Team One Assembles

The Third Hokage's order had naturally reached Itachi.

But he was also a member of the Uchiha Clan, and Uchiha Fugaku had told him to "look after" Ryosuke.

Having already read the Stone Tablet beneath the shrine, Uchiha Itachi naturally understood what Uchiha Fugaku had in mind.

But as a middleman caught between Konoha, the Uchiha, and "Madara," he had felt that his life was utterly hopeless—until he met Ryosuke and suddenly glimpsed a chance for things to change.

So he wanted to test whether Ryosuke was the person he had been looking for.

The fact that a nine-year-old child could be so calculating would have shocked even Ryosuke, had he known.

Ryosuke returned home, took the Forehead Protector off his arm, and set it on the bedside table.

"I've achieved my first goal. Next, I need to start taking on ninja missions."

"That way, I can make the most of the system and grow stronger, while also avoiding the Uchiha Clan's massacre at the right time."

"But don't I need a team leader to take me on missions outside the village?"

Ryosuke was thinking about it when he promptly fell asleep.

Wait, why can't I move? Shadow Possession Jutsu? No, I don't feel restrained. It's more like someone's taken control of my body.

Could it be a genjutsu?

As he slept, Ryosuke suddenly sensed that something was wrong with his body.

He tried to open his eyes and use the Sharingan to break the abnormal state, but he couldn't do that either.

[Ding, B-rank Ninjutsu: Binding Technique, recorded]

So it really was a genjutsu—and a B-rank one at that. He must have run into a skilled opponent.

He had only ever seen Itachi reflect this technique with the Sharingan, and even that was too difficult for Ryosuke.

There were actually plenty of genjutsu specialists who knew this technique. But how had the other person infiltrated the Uchiha Clan's compound?

Where were the Uchiha guards?

Damn it. Bunch of useless fools.

Or had Konoha already begun purging the Uchiha Clan ahead of schedule?

Had he accidentally changed the course of events again?

But how had he not noticed?

That couldn't be right, either. The only way to counter the Sharingan was with another Sharingan.

That was precisely why Danzo and Obito had chosen Itachi.

But Itachi was only nine now. He couldn't possibly massacre the clan.

What was going on?

"Lightning Release: Sandamurei!"

With the situation so dire, Ryosuke immediately unleashed the strongest jutsu he had ever plundered.

Countless blue arcs of electricity exploded through the room.

Ryosuke himself took the brunt of it.

A tingling pain shot through his body.

The pain also broke him out of the genjutsu.

He instantly used Sonido to appear by the door, a Kunai now in his hand.

His two-Tomoe Sharingan activated, and he used Pesquisa.

He saw a shadow crouched on his windowsill.

A pair of scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan gazed at Ryosuke with curiosity.

"Not bad. You broke the genjutsu this way, so you must know a thing or two about it."

Before the voice had even faded, the figure on the windowsill appeared beside Ryosuke.

A hand came to rest on his shoulder.

Ryosuke's Sharingan hadn't even caught the other person's movements.

Fortunately, the other person didn't seem hostile.

"Who are you?"

Though the Sharingan let him identify the other person as a member of the Uchiha Clan, Ryosuke knew only a handful of Uchiha.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Shisui—Shisui Uchiha. I'm the teacher of Team One, the team you're on."

"Shisui? Team One?"

Ryosuke looked surprised.

He hadn't expected Shisui to be his teacher.

At this point, Body Flicker Shisui's fame rivaled that of the Yellow Flash.

If Shisui weren't only fourteen and a member of the Uchiha Clan, he might have been the more likely candidate to become the next Hokage.

"Then what was that just now?"

"That was just a test. I wanted to see how talented a kid who'd only spent three days at the Ninja Academy really was."

Shisui gave him a warm smile.

Ryosuke almost let himself be taken in, but quickly reminded himself to stay alert.

Like the Third Hokage, Shisui was a pacifist.

That was exactly why, despite wielding the Uchiha Clan's most powerful genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami, he had still let Danzo take his eye.

It was tragedies like Shisui's and Itachi's that made Ryosuke feel Konoha wasn't as reliable as it seemed.

Of course, the main reason was that he was a member of the Uchiha Clan himself.

"So when do we start taking missions?"

Ryosuke asked directly.

"Are you in that much of a hurry? We still need to train for a while,"

Shisui said.

"Train for what?"

"Of course, to help you survive in battle. Rookie ninja have the highest death rate, and I've seen enough death already. So far, not one of the two graduating classes I've led has suffered a single casualty."

Shisui had fought in the Third Shinobi World War. It was during that war that the name Body Flicker Shisui had spread throughout the Shinobi World.

That was why he longed for peace all the more.

Ryosuke silently nodded and said nothing.

He might be able to record more jutsu from Shisui.

But he was also a little worried about Shisui's super-genjutsu, Kotoamatsukami. Would he use it on him?

I probably don't matter enough for that. Besides, the technique needs decades' worth of chakra to build up. He wouldn't use it on a whim.

If the Uchiha crisis can't be avoided this time, then at the very least, Shisui's eyes mustn't fall into anyone else's hands.

Ryosuke made up his mind.

"Are you going back to sleep, or would you like to grab something to eat with me? You can meet your other two teammates while we're at it."

Shisui invited him.

Ryosuke's mouth twitched. He'd completely forgotten about that.

But only four other students had graduated from the Ninja Academy this year. Would his other two teammates be chosen from among them?

If he ended up on a team with that Nara Kid, he was worried he might not be able to stop himself from killing him.

Though he hesitated, he still got dressed and left home with Shisui.

Because the Uchiha Clan lived far from Konoha's main village, they had a little shopping street of their own.

Though it was late at night, that didn't bother the Uchiha.

The two of them went to a yakiniku restaurant. When the owner saw them, he merely nodded, as if they'd already been introduced.

"This is the place. Come on in."

Shisui slid open the door and spoke to Ryosuke.

A boy and a girl, both around ten years old, stared over at them with their Sharingan.

They were both Uchiha children?

Ryosuke felt relieved.

But he didn't recognize either of them. They must have been two nameless characters who died during the clan massacre.