Annihilate the Clan, Are You Going Home for Dinner?

Qingyu looked at the system prompt, his mouth twitching.

This mission description... System, have you been watching too many survival shows lately?

"I'll participate," he said, raising his head with a serious expression.

Fortune favors the bold, and experience is farmed through danger!

It's just an exchange trip to Sunagakure, right?

I'll just treat it as a government-funded vacation...

Even if the vacation spot is a desert and I might get buried by sand at any moment.

A flicker of satisfaction crossed Fugaku's eyes: "Very good! Then starting tomorrow, Shisui will be responsible for your special training, and Itachi will also find time to guide you."

"Yes!" Qingyu straightened his back.

"Also..." Fugaku took a small scroll out of his drawer.

"These are some advanced techniques for Uchiha Style shurikenjutsu. The Swallow Return you used before is just the foundation; this contains much more complex variations."

Qingyu took the scroll, so moved he almost cried.

Clan Head!

You are truly the clan head of my heart, regardless of bloodline!

This is practically a beginner's gift pack!

Fugaku: Then will you come home for dinner when the clan is being wiped out?

Qingyu: Get lost, get lost, get lost! One thing at a time!

"Thank you, Clan Head!"

"No need for thanks," Fugaku waved his hand.

"The future of the Uchiha ultimately depends on you young people."

When he left the clan head's house, the sky was already approaching dusk.

Qingyu walked along the streets of the clan compound clutching the scroll, feeling as if his steps were floating.

The amount of information today was too much; he needed time to digest it.

"What do you think?" he asked the two teachers in his mind.

"A good thing," Izuna spoke first.

"With the clan's support, your growth will be much faster. That was how my brother trained me back in the day."

"But be careful," Tobirama warned.

"The Uchiha are not a monolith. Gaining the clan head's favor today might attract the... attention of certain people."

"Attention?" Qingyu's heart tightened.

"Jealousy, solicitation, suppression... all are possible," Tobirama analyzed calmly.

"There are factional struggles within any organization, and in a large clan like the Uchiha, it will only be more complex."

Qingyu sighed.

He just wanted to get stronger in peace; why was it so difficult?

"By the way," he suddenly remembered something, "what Itachi-senpai said earlier about 'observing Sunagakure's movements'... have the Uchiha sensed something?"

There was a moment of silence in his mind.

"...Perhaps," Tobirama said slowly.

"That red-haired Jinchuriki's state was very unstable today. If Sunagakure has any unusual movements, the Jinchuriki must be the key."

"Besides," Izuna added.

"When I was alive, before Sunagakure was even formed, those guys were always pulling small tricks. I imagine they're still the same way now."

Qingyu nodded.

It seemed the Uchiha's vigilance was quite high.

Rip!

Back at his own home, Qingyu couldn't wait to open the scroll the clan head had given him.

The scroll recorded in detail seven advanced throwing methods for Uchiha Style shurikenjutsu:

"Twin Swallow Rotation"

"Triple Swallow Skimming Sky"

"Four-Direction Death Strike"

...The names were more chuunibyou than the last, and the effects were more monstrous than the last.

For example, "Four-Direction Death Strike" required throwing four shuriken simultaneously, completing four mid-air collisions to change their trajectories, and finally hitting the target from four different angles.

Qingyu's head began to ache just looking at it.

Is this really something a human can achieve? Does it not require the assistance of the Sharingan?

"Of course it does," Izuna said in his mind, "but since you currently possess that 'Byakugan Youth Version,' you can barely give it a try."

"Start by practicing the Twin Swallow Rotation," Tobirama provided a concrete plan, "practice for two hours every day; you should be able to master the basics in a week."

Qingyu resigned himself to his fate, picked up a shuriken, and prepared to head to the backyard for training.

But just at that moment...

Knock, knock, knock.

A knocking sound echoed.

Who could it be at such a late hour?

Qingyu walked to the door, alert: "Who is it?"

"It is I, Yashiro," a steady male voice came from outside the door.

Yashiro Uchiha? That jonin who grabbed him by the collar and dragged him out during the clan meeting?

Qingyu opened the door and, sure enough, saw Yashiro Uchiha standing outside.

In his hand, he was carrying... a box of snacks?

"Senior Yashiro, this is..."

"A sick visit," Yashiro handed over the snack box, "I heard you were discharged from the hospital, so I stopped by to see you on my way."

Qingyu took the snack box, feeling flattered: "Thank you, Senior! You are too kind!"

"By the way," Yashiro walked into the room and sat down quite naturally, "let's talk."

"Ah!?"

"What, are you dissatisfied?"

Yashiro's gaze darkened slightly, and the air in the room seemed to grow a bit heavier.

Qingyu's heart skipped a beat.

Here it comes, here it comes! The Uchiha's layered schemes! Give a sweet treat first, then start the interrogation!

How truly dark-hearted!

Yashiro: What, are you unconvinced?

Qingyu: I am convinced...

He hurriedly poured tea for Yashiro, then sat obediently across from him.

Yashiro took a sip of tea and spoke slowly: "The clan head sought you out today regarding the joint activity, correct?"

"Yes," Qingyu answered honestly.

"Hmm," Yashiro nodded, "this is an opportunity; grasp it well."

He paused, looking at Qingyu: "However, there is something the clan head might not have stated explicitly."

Here it comes! The main point!

"The situation of the Uchiha in Konoha... is not very good," Yashiro said bluntly.

"The Police Force is being ostracized, the budget is being cut, and the paths for the younger generation are becoming increasingly narrow."

Qingyu listened quietly.

"The clan head wants to change this situation," Yashiro continued.

"That is why he will focus on cultivating promising young people, letting them go out into the world so that more people can see the excellence of the Uchiha."

He stared at Qingyu: "You are one of them."

Qingyu felt the pressure mounting.

They were planning to groom him as the brand ambassador for the Uchiha!

Qingyu: "I have been drinking it since I was a child!"

Remember, it must be a pose holding a coconut milk!

"I... I will do my best," was all he could say.

"Effort is secondary," Yashiro suddenly smiled, though there was something complex in that smile.

"The most important thing is... to stay alive! Only by staying alive is there a future."

Why does that sound like a flag, Senior!

"Alright, everything that needed to be said has been said," Yashiro stood up.

"Rest early. Starting tomorrow, your days will not be easy."

After seeing Yashiro off, Qingyu looked at the snack box on the table, his mood complicated.

Opening the box, inside were the Red Bean Paste Pancakes specially supplied by Naka Shrine—the exact kind he had snuck a taste of back then.

I can't hold it together anymore...

"You Uchiha are actually quite meticulous, aren't you?"

"The Sharingan does not lie..."

Sharingan: Genjutsu!

"I was wrong, I was wrong, I won't look anymore!"

"Stop hitting me, I won't look anymore!"

So this is... officially certified tribute-tasting rights?

A welcome gift from the Uchiha clan?

He picked up a piece and took a bite; it was the same taste, cloyingly sweet.

But for some reason, this time he tasted something different.

[Ding!]

[System Notification: Hidden side quest "Expectations of the Uchiha" progress updated!]

[Current progress: 2/4]

[Achieved: Clan Reputation: Rising Star, Personal Audience with the Clan Head]

[Pending: Declare a stance at the clan meeting, ??? (Unknown)]

[Note: You have officially entered the core training sequence of the Uchiha. Subsequent plotlines will involve clan politics, internal struggles within Konoha, and other elements. Please be prepared (smile).]

Qingyu looked at that "smile" and felt the system was becoming more and more like an unscrupulous game developer.

[System: We are the ones truly invested!]