"Ci-kun." Shisui Uchiha stepped forward and patted Uchiha Ci on the shoulder.
He had keenly noticed Uchiha Ci's shudder just now.
However, Shisui had graduated early and was still young, so he was short as a little radish. His attempt to comfort someone looked rather comical.
"You don't need to worry too much. I didn't expect Elder Setsuna to personally lead this mission either. Looking at it that way, the danger on your end should be fairly low."
Shisui Uchiha smiled kindly and offered reassurance.
He had clearly chosen the more dangerous Battlefield of the Land of Rain, yet he was the one comforting Uchiha Ci here.
Uchiha Ci came back to his senses and stared at him lifelessly.
Damn it, stealing my pig-feeding job was one thing, but you stole the suicide job too?
Can you act like a human being?
"Ci-kun, I still need to finish my mission before tomorrow's assembly, so I'll be taking my leave."
Shisui Uchiha waved the C-Rank Mission dossier he had just accepted, then bade him farewell and left.
After Shisui left, Uchiha Ci's gaze flickered slightly.
Was the danger level of the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Water really that low?
That was far from certain.
Night had fallen. The round moon emerged from the clouds, its clear radiance spreading across the earth.
Inside the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Uchiha Setsuna, wearing wooden clogs, impassively slid open the wooden door.
In the small room, a sea of crimson eyes lit up at once.
"Great Elder!"
Amid the overlapping greetings, Uchiha Setsuna sat cross-legged at the foremost seat in the center of the room.
Seated beside him was the Hawk Faction's Second-in-command, Uchiha Yashiro.
Below them sat nearly a hundred clan members, all Chunin rank or above from the Uchiha Clan, all with their Sharingan activated.
This was the foundation of the Hawk Faction.
"Great Elder, hadn't it already been decided that we would send a team of capable clan members to support the Land of Hot Water?"
Yashiro frowned slightly and asked:
"Why is there a Genin on the list? And a Genin who hasn't even awakened the Sharingan?"
"Didn't you explain the dangers of this mission to the clan members?"
Uchiha Setsuna picked up his teacup, glanced at Yashiro, and said flatly, "I will be going personally on this mission."
"With me alone, it will be enough."
"But this isn't simply a matter of the Chinoike Clan stirring up trouble and the guard pressure increasing." Uchiha Yashiro frowned as he analyzed the situation.
"The Land of Hot Water lies between the Land of Fire, the Land of Lightning, and the Land of Water. On top of that, Iwagakure and Suna have recently fought several small-scale battles with Kirigakure. This place has already fallen into extreme chaos."
"Spies and combat units from every country are all mixed together there, along with the many Minor Organizations that emerged among the smaller nations after the Second Shinobi World War—the Xuanyuan Group, the Hannya Group, the Evil God Cult, Earth Spider, the remnants of the destroyed Kagerō Village, Kirisame and the Pursuing Ninja from Kirigakure, Iwagakure's Explosive Force, Rasa, who is earning war merits on the Kirigakure Frontline to become Kazekage, and bounty hunters from the Underground Exchange."
"That place has become a complete mess." Uchiha Yashiro shook his head with a grave expression, feeling that Uchiha Setsuna was being somewhat overconfident.
In a situation like this, even if the Third Hokage personally entered the fray, he might not gain any advantage.
Uchiha Setsuna might have been a veteran Uchiha from the Warring States Period, but bringing only one Genin and one Chunin still seemed rather inappropriate no matter how one looked at it.
But the clan's manpower was not particularly abundant either. The Security Department's members were restricted by Konoha and could not leave the village without cause.
Uchiha Yashiro suddenly suggested, "Perhaps we could request assistance from Konoha?"
"Enough." Uchiha Setsuna set down his teacup, his tone calm yet unquestionable.
"With me alone, it will be enough!"
"Yashiro, the mission to guard the Valley of Hell did not come from Konoha. It is a long-term mission personally entrusted to the Uchiha by the Daimyo of the Land of Lightning, and one of the few moneybags we still have."
"Do not build your sense of security on others, especially Konoha, Sarutobi, and Danzo." Uchiha Setsuna raised his head. A pair of Crimson Sharingan gleamed in his eyes, cold enough to terrify.
"Only matters you can decide for yourself count. When others hand something to you, you have to bow and scrape like a dog to accept it. The day you displease them, they can kick you aside at any time."
Uchiha Yashiro fell silent at those words.
Ninja were combat tools detached from production. Aside from their ancestral holdings and real estate within Konoha, the Uchiha's only source of wealth came from the income developed by Clan Ninja completing large-scale missions accepted by the clan.
The mission of guarding the Chinoike Clan paid the equivalent of an S-Rank Mission every year.
Long-term and stable.
That was the root reason Uchiha Setsuna would not allow Konoha to meddle in this mission.
Thud.
Uchiha Ci had just pulled open the front door of his residence.
A dirt-covered young man wearing goggles fell from a tree in the courtyard.
Uchiha Ci immediately saw that the guy had fallen because his Chakra output had been uneven during Tree Walking training, causing him to lose his grip on the trunk.
"Obito, what are you doing again?"
Looking at this uninvited visitor, Uchiha Ci was somewhat speechless.
This was Obito, who had only graduated from the Ninja Academy last year.
He was also Uchiha Ci's current neighbor.
"Oh, it's Ci. Hahaha, I'm preparing for the Chunin Ninja Exams!" Obito Uchiha scratched the back of his head and laughed awkwardly before looking indignant.
"That damn Kakashi actually used his Chunin status to pressure me, saying I had to follow his orders!"
"It was obviously just an easy mission to catch a cat!"
"Once my training succeeds, I'll shove my Chunin Vest right in his face!" Obito Uchiha angrily recounted what had happened.
Uchiha Ci was slightly stunned after hearing it, then came to a realization.
Without realizing it, he had already spent a whole year in this still relatively peaceful Konoha.
Only then did he realize the timeline had reached this point. Obito had already formed a three-man team with Kakashi and Rin Nohara last year, led by Namikaze Minato, and they had been carrying out D-Rank Missions for some time.
However, Obito's wish of becoming a Chunin this year would probably not come true.
The Ninja World War was about to erupt. As an elite Jonin, Namikaze Minato would soon head to the front lines, and this team could only follow Minato around throughout the year.
Only after the Land of Lightning eased its offensive, giving Konoha a brief chance to catch its breath, would the Chunin Ninja Exams be held in Konoha Year 48.
That was also when Obito was severely injured by a single kick from Might Guy. Though he lost, he was ultimately promoted to Chunin.
"What are you spacing out for? Grandma cooked noodles. Hurry over and eat." Obito waved a hand before Uchiha Ci's face and asked with his head tilted.
"Alright, I'll put my things down first." Uchiha Ci nodded and did not refuse the invitation.
On his way back, he had passed by the river and retrieved his fork and shoes.
However, an entire sack of sellable cans had vanished along with the bag. He had no idea which bastard had made off with them.
Uchiha Ci cursed inwardly. Times really had changed for the worse.
Would something like this have happened in Konoha last year?
It was only because the Uchiha Clan of the Security Department had recently been preoccupied with meetings due to the approaching war,
and had no time to handle such matters.
That the petty theft in Konoha had become so rampant.
Before you continue