Senior, You Really Know How to Joke

Inside the Training Ground, Shin'yu clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention back to himself.

"Of course, you can also completely ignore what I say and treat it as the ravings of a madman."

He drawled, "But if someone really does find the treasure, anyone who comes later won't count."

Orochimaru instinctively glanced at Hiruko, and before either could avoid it, their eyes met.

"What the hell is all this? Hey, Orochimaru, you're not serious, are you?"

Tong Ren stepped forward and anxiously urged, "You're already very strong. There's no need to take that path, is there?"

He simply could not understand the "treasure" and "trial" Shin'yu had suddenly proposed.

"That's... defecting the village!"

Just thinking of having to draw his blade against his sister made his heart feel as though it were being torn apart.

"Weak people call it 'defecting the village.' Strong people call it 'leaving.'" Shin'yu's expression carried faint contempt. "It's merely the Hidden Leaf Village. I left the Hidden Leaf Village when I was seven."

He spread his hands. "I won't say anything bad about the Hidden Leaf Village. What kind of place it really is, whether it truly has what you seek... heh, you'll come to understand in time."

So he was once a member of the Hidden Leaf Village too? No wonder he knows the village so well. Orochimaru mused.

At that moment, Nian, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "Tong Ren, people pursue different things. Maybe becoming stronger means nothing to you, but you have no right to block someone else's path."

"I..." Tong Ren was speechless. He truly had no great desire for strength.

To him, it was enough to simply do his best in everything. As for things beyond one's efforts, he had always preferred to leave them to fate. And if things really went wrong, his sister would help him solve them.

"Tap, tap, tap."

Nian stepped forward and stood in front of Tong Ren. He looked up at Shin'yu without the slightest trace of fear in his eyes. "The test Big Brother mentioned should only be for Orochimaru and Hiruko, right?"

"Call me Senior." Shin'yu smiled.

"Uh, Senior."

Shin'yu nodded in satisfaction. "Mm. You and Tong Ren are Kekkei Genkai yourselves, and not ordinary Kekkei Genkai at that. Compared to them, your starting line is much closer to the finish line."

"Then what is our path to becoming stronger?" Nian asked softly.

"Don't misunderstand. My theory applies to everyone. Even if you possess a Kekkei Genkai with the strongest eye techniques, the difference is merely the quality of one's Innate Potential." Shin'yu said, "Your paths are destined to be cruel and lonely."

"But... Sister clearly said that as long as we awakened the Sharingan, our strength would naturally soar... Do we still need to seize other people's power?" Tong Ren grew agitated.

Kind by nature, he felt that even thinking about those horrifying methods was sinful.

"Silly child, the moment you awaken your eyes is merely the first step." Shin'yu chuckled.

Nian's gaze flickered. After a long while, he finally gathered the courage to ask, "Senior, did you also obtain such tremendous strength through these methods?"

"Mm... more or less." Shin'yu thought for a moment, then added, "Besides, I am also an Uchiha."

He raised a hand and gently pulled away the Black Satin. At once, a refined and strikingly handsome face came into view.

He opened his Eyes, revealing a pair as bright as mirrors. His irises were crimson, and three perfectly round Tomoe, black as ink, slowly revolved around his Pupils. Deep purple light glimmered within them, beautiful and hazy.

"That's... the Sharingan!"

The instant they saw those Eyes, the others were dumbfounded.

"Senior... Senior is actually from the Uchiha Clan?"

Shin'yu chuckled softly. Crystal Clear light bloomed from his Eyes as the Tomoe spun and the patterns shifted. In an instant, they transformed into Mangekyo, like a Trefoil blooming within a Magic Array, breathtakingly magnificent.

"These Eyes are called the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan. The reason they are eternal..." Shin'yu said blandly, "is because I seized someone else's Eyes and fused them with my own Eye Power, achieving what I have now."

Orochimaru looked at Shin'yu's Eyes with awe, his entire body trembling uncontrollably.

Although Shin'yu had already concealed all his aura, Orochimaru still felt an icy chill piercing his bones, as if he had fallen into an ice cellar and every cell in his body had been soaked in a freezing river.

"Even someone as powerful as Senior needed to do this..."

Tong Ren's Pupils trembled. Everything he had seen and heard today had utterly shattered the values he had built over the past ten years.

If becoming stronger required such a price, then he would rather remain ordinary for the rest of his life. Even if his life were taken from him, he would have no regrets.

"Tong Ren, with your personality, never awakening your eyes would be the right choice." Shin'yu suddenly said, his tone somewhat stern. "Otherwise, you will definitely suffer for the rest of your life."

His gaze turned to Uchiha Nian. "As for you..."

Expectation appeared in Nian's eyes, and his breathing quickened.

"Have you been diligently practicing that Secret Technique I gave you?"

"I study it every day without interruption."

"Mm, then that's enough." Shin'yu stepped before him, bent his knees, and crouched down to meet Nian's gaze. "I'm actually very curious. Why exactly do you want to become stronger? Or rather... what drives you to become stronger?"

"I..." Nian hesitated for a moment, his gaze evasive. "I..."

Shin'yu smiled faintly. With a crisp snap of his fingers, a ring of visible ripples spread from beneath their feet. Water Vapor gathered, forming a transparent Water Shield two meters in diameter in an instant. Thin, moist, and silky, it cut off all sound.

"Speak without worry. This is a vacuum shield formed from a double-layered Water Molecule Barrier. They can't hear us." Shin'yu winked.

Nian looked outside in surprise. Sure enough, the three people outside the shield were looking at one another in confusion, completely unaware of what was happening.

"Can you speak now?"

"It's... it's because of my Father," Nian stammered.

Shin'yu's eyes tightened imperceptibly.

Nian clearly did not notice. He continued, "Both my Parents died on the battlefield, but my Father was a cowardly deserter. At a critical moment, he betrayed the village and chose to run away. Even so, he still died... It makes me feel... deeply humiliated..."

He gave a bitter smile. "Because the crime he committed was too grave, no one was even willing to tell me his name..."

"I think only by becoming stronger, by becoming someone everyone must rely on and look up to, can I clear my Father's name and make all the grievances and injustices I've suffered over these past eight years disappear!"

As he spoke, Nian noticed that the Young Man before him had fallen silent. His gaze seemed gentle, yet it was like the surface of a lake beneath roiling dark clouds—calm while brewing a storm.

In an instant, Nian's breathing stopped.

Seemingly noticing his own emotions, Shin'yu narrowed his eyes, and all sense of oppression vanished. "That's what they told you?"

"Senior knows my Father?" Nian's eyes lit up.

"I do. He truly was an incomparably cowardly deserter, a traitor despised by all, but..."

Shin'yu smiled lightly and said softly, "That was only toward me."

"What?" Nian widened his eyes.

"The only one he did right by was the Hidden Leaf Village."

Nian's little face flushed red as he urgently said, "Senior, do you know what happened to my Father? Please, you must tell me!"

"Mm... it would be too easy to just tell you." The corner of Shin'yu's lips curled into a sly smile. "How about this? You join the mission to find the Laboratory as well. Assist either Orochimaru or Hiruko. As long as either of them successfully finds the treasure, I'll count it as you completing the mission. As your reward, I'll tell you everything about your Father."

"This..."

Shin'yu thought for a moment. "Since I pity you, I'll be merciful and tell you... his name."

Nian's eyes widened, and he unconsciously swallowed.

"His name was... Uchiha Kagami."

Shin'yu stared into Nian's eyes. "If you ever want to die, you can try telling that name to the Hidden Leaf Village High-Ups."

Nian gave a bitter smile. "Senior, you really know how to joke."

As soon as he finished speaking, Shin'yu waved his hand. The Water Shield burst apart like bubbles, and the air began flowing again.

"May you have good luck in the time ahead." Shin'yu raised both Hands, his gaze slowly sweeping over everyone's faces. A faintly wicked smile touched his lips. "Now then, the test begins."

Clap.

He brought his palms together, and his entire body abruptly vanished. This unfathomable Body Flicker Technique was like an antelope hanging its horns—leaving no trace.

Shin'yu was gone, as though he had never been there at all.

Yet every mind was filled with countless thoughts. Tong Ren suddenly jolted, because he discovered three pairs of eyes gleaming with madness.