He walked straight to a window seat in the back row and sat down.
Naruto Uzumaki immediately came over and slapped a hand on Uchiha Xin's desk.
"Xin! I haven't seen you all summer. Where did you go to have fun? I wanted to go catch rhinoceros beetles with you!"
Uchiha Xin did not even lift his eyelids. He simply lay his head on the desk.
"Training."
Naruto pursed his lips, pulled out his chair, and sat back down in his own seat.
"Training again. That stuck-up Sasuke trains every day too. You Uchiha are so boring."
Iruka walked in carrying a stack of lesson plans and took his place at the lectern.
He scanned the classroom, his gaze lingering on Uchiha Xin for two seconds.
Seeing the dark horse who had defeated Sasuke last term now fast asleep on his desk, Iruka shook his head helplessly but did not reprimand him.
In this Shinobi World, where strength reigned supreme, as long as you showed enough value, a teacher's tolerance for you would rise without limit.
Uchiha Xin kept his eyes closed, his breathing steady.
He had stayed up all night, repeatedly exhausting his peak-Chunin chakra to keep his Two-Tomoe Sharingan active and accumulate proficiency.
As its level increased, the proficiency required to upgrade the Sharingan rose sharply, soaring from 10 points at level 1 to 1,000 points at level 2.
His progress in accumulating it grew increasingly slow.
Uchiha Xin silently reviewed his plans.
According to my original plan, I need to steadily improve my strength and awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan before the night of the massacre arrives.
Once I have the Mangekyō, combined with the massive chakra increases from subsequent upgrades to the enhanced Eight Gates Released Formation, I'll be able to use it for much longer, without my eyes going blind and bleeding after a couple of uses like Itachi's.
Only then will I have what it takes to survive that terrifying night.
Three days later, in the afternoon.
Sunlight streamed through the windows onto the desks.
Uchiha Xin was resting his chin on his hand, staring blankly out the window, when a crisp notification suddenly sounded in his mind.
[Ding! Limit Sharingan proficiency is full (1,000/1,000)!] [Limit Sharingan successfully upgraded to level 3! Advanced to: Three-Tomoe Sharingan!] [Third skill slot unlocked!]
Hum!
Uchiha Xin felt an immense, icy surge of ocular power well up from deep within his eyes. It rushed along his optic nerves straight into his brain, leaving him invigorated.
The chakra within him underwent another qualitative leap.
His chakra reserves had originally remained at the peak of Chunin level.
With the feedback from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, they broke straight through the barrier and firmly reached Jonin level!
Uchiha Xin smiled as he felt the chakra surging through his body like a mighty river.
He closed his eyes and began testing the new proficiency gain rules.
Chakra flowed slowly into his eyes.
Ten minutes later.
[Ding! Proficiency +1.]
Uchiha Xin opened his eyes and quickly calculated in his mind.
It's still one proficiency point every ten minutes.
I now have Jonin-level chakra. With the physical boost and exceptional recovery provided by the Gate of Healing, I can easily keep my Three-Tomoe Sharingan active for five hours every day.
That works out to a steady ninety proficiency points a day.
Reaching level 4 requires ten thousand proficiency points. In about three months, I'll have enough to unlock the Mangekyō Sharingan!
Everything was progressing in an orderly fashion according to his plans.
After school.
Uchiha Xin finished eating at Ichiraku Ramen with Naruto on Konoha's main street.
After saying goodbye to Naruto, he headed toward the Uchiha Clan Compound alone.
The moment he stepped through the compound's gates, Uchiha Xin stopped abruptly.
Something's wrong.
He keenly sensed that the atmosphere throughout the compound had become extremely oppressive.
The streets were frighteningly quiet. Even the children who usually played by the roadside were nowhere to be seen.
Several squads of fully armed police officers patrolled the streets along intersecting routes.
Every one of them wore a grim expression, their eyes dark and menacing, their hands pressed firmly against the ninja tool pouches at their waists, ready to draw their blades and cut someone down at any moment.
Even the ordinary clan members passing by hurried along with their heads lowered, not saying a word, their faces betraying unmistakable tension and unease.
Uchiha Xin's brows knitted tightly, and he slowed his steps.
Seeing the suppressed madness in the police officers' eyes, he immediately thought of something utterly terrifying.
The looming threat of the Uchiha Clan's coup.
Two full years had passed since Shisui Uchiha had jumped off a cliff to take his own life.
Over those two years, the village leadership's suppression of the Uchiha had not eased. Instead, it had only intensified.
The conflict between the clan and Konoha had escalated beyond reconciliation.
This state of drawn swords and cocked bows clearly marked these as special patrols.
Uchiha Xin's heart sank, and a sheen of cold sweat instantly covered his back.
The rebellion originally supposed to happen next year might very well have been moved forward!
If the coup happened early, that meant the night of the massacre would come early too!
Uchiha Xin stood still, his mind racing as he rapidly assessed the current balance of strength.
Although I've now awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan and my chakra has reached Jonin level...
Without any powerful killing moves, my overall strength is that of an ordinary Jonin at best.
That's enough to deal with a few Chunin, but against Uchiha Itachi with his Mangekyō awakened, I definitely wouldn't last three exchanges.
Let alone the elusive Obito Uchiha, or Shimura Danzō lurking in the shadows, ready to gouge out eyes at any moment!
His situation was extremely dangerous!
Panic lingered in Uchiha Xin's heart for only a brief instant. He took a deep breath and quickly forced himself to calm down.
I can't panic. I might not have those three months to develop anymore. I need to put my backup plan into action immediately.
Uchiha Xin's gaze turned cold.
He knew Uchiha Itachi was surely observing all of this from the shadows as well.
Once Itachi confirmed that the clan intended to launch a coup, he would immediately report it to Konoha High Command, then accept the brutal mission of slaughtering his entire clan.
The most critical thing now was to seize the initiative.
He had to finish putting his plans in place before Uchiha Itachi laid his cards on the table with the Third Hokage and Danzo.
To uncover the true state of affairs and confirm the exact timing of the coup and the massacre.
Uchiha Xin turned and headed into the shadows deep within the compound, deciding to secretly investigate the clan's movements.
Night lay heavy.
Outside the Uchiha Clan Compound's meeting hall, a dark figure lurked silently in the shadows beneath the eaves.
Uchiha Xin used the Transformation Technique to disguise himself as a burly adult clan member.
He held his breath, suppressed his chakra as much as possible, and strained his ears to listen to the sounds inside the hall.
The hall was brightly lit, and the fervor inside had reached its peak.
"Konoha High Command has gone too far! The village chief drove us into this remote corner because he's guarding against us!"
"Exactly! Our Uchiha Clan is Konoha's strongest clan. Why should we have to put up with shit from Danzo and those old bastards?"