I Reflect on Myself Three Times a Day: I Killed Too Early

The sun crawled lazily across the sky, casting boundless light and heat down upon the ninja world.

The Land of Fire was truly the most prosperous region in the ninja world; dense woodlands were everywhere, which was no wonder it was called Konohagakure.

Uchiha An crouched atop a large tree, staring blankly at the shadows of the trees shifting bit by bit on the ground, his heart feeling hollow.

He was feeling a bit of regret now.

He had been too impulsive last night; the things he did were poorly considered!

He shouldn't have just killed Sasuke like that!

Now that he had calmed down, he felt a twinge of regret.

It was too easy for Sasuke!

He should have chopped off Sasuke's limbs first, then gouged out his eyes, pierced his eardrums, cut out his tongue, turned him into a human stick, and kept him in a jar!

Ah, no, he shouldn't gouge out Sasuke's eyes first. Perhaps with such stimulation, he could even obtain a pair of Mangekyo!

With the massive trauma of the clan massacre, that cold-blooded brat had only managed to awaken a One Tomoe in his rage. Clearly, he was cut from the same cloth as his brother; neither of them had any feelings for their clansmen!

This pair of brothers, they were both damn rotten to the core!

Such beastly clansmen deserved to be kept in a jar!

And then, he should take that jar to show Uchiha Itachi!

He could even ask Itachi, since he was so magnanimous, if seeing Sasuke in such a state felt incredibly satisfying?

What a pity!

He had been too impulsive last night. Rage had clouded his mind, and in a fit of anger, he had killed Sasuke. Such a brilliant plan had completely fallen through.

He shouldn't have done that!

He must act with a cool head in the future!

Uchiha An reflected on his actions incessantly, examining himself three times a day.

The Uchiha were inherently a clan of extreme emotions. Under the influence of the extreme Yin Release Chakra of the Mangekyo, Uchiha An did not feel that his thoughts were the least bit inappropriate.

Revenge was a matter of course; no one could stop him!

What counted as revenge?

Naturally, it was to make the enemy suffer!

He must be made to suffer!

He must be made to regret his actions!

To achieve this goal, Uchiha An would do anything!

Uchiha Itachi, he would not let go!

Uchiha Obito, he would not let go either!

The Third Hokage and Danzo, those two masterminds behind the scenes, he would let go even less!

As for the accomplices throughout Konohagakure, he would not let a single one of them go!

While Uchiha An was lost in his relentless reflection, a group of children came running from afar like a trail of smoke. The person surrounded in the center, with a head of yellow hair, was clearly Uzumaki Naruto.

An tilted his head to look at the sun hanging high in the sky, silently praising them in his heart.

Konohamaru and his group of children were truly efficient; they had managed to lure Naruto out so quickly. They were truly worthy of being the grandson of the Third Hokage.

If anyone else had tried to do something like this, they would likely have been detected by the Anbu guarding the Nine-Tails.

But in the village today, the Third Hokage's power was absolute. Who would dare to investigate his own grandson?

Ninjas, in the end, were nothing more than dogs raised by those in power!

The corners of Uchiha An's mouth beneath his mask curled into a cold arc. His figure quietly slid down, disappearing into the forest without a sound.

A group of children crowded around Naruto and rushed to the base of the large tree. Looking left and right to confirm that this was the mission location mentioned by the Anbu, they couldn't help but cheer, jump, and shout.

"Ah, we're here, we're here! This is the big tree!"

"Mission accomplished! It's accomplished!"

"Where is the ninja? We're here to turn in the mission!"

"Eh? What mission?" Uzumaki Naruto scratched his head foolishly, looking at Konohamaru with confusion. "Didn't you say we were coming outside the village to play games?"

"Idiot! You can't alert the target!" Konohamaru angrily punched the friend next to him who had been shouting the loudest, then turned back, scratching the back of his head as he laughed it off with Naruto.

"Haha... Big Brother Naruto, we were talking about a ninja game!"

Naruto also sensed that something was wrong, but he didn't have many friends to begin with and was quite disliked in class. Since someone was willing to play with him now, he was happy to go along with it. He immediately pretended not to notice and went with the flow, asking:

"Oh, then... how do you plan to play?"

"Uh..." Konohamaru was tongue-tied, not knowing how to answer. He could only look around, trying to see where the Anbu ninja who issued the mission was, but as far as his eyes could see, there wasn't even a shadow.

He didn't know if this was another test. Just as he was about to make up some lies to keep Naruto occupied, he heard the soft sound of a blade piercing a body. Immediately after, he saw a figure fall from the large tree nearby, crashing heavily onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust. Judging by the figure, it was clearly dressed as an Anbu.

"Ah!" Konohamaru jumped in fright. In the midst of his panic, he heard a succession of muffled groans. A string of corpses emerged from various spots, painting the ground with blood. A thick, bloody stench instantly permeated the area.

"Ah! It's an enemy!"

Compared to children like Konohamaru, Naruto, that half-baked ninja, reacted much faster. He pulled out a Kunai, gripped it in his hand, and assumed a defensive stance facing forward.

In the world of ninjas, a slight difference in strength is the difference between life and death.

After awakening the Mangekyo, Uchiha An's strength had undergone a qualitative change.

It wasn't just his Mangekyo abilities that were enhanced; his overall quality, including speed, strength, reaction time, and Chakra levels, had all improved.

Just as Itachi had killed a Three Tomoe Jonin with ease before, An now found that assassinating those Anbu members was nothing more than a single stroke of his blade.

After easily dealing with these troubles, Uchiha An revealed himself. He stood before the group and began to walk forward, step by step.

Seeing a pile of corpses drop before their eyes, Konohamaru and the others were stunned with fear. Still stuttering, they asked:

"Y-you, aren't you an Anbu ninja?"

"Weren't you sent by Hokage-sama?"

"Why, why did you kill them?"

"Aren't they Anbu members too?"

Only Naruto reacted with great sensitivity. He hurriedly blocked the others, shouting anxiously:

"Run! He's not Anbu!"

Konohamaru was still foolishly arguing there.

"No, he is!"

"He is Anbu!"

"I've seen him by Grandpa's side!"

"I recognize him!"

Uchiha An completely ignored the two of them performing their little comedy routine. With a cold face, he spoke his lines in a wooden voice.

"The inherently evil Nine-Tailed Demon Fox should be firmly controlled by the Village; it must not be left to roam free like this!"

At this moment, his heart was filled with hatred, and his gaze was icy. That look, which treated the people before him as if they weren't human, had the distinct air of Root, making everyone who saw it shiver uncontrollably.

But Konohamaru had never been beaten down by the harsh realities of society. He still trusted his own eyes, refusing to believe the person before him was an impostor, and even less did he believe that anyone could harm him within Konohagakure. He continued to shout loudly.

"Wh-what Nine-Tailed Demon Fox? There is no Nine-Tailed Demon Fox here!"

Yet he failed to notice that Naruto's body beside him had already begun to tremble.

Naruto abruptly cut Konohamaru off, shouting loudly:

"He's coming for me!"

"You guys run!"

"What?" Konohamaru was shocked, but he didn't flee. Instead, he pulled a Kunai from his bag and shouted with great loyalty, "A ninja must never abandon their comrades!"

"Big Brother Naruto, you run! We'll cover your retreat!"

"Don't worry about Hokage-sama; I'll go beg Grandfather for mercy!"

After shouting this, he lunged toward Uchiha An.

The group of friends behind him, stirred by his actions, felt their blood boil. One after another, they pulled out their ninja tools and launched an attack as well.

"No!"

Naruto screamed, trying to stop them, but it was too late. He could only watch as Konohamaru rushed before the enemy, only to be sliced in two from shoulder to back.