Choosing... the Eight Gates!

"You... just got back?"

After returning home, Uchiha Shunichi happened to run into Second Pillar, who was about to head out.

"Yeah, I had a mission last night." Uchiha Shunichi answered casually before returning to his room.

Second Pillar watched Uchiha Shunichi's retreating back. He wanted to say something, but ultimately remained silent.

Today was the orientation meeting for the graduates, mainly for assigning teams and becoming real ninja.

Sasuke had originally been in a fairly good mood. After all, he had finally become a ninja too. But compared with Uchiha Shunichi, who was the same age as him, Second Pillar suddenly felt a sense of frustration.

Over the past few years, Second Pillar had trained more than three times as much as Uchiha Shunichi, yet his strength had always fallen short of Uchiha Shunichi's.

Those eyes, so much like that person's, placed immense pressure on Sasuke, nearly leaving him unable to breathe.

As for the opponent Uchiha Shunichi had mentioned, Second Pillar did not take him seriously at all. Even though the two sparred regularly, Second Pillar still won overwhelmingly.

With complicated feelings in his heart, Second Pillar headed toward the Academy.

After returning to his room, Uchiha Shunichi took off his outerwear and removed the jacket covered in Explosive Tags. He carefully checked the condition of the tags before placing it in the cabinet beside him.

For the time being, Uchiha Shunichi did not need to defect.

Since that was the case, he should consider how to find an opportunity amid the chaos of the Chūnin Exams to... kill Danzo!

Having allowed that disgusting bastard to live for so long, Uchiha Shunichi felt that he had already been exceedingly kind. If not for his body back then...

A trace of hatred flashed through Uchiha Shunichi's eyes.

When he had been dissected, he had felt no pain, but the terror of sensing that something was missing from within his body remained vividly etched in his memory.

At the time, he had truly believed he was going to die.

Vigorously rubbing his face, Uchiha Shunichi temporarily cast his hatred from his mind. He lay on the bed and began calculating various experimental data in his head.

Originally, Uchiha Shunichi had wanted to transplant Naruto Uzumaki's flesh and blood. That guy's Uzumaki constitution was actually quite special.

However, the issue of fusing Uzumaki bloodline traits with the Sharingan had always troubled Uchiha Shunichi. Moreover, the transfer of bloodline traits in the Shinobi World was far from as simple as Uchiha Shunichi had imagined.

As he pondered, Uchiha Shunichi gradually drifted off to sleep.

He slept until dusk, when an unfamiliar presence startled him awake.

"Uchiha Shunichi, Lord Hokage wishes to see you!" A masked Anbu ninja arrived outside Uchiha Shunichi's room. He first knocked on the window before speaking.

"I understand!" Uchiha Shunichi calmed himself after being jolted awake, then replied.

Living in an environment like this, Uchiha Shunichi could not even sleep soundly. Although he seemed to have earned the trust of Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others, an alarm bell always hung in his heart.

So long as Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō remained alive, Uchiha Shunichi could not rest easy. This had become more severe ever since he had officially become a ninja.

Fortunately, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not have much longer to live.

After getting up and quickly washing up, Uchiha Shunichi looked at the Explosive Tag jacket in the bedside cabinet. He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose not to wear it.

Even though ninja had high offense and low defense, using self-detonating Explosive Tags would have little effect unless it caught someone completely off guard.

After all, ninja possessed strong agility, perception, and judgment in battle. Otherwise, Jonin on the battlefield would have long been taken down in one-for-one exchanges.

Bathed in the light of the setting sun, Uchiha Shunichi headed toward the Hokage Building. The peaceful streets along the way gave him a feeling as though a lifetime had passed.

Only Sarutobi Hiruzen was in the Hokage's Office. When Uchiha Shunichi entered, he was reading through a dossier.

"Shunichi, you're here! The nutritional supplement you handed over to the village has been tested, and its effects truly are remarkable. To research something like this all by yourself, you really are..." Sarutobi Hiruzen immediately praised him upon seeing Uchiha Shunichi enter.

"I had no choice. My body was too weak back then, so I could only think of a way myself," Uchiha Shunichi replied blandly.

"Now that it has been proven effective, we can give you the reward you deserve. You should have seen this before. Choose one Ninjutsu from it to train."

"However, you should note that these are all forbidden techniques. If you fail to master them properly, you could die."

Sarutobi Hiruzen spoke to Uchiha Shunichi with great solemnity.

"Yeah, I understand." Uchiha Shunichi nodded and accepted the scroll from Sarutobi Hiruzen.

The moment he opened the scroll, Uchiha Shunichi finally understood why Sarutobi Hiruzen had been so unconcerned about letting Naruto take away the forbidden techniques scroll.

It turned out that the detailed training methods had long been sealed away, leaving only the names of the Ninjutsu and some brief descriptions.

How could someone possibly master forbidden techniques merely by stealing the scroll?

After swiftly scanning the scroll, Uchiha Shunichi said to Sarutobi Hiruzen, "I've chosen. I'll take the Eight Gates! This forbidden technique seems capable of strengthening my body."

What Uchiha Shunichi truly wanted was the Flying Thunder God, but after thinking for a moment, he still gave up on that Ninjutsu.

First, he did not have much time to learn it. Second, Uchiha Shunichi remained doubtful as to whether he could even master the Flying Thunder God.

"This..." Sarutobi Hiruzen could not help furrowing his brow slightly at Uchiha Shunichi's choice. It was not that he did not want to give it to him; he simply found it somewhat regrettable.

"Shunichi, this Ninjutsu places a great burden on the body, and it is purely Taijutsu. It cannot integrate well with your Sharingan."

Sarutobi Hiruzen assumed Uchiha Shunichi did not understand, so he explained it to him. After all, even he could not imagine that Uchiha Shunichi actually knew many things.

"I don't need Ninjutsu right now. I only need to strengthen my body. Only once my body is strong enough can I use these eyes of mine." Uchiha Shunichi had already prepared an excuse.

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked into Uchiha Shunichi's eyes and ultimately did not try to persuade him further. Eyes like Uchiha Itachi's... hopefully, they could become strength for the village.

"Since you have made up your mind, I will arrange for someone to instruct you. During this period, you will only carry out missions at night. Rest during the day."