In a brightly lit little house.
A handsome teenage boy with short, tousled black hair and refined features was intently wiping the sharp ninja blade in his hand, treating it as if it were a work of art rather than a deadly weapon.
"Captain White Dove, the clan meeting is about to start!"
The voice outside snapped the refined-looking boy out of his focus as he cleaned his weapon.
Clang!
He sheathed the ninja blade, then put on a black fingerless glove marked with a lightning bolt on the back of the hand. After that, he stood and opened the door, where he found several figures waiting outside.
"Let's go. It's time to lay our cards on the table today!"
As he spoke, the refined-looking boy—that is, Uchiha White Dove—swept his gaze over the three men wearing the same combat vests as him.
Tekka, Inabi, and Yashiro!
They all looked to him for leadership and were willing to die for him.
As a transmigrator, Uchiha White Dove's talent—his cheat—wasn't very impressive.
In this Shinobi World, where Genin could beat Kage-level shinobi, people saved the world at fifteen, and Six Paths-level fighters got beaten up, he was fourteen and still wasn't Kage Level. He really was an embarrassment to transmigrators.
He was even far behind the clan leader's son, who was two years younger than him. At White Dove's age, that boy had already wiped out the entire Uchiha Clan.
Though he had a "cheat," it was a useless status-panel cheat.
It could display his attributes, but offered no benefits like "get stronger by signing in," "reap rewards by lying low," or "earn rewards by completing missions."
Still, it was thanks to the status panel that he'd been able to grind away from childhood to adulthood and achieve what he had today.
[Name: Uchiha White Dove Age: 14 Bloodline: Three-Tomoe Sharingan Attributes: Yin, Lightning, Fire Summoning Beast: White Pigeon Clan Ninjutsu: 7 Taijutsu: 7 Genjutsu: 6 Ninjutsu: D-Rank Three Body Technique, C-Rank Summoning Technique, C-Rank Great Fireball Technique, B-Rank Shadow Clone Technique, C-Rank Dove Clone Technique, A-Rank Lightning Cloak, A-Rank Flying White Pigeon Technique, A-Rank Super Electromagnetic Cannon, S-Rank Ten Thousand Lightning Heavenly Prison Taijutsu: Uchiha Style Taijutsu, Ninja Army Six Styles, Swallow Reversal (A), Mumyo Sandan-tsuki (S) Genjutsu: C-Rank Will-o'-the-Wisp, C-Rank Bubble, A-Rank Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, A-Rank Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, Sharingan]
See? This status panel couldn't be used to "spend points," and it couldn't even display some more detailed information.
For example, his knowledge of plants and biology was top-notch in Konoha, but none of that showed up on the status panel.
As for his bloodline, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan was pretty good.
He couldn't compare with those monsters who awakened their eyes at a few years old and gained the Mangekyo in their teens, but he was definitely in the Uchiha Clan's T0 tier. Outsiders just didn't know it, since he usually only showed a two-tomoe Sharingan.
There was nothing to say about his chakra natures. They were completely standard for an Uchiha.
His summoning beasts were ninja pigeons he'd raised himself. Their combat strength wasn't worth mentioning, but they were excellent support.
As for his Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, and Genjutsu stats...
Based on his own tests and classification, 1 point meant a Ninja Academy student, 2 meant a Genin, 3 a Chunin, 4 a Special Jōnin, 5 a Jōnin, 6 an elite Jōnin, 7 a candidate for Kage Level, 8 Kage Level, 9 the peak of Kage Level, and 10 beyond Kage Level. The numbers made it clear what he was good at.
His Ninjutsu and Taijutsu were both at the level of a Kage candidate!
And he had no obvious weakness in Genjutsu, either.
Tonight was the moment he would reveal his true strength and turn the tables.
Shisui's date with death was drawing closer. If he missed this chance, everything would be over, so he had to make his move.
Today was the clan's monthly meeting.
He'd always made excuses to avoid it. The meetings were nothing but complaints and time-wasting discussions about rebellion, with no actual action taken.
Footsteps thudded!
The four of them walked fully armed down a street inhabited only by the Uchiha Clan. They looked less like they were going to a clan meeting and more like they were heading out on a mission.
Everywhere they passed, Uchiha Clan members watched them with reverence.
Naturally, this was because White Dove, the "Logistics Squad Captain," held tremendous prestige.
They hadn't gone far when a "roadblock" appeared in front of them.
He had a dumpling-shaped nose and wore a black, tight-fitting combat uniform beneath a green Jōnin flak jacket. The Uchiha Clan Crest was embroidered on both shoulders, and a short sword was strapped to his back.
Uchiha Shisui!
The Uchiha Clan's greatest genius.
When he appeared, the Uchiha Clan members on both sides of the street watched him with complicated expressions.
After all, he was a clan genius, yet he always sided with the village leadership.
"White Dove..."
Shisui slowly spoke as he looked at Uchiha White Dove before him.
"Shisui, either kill me now or get out of my way!"
White Dove's voice was icy. His gaze held both sorrow at Shisui's misfortune and anger at his refusal to stand up for himself.
If he had Shisui's talent, he'd have rebelled against Konoha long ago. At the very least, he wouldn't have been a dog for the Konoha F4.
But Shisui had done just that, and he'd done it wholeheartedly. White Dove had laid out the facts and reasoned with him time and again, but Shisui had never listened. He worshipped nothing but the Will of Fire.
The fake genjutsu: Sharingan!
The real genjutsu: Will of Fire!
White Dove had given up on the stubborn fool. That was why he'd decided to give it everything he had tonight. He didn't want to end up sharing the Uchiha Clan's fate.
If he won, he'd enjoy the finer things in life; if he failed, he'd become the finer thing in life.
A struggle flickered in Shisui's eyes. But when he saw White Dove and the others place their right hands on their weapons, he eventually stepped aside.
"Shisui, your weakness will be the death of you!"
White Dove left him with those words as he passed.
Yes, even though Shisui was incredibly strong, White Dove had never feared him. He was far more wary of that "White-Eyed Wolf," because he was a genuine monster.
Weakness!
That was Shisui's fatal flaw.
It was this very weakness that made him die so carelessly despite possessing the Mangekyo.
Since Shisui couldn't be his ally, he was an enemy. White Dove had already decided to treat him as an enemy and a stepping stone toward becoming stronger.
If Shisui had really stood in his way just now, White Dove would have killed him.
In terms of raw strength, White Dove was indeed inferior. But Shisui's weakness was fatal, and he would be the one to die in the end.
Shisui, who had stepped aside, felt uneasy. He also sensed that something about Uchiha White Dove was different today.
At the very least, the aura coming off him was powerful enough to threaten Shisui—a feeling he'd never had before.
"No, I need to report this to Lord Hokage!"
He headed for the Hokage Building at once.
Meanwhile!
White Dove led the three men quickly to Naka Shrine, downstream along the Naka River.
Outside stood a vermilion torii, with the Uchiha Clan's gunbai crest above it. Behind it was a shrine with broad eaves.
The shrine was brightly lit inside, nothing like the ruined, lifeless place it would become after the clan's future massacre.
Footsteps thudded!
The four of them passed through the gate and entered the shrine's main hall.
Seated at the head was Uchiha Fugaku, the clan leader, wearing a green top and sporting a fierce expression. Well-known clan members sat on either side.
Those who attended the clan meeting either had status and influence or possessed a Three-Tomoe Sharingan. There weren't many of them—only a few dozen.
Out of the Uchiha Clan's more than a thousand members, these were the ones who truly called the shots.
About thirty of them were Jōnin.
The entire village of Konoha had only about two hundred Jōnin in the open. Even if they included those hidden among the major clans, the number would still be no more than three hundred.
And the Uchiha Clan's Jōnin could each fight two opponents without falling behind, so it wasn't unreasonable to count them as more than sixty Jōnin.
With a single clan holding one-fifth of the high-level fighting strength, it was no wonder the "Konoha F4" couldn't sit still.
Who wouldn't be worried about that?
So the village's long-standing wariness and suppression of the clan made perfect sense.
When White Dove and the others entered, everyone's gaze turned toward them.
"Clan leader!"
Uchiha White Dove calmly greeted Uchiha Fugaku at the head of the hall, then went to sit on one side. The three men behind him sat down behind him as well.
He had more followers than just these few, of course, but only they were allowed to attend the clan meeting.
Only after Uchiha White Dove and his men had sat down did Uchiha Fugaku speak:
"All right, let's discuss how to deal with the complaints villagers have filed against our Police Force."
Since the Uchiha enforced the law impartially, villagers had filed plenty of complaints. Discussing the matter at every meeting had become a tradition.
"Clan leader, why don't we just rebel? We have Shisui, and no one can withstand the invincible Mangekyo. As long as we kill the village leadership first, the other clans definitely won't dare to defy us!"
The first to speak was the fierce-looking Second Elder, Uchiha Setsuna, leader of the hardliners. He put forward a dangerous proposal.
"No. With our clan's strength, there's no way we can fight the entire Hokage Faction!"
The First Elder, Uchiha Tenzan—the representative of the conservatives and the Dove Faction—spoke up.
He and Uchiha Setsuna were practically sworn enemies. Whatever one supported, the other opposed; whatever one opposed, the other supported.
Once the two of them had spoken, the clan members who followed them chimed in as well.
Mm, this was what clan meetings were usually like.
It didn't feel like a clan meeting at all. It was more like a neighborhood committee meeting about everyday grievances—and the kind that couldn't get anything done.
No wonder White Dove had never attended before. It was a complete waste of time.
Uchiha Fugaku, the clan leader, didn't try to stop them, either. He just occasionally spoke up to calm them down and keep the argument from getting out of hand.
After a while.
Pfft!
White Dove, seated in the corner, couldn't help laughing out loud.
After all, this scene really was hilarious when you watched it for entertainment.
That laugh was like a signal. The main hall fell silent at once.
Before you continue