Chapter 3: Operation Weed-Out

Just as Uchiha Gin was wondering why the others were reacting so intensely, all four people present simultaneously activated their scarlet Sharingan, staring at him fixedly, which left him afraid to make even the slightest move.

"One three-tomoe, the other three are two-tomoe."

Uchiha Gin, who was nearly scared out of his wits by the several pairs of eyes fixed on him, slowly raised his hands above his head and said cautiously.

"Everyone, if you're going to kill me or carve me up, at least let me know why. I may have delayed the mission, but surely that doesn't warrant this."

"Shut up! Who exactly are you? With such a high-level Transformation Jutsu, even my two-tomoe Sharingan can't see a single flaw."

The ponytail Uchiha stared at him and said viciously.

"There is no problem; he is indeed Uchiha Gin."

Uchiha Fūka exerted his full strength to activate his three-tomoe Sharingan, carefully scanning Uchiha Gin from head to toe, before finally closing his eyes and deactivating his Sharingan.

"Then what is he playing at now?"

The burly Uchiha, who had been silent the whole time, asked in confusion.

Uchiha Gin immediately recalled the original owner's eccentric personality and realized that it wasn't just his strength that was pathetic; the original owner was also a complete piece of trash as a person. Relying on being the clan leader's nephew, he bullied ordinary clansmen, acting exactly like a spoiled brat.

During this mission, he had repeatedly talked back to the others; if not for Uchiha Fūka holding them back, he would have long since been beaten to a pulp by them.

Thinking of the original owner's actions, Uchiha Gin couldn't help but gasp.

That the original owner had survived until now could only be attributed to the blessing of the Sage of Six Paths.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Gin felt that if he continued to act like the original owner, he would most likely be killed in the upcoming missions.

After all, his previous reckless behavior had been fueled by others behind the scenes. He had offended too many people, and it was entirely possible that someone wanted him dead. He had to do something now.

Thinking this, Uchiha Gin rolled his eyes and spoke up.

"In the past, I only looked at the world from my own perspective, with nothing but narrow individualism in my eyes."

Uchiha Gin took advantage of the gap in their confusion to start his performance.

Hearing this, the others deactivated their Sharingan, starting to watch what kind of nonsense he was up to now.

"However, after spending these past few days with you all, I have truly realized that as an Uchiha, I should not live only for myself. I must fight for the revival of the Uchiha!"

Uchiha Gin clenched his right fist and began to exert force.

The others, who were originally just watching the show, felt their blood begin to heat up and churn for some unknown reason upon hearing Uchiha Gin's impassioned speech, as if something was about to burst forth from within them.

"This guy, he actually has something to say."

The ponytail Uchiha whispered.

"I spent the first half of my life under the wings of Clan Leader Tajima, enjoying the shade of my ancestors. Now that I think about it, it is truly shameful. I, Uchiha Gin, will surely dedicate the rest of my life to the rise of the Uchiha clan!"

Uchiha Gin began to spout nonsense, but combined with his inflammatory rhetoric, it made the other Uchihas listen with deep conviction, nodding repeatedly.

"This kid makes sense."

"Looking at it this way, he really has awakened."

"To know one's mistakes and correct them is the greatest virtue."

Hearing the others infected by his "sincere" performance, a smile of a successful scheme flashed across Uchiha Gin's lips, so he increased his efforts.

"I am a member of the Uchiha clan's Youth Vanguard. I swear under the Uchiha clan crest: I am determined to follow the teachings of the Uchiha ancestors, to train my ocular jutsu, to practice ninjutsu, to hone my taijutsu, and to be ready at all times: to contribute all my strength to the cause of the Uchiha clan's revival!"

The impassioned speech left everyone stunned, as if they could vaguely see a shimmering red clan crest behind Uchiha Gin.

One Uchiha, who was not good with words, quickly took out a scroll and excitedly transcribed the words he had just heard, word for word.

"Clap, clap, clap..."

It was unclear which Uchiha started applauding involuntarily, and then the others, as if waking from a dream, followed suit one after another.

Among them, the ponytail Uchiha, who had the biggest conflict with Uchiha Gin, clapped the loudest.

The team leader, Uchiha Fūka, also looked at Uchiha Gin with a gratified expression, nodding repeatedly. He hadn't expected this spoiled brat to be capable of such stirring remarks; he was truly a great talent.

"Uchiha Gin, your words have made my blood boil! From now on, I, Uchiha Ryōichi, acknowledge your status."

So the ponytail Uchiha was named Uchiha Ryōichi.

"I have long seen that Brother Ryōichi is a man of great talent, and your shuriken technique is perfected, possessing the style of our ancestors!"

"I, Uchiha Hishikaku, am the same!"

"Brother Hishikaku's short sword technique is also at the pinnacle, dazzling to the eye, striking the enemy's vitals within a hair's breadth."

"Me, Uchiha Tarō, as well!"

"Brother Tarō's Fire Release is even more masterful; wherever it goes, not a blade of grass grows. You must have fully comprehended the nature transformation of chakra; the power of your Fire Release rivals that of the clan leader!"

"Alright, save the flattery for after the mission is completed."

Seeing the sky beginning to turn pale, Uchiha Fūka called a halt to their mutual commercial praise.

Hearing the captain's words, the group reluctantly stopped their exchange; any later, and they might have started kowtowing to each other to become sworn brothers.

"This weeding operation has already fallen far behind, especially since the Hagoromo clan took the lead. It is a great blow to our clan's reputation. Now that the war has entered a white-hot stage, I will distribute the mission target information to you."

Because the Hagoromo clan had successfully cleared their targets, the Senju clan had already discovered their purpose, so Uchiha Fūka simply stopped hiding the mission details.

Taking the documents handed over by Captain Uchiha Fūka, Uchiha Gin began to read carefully. The original owner only knew a little about the mission targets, but Uchiha Gin, who knew the plot, vaguely guessed the purpose of their mission.

The list contained more than a dozen Senju clan children, the oldest in their early teens and the youngest only four or five years old.

Uchiha Gin sighed in his heart. What a cruel era; no wonder living to 30 in the Warring States period was considered a long life.

The ages of the new generation of the Senju clan on the list were just children in his previous life, studying and playing carefree in school.

He then began to read carefully, starting from the first person on the list.

[Senju Hashirama: 14 years old, eldest son of Senju Butsuma, skilled in taijutsu and shurikenjutsu, suspected of having innate super strength, other intelligence unknown...]

Staring at the hand-drawn portrait of the bowl-cut boy on the document, Uchiha Gin could vaguely recognize this future God of Shinobi who would end the Warring States period, create the hidden village system, step on nine Tailed Beasts, and beat Uchiha Madara for a lifetime.

Calculating based on his age, Uchiha Gin analyzed the time period; it should be another dozen years before the peace he wanted would arrive.

"It seems the孽缘 (ill-fated connection) between Hashirama and Madara has already begun."

He continued reading.

[Senju Tobirama: 10 years old, second son of Senju Butsuma, skilled in Water Release ninjutsu and swordsmanship, extremely fast taijutsu, other information unknown...]

Looking at the red-eyed, white-haired brat in the document, Uchiha Gin had a headache. This was the future brilliant Second Hokage, Senju Tobirama.

The many forbidden jutsus he developed ran through the entire Naruto series—the Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu, the Flying Raijin Jutsu, and the Reanimation Jutsu that played a decisive role in the Fourth Shinobi World War—all came from his hands.

Although he admired him, recalling Senju Tobirama's prejudice against the Uchiha clan in the plot, not only did he target the Uchiha while alive, but after being reanimated, he kept calling the late-stage Sasuke an "evil Uchiha brat."

The reason for this was likely that his beloved older brother was so infatuated with Madara that he neglected his only brother, leading to deep-seated jealousy, which caused him to spend the rest of his life frantically suppressing the Uchiha clan.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Gin sighed inwardly and flipped to the next page.

[Senju Kawarama: 7 years old, third son of Senju Butsuma, skilled in Earth Release, taijutsu, other unknown...]

Since they were young ninjas, the information was not prepared in too much detail, summarizing their general strength in a few words.

However, unlike the previous two, this Senju Kawarama's portrait had an X drawn over it in red ink, with three words scribbled in the margin

[Eliminated.]

(End of chapter)