He walked up to his little courtyard, only to find a seal pasted across the door.
An Anbu ninja in charge of clearing the scene came over and coldly informed him.
Since the Uchiha Clan had been wiped out, the village would reclaim and redistribute the clan grounds.
He would be assigned a one-person apartment on the outskirts of the village.
Uchiha Xin did not resist and quietly accepted the arrangement.
On his first night in the new apartment, he keenly sensed that something was wrong.
At least three barely perceptible gazes lurked among the branches outside his window and on the rooftop opposite.
They were watchers from the Anbu or Root.
Uchiha Xin knew his current situation very well.
As one of only two survivors of the Uchiha Clan, his every move would be scrutinized to an extreme degree.
He had to hide every hint of his abilities.
From that day on, Uchiha Xin became an entirely ordinary orphan.
He attended the Ninja Academy on time every day, occasionally let his mind wander in class, and went out for ramen with Naruto after school.
He no longer did that sort of frenzied training to push his limits.
He only occasionally sought out Might Guy on weekends for some basic taijutsu training.
He appeared to have no ambition at all, and even seemed somewhat dispirited.
These days continued for several months.
Once the watchers discovered that he was merely an unremarkable child who had suffered a shock, the gazes gradually grew fewer.
Late at night, all was quiet.
Uchiha Xin sat cross-legged on the bed in his one-person apartment.
After confirming there were no watchers nearby, he slowly opened his eyes.
Three black tomoe slowly revolved in his scarlet eyes.
He silently summoned the system panel in his mind.
[Enhanced Eight Gates Released Formation (Level 3): Proficiency 1500/10000]
The Eight Gates Released Formation has already reached level 3, the Gate of Pain. I have enough chakra to spend freely.
Uchiha Xin calculated in his mind.
With daily life peaceful for now, I can focus on accumulating proficiency and put everything into raising the level of my Limit Sharingan.
Once I have enough power to break the rules, I'll plan what comes next.
Time flew, and the years slipped by.
A full five years had passed since that bloody night of the clan massacre.
In Konoha Year 60, graduation day finally arrived at the Ninja Academy.
For the past five years, Uchiha Xin had played the part of an ordinary, well-behaved student.
His grades were middling, his ninjutsu unremarkable, and his taijutsu barely met the passing standard.
Only his label as an Uchiha survivor kept him from ever fully escaping the Konoha High Command's covert surveillance.
The classroom buzzed with voices as the students excitedly discussed the upcoming graduation exam.
Iruka stepped up to the lectern with the roll book and cleared his throat.
"Quiet! Today is your graduation exam."
Iruka picked up a piece of chalk and wrote several large characters on the blackboard.
"The subject of this exam is-the Clone Technique!"
The instant he saw those words, Naruto Uzumaki, seated in the front row, clutched his head and let out a despairing wail.
"How could this happen? Why did it have to be the ninjutsu I'm worst at?" Naruto clawed his hair into a complete mess.
He hurriedly turned around and looked toward Uchiha Xin in the back row as though grasping at a lifeline.
"Xin! Help! Teach me how to control chakra! Whenever I use the Clone Technique, it turns into a pile of sludge!"
Naruto's face was full of pleading.
Looking at Naruto's pitiful state, Uchiha Xin sighed helplessly.
Over the past five years, he had actually tried in secret to help Naruto practice the Clone Technique.
He knew very well that Naruto failed because the Nine-Tailed Demon Fox's chakra inside him was violently interfering, not because of his talent.
Without a specialized sealing jutsu to suppress it, ordinary guidance could accomplish nothing.
"Naruto, concentrate. Don't think about anything else."
Uchiha Xin could only offer a few simple words of comfort.
He could not do too much.
He could clearly sense that several times as many watchful gazes were focused on Naruto at this moment as on him.
Those Anbu hidden in the shadows watched this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's every move at all times.
Under such tight surveillance, he was in no position to use his true strength to help Naruto.
The exam soon began.
The students were called one by one into the examination room next door.
When Naruto's turn came, he walked in with sweat covering his head.
Before long, Iruka's furious roar came from the examination room.
"Fail!"
Naruto emerged from the examination room dejected, his forehead bare, having failed to obtain the forehead protector that symbolized the status of a genin.
He walked over to the swing outside the classroom and sat down in a daze, his figure looking particularly lonely from behind.
Uchiha Xin stood beside a window in the corridor, quietly watching the scene.
He noticed the white-haired teacher, Mizuki.
He was walking up to Naruto with a broad smile, pretending to comfort him.
Uchiha Xin sneered inwardly.
He knew that the Scroll of Seals storyline was finally about to begin in earnest.
"Next, Uchiha Xin." Iruka's voice came from inside the examination room.
Uchiha Xin withdrew his gaze and turned toward the examination room.
Just as he passed Hinata Hyuga's seat, a voice as faint as a mosquito's buzz reached his ears.
"Xin... good luck."
Uchiha Xin paused, then turned to look.
Hinata had her head lowered, nervously poking her two index fingers together, her cheeks as red as a ripe apple.
Warmth rose in Uchiha Xin's heart.
Back when he had only recently transmigrated, he and Naruto had once rescued Hinata on the street from several bratty children who were bullying her.
But over the past five years, he had deliberately kept a low profile to avoid surveillance and had barely interacted with Hinata.
He had not expected this shy girl to have kept that kindness in her heart all this time.
Uchiha Xin gave Hinata a slight nod and entered the examination room.
The exam proceeded without incident.
Controlling his chakra, Uchiha Xin perfectly produced three ordinary clones.
Iruka nodded in satisfaction and handed him a brand-new Konoha forehead protector.
"Congratulations, Xin. You've graduated."
Uchiha Xin took the forehead protector, casually tied it around his left arm, and walked out through the school gates.
He immediately spotted Naruto, still sitting blankly on the swing.
"Come on, Naruto. I'll treat you to Ichiraku Ramen." Uchiha Xin walked over and patted Naruto's shoulder.
Naruto raised his head, his eyes red.
"Xin, I failed. How am I supposed to be in the mood for ramen?" Naruto's voice choked up.
"How will you have the energy to think of a way to fix this if you don't eat ramen?"
Uchiha Xin pulled Naruto to his feet and forcibly dragged him to Ichiraku Ramen.
The two sat down at the counter.
Naruto turned his grief and frustration into an appetite and polished off three large bowls of tonkotsu ramen in one go.
After eating and drinking their fill, the two said goodbye outside the ramen shop.
Naruto lowered his head, preparing to return to his little rundown home.
"Naruto." Uchiha Xin suddenly called him back.
Naruto turned around and looked at Uchiha Xin in confusion.
With his back to the dim streetlights, Uchiha Xin quietly activated his Sharingan.
The scarlet mitsudomoe flashed briefly in the darkness.