Late at night.
The flickering glow of firelight danced faintly along the outer walls of Konoha Village. The flames wavered in the cold night breeze, casting shifting shadows across the stone barriers that guarded the village.
A patrol unit from the Uchiha Military Police Force walked slowly along the wall, the sound of their sandals brushing lightly against the ground. Their cloaks swayed with the howling wind, carrying with it a chill that seeped into their bones.
Uchiha Tekka, the squad leader, instinctively tightened his robe around his shoulders. The crisp autumn night carried with it an unusual heaviness, though he could not quite explain why.
"This is it for today," Tekka ordered after the last stretch of their round. His voice was calm but firm. "Dismissed."
"Yes, Captain!" the other Uchiha replied in unison.
One by one, the patrol squad members dispersed, each heading back toward their respective homes. Soon, the noise of footsteps faded, leaving Tekka alone under the moonlit sky.
He half-lay on the ground, resting his weight against the roots of a tree, and gazed up through the canopy. The moon was bright tonight, its silver glow filtering between the branches and leaves. To Tekka, it almost looked like the benevolent face of his grandmother, framed perfectly in that circle of light.
Reaching up, he unconsciously caressed his right eye, where his fully matured Three-Tomoe Sharingan resided. His lips curved slightly, and he murmured softly:
"Grandma… I finally made it. I'm a Jonin now…"
"A Jonin, huh? Congratulations, then."
The hoarse, unfamiliar voice shattered the serenity of the night.
Tekka's expression immediately hardened, the warmth in his eyes vanishing as wariness replaced it. His body moved instinctively, springing upright with the agility of a shinobi. His senses sharpened, scanning the darkness.
A man emerged from the shadows—a strange figure with messy, unkempt hair, wearing a tiger-striped mask with a single eyehole. Through that hole gleamed the cold, crimson glow of a Sharingan.
Sharingan?! Tekka's heart clenched.
An Uchiha? When did he get so close without me noticing?
Tekka reacted instantly, pulling two kunai from his pouch. Spinning them deftly in his hands, he lunged forward, striking straight at the masked man's chest.
And then, something utterly incomprehensible occurred.
The kunai passed directly through the man's body as though stabbing through air. Tekka felt no resistance, no sensation of flesh or bone.
"What—?!" His eyes widened in shock.
Recovering quickly, Tekka retreated with a swift leap, landing a safe distance away. His Sharingan spun rapidly, scanning the figure before him, searching for signs of Genjutsu or substitution. But there was nothing. The masked man stood exactly where Tekka had seen him, calm and steady, as if mocking his confusion.
"Those are very good eyes," the masked man sneered, his voice low and grating.
Without hesitation, he stepped forward. His movement was swift, precise—predatory. In a blink, he closed the distance, calculating Tekka's next landing spot with frightening accuracy.
As Tekka touched down, the man's katana flashed in the moonlight. Tekka swung his kunai in a flurry of desperate strikes, but his opponent phased effortlessly through them, unaffected.
Then came the counterattack.
With one merciless slash, the katana severed Tekka's right arm. Blood sprayed into the night air. Without slowing, the blade carved across his chest, leaving a deep, gaping wound.
Tekka staggered back, his breath ragged. In front of him… I have no power to resist.
Clutching the kunai in his remaining hand, Tekka fought to stay upright, his vision swimming. His strength ebbed rapidly, darkness tugging at his consciousness.
The masked man loomed over him, his single visible eye cold and devoid of emotion.
"Now it's mine."
Tekka understood in that instant. This man was after his eyes—his Sharingan.
Summoning the last of his willpower, Tekka forced a faint smile and whispered hoarsely, "Sha… Sharingan…"
Before the masked man could move, Tekka's kunai stabbed into his own left eye. Blood poured from the wound as he drove the blade deep into his skull.
"Sorry… I can't let you have your way…"
It was his final act of defiance. His last strength spent, Tekka's body slumped, lifeless.
The masked man stared silently at him, a flicker of surprise in his eye.
"Because you noticed I only have one right eye… you destroyed your own left." His voice was calm, almost admiring. "I could have stopped you, but I didn't. A shame, though… what I really needed was a right eye."
With those words, he bent down, his hand resting on Tekka's head. A swirling vortex of space-time consumed the body, leaving nothing behind.
---
The next day at noon, the first exam of the Chunin Selection Exams began.
By then, the news of Hyuga Neji defeating a Konoha Anbu had spread throughout the village. Whispers of his strength were everywhere, elevating his reputation to rival even that of Uchiha Itachi and the explosive Iwagakure prodigy, Deidara.
At the gambling houses, Neji's odds skyrocketed. Many believed he would be one of the stars of this year's exams.
As Neji walked with his teammates down the path to the examination hall, the stares of other examinees followed him. Some looked at him with fear, others with resentment, but Neji himself remained calm and composed, his pale eyes betraying no emotion.
Darui, their Jonin leader, walked with an air of lazy confidence, as if nothing in the world could rattle him. Only Karui, the youngest of the trio and fresh from the academy, seemed restless. Her hands fidgeted, her eyes darting nervously at the crowd around them.
The exam was held at the Ninja Academy, its classrooms repurposed into examination halls. Five rooms had been prepared, with ten squads assigned to each. Neji's team from Kumogakure was placed in the fourth room.
Inside, Neji sat at his desk, his posture straight and assured. Karui leaned toward him and whispered anxiously:
"Neji… is the written test going to be hard?"
Neji smiled faintly. "It's not about difficulty. Think of it this way—just don't be nervous. With me here, you'll pass even if you do nothing."
Karui blinked at him, still uncertain, while Darui leaned back lazily in his chair, hands behind his head. "Tch. It's just a written test. How hard can it be?" he muttered.
Moments later, the examiner walked in.
It was Namikaze Raidō, a scar-faced Special Jonin of Konoha. His intimidating appearance often misled others, though in truth he was kind-hearted.
He explained the rules, his voice stern, before distributing the test papers.
Darui accepted his with a smirk—until he read the first question.
"The medicinal effects of Silver-tailed Snake Gall?!"
His brow furrowed.
Though Darui was knowledgeable, having risen to Jonin at a young age, he had never once heard of such a thing. It was likely a rare snake native to the Land of Fire, far beyond the scope of a Kumogakure shinobi's studies.
His lips twisted in irritation. Ridiculous. How could they expect me to know this?
He skipped to the next question, only to be greeted with an absurdly detailed physics problem involving kunai trajectories. He could perform the throw instinctively, but writing out the calculations? Impossible.
By the third question—"Your understanding of the Will of Fire"—Darui's patience snapped.
He slammed his pen down, muttering curses under his breath. The nearby examiners immediately turned sharp gazes his way. Karui shot him a confused look, clearly expecting him to produce answers for her to copy.
Darui awkwardly scratched his head and leaned back in defeat. Damn it… I shouldn't have bragged.
Meanwhile, Neji remained perfectly calm. His Byakugan activated silently, scanning the room.
He knew the truth—this exam wasn't about knowledge. It was about information gathering. Somewhere in the room, a plant had been placed, someone with all the correct answers. The true test was finding them and cheating undetected.
Sure enough, after careful searching, Neji spotted him: a Konoha Genin in the front row, his answers precise and confident. The boy was positioned diagonally opposite Neji, as far away as possible. Clearly, Konoha had placed him deliberately to target outsiders like Neji.
Neji smirked inwardly. Even when they try to make it difficult for me, it won't matter.
With Byakugan, no distance or obstacle mattered. Quietly, without the slightest trace of movement, he began copying the correct answers.
Outside the examination rooms, Kakashi leaned against the wall, his single visible eye lazy as ever. He turned to Raidō. "Are you sure everything's set?"
Raidō grinned. "Of course. I told the proctors to keep a special eye on Deidara and Neji. The moment they slip, they're out."
Kakashi nodded. "Good. If we can eliminate them here, Konoha's Genin will have much less pressure."
---
Meanwhile, deep underground in the Root base, Danzo examined the latest research results.
The white-coated researchers trembled as they handed him the data. "Danzo-sama, the arm we tested was indeed cultivated from Shodai-sama's cells. Its vitality exceeds even the samples in our archives by ten percent. The technique used is far beyond our capabilities."
Danzo's single visible eye glimmered with satisfaction. "Excellent. Prepare for the transplant. In three days, I will wield Wood Release."
The staff hesitated. "But… such a hasty transplant could endanger your body—"
"Enough." Danzo's voice was cold. "This is not your decision. Three days."
Later, when he returned to his office, he froze.
A man with messy hair and a tiger-skin mask stood there, katana at his waist. His presence was silent, oppressive.
Danzo's instincts screamed danger.
"Who are you?" he demanded.
The masked man turned slowly, his voice low and rasping. "Who I am doesn't matter. What matters… is that I can help you."
Danzo narrowed his eyes. Without warning, he wove hand seals and unleashed a Wind Release: Vacuum Sphere. Blades of compressed air tore through the room, shattering walls.
But the masked man stood unharmed, letting the attacks pass through him as if he were smoke.
Danzo's frown deepened. He tore the bandage from his right eye, revealing his Sharingan. "When did I fall into Genjutsu?"
The masked man chuckled. "So you've already begun collecting Sharingan, have you? Then perhaps the gift I brought you… isn't enough. I'll need to add something else."
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