In reality, the sand transformation on Gaara's face rapidly receded. His eyes rolled back, and he lost consciousness completely.
A breeze scattered the smoke and dust in the street.
Xin deactivated his Sharingan and grabbed the unconscious Gaara by the collar with one hand.
He casually tossed him at Temari and Kankuro's feet.
"Take him away."
Xin brushed the dust off himself, his cold gaze sweeping over the two.
"As outsiders, you'd better behave yourselves in Konoha."
Back in his single-occupancy apartment.
Uchiha Xin sat cross-legged on his bed.
He toyed with a special ball of chakra that emitted an earthy yellow glow.
Faint traces of a violent power of wind and sand swirled inside the chakra ball.
Xin looked at the glowing ball in his hand and smiled.
During his earlier fight with Gaara, he had used the ocular power of his Mangekyō Sharingan.
To forcibly extract a small clump of origin chakra from Shukaku's body.
This extraction was permanent and irreversible. Shukaku's origin had suffered a substantial weakening.
He intended to try using this clump of Tailed Beast origin to cultivate a special living entity, giving himself another trump card.
Xin summoned the system panel in his mind.
Through his tireless efforts during this time, his Super Multiple Shadow Clone Technique had successfully reached its maximum level of 5.
Now, he could create a full 1,000 Shadow Clones at once.
If all 1,000 Shadow Clones moved out together, they could flatten a small ninja village in an instant.
If he limited their number and created only three Shadow Clones.
Then each of those three Shadow Clones could possess a full ninety-five percent of his original body's strength.
He formed hand seals in front of his chest.
"Super Multiple Shadow Clone Technique."
With a soft pop, a puff of white smoke dispersed, and a Shadow Clone identical to him appeared beside the bed.
Xin slapped the Shukaku origin chakra in his hand straight into the Shadow Clone's body.
Then he channeled the chakra for the Flying Thunder God Technique.
The Flying Thunder God Technique had also reached level 5, unlocking an exclusive ability-the Flying Thunder God Space.
It was an independent three-dimensional space measuring 100 meters in length, width, and height.
Pure white barriers surrounded it on all sides. It was completely safe and entirely isolated from the outside world.
The Shadow Clones he normally created to grind proficiency.
Were all stationed in this space, training day and night.
With a flash of white light, the Shadow Clone before him was transported into the Flying Thunder God Space along with the clump of origin chakra.
Once everything was done, Xin leaned against the headboard, lost in thought.
During the day, the Third Hokage had summoned him for a private meeting.
Besides testing his loyalty to the village through conversation, he had also dropped a bombshell.
The Third had told him that, because of his outstanding performance during the Land of Waves mission.
He would not need to participate in the upcoming Chunin Ninja Exams.
He only needed to complete a special promotion mission assigned by the village to advance directly to Chunin.
The Third was clearly protecting him deliberately.
He did not want Xin to expose too much of his strength during the Chunin Ninja Exams, where ninja from various nations would gather, and attract unnecessary trouble.
But Xin had his own calculations.
His Limit Sharingan was only one step away from reaching level 5.
Once it reached level 5, he could unlock the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.
And completely escape the risk of blindness caused by overusing his ocular power.
With the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan and the max-level Eight Gates Released Formation.
He would be fully capable of saving the Third Hokage from Orochimaru during the upcoming Konoha Crush Plan.
Yet whenever he recalled that night of the clan massacre, when blood had flowed in rivers.
And remembered the blood covering the ground, along with the Third Hokage's tacit consent and indulgence during the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
The resentment in his heart would not fade, leaving him unable to decide whether to intervene and save him.
The night deepened.
Xin lay on his bed and fell into a deep sleep.
In the middle of the night.
A faint ripple of chakra flickered outside the window.
The sleeping Xin abruptly opened his eyes, his gaze sharp.
He sat up in the darkness, his voice icy.
"Since you're here, get the hell out here."
As his words fell, someone silently pushed the window open from outside.
A man wearing a black bodysuit and a plain white mask vaulted inside.
By the faint moonlight, Xin recognized the outfit at a glance.
Root.
"Uchiha Xin."
The masked man in black stood before the bed, his tone filled with haughty arrogance.
He was Danzo's most capable elite Jonin and had carried out countless assassination missions.
With Lord Danzo backing him.
He thought nothing of the six-year-old Uchiha orphan before him.
"Lord Danzo has ordered you to come with me immediately..."
Before the masked man could finish.
Xin vanished from the bed without warning.
The masked man was shocked, and before he could react.
Xin was already in front of him, one hand clamped firmly around his shoulder.
The Flying Thunder God Technique activated!
Whoosh!
Space twisted violently, and both figures instantly disappeared from the apartment.
Outside Konoha, deep in a deserted mountain forest.
Two figures appeared out of thin air.
The masked man staggered back several steps, staring at the unfamiliar trees around him in disbelief.
"Space-Time Ninjutsu! The Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Technique!"
The masked man's voice trembled, and cold sweat instantly covered his forehead.
He had never imagined that the Uchiha orphan who, according to their intelligence, could only kill enemies using Taijutsu.
Actually possessed such a legendary divine technique.
"Didn't your master teach you to have the right attitude when asking someone for a favor?"
Xin stood in the moonlight and slowly raised his head.
The instant the masked man's eyes met Xin's, his entire body froze.
Those eyes were scarlet.
Sharp five-pointed star patterns slowly rotated within his pupils, radiating a terrifying, suffocating pressure.
"M-Mangekyō Sharingan!"
The masked man panicked completely, his legs trembling uncontrollably.
As an elite Jonin of Root, he had read countless classified scrolls.
He knew all too well what devastating power those eyes represented.
Run! I have to run!
I have to bring this top-secret intelligence back to Lord Danzo!
The masked man bit through the tip of his tongue, using the pain to force himself back to his senses.
His hands frantically formed seals before he slammed them onto the ground.
"Earth Release Barrier: Earth Prison Dome!"
The ground instantly rose, and four earthen walls, each half a meter thick, shot up.
They closed over Xin's head, forming an indestructible hemispherical earthen prison that trapped him inside.
After casting the Ninjutsu, the masked man did not dare glance back.
He concentrated all his chakra in his legs, turned, and fled frantically toward Konoha.
The wind howled past his ears.
He sprinted with all his strength, his heart pounding violently in his chest.
But he had run fewer than ten steps.
On a tree trunk ahead, a figure silently emerged.
Xin stood with his arms folded across his chest.
His Mangekyō Sharingan, bearing five-pointed star patterns, shone with an eerie red light in the darkness.
He stared coldly at him.
The masked man stopped, gasping for breath.
As he looked at the ghostlike figure on the tree trunk ahead, the fear in his heart threatened to swallow him whole.