Chapter 4: Mission: Head to Hell Valley!
At this moment—
The hall was deathly silent, so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The gathered Uchihas wore expressions of shock, barely daring to breathe.
They feared that one wrong breath might prompt Uchiha Setsuna to cleave Uchiha Takanotsume in half on the spot!
Uchiha Setsuna, the focus of everyone's attention, had a face as dark as a storm cloud.
Being so recklessly challenged by Takanotsume, even his legendary patience was wearing thin!
His eyes glinted with a scarlet chill, three tomoe spinning slowly in his Sharingan as he locked onto Takanotsume.
A suffocating wave of killing intent began to spread through the hall.
It felt like, at any second, the Great Elder would draw the long blade on his back and carve Takanotsume into pieces like slicing fruit!
But Takanotsume, under that intense gaze, wasn't paying attention to the pressure at all.
He was staring, dazed, at the text that had appeared before his eyes.
[Clang!]
[You boldly confronted Uchiha Setsuna, gaining a random skill from the target: Uchiha Style - Wire-Threaded Shuriken Technique (Mastered).]
[Your Heart of Steel stacks have increased.]
In that instant—
Takanotsume's mind reeled as a flood of knowledge poured in.
From the shapes of various shuriken to the types of wire, to the techniques, methods, hidden force, and finesse of throwing ninja tools—every detail flashed through his mind.
In a split second, he comprehended, analyzed, mastered, and surpassed one barrier after another that would normally take years to hone.
He even crossed thresholds that required life-and-death experience to ingrain into muscle memory.
Until—
Mastery!
Uchiha Takanotsume had attained a mastered level of the Uchiha Style - Wire-Threaded Shuriken Technique!
"Huh?!"
"What… what just happened?" Takanotsume stood there, stunned.
No joke—this level of shuriken mastery made young Sasuke's windmill shuriken look like child's play.
Shuriken techniques had no shortcuts; they required time to build.
This level of skill was something only a battle-hardened, armless Sasuke fighting Momoshiki could rival.
And yet, just by clashing head-on with Great Elder Uchiha Setsuna, he'd gained it!
Then again, considering Setsuna's terrifying resume—someone who'd tried to assassinate the Second Hokage and lived—Takanotsume wasn't too surprised.
Was this the confidence of the old-school Uchiha artisans?
This… this… honestly, Heart of Steel had a kind of numerical beauty!
Awesome!
But—why hadn't the Great Elder killed him yet?
On the scene—
After a full three minutes of silence, Uchiha Setsuna turned his head away, slightly exasperated.
He'd finally confirmed it: this Uchiha Takanotsume was a reckless fool who didn't know the meaning of fear.
Under his terrifying killing intent, the kid seemed completely unfazed, just staring back at him.
If they kept locking eyes, things would get awkward.
Setsuna let out a cold snort: "Since you're so eager to die for Konoha, I can't stop you."
"You, step forward!"
Takanotsume snapped to attention, looking up at the Great Elder. But instead of joy at getting a mission, his face was full of shock.
Wait, this script's all wrong!
He'd confronted Setsuna fully expecting to be martyred on the spot.
He was practically cackling like a maniac inside…
But, Great Elder, why didn't you just slice me down?
Come on, one swing and I'd be done!
Where's the macho hawkish leader energy?
"Takanotsume-kun…" Shisui couldn't help but feel a pang of admiration.
From Takanotsume's expression, he could tell the boy knew exactly how dangerous war was.
Look at that—his face was pale with fear.
Yet even so, he'd bravely stepped forward.
In that case—
With his Sharingan gleaming, Shisui stepped out from the crowd, addressing Setsuna solemnly: "Great Elder, the mission still needs one more genin. Please allow me to join."
Setsuna frowned slightly, his gaze landing on Shisui's scarlet Sharingan. "You're Kagami's grandson? Shisui?"
"Yes, and please indulge my whim—I want to choose the mission to the Land of Rain."
Setsuna didn't respond, merely giving Shisui a brief glance before moving on to assign tasks to other ninja.
That was his tacit approval.
As the hawkish leader of the Uchiha, Setsuna naturally clashed with the dovish faction, and Shisui's development wasn't his concern.
The doves would pamper a genius like Shisui—a ninja school early graduate, Sharingan awakener, and grandson of a former clan leader—with full-on babysitting.
Compared to Shisui, Setsuna was more troubled by Takanotsume.
The hawkish philosophy was to toss kids off a cliff.
Those who could fly would soar, free and willful eagles.
Those who couldn't would crash into the valley as a pile of mush—perhaps a kind of luck in this chaotic era.
But Takanotsume…
He didn't even have his feathers yet and was already trying to fly. His stubbornness was almost unbelievable.
Even Setsuna, an extreme hawk, thought this kid might be too extreme…
Soon, the assignments were complete. Setsuna swept a cold gaze over the crowd and announced flatly: "Land of Rain battlefield: led by Jōnin Shinichi, with Special Jōnin Tasuke and Genin Shisui. Head to the border camp first for further orders. A messenger hawk has been sent, and Uchiha members will meet you there."
"I'll say this specifically: your lives belong to the Uchiha, to yourselves—not to Konoha. You'd better understand that!"
"Hell Valley, Land of Hot Springs: led by me, with Chūnin Seiichiro and Genin Takanotsume. We'll reinforce the Hell Valley outpost."
"Team members, assemble at the village gate tomorrow at 8 a.m."
"That's all. Dismissed!"
True to his decisive style, Setsuna vanished with a Body Flicker the moment he finished.
The ninja exchanged glances briefly but didn't linger—idlers weren't welcome at the Police Force.
Soon, the hall emptied, leaving only Shisui and a pensive Takanotsume.
Takanotsume frowned slightly.
Because of Shisui's interruption, he'd been assigned to Hell Valley.
He'd much rather have gone to the meat grinder that was the Land of Rain.
That battlefield raged from the war's prelude to its end, a full five years. Iwa, Suna, and Kumo joined forces, pushing the front from the Land of Rain into the Land of Fire.
It culminated in the Third Ninja World War's bloodiest battle for Konoha—
The Battle of Kikyo Pass.
That's why Takanotsume wanted to go there—it was a genuine, bone-crushing warzone.
But he was just a nobody; getting any mission was already a stroke of luck.
He had no choice but to accept the assignment.
His mind was on something else.
In the original story, without his involvement, Shisui would likely have been sent to the Land of Hot Springs, later joining the fight against Kiri.
Without Takanotsume taking a spot, the doves wouldn't have let Shisui pick freely. Even if he volunteered, he'd have been sent to the relatively safer Kiri front.
There, he'd earn the moniker Shisui of the Body Flicker.
Now—
Because of Takanotsume's presence, the storyline was quietly shifting, like a butterfly flapping its wings.
Would Shisui die in the Land of Rain because of this?
And without Shisui, would Itachi still awaken his Mangekyo and become the clan-slaughtering maniac?
Takanotsume suddenly realized—
His very existence, his insurance scam ambitions, and his choices were already silently changing so much.
Ahead, a thick fog of uncertainty loomed, obscuring everything.
It sent a shiver down his spine.