Chapter 4: Mission: Head to Hell Valley!
At this moment, the hall was swallowed by an oppressive silence. Not a single sound disturbed the air—not a whisper, not the shuffle of a foot.
Every Uchiha present stared, frozen, eyes wide with shock. Even breathing seemed too dangerous; one wrong move, one careless exhale, and Elder Uchiha Setsuna's fury might descend upon them like a blade.
The man at the center of their collective dread—Elder Uchiha Setsuna—loomed like a dark storm. His face, etched with the weight of decades and hardened by countless battles, had become as dark as the bottom of a boiling cauldron.
Uchiha Ci had challenged him head-on, and even the patience of the ancient hawk was beginning to fray.
A faint crimson glow sparked in Setsuna's eyes. Three tomoe spun slowly in his Sharingan as he locked onto Ci, piercing through the very air around him.
Killing intent radiated from him so heavily, so suffocatingly, that the atmosphere itself seemed to tremble. It felt as if a single misstep might allow the Great Elder to draw his sword and slice Uchiha Ci apart as easily as a chef cleaving vegetables.
Yet the one beneath this withering glare—Uchiha Ci—was not intimidated.
Instead, he was completely absorbed in the glowing text that had appeared before his eyes:
> [Clang!]
[You bravely defied Uchiha Setsuna and have obtained a random skill from your target: Uchiha-Style — Threaded Shuriken Technique (Mastered).]
[Your Heart of Steel has gained another stack.]
For a moment, Ci's mind blanked.
A torrent of information crashed into his brain: designs of shuriken, the tensile qualities of steel wire, optimal throwing angles, subtle wrist manipulations, hidden techniques for feints, and the principles of precision, speed, and force control.
In the span of a heartbeat, he understood, analyzed, and internalized everything.
Years of painstaking trial and error, normally required to reach such mastery, were compressed into a single instant.
Mastery.
Uchiha Ci had attained master-level proficiency in the Uchiha-Style: Threaded Shuriken Technique.
Even a young Sasuke, in the original story, would have struggled to reach this level with the Windmill Shuriken alone.
Mastering shuriken techniques usually required decades of disciplined practice and combat experience.
And yet, Ci had achieved it by simply confronting Elder Setsuna.
Considering Setsuna's legendary reputation—the man who had once attempted to assassinate the Second Hokage and lived to tell the tale—Ci's rapid comprehension began to make sense.
So this is the confidence of the old-generation Uchiha! The pride of the clan's steel-hearted warriors.
Damn… no wonder it's called Heart of Steel.
Every stack made him feel unstoppable.
Utterly exhilarating!
But then a chilling thought struck him:
Why hasn't the Great Elder cut me down yet?
The hall remained suffocatingly silent for what seemed like an eternity.
Three minutes dragged on like a lifetime.
Finally, Elder Uchiha Setsuna exhaled, turning his gaze away. It was clear he had confirmed one thing: Uchiha Ci was an absolute fool.
A reckless, fearless idiot who did not even comprehend the meaning of fear.
And yet, standing unflinching, the boy had faced him head-on. This was not defiance—it was madness. Even the great hawk could not help but find himself speechless.
Finally, Setsuna snorted, a cold, dry sound:
"Since you're so eager to throw your life away for Konoha, this old man won't stop you.
You—step forward!"
Ci jolted back to reality, blinking in disbelief.
Wait… this isn't how the script was supposed to go!
He had prepared himself to die honorably in the Elder's shadow, to face his execution like a true martyr.
Yet here he was, being allowed to live.
What the hell!?
Elder, you're supposed to cut me down!
You're the hawk faction leader—shouldn't you at least act like one!?
"Ci-kun…"
Uchiha Shisui's voice drew Ci's attention.
The young prodigy had stepped forward, eyes softened with emotion.
Even from Ci's pale expression, Shisui could tell how dangerous the battlefield truly was.
And yet—despite that terror, the boy had volunteered.
That kind of courage was rare… and remarkable.
Activating his scarlet Sharingan, Shisui approached with solemn grace.
He bowed deeply toward Elder Setsuna.
"Great Elder, the mission still lacks one genin. Please allow me to join."
Setsuna's eyes flicked over Shisui's spinning tomoe. Recognition sparked.
"You're… Kagami's grandson? Shisui?"
"Yes," Shisui replied firmly.
"Please allow me this one act of selfishness.
I wish to take the mission to the Land of Rain."
Setsuna fell silent for a moment.
A single glance was all it took—a tacit approval.
As leader of the hawk faction, Setsuna had long despised the dovish side of the clan.
Shisui, protected by that faction, had already been raised under their careful guidance.
A prodigy, awakened and strong, was already a prized possession.
What concerned Setsuna now was Uchiha Ci.
The hawk faction's methods were harsh and merciless: throw a child off a cliff, and if he learned to fly, he became an eagle; if he fell… he became another corpse in the dust.
In these dark, chaotic times, death early might even be a mercy.
But Uchiha Ci? This boy had the courage of a fledgling chick attempting flight. His skull seemed harder than tempered steel.
Even Setsuna found himself momentarily dumbfounded at the reckless extremity.
Soon, the mission rosters were finalized.
Setsuna's voice cut across the hall, crisp and commanding:
> "For the Land of Rain front, the team will consist of Jōnin Shinichi as captain, Tokujō Suke, and Genin Shisui.
Depart immediately for the border camp and await further orders.
A hawk message has already been sent—Uchiha operatives will rendezvous upon arrival."
"And one more thing—remember this well:
Your lives belong to the Uchiha,
they belong to yourselves,
but they do not belong to Konoha.
Make sure you understand that."
"As for Hell Valley in the Land of Hot Water,
I will personally lead that squad.
Chūnin Seiichirō and Genin Ci will accompany me to reinforce the defense unit stationed there."
"All team members, gather at the village gate at 8 a.m. tomorrow. That is all—dismissed!"
True to form, Setsuna was decisive.
The moment his words left his lips, his figure flickered and disappeared.
The remaining Uchiha exchanged glances, then dispersed, leaving the Police Force headquarters eerily quiet.
Soon, only Shisui and Ci remained.
Ci frowned.
Thanks to Shisui's sudden intervention, he was now assigned to the Hell Valley mission—far from the carnage of the Land of Rain.
In truth, he had preferred the Land of Rain.
That was where the real grinder awaited.
The front had raged without pause for five brutal years, consuming shinobi like fire devours dry leaves.
At one point, combined forces of Iwagakure, Sunagakure, and Kumogakure had pushed deep into the Land of Fire itself.
And it was there, on the Battle of Kikyo Mountain, that the Third Great Ninja War had claimed its most tragic casualties.
That battlefield—the meat grinder of warriors—was where Ci had wanted to go.
But he was merely a genin, a nobody.
Just being assigned a mission was already a miracle.
The thought of the original timeline haunted him. Without his interference, Shisui would have been sent to the safer Hot Springs front, eventually becoming the legendary "Flicker of the Leaf."
Now… because of him, the timeline had already begun to shift.
Would Shisui die in the Land of Rain this time? Would Itachi awaken his Mangekyō sooner?
Would the future still unfold the same way—or had he already changed the destiny of the Uchiha clan?
A cold shiver ran down Uchiha Ci's spine.
His existence, his reckless greed for insurance, his daring choices—they were already rippling through fate itself.