The weight of trust, the hidden flames of envy

Jin Uchiha left.

Shisui remained rooted to the spot, horror written across his face as he stared in the direction Jin had vanished.

His mind went blank, and a sheen of cold sweat formed on his forehead.

His heart was in utter turmoil.

The few words Jin had tossed out before leaving had shaken him to the core.

Shisui disliked Yoshio Uchiha and his two companions from the bottom of his heart, but he had to admit that they were among the clan's finest young fighters.

At twelve or thirteen, they had already awakened their Sharingan.

That alone said plenty about their caliber.

They might have fallen short of him, but among the Hidden Leaf's younger generation, they were certainly no pushovers.

Yet Jin had told him outright that he had killed them.

That was as good as saying his true abilities were more than enough to get him into Class A.

He was nowhere near as mediocre as he usually appeared. Even in a prestigious clan like the Uchiha, he undoubtedly qualified as a genius.

Which raised the question: what was he after?

Why was he hiding his abilities?

Shisui racked his brains and still could not figure it out.

Several times, he wanted to chase after Jin, grab him, and demand an explanation.

But they were on a battlefield. He could not do that.

He could only force down all his agitation and bury it deep inside.

Then came the deliberation.

Should he report this to his superiors or not?

In the past, Shisui would not have hesitated for half a second.

But this was Jin they were talking about.

After turning it over in his head countless times, he could only let out a helpless sigh.

He decided to wait until the battle was over, find a chance to have a proper talk with Jin, and make his decision afterward.

That was right.

Jin had not hidden something this deadly from him. Shisui knew exactly how much that trust weighed.

Looked at another way, it also proved that Jin could not possibly be a bad person.

Besides, Yoshio Uchiha and his crowd annoyed him to no end, too.

Forget it.

He shook his head with a bitter smile and reluctantly shifted his gaze toward the main force.

"Jin, you really have..."

"Dropped an impossible problem into my lap."

"How am I supposed to face you from now on?"

Elsewhere.

The moment Jin Uchiha returned to his squad, every gaze swung toward him, brimming with envy.

That Chain Pendant Armor was the real deal.

There was not a ninja alive who would not covet it.

Unfortunately, it was extremely difficult to make, and ordinary people had no hope of getting their hands on it.

Even Kazama Nara was practically drooling over it.

The Nara were a prominent clan in the Hidden Leaf, and they certainly had under-armor of their own. But a branch-family member like him received a fixed monthly allotment. If he wanted the clan's finer goods, he had to make up the difference with combat merits.

Jin Uchiha was different.

His had been a private gift from Shisui.

Still, seeing that under-armor only strengthened everyone's conviction that Jin Uchiha was far more than he appeared, and certainly no ordinary Uchiha branch-family member.

Especially Kazama Nara.

His fighting skills might not have been anything special, but he had inherited the Nara Household's brains and thought more deeply than the others.

The more he thought, the brighter his eyes shone.

"Jin, you really know how to make things happen."

"Just how close are you and Shisui? He gave you under-armor of that quality just like that?"

"..."

Everyone chimed in at once.

When Shin Kudo spoke again, his tone was noticeably warmer than before.

He had been on the battlefield, and the impulsiveness of his school days had long since been worn away.

He understood better than most how deep the gulf ran between the Great Clan and commoners.

Never mind getting ahead in life—even just staying alive on the battlefield meant finding a way to draw closer to the Great Clan.

A scrap of information they casually let slip could mean the difference between life and death for a commoner ninja.

He could not coax ninjutsu out of them, but even a quiet hint about what was coming could make an enormous difference.

Jin Uchiha offered no further explanation.

Once he wore the under-armor, there was no hiding it.

So he let it go.

They could speculate all they liked. It was hardly a big deal.

There was just one thing.

Kazama Nara and Shin Kudo were fine. Their gazes were normal enough.

Itsuki Ishikawa alone was different.

The looks he cast over were filled mostly with jealousy and hatred.

In that case...

I'll have to keep an eye on this kid from now on.

Having lived two lives, Jin knew all too well that small fry like this might accomplish little, but sabotaging things behind someone's back was easy for them.

As he was thinking, a Chunin in a green vest walked over.

"Team Seven, your mission is here."

His tone was flat. His eyes merely skimmed Jin Uchiha's under-armor before he handed over the Mission Scroll, turned, and left.

Shin Kudo's expression grew serious.

He unrolled the scroll and scanned it. When he looked up, his voice was considerably steadier.

"Our job this time is to escort supplies to the front."

"Let's go."

Without another word, he turned and strode off.

That was right.

Those who had been on the battlefield knew what to do and when.

Jin Uchiha and Kazama Nara followed close behind without a word.

Only Itsuki Ishikawa looked thoroughly displeased.

He went through each of his three teammates in turn, hating them all.

The reason was simple enough.

Back at school, he had ranked among the top three in his class. It was his greatest source of pride.

But after joining the squad, he discovered that nobody seemed to care about the achievements he was so proud of.

To put it bluntly...

He saw not a trace of admiration in their eyes.

If anything, they ignored him.

How could an honors student who had been put on a pedestal at school endure such a fall?

Shin Kudo was one thing.

But who did Kazama Nara and Jin Uchiha think they were?

They were nothing but lower-middle-ranking students riding on their family backgrounds. What right did they have to look down on an "honors student" like him?

Just because they had been born into good families?

At that thought, his gaze could not help sticking to the under-armor Jin Uchiha wore again.

Something he might never get his hands on in his entire life.

Why?

Just because I'm a commoner?

The more he thought, the hotter the fire in his chest burned, and a vicious gleam crept into his eyes.

Clearly...

It had never occurred to him that their grades were in the lower-middle range because they simply could not be bothered to compete.

Being among the top few students in a mere Class B carried little weight in the Hidden Leaf.

It was only good for impressing commoners. Who from the Great Clan would spare it a second glance?

Before long...

They reached the supply depot and used their Mission Scroll to collect three horse-drawn wagons loaded with supplies, along with eight civilians responsible for driving them.

That was right.

Although Sealing Scroll technology existed in this era, its cost remained prohibitive.

So unless something was urgent or valuable, it was still transported by horses, mules, and civilian laborers.

"Master ninja, shall we set off now?"

"Yes. Move out."

Facing the group of civilians, Shin Kudo lifted his chin slightly, every inch the authority figure.

That was right.

Even though he had once been a commoner himself, a wall had risen between him and ordinary civilians the moment he became a ninja.

Before the Hidden Leaf's Great Clan, his status counted for little.

But before these genuine peasants, his pride as a ninja surged straight to the surface.