Eve of the Third Shinobi World War

In the forty-sixth year of Konoha, the autumn wind swept through, carrying no longer fallen leaves, but the increasingly dense, inescapable stench of blood and gunpowder that hung over the entire Shinobi World. Eleven-year-old Kyohaku Uchiha stood at the edge of the Forest of Death, his pale face utterly expressionless. Only his Two-Tomoe Sharingan gazed deeply toward the scorched earth and storm clouds that seemed to stretch endlessly beyond the village.

The Shinobi World, a massive powder keg, had already reached the brink of explosion. Years of localized friction and conflict had finally escalated into large-scale warfare. For resources, profits, and even sheer hatred, the great nations recklessly sent their iron heel crushing into the smaller surrounding countries. The Land of Rain, the Land of Grass, the Land of Hot Springs... Countless small nations wailed beneath the crushing advance of shinobi villages. Some were forced into submission and made to sign humiliating treaties; others suffered even worse fates, their towns destroyed, their shinobi villages wiped out, erased entirely from the map.

What followed was the collapse of order. Roaming bandits, wandering shinobi who had lost their employers, and missing-nin who had defected from every nation spread across the continent like a plague. They murdered, set fires, pillaged, and committed every evil imaginable, spreading chaos and death into every corner. Though Konoha still maintained an outward appearance of order, everyone could feel the string in the air drawn taut. The number of S-rank and A-rank missions on the assignment board had surged, most involving reconnaissance, ambushes, or sabotage in dangerous regions. The wounded brought into the hospital were also arriving more often, their injuries growing more severe by the day.

Kyohaku Uchiha remained in Orochimaru's laboratory, a place that seemed like the only warped point of calm within the eye of the storm. Over the past year, after completely fusing with the White Zetsu Cells, recovering his health, and gaining immense power, he had devoted all his energy to frantically absorbing knowledge.

Under Orochimaru's meticulous and unreserved instruction, his rate of growth had been terrifying. Whether in the theoretical depth and practical application of ninjutsu, Genjutsu, and taijutsu, or in Fūinjutsu, forbidden medical techniques, and biological modification, he had reached an exceptionally high level. He could already independently design and complete highly complex biological experiments, interpret and improve many ancient forbidden technique scrolls, and even engage Orochimaru in deep discussions about certain difficult problems in the field of souls.

His "shinobi talent" and "research talent" had achieved their most extreme and distorted bloom within this forbidden laboratory. Orochimaru looked upon him as though admiring a perfect work of art he had personally carved—one that continued to evolve on its own, even beginning to exceed expectations. The satisfaction and interest in his eyes only grew stronger.

Yet Kyohaku's mind remained incomparably clear. He knew that power in a laboratory and survival on a battlefield were two different matters. He possessed a Jonin's chakra, a healthy body, an evolved Sharingan, bizarre movement techniques, and extensive stores of knowledge... but he lacked the most crucial link—tempering through blood and fire.

Theory on paper would always remain shallow in the end.

His "Completion Plan" required more resources, especially rare Kekkei Genkai samples and combat data. And those could only be acquired most quickly and directly on the cruelest battlefields.

It was time.

That day, after Orochimaru finished recording a set of data on the corrosiveness of Hashirama Cells, Kyohaku spoke calmly, his voice especially clear within the laboratory reeking of formaldehyde.

"Sensei."

"Hmm?" Orochimaru did not turn around, remaining focused on the world beneath his microscope.

"I would like to apply for a frontline assignment." Kyohaku's tone did not ripple in the slightest, as though he were merely stating an established fact.

Orochimaru's movements paused. He slowly straightened and turned around, his golden snake eyes carrying a trace of amusement and scrutiny as he carefully examined Kyohaku. "Oh? Have you finally grown tired of the laboratory's peace? Or do you feel that... the knowledge you already possess can no longer satisfy you?"

"Knowledge needs practice to be verified and elevated," Kyohaku answered flawlessly. "Besides, given the current situation, the village needs every bit of strength it can get. I believe I should go where I am needed most." He paused before adding, "Especially in medical support and special intelligence processing, I should be able to play some role."

He did not directly say that he wanted to fight and kill on the battlefield. Instead, he chose a reason more suited to his public identity as a "medical ninja" and his hidden strengths as a "researcher."

Orochimaru let out a low chuckle, as if he had seen through the true intentions beneath Kyohaku's calm words. Yet he did not care; rather, he seemed quite approving.

"Hehehe... Do you crave blood and real death? Very good. That is the resolve one should possess on the path of pursuing power." He licked his lips. "Staying in a greenhouse all the time truly prevents one from growing. Your current strength is enough to handle most situations as well."

He walked to the desk, picked up a blank mission application form, and swiftly began writing on it.

"I will recommend to the old man that you be assigned to my direct unit. We will soon head to the border of the Land of Rivers. That place... is quite an interesting 'testing ground.'" A dangerous, excited gleam flashed in Orochimaru's eyes. "The elites of every nation will be there... enough for you to properly 'put into practice' what you have learned."

He handed the completed form to Kyohaku, a cold curve lifting at the corner of his mouth. "Go. Let me see just how brilliantly my disciple can bloom upon a true battlefield of carnage. Do not die too easily, Kyohaku. Your value... is far greater than that of cannon fodder."

"Yes, Sensei. I will not disappoint you." Kyohaku accepted the form and gave a slight bow.

The third step of his plan had finally begun.

He would leave the laboratory and step onto a true battlefield, tempering himself amid mountains of corpses and seas of blood, gathering resources, and turning the ideal of "completion" into reality step by step.

The clouds of war had arrived, and Kyohaku Uchiha, this newly tempered blade, was finally about to leave its sheath, thirsting for blood.