Silver Taels, Scroll

"Are you sure you want to exchange it for a mission?"

Uchiha Qiongyue finally turned around and gave him a proper look, a faint trace of mockery curling at the corner of his mouth.

"The entry requirement for the Police Force is being able to complete an A-Rank Mission on your own. You're a Chunin who isn't even qualified to accept one. How can you talk about completing it?"

He paused deliberately, savoring the tension in Uchiha Ao's expression, then drawled, as if toying with a mouse:

"But... since you insist, the clan does happen to have a B-rank Reconnaissance Mission that's been sitting around for a few days. If you can complete it..."

Uchiha Qiongyue gave him a meaningful look, then slowly finished:

"...I'll make an exception and let you join the team."

"Thank you, Clan Head."

"Don't thank me just yet. Accept the mission within three days, or don't bring this up again."

Uchiha Qiongyue waved a hand.

"Yes."

Uchiha Ao bowed and withdrew.

Inside the Hokage's Office.

"You may go."

Tobirama Senju sat at his desk, studying the documents in his hands, and spoke softly.

"Yes!"

The Fox-Masked Anbu bowed, then vanished in a gentle breeze.

Only the faint rustle of paper remained in the office.

If the report hadn't come from Kakashi Takumi, a master of stealth, Tobirama would almost have doubted its authenticity.

"Uchiha Ao, huh..."

He murmured the name. For once, the icy lines of his face softened slightly. But a cold snort immediately erased that hint of warmth.

"What a fool.

He's letting someone use him as a weapon and doesn't even realize it."

With that, he tossed the report onto the corner of his desk, as if it were nothing more than scrap paper.

Though he said that, a thought quietly took shape in his mind: If that kid survived the test a month from now... perhaps his punishment wouldn't need to be so extreme.

As if something had occurred to him, Tobirama turned his gaze toward the shadows nearby and asked in a testing tone:

"Hiruzen, what do you think?"

Before he had finished speaking, a young ninja with spiky hair stepped out of the shadow in the corner.

He had seen the report too, but didn't answer immediately. After a moment's thought, he replied:

"From the report, he seems kind by nature, and he's Kagami's younger brother...

I think... for the test a month from now, we could send a Special Jonin of average ability. That would let us assess his strength while showing him leniency. Perhaps we could win him over and put him to work for the village."

"Leniency?"

Tobirama stared at him coolly. "Do you know which faction he belongs to within the Uchiha Clan?"

"..."

Hiruzen Sarutobi stiffened, his voice hoarse. "I don't, Master."

"You don't know, and you still dare suggest putting him to work for me?!"

Tobirama snorted and rapped his knuckles on the desk. "If I put you in charge of a squad, your narrow perspective could make you overlook a detail like this when making a decision—and that alone could cause an entire mission to fail!"

"I was wrong..."

Hiruzen lowered his head in shame.

Tobirama didn't look at him again. He waved his hand, already losing interest.

"Go back to your post."

"Yes..."

Whether it was mental or physical exhaustion, Tobirama leaned back in his leather chair and rubbed his brow wearily.

In fact, among his students, Hiruzen was one of the better ones, both in Ninjutsu and character.

But being a good Hokage took more than being good at things!

Either you had to be exceptionally shrewd, or powerful enough to crush all opposition.

Like... those two.

At the thought, Tobirama picked up the Photo Frame on his desk. His older brother stood in the middle, grinning foolishly up at the sky; he stood on the left, turning his face away; and Uchiha Madara stood on the right, looking arrogantly cool.

No matter how unwilling he was to admit it, that man really was strong!

Strong enough to single-handedly suppress an entire country!

Although he was now the village's Hokage, and everyone who saw him feared him like a tiger,

only he knew that if he were stronger, Cloud Village wouldn't dare provoke them so brazenly!

In the end, he simply wasn't strong enough!

"I hope I can live a little longer. Hiruzen just needs more time to grow."

Tobirama sighed, picked up the documents on his desk, and continued reviewing them carefully.

"Just as I thought—that's the mission!"

Uchiha Ao fought back a grin as he walked along the clan's main street.

He'd heard about it days ago. The clan had recently been assigned a tricky B-rank Reconnaissance Mission.

The assignment seemed simple: travel to a small country in the buffer zone between the Land of Fire and the Land of Lightning and gather information.

But everyone knew Cloud Village had been stirring near Konoha's border. Sending a Chunin there now was practically a death sentence.

However, as someone familiar with the plot, he knew that at this point, Cloud Village only seemed hostile. The two villages wouldn't go to war for at least another six months.

So if he went now, he wouldn't be taking much of a risk. He could even earn a handsome mission reward and use the opportunity to join the clan's Police Force.

It was the perfect way to kill two birds with one stone!

"Qiongyue thinks he's on the second level, but I'm on the fifth!" Uchiha Ao sneered.

Still, since the other man had given him three days to decide, he could use the time to his advantage and train in the Eight Inner Gates to strengthen himself. That way, he'd be prepared for anything.

The mission was only a minor risk, but it was still close to the heart of the storm. Anything could happen, so getting stronger was essential.

Lost in thought, Uchiha Ao returned home.

It was a modest one-bedroom apartment, but it had everything he needed.

He opened the fridge, took out a can of Beer, and plopped down on the clean sofa to drink by himself.

"First, I'll try Guy's Eight Inner Gates Secret Technique. With my current stamina, I wonder if I can open the First Gate..."

Glug, glug...

"Ahh~~"

Uchiha Ao narrowed his eyes, drained the cold Beer, crushed the can, and tossed it.

It went straight into the trash can.

"Three points!"

Uchiha Ao happily flashed a peace sign, then sank into the sofa and let out a long breath.

So much had happened that day. He was exhausted, both mentally and physically.

He wanted nothing more than to close his eyes and sleep, but his weak abilities and the One Month Pact awaiting him soon were both forcing him to keep moving forward.

Someone else might have accepted their fate.

But he was different.

"Heaven Rewards Diligence. Let's see what your limits are!"

Uchiha Ao flipped to his feet and carefully studied the scroll describing the Eight Inner Gates.

The scroll was even easier to understand than he'd expected. He finished reading it in just half an hour.

Each of the Eight Inner Gates, from the First Gate to the Eighth Gate, had a special chakra circulation path. For an ordinary person to open the First Gate, their body had to be at least several times stronger than normal.

That was why this Taijutsu required intense, excessive training to strengthen the body and help it adapt. Opening each gate brought different physical changes.

The first three gates were considered safe, releasing Green Energy. The fourth through sixth gates also released Green Energy, but the power they unleashed far surpassed what came before, reaching Kage Level.

The Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder, brought a transformation, and Blue Steam appeared on the surface of the body.

The final gate, the Eighth Gate, or Gate of Death, released Red Steam produced by evaporating blood.

"With my current physique, opening a gate shouldn't be difficult, but fully using it in battle would be a real challenge."

Uchiha Ao frowned and set the scroll aside.

There was a deadline for accepting the reconnaissance mission. Hoping to improve his physique in just three days was pure fantasy.

His Sharingan was only one step away from awakening, but taking that all-important step probably couldn't be done in three days.

"Looks like my focus should still be on the Great Fireball Technique..."

He was only a dozen or so practice sessions away from mastering the Great Fireball Technique. He could use the next few days to practice more and improve his strength.

It was the quickest and most direct way to get stronger right now.

He wondered what would happen once he mastered it.

"Hm? What's this?"

As soon as Uchiha Ao stood up, he spotted a stack of banknotes and a bloodstained scroll on the desk by the window.

A small note lay beneath them. It read:

Don't spend it all at once. ₍ᐢ..ᐢ)--Kagami Uchiha.

He looked at the stack of banknotes in his hand—one hundred thousand Silver Taels—and smiled.

His Cousin was pretty sweet...

Too bad he was a straight guy through and through.

"And what's this scroll?

Why's it stained with blood..."

Uchiha Ao unrolled the scroll curiously.

After a long while, he stared at the scroll in his hands, his breathing suddenly quickening.

"...With this, there's a real chance I can strengthen my body in three days!"