First Kill!

"Void, you have a new mission." Just as Uchiha Shunichi thought he was still merely a spectator, Tenzō seemed to sense something and spoke to him.

"Yeah, what mission?" Uchiha Shunichi's expression remained calm.

"The details will be explained when we get there." Tenzō did not elaborate.

Moreover, Tenzō would not be leading this mission. It would be Gekko Hayate instead. Uchiha Shunichi did not particularly care about this change.

"Void, let's go! This mission..." Gekko Hayate's body was somewhat frail, yet Uchiha Shunichi could sense a faint threat from him.

If not for his body, this guy's achievements should have been greater. Uchiha Shunichi recalled what he had been like several years ago, and a long-forgotten trace of sympathy rose in his heart.

"Drink this. It should ease your condition somewhat." Uchiha Shunichi pulled out a vial from his chest and handed it to Gekko Hayate.

Gekko Hayate looked at it, then drank it without hesitation. Whether it was trust or foolishness, his action did make Uchiha Shunichi think a little more favorably of him.

"After this mission is over, I'll give you a prescription. It can strengthen a weak body. A few years ago, my body was even worse than yours." Uchiha Shunichi spoke as they walked.

Gekko Hayate was somewhat taciturn, but there was something unusual in his gaze now. After drinking the potion, he could clearly feel the changes in his body.

"What... kind of potion is this?" Gekko Hayate asked eagerly. His frail body had always left him helpless, yet it had actually improved somewhat?

Uchiha Shunichi said, "It only eases the symptoms. It can't truly solve the problem."

"Thank you..." Gekko Hayate fell silent for a moment before speaking.

The two continued onward. Only after they reached the vicinity of a villa did Gekko Hayate speak again. "There are two objectives for this mission. First, eliminate all of Zabuza's subordinates. Second, deal with the forces Gato left behind here."

Uchiha Shunichi did not know if it was an illusion, but he felt that Gekko Hayate's attitude toward him had become noticeably friendlier.

Once Uchiha Shunichi learned the mission objectives, he understood Konoha's intentions. Gato was destined to perish, but the strength and money under his command could not simply be wasted.

Uchiha Shunichi had originally thought Root would handle such matters, but on second thought, Root was, on the surface, merely a branch of the Anbu.

The Anbu had never been honorable ninja.

"Kill them all?" Uchiha Shunichi confirmed the mission.

If the man who had committed suicide earlier did not count, then Uchiha Shunichi was about to make his first kill.

"Yeah. You'll be responsible for the killing, and for preventing them from escaping." Gekko Hayate nodded.

Then, as if asking out of concern, he added, "This should be your first mission. Will there be any problems?"

"It's fine. I'll take care of them." Uchiha Shunichi said calmly.

Ever since coming into this world, Uchiha Shunichi had cast aside his former kindness. Other than his own bottom line, anything was permitted!

He drew the long blade in his hand and walked straight toward the villa without a word.

Watching Uchiha Shunichi act so openly, Gekko Hayate had no intention of stopping him.

"Who goes there?!" Two guards stood at the villa entrance. They were wandering ninja Gato had hired at great expense.

"We've never met, but meeting me is your bad luck."

Uchiha Shunichi's eyes gave off an eerie red glow. He did not use any Dōjutsu, yet the pressure of the Mangekyō Sharingan alone rendered the two guards unable to move.

He raised his hand... and swung his blade...

Like training targets, Uchiha Shunichi's blade fell mercilessly, leaving only two corpses on the ground.

At the same time, the guards and hired ninja inside noticed the commotion outside. The moment they opened the doors, two of them were killed by Uchiha Shunichi's Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.

Fire Release... had never killed anyone in the original Hokage story. Yet in truth, the number of ninja who died to Fire Release in the Shinobi World was nearly the highest of all.

A motley crowd charged over, just like the samurai of old. Though they were ninja, very few of them used Ninjutsu.

For the vast majority of wandering ninja, Ninjutsu was an extremely luxurious thing. Only rogue ninja from the various ninja villages would use all kinds of powerful Ninjutsu.

Although he was at an absolute disadvantage in numbers, Uchiha Shunichi felt the thrill of slaughter and understood why the Uchiha Clan was so confident in the Sharingan.

Before the Sharingan, these ordinary ninja were merely lambs awaiting slaughter. Uchiha Shunichi had not even used any powerful Dōjutsu, and his Genjutsu was only the simplest kind, yet no one could break free.

The only ones who gave Uchiha Shunichi some trouble were Zabuza's subordinates. As ninja from the Hidden Mist, they possessed real strength and combat experience.

Even so, before Uchiha Shunichi and Gekko Hayate's combined efforts, they still proved utterly incapable of putting up a fight.

The battle ended quickly. Other than the corpses scattered across the ground, Uchiha Shunichi did not feel the slightest fatigue.

"Huff... huff... Now I understand why you entered the Anbu at such a young age. Your strength is already no less than that of a Jonin." Gekko Hayate was slightly out of breath. He had thought this would be a mission to lead a newcomer, but instead, he had held him back somewhat.

Uchiha Shunichi picked up a piece of cloth from the ground, wiped the blade in his hand, and sheathed it.

The blade was covered in blood and had even suffered some minor damage. This left Uchiha Shunichi somewhat dissatisfied. He had spent a great deal of money on this sword.

"My body is still weak. It can't sustain the Sharingan for long." After hearing Gekko Hayate's words, Uchiha Shunichi slowly replied.

In truth, he was not that weak. He simply did not want to reveal his full strength while Sarutobi Hiruzen was in power.

"...You're already very strong. At your age, you should have only just graduated from the Ninja Academy!" At this point, Gekko Hayate suddenly froze, abruptly realizing that Uchiha Shunichi was merely a student who had just graduated.

Without realizing it, Gekko Hayate had already overlooked Uchiha Shunichi's age.

Uchiha Shunichi did not say anything. Instead, he found a relatively clean chair and sat down, took out a High-Concentration Nutrient Solution from his clothes, and drank it.

"I'll leave what comes next to you. I need to rest for a while."