Assassination Underway · Swift and Clean

The school bell rang at three-thirty in the afternoon. As usual, Uchiha Hara calmly left school and returned home.

With no distractions on his mind, he first practiced Tai Chi for an hour, regulating his blood and qi and accelerating the digestion of the energy accumulated within him. That was followed by an hour of Uchiha Style Swordsmanship practice. His blade sliced through the air with decisive shrieks, as though warming up for the coming operation.

For the next hour, he simply prepared dinner for himself, eating in silence to replenish his strength.

When the clock hand pointed to six in the evening, the sky outside began to darken like ink, and the streets of the Hidden Leaf Village fell quiet with the setting sun. Electricity had yet to become widespread in this era. With no nightlife, people returned home early, and the streets grew sparsely populated.

At six-thirty, the target appeared right on time.

Uchiha Osamu staggered out of Jiecheng Ramen Shop with a full belch, muttering filthy curses under his breath.

Everyone had troubles, and he was no exception.

As the grandson of the Third Elder, his status should have been quite high. Yet both he and his father, Uchiha Amano, possessed utterly mediocre talent for cultivation. They were unworthy of their positions, leaving them subject to cold looks and exclusion within the clan.

He could only gain a pitiful sense of superiority by bullying orphans, widows, and others weaker and more helpless than himself.

He had joined the Security Force less than a month ago, but his lack of strength had already caused him repeated setbacks in the evaluations, making him the target of his colleagues' ridicule.

Unwilling to face those contemptuous stares or the barbed mockery of those his age, he gradually stopped leaving work with the other clansmen.

He ate dinner alone on the streets not because Jiecheng's ramen was good, but simply to avoid the humiliating time when everyone left together.

"Damn Uchiha Fugaku... damn it..." he muttered as he turned into the deep alley he had to pass through on his way home, exposing himself completely to the hunter's view.

Just as he was immersed in resentment, a sharp whistle suddenly tore through the air!

Splat!

An arrow pierced precisely through his throat, cutting off both his curses and his breath!

Uchiha Osamu's eyes bulged wide with incredulous terror. He had not even seen where the arrow came from.

Then the second arrow, like a ghost come to claim his life, instantly buried itself in his forehead!

His thoughts sank completely into darkness, and his body crumpled backward.

Before he hit the ground, a figure sprang from the shadows like a phantom. It was Uchiha Hara, transformed into Uchiha Osamu.

He caught the falling corpse, then with a thought, stored it in the Demon Refining Pot's space and refined it directly.

He then quickly took out Uchiha Osamu's outer clothes and put them on. After adjusting his expression, he imitated Uchiha Osamu's usual slightly arrogant yet somewhat unsteady gait and headed toward "home."

When he returned to Uchiha Amano's residence, the house was silent. Uchiha Amano had not even gotten out of bed yet.

Hearing his "son" return, he lazily called out from the inner room, "Osamu? You're back? Go pour your old man a cup of tea."

"Yes, Father." Uchiha Hara replied in imitation of Uchiha Osamu's voice, without the slightest ripple in his tone.

He walked to the table, poured a cup of hot tea, then carefully mixed in cool water until it was just the right temperature to drink.

Then he took out the deadly hydrocyanic acid and poured a full forty grams of the colorless liquid into the tea without stirring it evenly.

This caused the main component of the poison to settle at the bottom, while the water at the top was only mildly toxic.

He carried the tea into the inner room and handed it to Uchiha Amano, who was still lying in bed.

Uchiha Amano took it and habitually took a small sip. His brow furrowed slightly. "Hm? This taste... why is it a little strange?"

"Father, this is new tea I brought back from the Security Force. It tastes somewhat different from the tea at home," Uchiha Hara answered calmly, his tone natural.

Uchiha Amano did not suspect a thing. Instead, he grinned with a trace of approval. "Oh? You're doing pretty well in the Security Force. You even know to bring good things home now. And the water's at just the right temperature. You've improved."

With that, he did not hesitate any longer and tipped his head back, draining the entire cup in one gulp.

Only moments after the tea entered his stomach, Uchiha Amano was suddenly seized by violent dizziness and a splitting headache, followed by chest tightness, shortness of breath, and extreme difficulty breathing!

"Kh... kh..." He opened his mouth uselessly, trying to call out, but could only make wheezing sounds like a broken bellows. In just three or four seconds, his eyes rolled back and he lost consciousness.

Uchiha Hara reached out to check him. His breathing had already stopped completely.

"Damn... what a vicious poison!" Even Uchiha Hara was startled. He had only known that this stuff was highly poisonous from poison-related videos he had watched. This was the first time he had seen what happened when someone actually consumed it.

Seeing that Uchiha Amano was dead, Uchiha Hara did not waste any time. He used the Demon Refining Pot again and stored Uchiha Amano's corpse inside.

Maintaining his transformation as Uchiha Osamu, he went outside and quickly consumed the Blood Essence and Soul Essence obtained from refining Uchiha Amano.

Fragments of unfamiliar memories flooded into his mind, mainly concerning the locations of hidden ninjutsu scrolls, money, and cultivation resources in the house.

This was a requirement Uchiha Hara had set for the Demon Refining Pot. If he made no request, the Soul Essence would carry the original owner's cultivation memories. But if Uchiha Hara interfered with the Demon Refining Pot, it would deliberately preserve the memories he needed.

He had no need for Uchiha Amano's cultivation memories. That guy was trash too, and Hara was worried they might make him stupid as well.

What he needed were only Uchiha Amano's memories of where he hid his money, ninjutsu, and resources.

He immediately began searching the house carefully, following the memories' guidance.

Before long, he found several hiding places and took all the scrolls, a thick stack of cash, Explosive Tags, shuriken, kunai, and even some chakra metal.

By the time he finished, it was nearly seven-forty in the evening.

Uchiha Hara released his transformation and formed hand seals again. This time, he transformed into Uchiha Amano, then changed into his clothes.

He adjusted his expression into one of deep worry, pushed open the door, and headed for the residence of the Third Elder, Uchiha Jiang.

When he arrived outside Uchiha Jiang's solitary courtyard, the yard was completely silent.

"Uchiha Amano" leaped over and landed in the courtyard, then knocked softly on the door.

The old man was advanced in years and went to bed early, but he was still a ninja. The sounds at the door had already awakened him.

"Who is it?" an aged but wary voice came from inside.

"It's me, Father," Uchiha Hara answered in imitation of Uchiha Amano's voice.

Uchiha Jiang inside seemed to relax.

After all, within the Uchiha Clan Grounds, who would have thought anyone would dare infiltrate the place and assassinate an elder?

As for his son climbing over the wall, that was perfectly normal. How many ninjas used the front door?

Still groggy, he asked, "Amano? What is it at this late hour?"

"Father, it's about the relief payments." Uchiha Hara lowered his voice, with a hint of urgency. "The relief money issued by the clan this month is much less than usual. I'm worried those widows and orphans below will cause trouble..."

"What? Something like that happened?" Uchiha Jiang's voice rose slightly, filled with dissatisfaction and confusion. Rustling sounds came from inside. The old man was clearly preparing to get up and open the door.

Creak—

The door was pulled open from within, leaving a narrow gap.

At that instant, "Uchiha Amano" abruptly raised his arm. The compound bow in his hand was already aimed!

Whoosh!

The arrow cut through the air and pierced precisely through the aged throat behind the door crack!

"Urgh!" Uchiha Jiang only managed a brief muffled grunt.

The second arrow followed immediately, mercilessly nailing itself into his forehead!

This Third Elder of the Uchiha, who might once have commanded the winds and clouds, ultimately died silently at his own doorstep in the same manner as his useless grandson.

Uchiha Hara quickly stored Uchiha Jiang's corpse in the Demon Refining Pot. He did not leave right away. Instead, he entered the room, sat cross-legged on the spot, and began meditating to accelerate the digestion of the Soul Essence he had just consumed from Uchiha Amano.

The vast spiritual power was slowly absorbed, purified, and integrated into his own.

Four hours later, the Soul Essence had been fully digested.

Without hesitation, Uchiha Hara consumed the Soul Essence obtained from refining Uchiha Jiang.

More memory fragments emerged, mainly concerning the money Uchiha Jiang had secretly hidden away, precious ninjutsu scrolls, and the locations of every book in his study.

As the Third Elder of the Uchiha clan, Uchiha Jiang possessed all the secret techniques and ninjutsu records of the Third Elder's branch, along with funds and resources worth more than ten times what Uchiha Amano had possessed!

What he delegated was only authority, never resources!

Having obtained Uchiha Jiang's memories, Uchiha Hara immediately got to work.

Following the memories' guidance, he swept clean every item of wealth and every scroll from the hidden compartments and secret rooms, along with any books and records in the study that held even the slightest value, storing them all in the Demon Refining Pot's space.

Even the sealed resources could not escape his plundering. Uchiha Jiang's memories contained methods to undo the seals, and with Uchiha Hara's current chakra control combined with those memories, he could basically learn everything after seeing it once.

The entire looting process took less than half an hour.

It was already midnight.

After finishing everything, Uchiha Hara, still wearing Uchiha Amano's clothes, silently made his way to the Naka River like a ghost blending into the night.

He leaped into the icy river, stripped off his clothes underwater, stored them in the Demon Refining Pot, and refined them directly, erasing the final trace.

Then he swam upstream, using [Low-Light Vision] and [Infrared Vision] to find his way through the darkness. Only after diving to a stretch of riverbank near his home did he climb ashore dripping wet, change into his own dry clothes and shoes from the Demon Refining Pot's space, and quietly return home.

Assassinating three people was secondary. The real issue was the mental impact brought by digesting two Soul Essences in succession, which left Uchiha Hara with an indescribable exhaustion and intense mental strain.

He had no time to tally the enormous gains of the night. Forcing himself to endure the discomfort, he consumed the Blood Essence obtained from refining Uchiha Jiang, hoping its energy would ease his physical exhaustion. Then he collapsed onto his bed and fell into a deep sleep.

A day filled with bloodshed and calculation had finally come to an end.

The Uchiha's night seemed as though nothing had happened, yet it also seemed that something had changed completely.