Naruto: I, Uchiha, Just Want to Die

Chapter 4: Mission—Head to Hell Valley!

At this moment,

The room was deathly silent, with the atmosphere so tense that one could hear a pin drop.

The members of the Uchiha clan were all visibly shocked, hardly daring to breathe.

They feared that if they so much as took a breath,

Uchiha Setsuna might just split Uchiha Ci in half right on the spot!

Meanwhile, Uchiha Setsuna, who was the focus of everyone's attention, had a face as dark as the bottom of a pot.

Being so recklessly challenged by Uchiha Ci, even his usually good temper was nearing its limit!

Uchiha Setsuna's eyes flashed with a cold, scarlet light as the three tomoe in his Sharingan slowly rotated, staring directly at Uchiha Ci.

A killing intent so intense it could suffocate began to spread throughout the hall.

It seemed as if, in the next moment, the elder might draw the long sword on his back and slice Uchiha Ci into eight pieces as easily as cutting fruit!

However, Uchiha Ci, the one being stared at, had no time to even notice this oppressive aura.

Right now, he was in a daze, staring blankly at the text that appeared before his eyes.

Ding!

You bravely faced off against Uchiha Setsuna and have gained a random skill from the target: Uchiha Style - Manipulated Shuriken Technique (Master Level).

Your Heartsteel level has increased.

In that instant,

Uchiha Ci felt a flood of vast knowledge pouring into his mind.

Everything from various types of shuriken, to the materials of steel wires, to the techniques, methods, and nuances of throwing ninja tools flashed through his mind.

In a split second, he comprehended, analyzed, mastered, and became proficient in these skills, surpassing levels that would normally require years of grinding.

He even crossed the threshold of life-and-death muscle memory,

Until—

Master Level!

Uchiha Ci had mastered the Uchiha Style - Manipulated Shuriken Technique at a master level!

"Hmm?!"

"What... what's going on?" Uchiha Ci was dumbfounded.

No joke, this level of shuriken technique was far beyond anything; even young Sasuke's iconic windmill shuriken couldn't compare.

There's no shortcut to mastering shuriken techniques; it takes time and practice.

To reach this level of shuriken mastery, one would need to be as skilled as Sasuke when he fought Ōtsutsuki Momoshiki with a severed arm.

But just by facing off against Elder Uchiha Setsuna, he had acquired it!

However, when he thought of Uchiha Setsuna's terrifying history of surviving an assassination attempt on the Second Hokage, Uchiha Ci understood.

Is this the confidence of the old Uchiha?

This, to be honest... truly embodies the beauty of numerical values!

Awesome!

But... why hasn't the elder killed me yet?

In the room,

After a full three minutes of silence, Elder Uchiha Setsuna turned his head away with a somewhat speechless expression.

He finally realized that this Uchiha Ci was just a reckless fool who had no idea what fear was.

Under his terrifying killing intent, this kid seemed completely unaffected, just staring at him in a standoff.

If this continued, things would get awkward...

Finally, Uchiha Setsuna coldly snorted:

"Since you're so eager to die for Konoha, I won't stop you."

"You, step forward!"

Uchiha Ci jolted, coming back to his senses and looking up at the elder, his face not filled with joy at receiving a mission, but rather with bewilderment.

Wait, this isn't right!

Uchiha Ci had prepared himself to die on the spot when he said those words to Uchiha Setsuna.

He was just short of letting out a maniacal laugh...

But, Elder, why didn't you cut me down?

You should have just slashed me with your sword!

As a hawkish leader, can't you show a bit of manly spirit?

"Ci-kun..." Uchiha Shisui couldn't help but feel a surge of emotion.

Just looking at Uchiha Ci's expression, it was clear that he understood very well how dangerous war was.

Look, Ci-kun's face had turned white with fear.

But even so, he still bravely stepped forward.

In that case...

Uchiha Shisui's Sharingan gleamed as he stepped out from the crowd, solemnly addressing Uchiha Setsuna:

"Elder, the mission is short of one Genin. Please allow me to join the battle."

Uchiha Setsuna frowned slightly as he looked at Shisui's scarlet Sharingan: "You're Kagami's grandson? Shisui?"

"Yes, and please allow me to be a bit willful. I'd like to choose the mission to the Land of Rain."

Hearing this, Uchiha Setsuna said nothing, merely casting a faint glance before moving on from Shisui to continue assigning tasks to other shinobi.

This was tacit approval.

As the leader of the Uchiha clan's hawkish faction,

he naturally had a contentious relationship with the dovish faction, and Shisui's development was of no concern to him.

Within the dovish faction, talents like Shisui, who graduated from the academy early and had awakened the Sharingan, especially as the grandson of a former clan leader, would naturally receive nurturing as if in a nursery.

Compared to Shisui, Uchiha Setsuna was more troubled by Uchiha Ci.

After all, the hawkish faction's philosophy of training talent was to throw children off a cliff.

Those who could fly would naturally become eagles, soaring freely with their own will.

Those who couldn't would fall to the bottom and become nothing, which, in this increasingly chaotic era, might even be a kind of luck.

But Uchiha Ci...

He hadn't even grown all his feathers yet and was already thinking about flying. His stubbornness was simply astonishing.

Even an extremist hawkish leader like Uchiha Setsuna felt that this kid was a bit too extreme...

Soon, with personnel assigned, Uchiha Setsuna coldly swept his gaze across the crowd, announcing indifferently:

"The Land of Rain battlefield will be handled by a team led by Jonin Shinichi, consisting of special Jonin and Genin Shisui. They will first arrive at the border camp and await further orders. The letter sent by carrier hawk has already arrived, and an Uchiha member will meet you there."

"For all of you, I especially remind you: Your lives belong to the Uchiha, to yourselves, but they do not belong to Konoha. You had better get that through your heads!"

"As for Hell Valley in the Land of Hot Water, I will personally lead the team, along with Chunin Seijiro and Genin Ci, to reinforce the defense forces stationed there."

"The team members are to assemble at the village gate at eight o'clock tomorrow morning."

"That's all. Dismissed!"

Uchiha Setsuna was always decisive, and after announcing the missions, he immediately disappeared with a body flicker.

The shinobi in the room exchanged glances for a moment, then also left without lingering; the police force didn't allow idlers.

Soon, only Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Ci, who was deep in thought, remained in the hall.

Uchiha Ci frowned slightly.

Due to Shisui's interruption, he had ended up with the assignment to Hell Valley.

By comparison, he had wanted to go to the Land of Rain, that meat grinder of a battlefield.

The battle in the Land of Rain had raged from the eve of the Shinobi World War until the end, lasting five full years. During that time, the Rock, Sand, and Cloud allied forces had pushed the front lines from the Land of Rain all the way into the Land of Fire.

Finally,

it culminated in the most devastating battle for Konoha in the Third Shinobi World War—

the Battle of Kikyo Pass.

This was why Uchiha Ci wanted to go there; it was a place that was truly like a meat grinder of a battlefield.

But he was in no position to argue; just getting a mission was already lucky.

He had no choice but to accept the mission assignment.

However, he was thinking about something else.

In the original event, without his involvement, Uchiha Shisui would have likely chosen the mission to Hell Valley, and afterward joined the fight against Kirigakure.

Without Uchiha Ci taking a spot, the dovish faction wouldn't have allowed Shisui to be so willful. Even if Shisui stepped forward, he would have been assigned to the relatively safer Mist battle line.

There, he would eventually earn the title of "Shisui of the Body Flicker."

Now,

because of his presence, the storyline had already begun to subtly change, like a butterfly flapping its wings.

Would Uchiha Shisui die in the Land of Rain because of this?

Without Shisui, would Uchiha Itachi still awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan and become the man who slaughtered his entire clan?

Uchiha Ci suddenly realized,

His mere presence, his desire to cheat death, his choices, had already quietly altered many things.

Ahead, it seemed a fog had risen, so thick he could hardly see his hand in front of his face.

This sent a shiver down his spine.