Chapter 2: Mutual X-Ray Vision
"Sharingan genjutsu—after hypnotizing him, I coordinated with Aoki's shuriken to finish him off."
Uchiha Yoichi explained. The interrogation unit could extract roughly the same scene from the dead Iwa jonin's brain anyway: He swung his sword, and the Iwa jonin uncontrollably raised both hands to block it.
How do ninja kill their enemies?
Ninjutsu, taijutsu, genjutsu.
But under [Empty-Handed Blade Catch], that Iwa jonin's ninjutsu and taijutsu were completely neutralized—he became a sitting duck for slaughter. Of course, Yoichi was in the same vulnerable spot if things went wrong.
Luckily, he reacted fast and had his teammate deliver the killing blow in time. Otherwise, he'd be the one dead.
"Sharingan genjutsu? With your one-tomoe Sharingan? You hypnotized an Iwa jonin?"
To Uchiha Inabi, this sounded unbelievable. Jonin weren't cabbages—they were elites who'd passed rigorous tests with almost no glaring weaknesses in ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu.
How could a jonin possibly fail to break a genjutsu? And this wasn't even a three-tomoe Sharingan—just a pair of one-tomoe eyes.
Yoichi shrugged, not caring if Inabi believed him or not. "That's how it happened, Inabi-senpai. Maybe that Iwa jonin was weak against genjutsu release, and I caught a tiny opening."
"Consider yourself lucky this time. Your luck is always this good—it's the third time already."
Uchiha Inabi sighed. Yoichi was considered a genius among the younger generation of the clan. Becoming a chunin was already rare in all of Konoha, and on top of that, he'd awakened the Sharingan.
Back then, they'd wanted him in the police force, but Yoichi disliked the fixed schedules, so he refused and joined regular mission teams instead.
"Inabi-senpai, what happens next? Will they assign me to another team?"
"Forget about that. Probably no one wants to be your teammate anymore. Three mission teams gone in half a year—the survival rate for your squadmates is less than fifty percent. That's why the village investigated you in the first place."
Uchiha Inabi shook his head. Hearing it put like that, he was even considering pulling Yoichi into the police force. What if a clansman teamed up with him and got hurt too?
He didn't fully buy the bad-luck theory, but the precedents were right there—every disastrous mission seemed to find Yoichi.
"Go home and wait for notification. I'll ask the clan head about it too, Yoichi."
Yoichi nodded. "If it comes to it, I'll just take solo missions. I can handle C-ranks fine—as long as the mission desk stops stuffing S-ranks into C-rank slots."
C-rank missions usually didn't involve enemy ninja. With his current chunin strength and rank, Yoichi could take them alone without issue.
Some escort C-ranks required multiple people, but aside from those, solo missions were convenient. No need to obsess over teams.
In two more years, Kakashi would become the youngest chunin hated by everyone—no team would want him either, and he'd go solo on missions.
Right now it was Konoha Year 42. Kakashi had just graduated from the academy as the youngest ninja ever, at five years old already genin-level, his fame spreading through the village.
Two years from now, White Fang would commit suicide.
Four years from now, the Third Ninja War would begin.
Six years from now, the Third Ninja War would hit its peak—villages slaughtering each other in rotation. Forget chunin; even jonin could die on the battlefield at any moment.
Thinking about it, Yoichi sighed inwardly. If things went normally, he had a shot at becoming a jonin, and his Sharingan could evolve to three tomoe.
But that was it. Even for the Uchiha clan, it only boosted survival odds a bit on the battlefield—no guarantees.
The Memorial Stone was covered in Uchiha names, including plenty of three-tomoe powerhouses.
"Don't overthink it, Yoichi. I'll talk to the clan head tomorrow about getting you into the police force."
Uchiha Inabi heard Yoichi's sigh and assumed he was upset about not finding a team. He suddenly felt bad for even considering rejecting a fellow clansman over unrealistic worries.
"No need, Inabi-senpai. I'll rest for a couple days first and see what the village decides."
Yoichi still didn't want to join the police force. The main reason was freedom. On mission teams, he was the squad leader—when not on duty, he could rest or train.
Police work meant daily patrols and dealing with village nonsense.
"I'm heading home to rest now. Good night, Inabi-senpai."
After returning to the clan district, Yoichi said goodbye to Uchiha Inabi at the entrance and they parted ways. He had his own house in the district—his original parents had died in the war.
Once home, Yoichi felt hungry. The interrogation unit fed him just enough to not starve, so he cooked something himself. Good thing he had plenty of instant ramen in storage.
While the noodles boiled, the clock hit midnight. [Empty-Handed Blade Catch] had been active for a month—time for the Superpower Roulette to spin again.
"Let me see what weird ability I get this time... X-ray vision?"
Yoichi's expression shifted wildly when he saw the ability on the illusory wheel—from excitement to disgust in two seconds flat.
[Mutual X-Ray Vision]: Nothing can block your line of sight anymore. However, when you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes back into you. Note: The target and distance for X-ray activation are random and uncontrollable once locked. It lasts one hour after activation.
Truly mutual pursuit.
Yoichi's mouth twitched almost painfully. Another trash ability. It might be useful against enemies, but right now he was resting at home. Next month it'd get overwritten anyway.
X-ray vision was bad enough, but random and mutual? What if he bumped into some old man on the street and it triggered—he'd be mutually ogling naked bodies with a grandpa?
Gross. Yoichi decided then and there: no leaving the house tomorrow. Just train in the clan district.
He'd already gone through twelve superpowers. Nine were completely useless junk.
Like [Nose-Hole Eating Speed x5], [Stomach Defense and Weight x10], [Extreme Spice Tolerance but Can't Eat Sugar], and so on.
All kinds of bizarre abilities, most unusable.
This [X-Ray Vision] was the same. If it were like the Byakugan, it'd be insanely strong—but adding a buff to the target (mutual viewing) and making it uncontrollable tanked its value instantly.
After eating his ramen, Yoichi pulled a scroll from his hidden box at home. It recorded the training method for Lightning Release Chakra Mode.
"Start training tomorrow. Jonin need mastery of at least two chakra natures anyway—Lightning it is."
Like most Uchiha, Yoichi only had Fire affinity; his ninjutsu were mostly Fire Release.
No missions for now—perfect time to train in the village.
Lightning Release Chakra Mode was a Kumogakure secret technique, usually limited to a few elite jonin there. Mastering it reinforced the body comprehensively—huge boost to survival.
If he succeeded, Yoichi's odds of living through the Third Ninja War would jump by at least thirty percent.