Early the next morning.
The sun shone brightly, and the Konoha Ninja Academy's playground bustled with activity.
Uchiha Xin had barely stepped through the school gates when he heard a burst of cocky laughter.
"Hahaha! Xin! Look!"
Naruto Uzumaki sprang out from somewhere and grabbed Uchiha Xin's arm.
He pointed at the brand-new Konoha forehead protector on his forehead, his face practically overflowing with smugness.
"See? I'm a real genin now too! Iruka-sensei gave it to me himself!"
Watching Naruto act as though his tail were sticking straight up into the sky, Uchiha Xin obligingly nodded.
"Congratulations, Naruto."
Naruto chuckled, clasping his hands behind his head.
"Come on, come on! They're announcing the teams today. I wonder who I'll be grouped with."
The two entered the classroom and found seats in the back.
Before long, Iruka walked up to the podium with a list.
"Quiet! I'll now announce the genin team assignments!"
The classroom instantly fell silent, and everyone nervously pricked up their ears.
"Team 7: Naruto Uzumaki, Sakura Haruno, Sasuke Uchiha!"
Hearing the assignment, Naruto first cheered, then immediately deflated when he saw Sasuke's sour face.
Iruka continued reading the list.
"Team 8..."
"Team 10..."
"Team 4: Uchiha Xin, Ichirō Kawaguchi, Shino Kobayashi!"
Uchiha Xin froze for a moment.
He stood and swept his gaze around the classroom, quickly locating his two new teammates.
The two boys sat in a corner of the classroom. Their looks were so ordinary that they would be impossible to pick out of a crowd.
But the moment Uchiha Xin's gaze landed on them, he understood.
An extremely subtle yet persistent, cold, sinister air emanated from the two.
It was a distinctive bearing cultivated only by years spent moving through the darkness with blood-soaked hands.
Most importantly...
Through visual resonance, Uchiha Xin had once clearly seen both their faces through the eyes of the Root ninja watching him!
Lapdogs sent by Danzo, huh.
Uchiha Xin sneered inwardly.
It seemed that old dog Danzo still couldn't rest easy about him, a surviving Uchiha, and had actually planted Root members directly in his team.
Just then, the classroom door was pushed open.
A young man wearing a Konoha forehead protector, with a senbon between his lips, sauntered inside.
"I'm Genma Shiranui."
The young man leaned against the podium, his gaze sweeping over Uchiha Xin and the other two.
"Starting today, I'll be your Team 4 instructor. I'm a Konoha special jōnin."
Genma Shiranui?
Looking at that familiar face, Uchiha Xin quickly recalled everything he knew about him.
He had once been one of the Fourth Hokage's guards, mastered Flying Thunder God: Guiding Thunder, and could set up the Flying Thunder Formation.
Most crucially, he was an absolutely trusted confidant of the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi!
Interesting.
Uchiha Xin lowered his head, concealing the look in his eyes.
The Third Hokage had assigned his confidant as their instructor, plainly to keep an eye on him.
Meanwhile, Danzo had stuffed Root members into his team.
This Team 4 was practically a miniature battlefield of Konoha's power struggles.
As for whether Genma Shiranui knew these two teammates belonged to Root, Uchiha Xin had no way of knowing.
"Congratulations on officially becoming genin."
Genma spat out the senbon in his mouth, his tone casual.
"That's all for today. Meet at Training Ground 3 at eight tomorrow morning. We'll start taking missions."
With that, Genma turned and walked straight out of the classroom without lingering.
As soon as Genma left, Ichirō Kawaguchi and Shino Kobayashi put on enthusiastic smiles and quickly approached Uchiha Xin.
"Hello, Xin! I'm Ichirō Kawaguchi."
"I'm Shino Kobayashi. We'll be teammates from now on. I look forward to working with you!"
Their smiles were exceptionally sincere, like two newly minted genin full of hopes for the future.
Watching their phony performance, Uchiha Xin merely gave a brief nod.
"Yeah. Likewise."
Then he picked up his schoolbag and walked out of the classroom without looking back.
As they watched Uchiha Xin leave, the smiles on Ichirō Kawaguchi's and Shino Kobayashi's faces vanished without a trace.
Cold, mechanical gazes took their place.
Inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed on his pipe, exhaling a thick cloud of smoke.
"Genma, what do you think of that child?"
Kneeling on one knee, Genma Shiranui reported respectfully.
"Lord Hokage, Uchiha Xin is somewhat withdrawn and doesn't like talking to others.
But I observed him closely. His eyes don't hold that deep-seated hatred."
"Compared with Sasuke Uchiha's overtly sharp demeanor, Xin seems gentler, even a little... mediocre."
The Third Hokage nodded in satisfaction.
"Good. After all, he is one of the Uchiha Clan's last surviving bloodlines. The village has a responsibility to protect him."
"Pay more attention to him from now on, and guide him toward the right Will of Fire."
"Yes!"
Meanwhile.
Deep beneath Konoha, in the dark, damp Root Base.
Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō stared coldly with his single eye at Ichirō Kawaguchi and Shino Kobayashi, who knelt before him.
"You're saying that over these past five years, he has never displayed the power of the Sharingan?"
"Yes, Lord Danzo," Ichirō Kawaguchi answered with his head lowered.
"We've secretly observed him at school for a long time. His chakra reserves and ninjutsu skills are both extremely ordinary."
"We suspect he simply lacks the talent to awaken the Sharingan."
"He hasn't awakened it?"
Danzo snorted coldly and struck the floor hard with his cane.
"Members of the Uchiha Clan only awaken those cursed eyes when they experience intense emotional stimulation!"
"Since he's so mediocre, find an opportunity to provoke him!"
Cruel killing intent flashed through Danzo's lone eye.
"Arrange some accidents during missions. Let him experience the fear of having his life threatened."
"I want to see whether he can awaken those eyes!"
"As you command!"
Life after becoming a genin was dull and tedious.
For the first half month, Team 4 received nothing but D-rank missions.
Helping villagers find lost pet cats, clearing rubbish from waterways, and pulling weeds in fields.
Uchiha Xin methodically completed his missions each day while secretly having thirty shadow clones grind proficiency like mad at home.
Until one morning half a month later.
Genma Shiranui arrived at their meeting spot carrying a scroll.
"No more D-rank missions."
Genma looked at the three genin before him, his gaze turning serious.
"Today, we're taking on a C-rank mission."
"A civilian village east of Konoha has recently been harassed by a band of wandering bandits."
"Our mission is to go to that village and wipe out the bandits."
At this point, Genma paused, his gaze fixed intently on the three.