Open it, Xuanye silently commanded in his mind.
[Rookie gift pack opened. Obtained: Yin Release Chakra] [Merge now?]
"Yes!"
Xuanye chose yes without hesitation.
The next second, a sharp pain stabbed through his eyes, and two trails of bloody tears slowly ran down from their corners.
"Xuanye, are you all right?" Inabi hurried over when he saw Xuanye in pain.
Xuanye waved a hand, signaling him not to worry.
A moment later, Xuanye opened his eyes again. Three Tomoe slowly revolved in his blood-red Sharingan.
Inabi froze at the sight, then broke into a delighted grin.
"Xuanye, you've awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan?!"
Even within the family, few had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Counting the elders of the older generation, there were barely a dozen now.
Both within the clan and throughout the Ninja World, people understood what it meant for an Uchiha to awaken the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
At minimum, he would be an Elite Jonin—and quite possibly one who could take on several opponents at once!
Inabi felt no jealousy toward his good friend. He was sincerely thrilled that Xuanye had grown stronger.
As soon as his sight returned, Xuanye found that he could see more clearly, and his chakra had increased considerably.
And he had absorbed only part of the Yin Release Chakra from the rookie gift pack.
By his conservative estimate, absorbing it all, coupled with a little mental shock, might well awaken the Mangekyō.
"Hehehe... Hahahaha!"
Uchiha Genya suddenly threw back his head and laughed wildly.
Perhaps it was the joy of finding hope when all had seemed lost. Or perhaps that maniacal laughter was simply in his blood.
Either way, Xuanye had barely awakened the Three-Tomoe before letting loose a trademark Uchiha laugh.
Inabi saw nothing strange about Xuanye laughing like that.
If he had awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan himself, he might have acted even more cocky.
Only then did Xuanye begin examining the system's functions.
[Rookie mission issued: Become a jonin] [Reward: One Myriad World Lottery draw]
Aside from the mission prompt, there was Xuanye's personal status panel.
[Host: Uchiha Genya] [Bloodline limit: Three-Tomoe Sharingan] [Chakra natures: Yin, fire, lightning, wind] [Ninjutsu: Great Fireball Technique, Body Flicker Technique, Substitution Technique, Transformation Technique, Shadow Clone Technique, Great Fire Dragon Technique...]
Apparently, this was the kind of system that assigned missions and rewarded him with lottery draws.
But the system's potential seemed enormous: its lottery could award items from beyond the Naruto world.
That meant Xuanye's own potential was even greater. He might even transcend dimensions someday.
"Inabi, let's go." Xuanye waved to the bewildered Inabi.
Inabi blinked. "Where are you going?"
"To see an elder and apply for the jonin evaluation."
Inabi watched Xuanye walk away, still at a loss.
Hadn't Xuanye just said he wasn't interested in the jonin evaluation? Why was he suddenly applying?
Had something gotten into him?
But Xuanye was already disappearing into the distance, so Inabi hurried after him.
They soon reached the Uchiha Clan Compound and met the grand elder in his office.
Besides Uchiha Fugaku, the clan head and chief of Konoha's Police Force, three other men held authority among the Uchiha: the three elders.
The elder Xuanye had come to see was Uchiha Yashiro.
Yashiro was somewhat surprised that Xuanye, a promising junior in his eyes, had come to visit.
"Xuanye, what brings you to see this old man?" Yashiro even poured him a cup of tea and motioned for him to sit.
Xuanye did not take the tea. Instead, he revealed his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
Yashiro's hand trembled as he poured. Then delight flashed in his eyes.
Another member of the family had awakened the Three-Tomoe!
Given the current situation, that was wonderful news!
"Elder, I've awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan. I've come to ask you to let me take the jonin evaluation."
"Good! Good! Good!"
Yashiro said it three times. After Shisui, another genius had finally emerged among the younger generation.
"Since you've awakened the Three-Tomoe, I'll take you to Lord Hokage at once for the jonin evaluation."
On the way to the Hokage Building, Yashiro was silent for a long while before suddenly asking Xuanye:
"What do you think of the current Lord Hokage?"
"He's a good man," Xuanye answered without hesitation.
Yashiro had not expected that assessment of Minato. He even paused midstep.
A good man was hardly a compliment among ninja.
But Xuanye genuinely thought so.
Namikaze Minato had only recently taken office, and Xuanye had little interest in this Hokage.
Becoming Hokage at twenty seemed glorious enough. He had even married the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and gained control of Konoha's most powerful War Machine. It looked like the story of a man who had it all.
But youth also meant... a lack of political experience.
The Lord Third had not fully stepped aside. Together with Mitokado Homura, Utatane Koharu, and Shimura Danzō, he still held the reins of power throughout Konoha.
On top of that, Tsunade and Jiraiya, who supported Minato, had left the village one after the other. Orochimaru, too, had grown disillusioned and withdrawn from village affairs. Minato was little more than a puppet pushed into the spotlight.
Namikaze Minato had certainly been brilliant on the battlefield, but in Xuanye's eyes, he was not suited to be Hokage.
Of course, that was not something Xuanye could say aloud, even to an elder of his own clan.
Yashiro walked a little farther. When Xuanye offered no further opinion, he asked another question.
"Then... what do you think of Shimura Danzō?"
Again, Xuanye answered without hesitation.
"He's a petty man, one who'll stop at nothing to get what he wants."
"And... he's deeply hostile to the Uchiha Family."
Without Shimura Danzō, Sarutobi Hiruzen most likely would never have resolved to wipe out the Uchiha Family.
Yashiro nodded and said nothing more.
Smoke hung thick in the Hokage Office.
Lord Third Hiruzen Sarutobi sat on a nearby sofa, puffing away at his pipe.
Poor Little Blondie sat behind the broad desk, working through documents while forced to breathe in the smoke.
The sight only strengthened Xuanye's earlier suspicion.
Minato was nothing but a figurehead. Xuanye even suspected he needed Sarutobi Hiruzen's permission to deploy the Anbu.
There was nothing normal about that arrangement.
Seeing the visitors, Sarutobi Hiruzen smiled kindly.
"Yashiro? What brings you here?"
Uchiha Yashiro glanced at Namikaze Minato, who had looked up from behind the desk, then addressed Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"It's about this young man's promotion to jonin."
Xuanye stepped forward at the right moment and bowed to Sarutobi Hiruzen.
"Uchiha Genya, Konoha chunin. Greetings, Lord Third."
Sarutobi Hiruzen nodded at him.
"Uchiha Genya. I've heard of you. You're a very promising young man."
He signaled an Anbu beside him to bring over Xuanye's file, then spoke as he leafed through it.
"I recall that Xuanye performed well on the battlefield and awakened the Two-Tomoe Sharingan?"
Yashiro said evenly, "In fact, he's awakened the Three-Tomoe now."
"After this evaluation, I intend to promote Xuanye to squad captain in the Security Division."
Used well, the Three-Tomoe Sharingan would give Xuanye at least the strength of an Elite Jonin. He was young, too. Yashiro expected little opposition when he raised the matter at the clan meeting.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's hand paused over the file.