Shock from Uchiha Fugaku!

White smoke billowed from the man's body, and as he rolled to save himself, the flames were extinguished by the water.

The others pulled him out of the ditch and laid him on the ground.

He was covered in filth, yet his eyes remained fixed on Uchiha Zhoucheng.

"You... you actually know ninjutsu!"

"You... are you already... a ninja?"

Uchiha Zhoucheng stood silently, his expression unchanging. A ninja?

In a sense, I am a god—a god with low strength, yet invincible.

"Boss, your burns are severe. We need to get you to Konoha Hospital immediately!"

The boss, lying on the ground in agony, didn't even have the strength to look at him.

"Do you have the money for the medical bills?"

The others instinctively patted their wallets, then shook their heads in unison.

"No!"

Uchiha Zhoucheng saw right through them; they were nothing more than a group of fair-weather friends. Even if they had money in their wallets, they would still claim they didn't.

"Want to be healed?"

The boss froze for a moment and nodded instinctively. If burns like these weren't treated promptly, they would quickly become infected and inflamed, leaving him with nothing but a desperate wait for death.

"Tomorrow, go to Uchiha Plaza. There is a ring there. As long as you attack the ring master and deal damage, you can receive a reward. If you are lucky enough, perhaps you can be healed."

Having said that, Uchiha Zhoucheng swept his gaze over the others, scaring them into retreating repeatedly.

Hmph, at least they weren't so bad as to abandon their friend and run away.

"You can go too. If you're lucky, maybe you can become ninjas yourselves!"

With that, he turned and left without looking back, heading toward his room and leaving the group to stare at one another in confusion.

A ring?

Attacking the ring master earns a reward?

What was he talking about? Was he insane?

Only the boss, eyes half-closed in pain, looked thoughtful.

Returning home, he opened the door, and a pungent, foul odor assaulted his nose.

Uchiha Zhoucheng immediately threw the door wide open. Looking at this home that consisted of nothing but a single bed and lacked even a window, he shook his head helplessly.

It was obvious there would be no food; anything there would have long since been carried off by rats or other vermin.

He glanced at the blackened quilt on the bed, frowned, and turned to walk out of the house.

He took nothing with him, nor was there anything worth taking.

He walked out onto the street and checked into a random hotel.

In the hotel bathroom, he finished washing up and stood before the mirror, draped in a bathrobe.

He closed his eyes and opened them again; his pitch-black pupils had turned scarlet, with a single tomoe guarding the pupil like a sentry.

Uchiha Zhoucheng nodded to himself.

Sharingan!

This visual sensation was quite good.

He wondered what it would feel like to have three tomoe.

With a thought, the system panel appeared before his eyes.

[Host: Uchiha Zhoucheng.]
[Age: 15.]
[Strength: Genin.]
[Shield Remaining HP: 9,999,999,991,797.]

Looking at that long string of numbers, Uchiha Zhoucheng felt his scalp tingle. How long would it take to break through that?

He hoped Itachi and the others would tell Fugaku and those old geezers about the ring when they returned.

If he could lure them there, the speed at which the shield was broken would surely increase significantly.

I could also obtain all sorts of abilities.

However, I shouldn't just focus on the Uchiha clan; I should set my sights on all of Konoha.

If every ninja in the village came to break the shield, just thinking about it was beautiful!

I hope the news of the ring spreads outside the clan!

As for that Advanced Ninjutsu Experience Card, I'll save it for now. I'll use it once I've learned an advanced ninjutsu; using it on a C-rank technique wouldn't be worth it.

With the Poison-Avoidance Pill, I won't have to fear any toxins.

That night, within the Uchiha clan, a piece of news spread like wildfire.

Uchiha Zhoucheng was not as useless as he appeared on the surface.

He had been experiencing life, tasting the myriad states of the human world.

His true identity was that of an old monster who had lived for who knew how many years.

Having lived long enough, he was single-mindedly seeking death, setting up a ring to welcome challenges from everyone.

As long as one attacked him and managed to inflict damage, they would receive a blind box reward.

These blind boxes could contain all sorts of rewards.

It was precisely after receiving such a reward that the clan leader's youngest son, Sasuke, instantly awakened his Sharingan.

This caused a massive uproar in the clan, and those with ulterior motives were eager to try.

However, most people scoffed at the idea, finding it impossible for such a person to exist.

Why would someone give out rewards just because others attacked them?

Even a complete fool wouldn't do something like that!

To be attacked and not seek revenge, but instead reward the assailant?

Especially that reward which allowed one to awaken their eyes—only a fool would believe it.

In the clan, those who could awaken their eyes were geniuses; if a single reward could do that, why bother with grueling training? One would just need to cling to that person's leg!

In the meeting hall, Uchiha Fugaku felt a storm raging in his heart after hearing Itachi's account.

If anyone else had told him such a thing, he would have cursed them out without hesitation.

But the ones speaking were his own sons and a genius clansman he held in high regard.

Furthermore, they weren't speaking from hearsay, but from personal experience.

Directly allowing Sasuke to awaken his eyes, directly increasing chakra reserves, directly and permanently boosting ninjutsu power.

Such abilities were beyond the reach of even Kage-level powerhouses.

Could he have misjudged him?

Was that universally acknowledged waste and fool actually an old monster who had lived for countless years?

Was it simply because he was tired of living that he sought death, rewarding those who could hurt him and bring him closer to the end?

It was unbelievable!

"Clan Leader, this man is simply bewitching people's hearts. How could such a person or event exist in this world?"

"No need for training, just direct increases in chakra and ninjutsu power."

"Isn't this just encouraging everyone to abandon their hard work?"

"If this continues, the atmosphere of our clan will inevitably be corrupted!"

"They will only think about gaining something for nothing!"

"Besides, if he is truly as Itachi describes, why would he be willing to stay in our clan for over a decade, enduring humiliation and cold shoulders?"

Sasuke stiffened his neck to retort; in his mind, big brother Zhoucheng was a wonderful person.

We attacked him, yet we still received rewards, and he never once got angry!

He would not allow others to slander big brother Zhoucheng.

"Big brother is experiencing all sorts of different lives!"

"I don't know how long he has lived, but I think it must be a very, very long time."

"So long that he has already experienced every kind of life, which is why he has no more attachments and seeks only death."

Itachi and Shisui also nodded, agreeing with Sasuke's perspective.

Senior Zhoucheng is a good person!

How could you not believe it?

"Elder, everything I have said is from my own personal experience; there is no falsehood!"

"Other things might be faked to deceive people, but Sasuke's Sharingan is not fake."

"The increase in Shisui's ninjutsu power is also a fact."

Itachi's expression turned solemn; the most critical part was the vision of the future!

"Senior Zhoucheng gave me a warning!"

Fugaku frowned. What warning?

"He showed me images of the future!"

"The Uchiha clan will be annihilated, Shisui will die, and Sasuke and I will fight to the death!"

Everyone present, save for Itachi, was struck as if by lightning!