside, the villagers inside the building turned to look at Neo with curious and judgmental gazes.
"You thought you could sneak in using a transformation jutsu? You think we wouldn't notice?" one of the doormen sneered, his face filled with disdain.
"Get lost already! If you don't, I'll call one of your clan elders to drag you back home!"
Neo Uchiha's shoulders hunched at the mention of his clan's elders.
He shot a fierce glare at the two doormen.
If public humiliation wasn't excluded from insurance coverage...
"Still peeking? You want me to start calling for backup?" The burly man wrinkled his nose, threatening to shout for reinforcements.
Neo quickly abandoned his inappropriate thoughts, covered his face, and slunk away from the alley in disgrace.
When he returned to the main street, only a few people remained out and about.
The full moon silently watched over the world.
A chilly spring wind, still carrying the remnants of winter's cold, brushed against Neo's face, sending a shiver down his spine and clearing his thoughts.
At that moment, Seijiro Uchiha—a member of the same clan and Neo's teammate—staggered out from an alley, clutching a bottle of sake.
Upon seeing Neo, Seijiro gave him a once-over, noticing the dust and dirt on his clothes. He chuckled mischievously.
"Well, well, if it isn't the pride of the Uchiha Clan!"
"Did you get thrown out?"
Neo Uchiha's expression tightened. "No. I just happened to get stepped on by an elephant while walking down the street."
Seijiro laughed, his face flushed from alcohol. A strong scent of sake wafted from him as he smiled smugly.
"Who hasn't had a few youthful mistakes?" Seijiro grinned as he swayed slightly. "I get it. I really do."
"But…" Seijiro's tone grew somber. His eyes flickered with conflicting emotions as if recalling something unpleasant.
"We're about to take on a mission like that one."
He furrowed his brow and spoke with sudden impatience:
"Neo, right? Listen carefully—"
Seijiro paused, narrowing his eyes.
"Don't expect me to help you on this mission."
[Seijiro Uchiha harbors resentment toward you.]
Neo Uchiha glanced at the floating message in front of him, raised an eyebrow, and calmly replied, "Understood, Seijiro-senpai."
"I won't slow you down."
"Hmph. You still don't understand what you've done, do you?" Seijiro's face darkened at Neo's indifferent response.
"I don't know why the Great Elder chose to send you on this mission."
"But this mission was originally assigned to three Jonin-level members of the clan."
"Now, because of your childish ninja games, the Great Elder changed the lineup—and dragged a Chunin like me into this deathtrap!"
Seijiro's gaze grew colder, and he let out a bitter laugh.
"You have no idea what kind of monsters you're about to face on this mission."
"Without a Sharingan, you're nothing but a plaything to those lunatics!"
Neo Uchiha raised an eyebrow. The Blood Pond Clan? Of course, he knew what awaited them—he'd seen it all in the original storyline.
Their destination was the Hell Valley of the Land of Hot Water.
And within that valley resided the Blood Pond Clan.
Their Blood Dragon Eyes reflected their hatred for the Uchiha Clan, a grudge that had endured since the Warring States period.
Seijiro wasn't wrong.
Without a Sharingan, Neo Uchiha would have no advantage against opponents with the Blood Dragon Eyes.
The Blood Dragon Eye was a dojutsu very similar to the Sharingan, activated through intense emotional stimulation.
But unlike the Sharingan, once the Blood Dragon Eye was awakened, it granted multiple abilities simultaneously: hypnotic vision, enhanced genjutsu, blood-based ninjutsu, and even human bombs—abilities comparable to a two-tomoe Sharingan.
And as the user's ocular power increased, they could develop even more terrifying abilities.
For Uchiha without fully matured Sharingan, going up against the Blood Pond Clan was a death sentence.
The Blood Pond Clan had survived for generations in the desolate Hell Valley, honing their taijutsu to hunt birds for food.
Their skill with thrown weapons was at least at the master level.
And in the hot spring-filled Blood Pools, their blood-based water-style ninjutsu completely countered standard ninjutsu.
Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu—utterly overwhelming.
For Neo Uchiha, even with his expert-level Uchiha-style wire-shuriken technique, he would be left powerless in such an environment.
It was an almost impossibly perfect enemy.
Ahem. Neo Uchiha thought to himself: What I meant was—they're remarkable opponents.
I will give my all to defeat them!
"Enough." Seijiro took a swig from his bottle, his expression distant and pained.
"I've only just awakened my two-tomoe Sharingan… Why was I chosen for this?"
He clutched his head in anguish and sank to the ground, his face filled with fear.
Neo Uchiha watched Seijiro crouch down, sighed softly, and placed a hand on his shoulder in silent support.
What he feared had happened—
His actions had altered the storyline and dragged an innocent man into this mess.
Though Neo didn't know Seijiro well, he felt the weight of responsibility.
He shook his head and finally spoke seriously:
"Seijiro-senpai, don't worry. I'll say it again—"
"If someone has to die, that person will be me."
Neo's voice was heavy.
"All you need to do is protect yourself. I've been prepared to die from the start."
Seijiro raised his head, stunned.
Then, his expression darkened as he sighed.
To Seijiro, Neo was still too naive—his words came from inexperience.
Only when Neo faced death head-on would he understand what true fear was.
Even though Seijiro had been harsh, he felt reluctant to berate the boy any further.
After all, Neo Uchiha was still just a kid.
"Forget it, forget it… This is just my fate."
Accepting his situation, Seijiro swayed as he staggered past Neo, heading home with the bottle in hand.
Under the moonlight, his stumbling figure resembled a stray dog that had lost its way home.
Suddenly, Seijiro turned his head slightly and asked in a low voice:
"Kid… can you tell me why you're willing to go this far?"
Neo Uchiha froze for a moment, scratching his head awkwardly.
I can't exactly say it's for the insurance payout…
After a pause—
Neo stood in the cold wind, beneath the merciless moonlight, his shadow cast long by the towering Hokage Rock behind him.
He slowly clenched his hand into a fist and pressed it to his chest.
"The reason, huh…"
Neo's face was unreadable, but his voice was as sharp as a blade, cutting through weakness.
"I often wonder… what can a mediocre ninja like me achieve?"
"What is the meaning of the village… and the Uchiha Clan?"
"But no matter how much I think about it, I always come back to one conclusion."
"Without power, you can do nothing."
"So, I'm willing to throw myself into the flames of battle. To seek the insurance I need through fire and death. To find the path that these eyes exist for!"
"And then—use these eyes to light up the world!"
Seijiro Uchiha watched Neo stand tall in the freezing wind, as unyielding as a statue.
"…Is that so?"
Seijiro nodded slightly, his expression softening as he remembered what Shisui Uchiha, the noble pacifist, had told him earlier.
"I understand."
After a moment of silence, Seijiro left, leaving Neo staring after him, bewildered and scratching his head.
"…Wait—what the hell did you even understand?!"
Bang bang! Everything I meant is right there on the floor—figure it out!
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Powerstones?