Land of Fire, Konohagakure Village.
A ninja wearing a grayish-blue cloak calmly walked into the Mission Assignment Office. He smiled as he greeted people he knew, exchanging meaningless small talk.
"Did the mission go smoothly?"
"Thanks to you, everything went smoothly."
"I heard your child will be entering the Ninja Academy this year. Congratulations."
"Hahaha, thank you, thank you. This kid is more talented than I am. Who knows—maybe he'll become a jōnin someday."
"Really? That's amazing."
After passing through the main hall, he headed toward the office specifically for submitting high-level missions. Along the way, he continued greeting people, clearly showing that his social connections were excellent.
However, the moment he turned into a corridor with no one else around, the smile on his face instantly disappeared.
He moved his mouth, even rubbing both cheeks with his hands to ease the tension in his facial muscles. From the village gate all the way here, he had kept smiling nonstop—his facial muscles were sore to the point of aching.
Ah, everything he had just said was nothing but nonsense.
He had completed a B-rank mission and returned safely—how could it not be smooth? A child who just entered the Ninja Academy becoming a jōnin right away? Why not just fly straight into the sky while you're at it?
This kind of small talk was truly annoying.
The villagers here were not as straightforward as the people of Chaoyang District. Their way of speaking lacked sincerity. Even a simple "Have you eaten yet?" sounded far more pleasant than these hypocritical words.
From the village gate onward, almost everyone knew each other. He had no choice but to maintain a polite smile the entire way. A smile not born from the heart was truly exhausting for the face.
After working his jaw, the discomfort still lingered. He then rubbed his cheeks hard until pain appeared—only then did it feel a little looser.
Next, he patted his waist.
What annoyed him most about modern-day ninja was their attitude. Seeing themselves as "knights," they desperately imitated cheap aristocratic etiquette, bowing and saluting to everyone they met.
His waist ached because of it.
The gray-cloaked ninja placed his hands on his hips, rotated his waist a few times clockwise, then counterclockwise, and finally did a few light hops. Only then did his whole body feel relaxed.
He then pushed open the office door and put on a calm, neutral smile.
This time, it was not a fake smile.
The ninja inside, who was reviewing documents, looked up. Seeing the young ninja in gray, he smiled.
"Good. You successfully completed a high-difficulty B-rank mission. Your promotion to chūnin should not be a problem."
"This is also thanks to your recommendation, Captain."
"No need to thank me. I recommended you because your abilities were already sufficient. If another chūnin had carried out this evaluation mission, they likely wouldn't have returned alive."
"Even so, I'm still grateful."
"In my opinion, opportunities are the most important resource. You gave it to me instead of someone else. That was my good fortune."
"There's no need to be grateful for such a dangerous B-rank mission. You could have taken the chūnin exam instead…"
The ninja behind the desk suddenly fell silent, clearly remembering something.
The ninja standing there scratched his black hair, then smiled bitterly as he rubbed his nose.
"If I took the chūnin exam, the risk would actually be much higher than a B-rank mission."
"Besides, above my head is the family name 'Uchiha'…"
The elderly ninja, whose hair and beard were already white, also smiled bitterly.
"Ah… right, right. I really forgot. You're an Uchiha…"
"Ha… Danzō…"
He looked at his subordinate, who remained calm despite his bitter smile, then shook his head and said emotionally:
"No wonder I forgot. Other than your surname being Uchiha, which part of you actually resembles an Uchiha?"
"Arrogant, short-tempered, conceited, looking down on others, rude—none of those apply."
"Haha, at least I still have the Sharingan."
"Oh? You really have the Sharingan? In the two years I've been your captain, I've never seen you use it."
"Hehe, that's because Captain is too strong. I never needed to activate my Sharingan."
"You really are smooth-tongued."
With light banter, they completed the mission handover. The old ninja took out the document certifying mission completion. Only with this document could the mission reward be claimed.
As for the promotion to chūnin, it still had to wait for official procedures, since ninja promotions required the Hokage's approval and only took effect after being personally signed by him.
Before Uchiha Yuu left, the old ninja called out to him again.
"Uchiha Yuu, you're no longer a member of the Military Police Force. What are your plans next?"
Uchiha Yuu shrugged and replied calmly, "No special plans. I'll become a mission-taking ninja."
"Thanks to you, I'll soon be promoted to chūnin. After that, I can accept missions independently. With my abilities, surviving shouldn't be a problem."
The old ninja shook his head and sighed.
"Unfortunately, there aren't many missions that can be done alone. Even if you can survive, life will be quite difficult."
"There's no other choice. I actually wanted to stay in the Military Police Force, but Elder Uchiha Setsuna thought I was too soft and unfit to display the authority of the Uchiha clan. He insisted on expelling me. Even the eighth-generation captain was powerless."
"So that's how it is. No wonder. You worked very well in the Military Police Force, even improving the Uchiha clan's reputation, yet you were still expelled."
"So the cause was that idiot Setsuna."
The old ninja's status was clearly very senior—he did not hesitate at all to call Uchiha Setsuna an idiot.
Uchiha Yuu completely agreed. In his view, Setsuna was an internal liability who perfectly complemented the clan's political enemy, Shimura Danzō. From both inside and outside, they worked together to push the Uchiha clan toward destruction.
As for Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, they were merely the final resistance of the younger generation when the clan had already reached a dead end.
Shisui, fundamentally, was simply too naive. He was so innocent that he couldn't distinguish friend from foe, stubbornly trusted the clan's political enemies, and ultimately committed suicide filled with regret.
Itachi, on the other hand, was a madman. His actions had no logic whatsoever.
And then there was Uchiha Obito—an extremely selfish madman.
Whenever Uchiha Yuu remembered that all three of them had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan, the future felt utterly bleak. It was as if a blood-red countdown timer hung above his head and the heads of all his relatives, with most of the numbers being the same.
[I really want to defect.]
However, the ninja world of Suruto was extremely dangerous, and his strength was still weak. Only by staying within Uchiha clan territory and relying on the clan's protection could his safety be ensured.
For now, it was not the right time to confront Elder Setsuna directly. Therefore, Uchiha Yuu did not respond further to his captain's words—he merely smiled.
After his former captain finished venting his frustration, Uchiha Yuu saluted and took his leave.
With the mission document, he exchanged the reward of 120,000 ryō. He took some of the money and went to the market to buy groceries.
This mission had lasted seven days. Since his house did not have a refrigerator, the food supplies had surely spoiled and needed to be replaced.
The Konoha market was lively and well-stocked. Uchiha Yuu quickly bought white sesame seeds, seaweed, chicken breast, carrots, and eggs.
After thinking for a moment, he also bought soy sauce and several kinds of seasonings.
Upon arriving home, he cleaned out all the spoiled food and swept away the dust that had accumulated over the past seven days. He checked the rice jar and found no insects or signs of rats.
Uchiha Yuu nodded in satisfaction. He scooped a full bowl of rice, rinsed it twice simply, then put it into the pot, added an appropriate amount of water, and lit the fire to cook the rice.
As the aroma of rice began to spread, a loud noise rang out. The window that Uchiha Yuu had deliberately left unlocked burst open.
A gray shadow shot in like lightning, bounced twice off the window frame and the back of a chair, then landed right in front of him.
A tabby cat sat elegantly on the table, lifting its head proudly, looking down at the ninja from a slightly elevated angle, and meowed.
"You're finally back, meow, Yuu."
"I'm hungry, meow."