The First Drop of Blood (2)

After stepping out of the Uchiha clan's territory, Uchiha Shin instantly pushed his sensory abilities to their maximum.

Speaking of sensory abilities, the ones in the original Naruto series can generally be divided into two categories.

The first category is sixth-sense perception.

The representative character is Karin; it was her appearance that allowed us to understand this type of perception.

For instance, in the original work, as long as Karin focused her mind, she could perceive every movement within dozens of kilometers and even discern the other party's mental state.

One must know that chakra is composed of physical energy and spiritual energy, so Karin's ability to perceive the other party's mental state is—well, that is very much a sixth sense.

Of course, there are also others like Ao of the Hidden Mist, A of the Hidden Cloud, and the Yamanaka clan of the Hidden Leaf.

The second category belongs to perception through the five senses.

For example, visual perception includes the Byakugan of the Hyuga clan, the Third Hokage's Telescope Technique, Gaara's Third Eye, and the Yamanaka clan's ninjas who can use animals for visual reconnaissance.

As for auditory perception, the representative character is Zabuza; one must know that his Silent Killing technique in the mist relied entirely on his auditory perception.

In terms of olfactory perception, the primary representatives are the ninjas of the Inuzuka clan.

As for gustatory perception, the representative characters are the Aburame clan, who can control Kikaichū through secret techniques and determine the specific location of enemies by having the insects consume the enemy's chakra.

Finally, for tactile perception, the representative character is Nagato; for example, when Nagato used the Rain Tiger at Will technique, he could successfully perceive enemies through the sensation of raindrops touching them.

As for Uchiha Shin's perception, it is actually somewhat like Karin's sixth sense, belonging to an innate talent.

Of course, compared to the unique sensory abilities of the Uzumaki clan, Uchiha Shin's sensory range is not that large—only about half of Karin's range.

With his sensory power active, Uchiha Shin carefully dodged two patrols of ninjas along the way.

By the time Uchiha Shin arrived at the foot of First Line Mountain, the sun had just set.

To be safe, Uchiha Shin decided to make his move against the bandits on First Line Mountain at dawn.

For now, Uchiha Shin prepared to find a hidden place to get some rest, as he had been traveling for a whole day.

Uchiha Shin walked along the foot of First Line Mountain for another quarter of an hour before finally finding a very secluded tree hollow.

Looking at the fur and excrement remaining at the exit of the tree hollow, Uchiha Shin judged that this place was likely the habitat of a large wild animal, such as a brown bear.

After standing outside and sensing the interior of the tree hollow, he confirmed it was empty and walked straight inside.

The interior of the tree hollow was very dry and had no strange odors; judging by the animal remains left in one corner, the original owner had likely abandoned it.

Uchiha Shin first set up a few steel wires and explosive tags at the entrance as a warning, then lay down fully clothed, closed his eyes, and began to rest.

In the early hours of the night, Uchiha Shin, who had been resting, suddenly opened his eyes and sat straight up.

Once his mind was completely clear, Uchiha Shin walked to the exit of the tree hollow and first removed the steel wires and explosive tags used for security.

Then, he shouldered his backpack and walked straight out of the tree hollow.

Uchiha Shin looked up at the position of the moon hanging in the night sky and made a calculation based on the calendar.

"As expected, my biological clock is still quite accurate!" Uchiha Shin muttered to himself.

"Let's go!"

Following his memory, Uchiha Shin arrived at the entrance gate of the bandit stronghold on First Line Mountain.

To prevent any accidents, Uchiha Shin extended his sensory power once more to scan the stronghold on First Line Mountain again.

"That's right, they are all ordinary people!"

Through the information fed back by his sensory power, Uchiha Shin confirmed that there was not a single ninja in this stronghold; they were all ordinary people.

Because the sensory power Uchiha Shin projected did not detect any chakra reactions.

If they were all ordinary people, things would be much easier to handle.

Strictly speaking, Uchiha Shin was not yet a true genin at this moment, as he could only be considered a real genin after passing the Uchiha clan's family trial.

However, even so, with his current strength, it was overwhelming for bandits who were all ordinary people; as long as they crossed paths, it would be an instant kill.

Uchiha Shin leaped lightly and vaulted directly over the gate of the stronghold.

Then, according to the locations of the life signals he had sensed, he crept into the rooms one by one.

Because the poison coated on Uchiha Shin's kunai had the effect of an anesthetic while also being lethal upon drawing blood, almost all the bandits in this stronghold had their throats slit by Uchiha Shin while they were still in their sleep.

In about a quarter of an hour, Uchiha Shin had silently killed all the bandits on First Line Mountain.

However, what puzzled Uchiha Shin was that if the strength of the bandits on First Line Mountain was so low, why had they been able to exist for so long?

Moreover, by the moonlight, Uchiha Shin noticed that these bandits were all sallow and emaciated, wearing rags.

Of course, there was one bandit who was dressed better and looked sturdier; other than him, all the other bandits radiated an unmistakable aura of refugees from the inside out.

Uchiha Shin guessed that the particularly sturdy one was likely the leader of this group of bandits.

Carrying this question in his heart, Uchiha Shin looked back at the stronghold once more...

The smell of blood mixed in the wind made Uchiha Shin feel somewhat uncomfortable; his stomach began to churn again, and his throat started to itch.

Uchiha Shin was not certain whether there were any ninjas from the Uchiha Clan following him in the shadows, monitoring his every move.

Although this was his first time killing someone, and despite Uchiha Shin feeling absolutely wretched right now, he forced himself to swallow the bile rising in his throat, just as he had that night, enduring the physical discomfort.

As for burning down the bandit stronghold? Forget it.

Regarding the doubts he had harbored just moments ago, Uchiha Shin now understood quite a bit.

The original purpose for establishing this stronghold was likely to serve as a place for the newcomers of nearby ninja clans to undergo trials and get their first taste of blood.

That was why most of the bandits in this stronghold were so sallow and gaunt, why they wore such tattered rags, and why they exuded an unmistakable air of refugees—because the bandits in this stronghold were, in fact, refugees.

In troubled times, human life is as cheap as blades of grass...

Better to be a dog in times of peace than a human in times of chaos; it seemed this truth held firm regardless of the world or the era.

Life is born, life struggles, and life eventually dies.

Uchiha Shin did not know why, but he suddenly recalled the words spoken by Uchiha Itachi in the original Naruto series.

Heh...

Hahaha...

Uchiha Shin did not know why, but he suddenly burst into a fit of frantic laughter.

"This twisted world, and these ninja clans who treat human life like blades of grass—are you all satisfied now... Hahaha!"

"Yet now, I too have been forced to become like this, to become the very thing I despised most in my past life."

A trace of irony played on Uchiha Shin's face. Thinking of the education he had received in his previous life, he stared fixedly at the traces of blood still staining his hands, feeling an intense sense of self-loathing.

Just then, Uchiha Shin felt his eyes begin to itch and sting for some unknown reason.

Unable to care about anything else, Uchiha Shin quickly walked over to the reservoir in the stronghold. Using the moonlight reflected on the water, he leaned over and began to examine his eyes carefully.

"This..."

Through the reflection in the rippling water of the reservoir, Uchiha Shin saw clearly that around the pupils of both his eyes, a single tomoe had appeared and was slowly rotating.

"Is this the One-Tomoe Sharingan?"

Uchiha Shin straightened his back, his right hand touching his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.

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