"Have you heard? Kumogakure has been getting out of hand lately, causing trouble all over the Land of Fire."
"Of course I have. They say Lord Tobirama Senju is going to declare war on Kumogakure in the next few days."
"War, always war. Who knows how many people will die this time..."
The increasingly frequent attacks had left the Ninja Academy staff on edge.
But none of that had anything to do with Uchiha Ao anymore. He packed the materials from his desk into a cardboard box, shut the door, and left the office.
He hadn't gone far when his former colleagues inside began gossiping about him instead of the situation.
"The Hokage is right. You can't trust the Uchiha Clan. I heard one of them leaked information during Kumogakure's latest sneak attack."
"Exactly. Uchiha Ao barely ever says a word. I bet he had something to do with the attack on the Ninja Academy a few days ago. Otherwise, why would the Hokage suddenly dismiss him?"
Hearing the sarcasm and snide remarks behind him, Uchiha Ao's mouth twitched. He neither turned back to lash out nor vowed that thirty years from now, the tables would turn.
As much as he hated to admit it, he really had done it...
To be precise, it wasn't "him" who had done it, but his predecessor.
As for him, he was just an ordinary Transmigrator from Blue Star.
His real name was You Sou. In his previous life, after spending the night fighting tooth and nail in Delta Force, he had looked at the few thousand Hafcoins left in his warehouse, gotten so worked up that he dropped dead.
Now he was an unremarkable Ninja Academy teacher—or rather, a former teacher.
He was a Chunin in strength. His parents had died when he was young, and he hadn't awakened his Sharingan. He was the Uchiha Clan's very own bottom-of-the-barrel weakling.
Unwilling to remain mediocre, his predecessor had secretly accepted a mission from the clan and colluded with Kumogakure's ninjas, hoping to kill the Senju Clan's precious granddaughter.
The outcome was obvious. Tsunade had come through unharmed, while the Kumogakure ninjas sent to assassinate her had been wiped out.
One of them had still been alive when Danzo, that scheming old bastard, used a Forbidden Jutsu to uncover who was behind it. The Uchiha Clan had been implicated, along with the original owner, a disposable pawn.
And so, on the night the assassination attempt against the Eldest Princess, Tsunade, came to light, that idiot predecessor had been brutally assassinated.
Given his predecessor's strength, he should have considered himself lucky to escape with his body intact. But when the assassin appeared, someone from the Uchiha Clan had arranged for a clansman to be at his side, driving the attacker off.
He figured the Uchiha Clan had saved his predecessor because they feared their bloodline might fall into enemy hands.
Even so, the assassin had driven a Flying Needle Ninja Tool into his heart. He made it back to the clan, but died while they were treating him. In the end, You Sou had taken his place and inherited his pathetic life.
"Why did it have to be the Uchiha Clan?"
Uchiha Ao was at a loss. And to make matters worse, it was that Tobirama Senju—the one who kept proclaiming that the Uchiha were an evil clan—who was in power.
He might have escaped death this time, but he couldn't escape punishment.
There would probably be more attempts on his life and more retaliation down the road.
No, there definitely would be.
How could Konoha, ruled by the Senju Clan, tolerate the man who had tried to kill the Hokage's eldest grandson still walking free?
At his current strength, any Elite Chunin could kill him in an instant.
Just as Uchiha Ao was losing all hope, convinced that his new life would be over before it even began, a tiny point of light suddenly appeared before his eyes. It swelled rapidly, turning into a screen right before his very eyes!
[Name: Uchiha Ao]
[Age: 21]
[Chakra: Low-level Chunin]
[Taijutsu: Peak Genin]
[Known Ninjutsu: Great Fireball Technique, Phoenix Sage Fire Technique, Substitution Technique, Shadow Clone Technique...]
At that moment, Uchiha Ao stared at the system interface before him, on the verge of tears. As the saying went, there was always a way out. If he wanted to walk it, the road lay beneath his feet.
System, give me some points!
Then Uchiha Ao was dumbfounded.
He searched left and right, scrolled up and down, but couldn't find a plus sign anywhere on the screen. There wasn't even a minus sign.
"Wait, system. Where are my points?"
After searching for ages, Uchiha Ao had no choice but to accept the truth: the Personal Status Panel before him didn't seem to have a way to allocate points.
In other words, if he wanted to get stronger, he'd have to train on his own.
Uchiha Ao: "..."
For crying out loud! Before I awakened the system, you wanted me to work hard. Now I've awakened it, and you still want me to work hard? What was the point of awakening a system, then?
System, I'm your daddy!
[Destiny: Heaven Rewards Diligence]
[Effect: You can train in any Ninjutsu or Taijutsu, ignoring restrictions imposed by chakra nature and physique. There are no aptitude requirements or bottlenecks.]
Dad, never mind. It's fine.
Uchiha Ao suddenly grew excited. No bottlenecks at all—that was an incredibly powerful boost.
No matter how mediocre his talent was, as long as he trained diligently, he could master any Ninjutsu.
Hashirama's True Several Thousand Hands, Uchiha Madara's Complete Body Susanoo, Yin Yang Release, and countless other powerful techniques...
With an effect this incredible, even without experiencing the pain of losing a loved one, he could still awaken his Sharingan at an astonishing pace, catch up, and surpass those freaks born with huge reserves of chakra.
As far as he knew, the clan had a Secret Technique specifically for awakening the Sharingan through training. Otherwise, if every Uchiha had to lose a loved one to awaken it, the clan would have died out long ago.
"Uchiha Ao, come to my office."
Uchiha Ao was still reveling in his excitement when Tobirama Senju, who had appeared behind him without his noticing, called out to him. A gloomy young man stood beside the Hokage.
"Danzo," Uchiha Ao murmured.
Why was he here?
It wasn't surprising that Tobirama Senju had called him over. Given that the Hokage's eldest grandson had been targeted for assassination, the fact that the Hokage had waited this long to punish him already showed remarkable restraint.
Before he could think further, Danzo stood in the doorway and gave him a chilling look, silently signaling him to go inside.
Uchiha Ao took a deep breath, set the cardboard box in his hands in the hallway, and pushed open Tobirama Senju's office door.
If it was a blessing, he could accept it. If it was trouble, there was no escaping it.
In he went!
As soon as he stepped inside, the door closed behind him.
He looked up.
Tobirama Senju wore the Hokage's cloak, his hands clasped beneath his chin as he sized Uchiha Ao up.
As he did, Tobirama Senju's immense chakra and undisguised killing intent filled the entire office.
Uchiha Ao felt as if he had fallen into an icy pit.
Was the man really going to kill him?!
But why choose this moment and place?
Wasn't he afraid that killing Uchiha Ao on the eve of war with Kumogakure would arouse the Uchiha Clan's suspicions?
No, that couldn't be right. The man was Tobirama Senju, the legendary creator of countless Forbidden Jutsu. If he had really wanted to kill Uchiha Ao, his head would have been rolling the moment he stepped through the door.
With that in mind, Uchiha Ao forced down the fear stirred by the gap in their strength and met the imposing Hokage's gaze. His voice was hoarse as he asked,
"May I ask what you wanted to see me about, Lord Hokage?"
Tobirama Senju's eyes flickered.
"Uchiha Ao... It seems we all underestimated you."
Uchiha Ao forced a faint smile. "What do you mean, Lord Hokage?"
Tobirama Senju gave him a meaningful look.
"If you'd fallen to your knees and begged for mercy just now, I would have killed you outright. Even if you're only a pawn, I won't allow someone with no use to me to live after harming one of my clan.
"But now... I've had a change of heart."
A cold glint flashed in Tobirama Senju's eyes.
"Go back and tell your Uchiha Clan Head that I'll consider this matter forgotten.
"But Konoha is on the verge of war with Kumogakure. I want the Uchiha Clan to send one Elite Jonin, six Jonin, and fifteen Chunin to join the war. If I need more later, I'll continue to call them up."
"Yes."
Feeling the pressure around him gradually ease, Uchiha Ao wiped the cold sweat from his brow and bowed.
"Once I return to the clan, I'll report your words to the Clan Head exactly as you said them, Lord Hokage."
The Hokage was making an outrageous demand. There was no way the Clan Head would agree to it easily.
But that wasn't his problem.
"You're dismissed."
Uchiha Ao let out a quiet breath and was about to turn around when a cold voice came from behind him.
"What you did a few days ago, helping Kumogakure try to kill Tsunade, isn't over.
"In one month, I'll send another Jonin to kill you. If you survive, come see me. I'll give you a reward you can't refuse."
"..."
Uchiha Ao stiffened. After a moment's silence, he replied hoarsely,
"Thank you for sparing my life, Lord Hokage."
Uchiha Ao's heart was bitter, but he respectfully closed the office door.
In the hallway, Danzo was still standing guard by the door, like a loyal watchdog. His voice was cold.
"In one month, I'll come to assassinate you again. I hope you'll still have someone guarding you then."
At that, anger surged through Uchiha Ao.
So you were the bastard who tried to kill me last time!
Never mind Tobirama Senju, that legendary big shot. I don't dare mess with him. But you? You think I can't mess with you?!
Uchiha Ao silently mouthed two words at Danzo:
"Fuck your mother!"
Before you continue