Seiichiro, Chinoike, and Rongguang

"Get lost, get lost! This is a legitimate establishment—minors aren't allowed in!"

Amid the rough shouts, Uchiha Ci was tossed out the door by two burly, brawny men.

Uchiha Ci scrambled up, his face full of indignation, cursing under his breath.

"Tch, if you don't let minors in, how the hell can you call yourself legitimate?"

"Heh—ptui!"

Hearing the commotion from Uchiha Ci, the villagers inside shot him strange looks.

"You think we couldn't see through your Transformation Jutsu sneaking in here?" the doorman sneered, his face dripping with contempt.

"Get lost now, or I'll call one of your clan's adults to come drag you back!"

That threat made Uchiha Ci shrink his neck.

He shot the two watchdogs a fierce glare.

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

"Still craning your neck to peek in? Believe me, I'll shout!" The big man wrinkled his nose, about to call out.

Uchiha Ci quickly scrapped the lewd thoughts in his head, slunk away, and covered his face as he ran out of the alley.

When he stepped back onto the street, the passersby had already thinned out.

The full moon silently watched over the world.

A gust of early spring wind, still carrying winter's chill, slapped his face. Uchiha Ci shivered, his mind snapping back to clarity.

Just then, Uchiha Seiichiro, a fellow clan member and teammate of Uchiha Ci, staggered out of an alley, a liquor bottle dangling from his hand.

Spotting Uchiha Ci, Seiichiro gave him a once-over. When he noticed the dusty marks on Uchiha Ci's clothes, a sly grin crept onto his face.

"Yo, if it isn't the pride of our Uchiha Clan?"

"What, got thrown out?"

Uchiha Ci's face tightened instantly. "No, I just got stepped on by an elephant on the way."

"Heh, who hasn't been young and reckless?" Seiichiro's face was flushed red, a wave of alcohol smell wafting over as he grinned slyly.

"I get it. I get it all."

"After all, we're about to head out on a mission like this."

Seiichiro's tone dropped slightly, his gaze shifting over Uchiha Ci a few times, as if he'd thought of something hard to swallow.

He suddenly frowned in irritation. "You're called Ci, right? Listen up—"

Seiichiro paused, his eyes narrowing.

"This mission—don't count on me to help you."

[Uchiha Seiichiro has developed hatred toward you.]

Uchiha Ci glanced at the subtitle that suddenly appeared before his eyes, raised an eyebrow slightly, then replied flatly, "Don't worry, Senior Seiichiro."

"I won't hold you back."

"Hah, looks like you still don't get what kind of mess you've made!" Seiichiro's face darkened at Uchiha Ci's indifferent response.

"I don't know why the Great Elder chose to let you join this mission."

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

"And because of your little ninja game, the Great Elder changed his mind, dragging me, a mere Chūnin, into this dangerous business!"

Uchiha Seiichiro's gaze grew colder, and he let out a snort.

"You have no idea what kind of lunatics you're up against in this mission!"

"Without a Sharingan, you're nothing but a plaything in front of those madmen!"

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

The mission's destination.

Deep in the Valley of Hell in the Land of Hot Water—the Chinoike Clan.

Their Ketsuryūgan reflected a hatred for the Uchiha Clan that had festered since the Warring States Period!

What Uchiha Seiichiro said wasn't wrong.

Without a Sharingan, he had no advantage against the Ketsuryūgan, another dojutsu bloodline.

The Ketsuryūgan, this dojutsu bloodline, was very similar to the Sharingan—both required intense emotional stimulation to awaken.

But unlike the Sharingan, once the Ketsuryūgan awakened, it simultaneously granted hypnotic eyes, illusion amplification, Blood Release Ninjutsu, Human Bomb, and other abilities, enough to rival a Two Tomoe Sharingan.

As the pupil power grew, even more terrifying abilities might emerge.

An Uchiha who hadn't yet awakened their eyes, or had just awakened them, would be at a crushing disadvantage in bloodline abilities when facing a Chinoike Clan ninja—practically a free kill.

And the Chinoike Clan had lived year-round in the Valley of Hell, a godforsaken place where they'd all honed superb taijutsu just to hunt birds for food.

Their throwing technique was at least at the mastery level.

Under the Blood Pool environment filled with boiling springs, even standard ninjutsu was suppressed by the Blood Dragon Ninjutsu, which had completed a water-nature transformation.

They were completely outclassed in ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.

At this hellish difficulty, even with Uchiha Ci's transcendent-level Uchiha Style - Silk Thread Shuriken Technique, all he could do was stare helplessly.

It was simply too perfect.

Ahem, what Uchiha Ci meant was, what a formidable enemy.

I shall exert every effort to overcome them!

"Forget it, what would a brat like you understand from me saying all this?" Uchiha Seiichiro tipped the sake bottle for a gulp, his expression dazed as he muttered to himself, "I've only just awakened the Two Tomoe. Why... why does it have to be me?"

He crouched down in pain, clutching his head, his face full of terror.

Uchiha Ci watched Uchiha Seiichiro crouching there, pressed his lips together slightly, sighed, stepped forward to pat his shoulder, and fell silent.

What he had feared had come to pass.

Because of him, the plot had changed, dragging this poor soul into it.

Though the two weren't close, Uchiha Ci still felt a weight of pressure in his heart.

He shook his head, and finally spoke seriously:

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

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

Uchiha Ci said heavily, "You just need to protect yourself. As for me, I've long been mentally prepared to face death!"

"Wha—what did you say?" Uchiha Seiichiro looked up, his voice tinged with shock.

Then his expression darkened slightly, and he sighed.

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

Only when the boy truly faced death would he know what fear meant.

They were of the same clan; he had already said too much today. To be too harsh on him would be hard on his own conscience.

After all, Uchiha Ci was still just a child.

"Forget it, forget it. This is just my fate."

As if suddenly accepting his destiny, Uchiha Seiichiro picked up the sake bottle, staggered past Uchiha Ci, and wobbled his way home.

Under the clear light of the full moon, his pathetic figure looked like a dog that couldn't find its way home.

Suddenly, Seiichiro turned his head slightly and asked in a low voice:

"Kid, can you tell me the reason you're going this far? What is it?"

Uchiha Ci was momentarily stunned.

He scratched his head, a faint awkwardness on his face.

He couldn't exactly say it was for insurance fraud.

After a long pause, Uchiha Ci stood in the biting wind, under the cold, merciless moonlight, atop the elongated shadow cast by the massive Hokage Rock.

He slowly clenched his hand into a fist and pressed it against the heart at his chest.

"The reason..."

Uchiha Ci's expression was dark and unreadable, but his tone that followed was as unyielding as a blade piercing the softness of the human heart.

"I often think, what can a mediocre ninja like me even do?"

"What is the meaning of the village and the Uchiha, after all?"

"But after thinking it over, in the end, I can only confirm one thing."

"Without power, nothing can be achieved."

"So, I willingly offer myself to the flames of war, dedicate myself to the blaze, and seek my medical insurance between life and death—the path these eyes must walk!"

"Then, with these eyes, I will illuminate the world!"

"Restore the glory that belongs to us Uchiha!"

Watching Uchiha Ci stand straight and firm in the cold wind, as rigid as a statue.

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Seiichiro looked at this Uchiha Ci, nodded slightly, his expression softening as he recalled what the noble Shisui-sama, also of the dove faction, had said to him when he visited earlier.

"I understand."

After a moment of silence, Uchiha Seiichiro left those words behind and walked away.

Leaving Uchiha Ci, utterly confused, eyes darting, face full of bewilderment, scratching his head.

"Wait, the hell did you even understand?"