Land of Hot Water, Land of Chaos

"Ci-kun." Uchiha Shisui walked up and patted Uchiha Ci on the shoulder.

He had keenly noticed that slight tremor from Uchiha Ci just now.

But because Shisui had graduated early and was still young, he was as short as a little radish, making his attempt at comfort look somewhat comical.

"You don't need to worry too much. I didn't expect Elder Setsuna to personally lead this mission either. That said, the danger level on your end should be pretty low."

Uchiha Shisui smiled kindly and offered words of reassurance.

He himself had chosen the far more dangerous Land of Rain battlefield, yet here he was, comforting Uchiha Ci instead.

Uchiha Ci snapped back to reality and stared at him with a look of utter despair.

Damn it, this guy steals a pig-feeding mission from me, and now he's snatching a suicide job too?

Can't he just act like a human being for once?

"Ci-kun, I still need to finish my mission before tomorrow's assembly, so I'll take my leave now."

Uchiha Shisui waved the C-rank mission scroll he had just accepted, then turned and left.

After Shisui was gone, Uchiha Ci's gaze flickered a couple of times.

Was the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Water really that low in danger?

That... wasn't necessarily the case.

#

Night. The full moon parted the clouds, spilling clear light across the earth.

Inside the Uchiha Compound.

Uchiha Setsuna, wearing wooden clogs, pulled open the sliding door with an indifferent expression.

In the modest room, a sea of crimson eyes suddenly lit up.

"Great Elder!"

Amid the chorus of greetings, Uchiha Setsuna sat cross-legged in the central seat of honor at the room's core.

Seated at his side was the second-in-command of the hawk faction, Uchiha Yashiro.

Below them were Uchiha clan members, all Chunin rank or above, all with their Sharingan awakened—nearly a hundred people in total.

This was the foundation of the hawk faction.

"Great Elder, wasn't it already decided to send a squad of capable fighters to the Land of Hot Water for support?" Yashiro frowned slightly and asked, "Why is there a genin on the list—one who hasn't even awakened his Sharingan?"

"Did you not explain the danger of this mission to the clan members?"

Uchiha Setsuna picked up his teacup, glanced at Yashiro, and said flatly, "I will personally lead this mission."

"With me alone, that's enough."

"But this isn't just a simple matter of increased guard pressure from the Chinoike Clan's unrest." Uchiha Yashiro frowned and analyzed, "The Land of Hot Water itself sits between the Lands of Fire, Lightning, and Water. Add to that the recent small-scale skirmishes between Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kirigakure, and that place has fallen into utter chaos."

"Spies and combat units from various nations are all mixed together. On top of that, after the Second Ninja World War, countless small organizations have sprung up among the minor nations—the Xuanyuan Clan, the Hannya Clan, the Evil God Cult, the Earth Spider Clan, the remnants of the destroyed Kagerō Village, Kirigakure's Kirisame and Pursuing Ninja, Iwagakure's Explosion Corps, Rasa racking up war merits on the Kirigakure front to secure the Kazekage seat, and bounty hunters from the Underground Bounty Exchange."

"That place is already a complete mess." Uchiha Yashiro shook his head gravely, feeling that Uchiha Setsuna was overestimating himself.

In a situation like this, even if the Third Hokage himself went in, he wouldn't necessarily come out on top.

Though Uchiha Setsuna was a veteran Uchiha from the Warring States Era, bringing only one genin and one chunin was, no matter how you looked at it, somewhat reckless.

But the clan's manpower wasn't exactly abundant either. Members of the Police Force were restricted by Konoha and couldn't leave the village without cause.

Uchiha Yashiro suddenly brought up, "Perhaps we could request aid from Konoha?"

"Enough." Uchiha Setsuna set down his teacup, his tone calm but brooking no argument.

"With me alone, that's enough!"

"Yashiro, the mission to guard the Valley of Hell doesn't come from Konoha. It's a long-term commission personally entrusted to the Uchiha by the Feudal Lord of the Land of Lightning—one of the few money-makers we have left."

"Don't pin your sense of security on others, especially Konoha, Sarutobi, and Danzo." Uchiha Setsuna lifted his head, a pair of crimson Sharingan flaring to life, cold enough to send chills down one's spine.

"Only what you can decide for yourself counts. What others hand you, you have to bow and scrape for like a dog. The day they're dissatisfied, they can kick you away whenever they want."

Uchiha Yashiro fell silent under those words.

Shinobi were combat tools detached from production. The wealth the Uchiha could obtain, aside from ancestral holdings and property within Konoha, came only from the financial resources carved out by clan shinobi completing large-scale missions undertaken by the clan.

The mission to guard the Chinoike Clan paid an annual fee equivalent to an S-rank mission.

Long-term. Stable.

That was the root of why Uchiha Setsuna refused to let Konoha get its hands on this task.

#

Slap.

Uchiha Ci had just pulled open the door to his residence.

A dusty, goggles-wearing kid dropped from a tree in the yard.

Ci saw at a glance that the reason for this fall was uneven chakra distribution during tree-climbing practice—he hadn't gripped the trunk firmly enough.

"Obito, what are you up to now?"

Looking at this uninvited guest, Ci felt a faint speechlessness.

This person was Obito, who had just graduated from the Ninja Academy last year.

Also his current neighbor.

"Yo, it's Ci, haha, I'm just prepping for the Chunin Exams!" Uchiha Obito scratched the back of his head with a laugh, then put on a resentful face.

"That damn Kakashi, using his chunin rank to push me around, making me follow his orders!"

"And it was just a simple cat-catching mission!"

"Once I finish my training, I'm gonna shove my chunin vest right in his face!" Obito grumbled as he recounted the whole story.

Ci listened, stunned for a moment, then a realization dawned.

Without noticing, he had already spent an entire year in this still relatively peaceful Konoha.

Only now did he realize the timeline had reached this point—Obito had formed a three-man squad with Kakashi and Nohara Rin last year, led by Namikaze Minato, and they'd been doing D-rank missions for a while.

But Obito's wish to become a chunin this year probably wouldn't come true.

The Ninja World War was about to break out. Minato, as an Elite Jonin, would soon head to the front lines. This team would only be running around with him for the rest of the year.

It wouldn't be until the Land of Lightning eased its offensive, giving Konoha a brief breather, that a Chunin Exam would be held in Konoha Year 48.

That was also when Obito would get kicked into critical condition by Might Guy—though he lost, he'd still manage to be promoted to chunin in the end.

"What are you spacing out for? Grandma made noodles, come eat." Obito waved a hand in front of Ci's face, tilting his head.

"Alright, let me put my stuff down." Ci nodded, not turning down the invitation.

On his way back, he'd passed by the river and retrieved his fork and shoes.

But a sack full of sellable cans had vanished along with the bag, probably swiped by some bastard.

Ci cursed under his breath—what a decline in public morals.

Last year in Konoha, this kind of thing never happened.

It was only recently that the Uchiha Clan, busy with the Police Force, had been holding more meetings due to the coming war.

Too busy to keep order.

That was why petty theft was on the rise in Konoha now.