Kiyochiro, the Blood Pond, and Rongguang

"Get lost, get lost! This is a legitimate establishment, minors are not allowed in!"

Amidst the rough scolding, Uchiha Ci was thrown out by two burly, strong big men.

Uchiha Ci, looking indignant, got up cursing.

"Damn it, you call this a legitimate establishment when you don't even let minors in?"

"Hmph!"

Hearing the commotion from Uchiha Ci's side, the villagers inside looked at him with strange expressions.

"You brat, you thought we wouldn't see through your Transformation Jutsu to sneak in?" the guard sneered, looking contemptuous.

"Get lost quickly, or I'll have your clan elders come pick you up!"

These words immediately made Uchiha Ci shrink his neck.

He glared fiercely at the two guard dogs.

If social death wasn't covered by insurance...

"Still peeking inside? Believe it or not, I'll call someone!" The big man wrinkled his nose and was about to shout inside.

Uchiha Ci quickly dismissed the lewd thoughts in his mind and shamefully covered his face, running out of the alley.

When he returned to the street, the road was already sparsely populated.

The full moon quietly watched over all things in the world.

The early spring wind, still carrying winter's chill, brushed against his face. Uchiha Ci shivered, his mind returning to calm.

At this moment, Uchiha Seiichiro, also from the clan and a member of Uchiha Ci's squad, ambled out of the alley, carrying a sake bottle.

Seeing Uchiha Ci, Seiichiro looked him up and down. Noticing the dusty marks on Uchiha Ci, he couldn't help but chuckle mischievously.

"Yo, isn't this the glory of our Uchiha Clan?"

"What, got thrown out?"

Uchiha Ci's face immediately tensed. "No, I was just walking down the street and got stepped on by an elephant."

"Heh, who hasn't had a time when they were young and foolish?" Seiichiro's face was flushed, and the smell of alcohol wafted from him as he chuckled mischievously.

"I understand, I understand."

"After all, I'm about to go on a mission like this."

Seiichiro's tone deepened slightly, and his gaze flickered a few times as he looked at Uchiha Ci, as if recalling something unbearable.

He suddenly frowned impatiently and said:

"Your name is Ci, right? Listen carefully—"

Seiichiro paused, his eyes narrowing slightly:

"Don't expect me to help you on this mission."

[Uchiha Seiichiro has developed hatred towards you.]

Uchiha Ci glanced at the subtitles that suddenly appeared before his eyes, his gaze slightly raised, then he replied calmly: "Don't worry, Senior Kiyochiro."

"I won't hold you back."

"Heh, it seems you still don't understand what you've done!" Seiichiro's expression sank upon hearing Uchiha Ci's indifferent reply.

"I don't know why the Great Elder chose to have you participate in this mission."

"But, in our faction's plan, this mission was supposed to be carried out by three Jonin-level clan members."

"As a result, because of your Ninja Game, the Great Elder changed his mind, forcing me, a mere Chunin, to participate in such a dangerous matter!"

Uchiha Seiichiro's gaze grew colder, and he snorted.

"You have no idea what kind of madman you'll be facing on this mission!"

"Without your Sharingan, you're no different from a plaything in front of those madmen!"

Uchiha Ci raised an eyebrow slightly. Having read the original work, how could he not know what was in the Land of Hot Water?

The destination of this mission.

Deep within the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Water, resided the Chinoike Clan.

Their Ketsuryūgan reflected their hatred for the Uchiha Clan, a hatred that had spanned from the Warring States Period to the present!

Uchiha Seiichiro was actually right.

Without the Sharingan, he had no advantage against the Ketsuryūgan, another Dojutsu Bloodline.

The Ketsuryūgan, this Dojutsu Bloodline, was extremely similar to the Sharingan, both requiring strong emotional stimulation to awaken.

Unlike the Sharingan, once the Ketsuryūgan awakened, it simultaneously possessed abilities such as Hypnotic Eye, Genjutsu Amplification, Blood Release Ninjutsu, and Human Bomb, making it comparable to the Two-Tomoe Sharingan.

As its Pupil Power increased, perhaps even more terrifying abilities would emerge.

Uchiha who had not yet awakened their eyes, or had just awakened them, would face a situation of wasted effort against the Chinoike Clan ninjas, given the overwhelming advantage in bloodline abilities.

Moreover, the Chinoike Clan had lived for years in the desolate Valley of Hell, and each of them had honed their physical techniques to hunt birds for food.

Their throwing techniques were at least at the Mastery level.

Conventional ninjutsu was suppressed by the Blood Dragon Ninjutsu, which possessed water-style nature transformation, in the Blood Pool Environment filled with hot springs.

Crushed in all three aspects: ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.

Even with Uchiha Style Silk Manipulation Shuriken Jutsu at the Mastered level, Uchiha Ci could only watch helplessly against this hellish difficulty.

It was simply too perfect.

Cough, cough, Uchiha Ci means, what a formidable enemy.

I shall do my utmost to defeat it!

"Forget it, what would you understand if I told you, a mere youngster like you," Uchiha Seiichiro took a swig from his sake bottle, his expression somewhat dazed, muttering to himself.

"I only just awakened my Two Tomoe, why, why is it me."

He clutched his head in pain and squatted on the ground, his face filled with fear.

Uchiha Ci looked at Uchiha Seiichiro squatting on the ground, pursed his lips slightly, sighed, stepped forward, patted his shoulder, and fell silent.

The thing he had been worried about had happened.

Because of him, the plot had changed, implicating this poor fellow.

Although the two were not well acquainted, Uchiha Ci still felt a bit of pressure in his heart.

He shook his head and finally spoke earnestly:

"Senior Kiyochiro, don't worry, I'll say it again."

"If someone has to die, then that person will be me."

Uchiha Ci said heavily, "You just need to protect yourself, and I have long been mentally prepared to die!"

"W-what are you saying?" Uchiha Seiichiro looked up, his tone filled with disbelief.

Then, his expression slightly darkened, and he sighed.

In his opinion, Uchiha Ci was still too naive, speaking without thinking.

Only when this kid truly faced death would he know what fear was.

As fellow clan members, he had already gone too far by saying this today; he couldn't bear to be too harsh on the other party.

After all, Uchiha Ci was still just a child.

"Forget it, forget it, this is my Fate."

As if accepting his Fate in an instant, Uchiha Seiichiro, sake bottle in hand, staggered past Uchiha Ci and stumbled his way home.

Under the clear moonlight of the Full Moon, his disheveled figure was like a Dog that couldn't find its way home.

Suddenly, Seiichiro tilted his head slightly and asked in a deep voice, "Kid, can you tell me, what is the reason you've reached this level?"

Uchiha Ci was slightly stunned, He scratched his head, his expression slightly embarrassed.

He couldn't possibly say it was to scam Medical Insurance.

After a long while, Uchiha Ci stood in the cold wind blowing against his face, under the cold and merciless Moonlight, casting a long shadow over the giant Hokage Rock.

He slowly clenched his fist and placed it over his chest, near his heart.

"The reason?"

Uchiha Ci's expression was dark and unclear, but his subsequent tone was as sharp as a knife piercing through the weakness of the heart.

"I often wonder, what can a mediocre Ninja like me do."

"What is the meaning of the village and the Uchiha clan?"

"But after much thought, I can only confirm one thing."

"Without power, nothing can be achieved."

"Therefore, I am willing to dedicate myself to the Warfare, offer myself to the Flames, and seek my Medical Insurance between life and death. The path for these Eyes!"

"And then, use these Eyes to illuminate the world!"

"To reforge the Rongguang of my Uchiha clan!"

Looking at Uchiha Ci, who stood straight in the cold wind, as unyielding as a statue.

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Seiichiro looked at Uchiha Ci like this, nodded slightly, his expression softened, and he recalled what the young master Shisui, who was also from the Dove Faction but held an extremely noble status, had said to him earlier.

"I understand."

After a moment of silence, Uchiha Seiichiro left, uttering these words.

Leaving behind a bewildered Uchiha Ci, who was scratching his head with evasive eyes and a lost expression.

"No, what the hell did you understand?"

Bang bang bang, everything I wanted to say is on the ground, you understand.