"I'll be blunt. This mission will have you spilling blood. Prepare yourselves mentally."
Uchiha Xin raised his head and asked calmly.
"Do we have to kill them all?"
Genma nodded.
"Yes. Leave no one alive."
Hearing this, Ichirō Kawaguchi and Shino Kobayashi immediately shuddered beside him.
Expressions of extreme fear and panic appeared on their faces.
"K-kill people?"
"Sensei, we only just graduated. Do we really have to kill people?"
Their voices trembled, their performances utterly convincing.
But Uchiha Xin saw everything clearly from beside them.
On the surface, these two were shaking like leaves.
Yet deep in their eyes, they were like pools of stagnant water, without a single ripple!
These were undoubtedly killing machines long accustomed to slaughter, who treated human lives as worthless.
Quite the convincing act, Uchiha Xin sneered inwardly.
"Every ninja has to get through this sooner or later. Move out!"
Genma wasted no words and gave the order directly.
The four immediately set off, traveling swiftly through the woods.
Within half a day, they reached the remote civilian village.
After asking the village chief which mountain the bandits were hiding on, Genma led the three deep into the mountains.
The dense forest was dimly lit.
The four leaped swiftly between branches.
Just then, Uchiha Xin keenly detected unusual chakra fluctuations.
He turned his head, glancing at Shino Kobayashi to his right out of the corner of his eye.
Shino Kobayashi was holding a concealed hand seal.
An extremely faint but far-reaching wave of chakra was spreading outward from him.
Sensory ninjutsu!
Uchiha Xin's thoughts stirred.
This Shino Kobayashi was actually a sensory ninja of considerable ability.
He was clearly checking their surroundings while secretly probing Uchiha Xin's capabilities.
But Uchiha Xin was not flustered in the slightest.
Although the Limit Sharingan within him had not manifested its pattern, its supreme ocular power had long since spread throughout his body's chakra pathways.
Under his deliberate control, his chakra, comparable to that of a Kage-level ninja, was perfectly contained deep within his dantian, without the slightest trace leaking out.
To an outsider, his current chakra fluctuations were those of an ordinary, even somewhat weak, newly promoted genin.
Shino Kobayashi maintained his sensory ninjutsu for quite a while, then frowned.
He had sensed nothing unusual.
Uchiha Xin was like an ordinary stone, posing no threat whatsoever.
Shino Kobayashi could not detect anything abnormal at all.
Outside the mountain stronghold, the shadows of trees swayed.
Genma Shiranui crouched on a thick tree trunk, a senbon between his lips, his gaze sweeping over the crude wooden camp below.
"There are about thirty ordinary bandits inside. No ninja."
Genma turned to look at the three genin behind him.
"Kawaguchi, Kobayashi, you two go first. Break up their formation."
"Xin, you handle the cleanup."
Ichirō Kawaguchi and Shino Kobayashi exchanged a glance and nodded together.
The two instantly leaped down from the trunk, their hands rapidly forming hand seals in midair.
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
The fierce wind swept up the rushing water, forming a massive waterspout that slammed into the camp's gate.
With a thunderous crash, the wooden gate was instantly torn apart.
A dozen or so bandits drinking and eating meat had yet to react.
They were swept into the air by the raging water and slammed hard onto the ground, losing consciousness on the spot.
The camp immediately descended into chaos.
"Enemy attack! Ninja!"
The remaining bandits shouted in terror, drawing their broadswords and spears.
Just then, Uchiha Xin moved.
He landed lightly on the camp's highest point, his hands blurring as he rapidly completed his hand seals.
Snake-Dragon-Monkey-Hare-Tiger.
"Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique!"
Uchiha Xin inhaled deeply, his chest swelling, then violently spewed a straight stream of raging flame.
The searing pillar of fire streaked through the air in a dazzling red blaze, instantly engulfing the panicked bandits below.
Agonized screams echoed throughout the valley.
A dozen or so bandits struggled frantically in the flames, turning into charred corpses in mere moments.
The pungent smell of roasting meat filled the air.
Standing on the rooftop, Uchiha Xin looked at the horrific scene below, and his face instantly went deathly pale.
He abruptly doubled over, bracing his hands on his knees as he vomited violently.
This was the first time he had truly killed anyone since coming to this world.
Facing the loss of life and the nauseating smell sent his stomach churning.
Genma reached Uchiha Xin's side in a few leaps and patted his back.
"It's like this for everyone the first time they kill. You'll feel better once you've thrown up."
Uchiha Xin raised his head, gasping for breath, reflexive tears still clinging to the corners of his eyes.
The instant he looked up, Genma was startled.
He clearly saw scarlet emerge in Uchiha Xin's black-and-white eyes.
At the edge of each scarlet pupil, a single black tomoe slowly rotated.
The One-Tomoe Sharingan.
Genma was inwardly shocked.
One tomoe at eleven years old.
Such talent was rare even in the Uchiha Clan's history.
But he betrayed nothing on his face and merely handed Uchiha Xin a water flask.
After returning to the village, Genma dismissed the three to rest, then headed straight for the Hokage Building.
Inside the Hokage's office.
Hiruzen Sarutobi puffed away at his pipe.
After hearing Genma's report, he showed little surprise.
"He awakened his eyes at eleven? He certainly has potential."
The Third exhaled a thick cloud of smoke.
"The Uchiha Clan is prone to awakening their power during intense emotional upheaval. It stands to reason that the shock of his first kill would awaken his eyes."
"Lord Hokage, should we place him under special protection?"
Genma asked respectfully.
"There's no need to intervene deliberately. Just pay more attention to his movements."
The Third waved a hand, signaling for Genma to withdraw.
Meanwhile, in the Root Base deep underground.
Leaning on his cane, Shimura Danzō stared coldly with his lone eye at Ichirō Kawaguchi, who knelt on one knee.
"One tomoe? It seems my suspicions were correct. That brat does have the potential to awaken his eyes."
Danzo sneered.
"If killing a few ordinary bandits was enough to awaken his eyes, let's spice things up for him."
"Keep watching him closely and look for opportunities to provoke him. I want to know exactly where his limits lie."
Over the next few days, the missions Team 4 received were strikingly similar.
Every one involved traveling to remote villages nearby to wipe out ruthless thieves and mountain bandits.
Uchiha Xin showed great reluctance each time, but under Genma's orders, he had no choice but to kill.
He knew perfectly well.
That old fox Danzo was definitely pulling the strings behind these frequent killing missions.
The aim was to keep stimulating his nerves and force his Sharingan to evolve further.