First Cry: Ripples of Karma

The darkness before dawn was at its thickest, the chill biting to the bone.

In the dense forest outside the Uchiha clan grounds, a group of over a dozen figures gathered in silence. Everyone wore tight-fitting black garments and masks, revealing only eyes that were either icy cold or burning with the flames of vengeance. A stifling murderous intent permeated the cold air, silencing even the chirping of insects.

Uchiha Sou stood within the ranks, feeling the hatred and resolve of his clansmen, which felt almost tangible. His own heartbeat, however, remained exceptionally steady. Beneath his mask, his Double Tomoe Sharingan quietly activated, capturing and analyzing everything around him—the tension in his companions' muscles, the subtle frequency of their breathing, and the faintest shifts of light within the forest.

Izuna, acting as the team leader, offered no superfluous words, only a concise and sharp hand gesture.

"Move out."

More than a dozen figures, like ghosts, merged silently into the dark forest, speeding toward the forward outpost of the Senju clan.

Uchiha Sou followed closely behind Izuna, pushing the observational power of his Sharingan to the limit. His task was not to lead the assault, but to provide support, observation, and, when necessary, assist with the abilities of his eyes. This was Izuna's way of protecting him, as well as a test.

As they sped along, he practiced constantly. Not with large movements, but with minute adjustments: his toes landed precisely on the most stable points to avoid snapping dry branches that might make noise; as he wove through the branches, he utilized a minuscule "causal deflection" to minimize the sound of his clothes brushing against leaves, even subtly altering the flight path of an owl that occasionally swooped by to prevent its startled cry from alerting the enemy.

These operations, refined to the extreme, placed a heavy burden on his mental energy and ocular power, but he gritted his teeth and persisted. He felt his compatibility with this ability slowly but firmly increasing under the pressure of a real combat environment.

The target outpost was a small fortress built against a mountain, garrisoned by Senju ninjas and guarding an important supply path.

A hint of fish-belly white had just appeared on the horizon, the moment of the night when fatigue was at its peak and vigilance was likely at its lowest.

"According to plan, move!" Izuna's icy voice reached everyone's ears through the subtle vibration of Chakra.

Several Uchiha ninjas skilled in stealth and assassination melted into the shadows, quietly creeping toward the watchtowers.

Uchiha Sou followed Izuna and several other main combatants, lurking in the bushes outside the fortress, his Sharingan locked onto the fortress entrance and patrol routes.

"Southeast corner, two patrols, crossing every fifteen seconds. West watchtower, one person, armed with a crossbow. Main gate guards, they seem a bit lax..."

He reported the observed information in the lowest possible voice, providing the basis for Izuna's command.

Izuna nodded slightly, a flash of approval in his eyes. Tsang's observations were even more detailed and precise than he had anticipated.

Soon, a muffled sound came from within the fortress, followed by the simulated cry of a nocturnal bird—the signal that the infiltrators had succeeded!

"Go!"

Izuna gave a low shout and took the lead, transforming into a black shadow as he lunged for the main gate!

The battle erupted in an instant!

"Enemy attack! It's the Uchiha!" The Senju guards reacted with lightning speed, immediately sounding the alarm. A sharp whistle pierced the dawn.

Kunai and Shuriken flew back and forth like a rainstorm, the collision of Fire Style and Earth Style erupting in roars and flashes of light. Screams, roars, and the explosions of Ninjutsu instantly shattered the tranquility of the mountains.

Uchiha Sou stayed close to Izuna's side, his Double Tomoe spinning wildly. His primary task was not to kill, but to guard Izuna's flank and use his eyes to capture every potential threat.

A Senju Chunin launched a surprise attack from the side, his blade sharp and swift. Tsang's Sharingan instantly caught the subtle misalignment in the man's shoulder muscles as he exerted force, predicting the trajectory of his strike. "Lower left, gap in the third rib!" Tsang shouted, simultaneously throwing a Kunai with precision. It wasn't aimed at a vital point, but at the enemy's path, forcing him to change his move. Izuna's combat experience was immense; almost the moment Tsang spoke, his short blade struck out like a viper, seizing that split-second opening to slit the enemy's throat!

Their coordination was flawless.

Another Senju ninja attempted to weave hand seals from behind to release a Water Style technique. Tsang's Sharingan clearly saw the shift in his Chakra flow. "Behind you, Bird-Ram-Monkey, Water Wave!" Tsang rapidly reported the sequence and the name of the technique. Izuna didn't even turn his head; he backhanded several Shuriken, precisely disrupting the enemy's rhythm, while his body twisted in an uncanny way to dodge the weakened water blast.

In this chaotic slaughter, Tsang's Double Tomoe played a role far beyond its rank. He was like a high-speed early warning and auxiliary system, integrating and processing the massive amount of fragmented information on the battlefield into the simplest and most effective instructions or prompts, greatly increasing the combat efficiency of Izuna and his nearby teammates.

He even began to attempt to apply that ability amidst the chaos.

A clansman was locked in a fierce struggle with a Senju ninja. The opponent's strength was clearly superior; the clansman's blade was deflected, leaving his center wide open! A bloodthirsty light flashed in the Senju ninja's eyes as he thrust forward! At this critical moment—Uchiha Sou's gaze locked onto a loose stone beneath the Senju ninja's feet! Ocular power and mental energy surged with unprecedented intensity! Trip! An extremely strong intent was projected!

The Senju ninja's foot slipped violently, his thrusting motion instantly distorted, and he lost his balance, lunging forward! The Uchiha clansman, who had been moments from death, was stunned for a second, but his combat instinct allowed him to seize the opportunity immediately, backhanding his blade in a fierce slash!

Slash! Blood splattered.

The Senju ninja looked at the blade piercing his chest in disbelief, dying without ever understanding how he had suddenly slipped.

The rescued clansman looked toward Tsang, still shaken, but Tsang had already shifted his gaze elsewhere, his face beneath the mask slightly pale, his breathing somewhat rapid.

He had succeeded! But influencing a ninja in the midst of intense movement consumed a hundred times more energy than affecting a leaf! Just that one instance left him feeling a distinct wave of dizziness.

But he had no time to rest; the battle was still ongoing.

The Uchiha's surprise attack had seized the initiative, and with their elite forces deployed, the remaining Senju ninjas, despite fighting to the death, were gradually suppressed.

Izuna was like a reaper on the battlefield; wherever he passed, few could withstand a single blow. His Sharingan, combined with exquisite swordsmanship and Fire Style, reaped lives.

Finally, the last resisting Senju Jonin was swallowed by Izuna's flames, and the battle drew to a close.

The fortress was filled with the heavy scent of blood and charred remains.

"Clear the battlefield, gather intelligence, prepare to withdraw!" Izuna ordered, his voice cold and devoid of emotion.

Uchiha Sou panted slightly, closing his Sharingan. A wave of intense exhaustion washed over him, not just physical, but mental. Maintaining the Double Tomoe for high-intensity observation and prediction, especially that final "intervention," had been a massive drain.

He looked at the carnage and corpses scattered about—some Senju, some Uchiha. A familiar clansman, who had been fighting alongside him just moments ago, now lay quietly not far away, a Kunai buried in his chest.

The cruelty of war was once again laid bare before him.

Yet, the cold lake within his heart did not ripple much. Was it because he was used to it? Or was it because these eyes, which originated from hatred and death, were constantly devouring parts of his emotions?

He walked over to the clansman he had indirectly saved and reached out a hand.

The clansman paused for a moment, then took his hand and stood up, his voice hoarse: "Just now... thank you."

"It was nothing," Tsang shook his head, his voice sounding muffled through the mask.

He noticed a deep, bone-exposed wound on the clansman's arm that was still bleeding, so he took a hemostatic bandage from his ninja pouch and silently helped him wrap it.

Just then, his gaze inadvertently swept over the corpse of a Senju Genin nearby. It was only a half-grown boy, his face still bearing traces of innocence and terror, his fatal wound a slash across his throat.

Uchiha Sou's movements paused for a brief moment.

The superior memory granted by the Sharingan allowed him to instantly recall that at the very beginning of the battle, this youth had attempted to defend himself with an unrefined Earth Style: Mud Wall, only for Izuna to shatter it with a casual Fire Style technique. The boy had stumbled backward in terror, only to be finished off by another Uchiha ninja.

An insignificant minor character.

Yet, in the images within Tsang's memory, the moment Izuna's Fire Style broke through the Mud Wall, the youth had seemed to... trip over his own feet while scrambling back in panic? It was just that the scene had been so chaotic at the time that no one had noticed.

Tsang's pupils constricted slightly.

He remembered clearly that at that very instant, he had been fully focused on assisting Izuna in dealing with the enemies to their front. His peripheral vision had seemingly swept across that direction unintentionally, and a fleeting thought had flashed through his mind: "In the way."

Was it because of that unintentional thought, combined with his newly awakened and unstable ocular power, that he had minutely deflected "causality" in the midst of that chaotic battlefield?

Had it caused that insignificant stumble, leading the boy to retreat exactly into the path of another Uchiha ninja's attack, thereby meeting his death prematurely?

This thought sent a chill through Uchiha Sou's heart.

This power... it did not seem to be entirely under his conscious control. It could activate on its own, driven by his emotions and thoughts, without him even realizing it—like a passive skill, subtly influencing everything around him.

It was more powerful than he had imagined, and also more... eerie and dangerous.

"What's wrong?" the injured clansman asked, puzzled by his sudden stillness.

"...It's nothing." Uchiha Sou withdrew his gaze and continued bandaging, burying his shock and uncertainty deep within his heart.

He looked up at Izuna, who was directing the cleanup of the battlefield, and then toward the sky, which was gradually brightening in the distance.

The dawn's light pierced the darkness, illuminating the blood-soaked battlefield, yet it could not penetrate the fog shrouding his heart—a fog born from these eyes and that unfathomable ability.

The ripples of causality had already begun to spread, and all he could do was become stronger, until he could truly see, and perhaps even control, the direction in which those ripples flowed.

The dawn raid was merely the first faint cry he had uttered amidst the long, raging fires of the Warring States period.