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The Uchiha Clan Compound.
Uchiha Xuan, acting much like an adult, walked into Clan Head Uchiha Tajima's courtyard with his hands clasped behind his back.
The moment he stepped into the yard, his eyes flashed. His body naturally swayed to the left, dodging a flying fist by a hair's breadth.
Immediately after, he sidestepped behind his attacker. Grabbing the assailant's arms, he twisted and crossed them behind their back, completely immobilizing them.
"Waah... waah... waah... It hurts, it hurts! Let go, Xuan!"
Just as I thought! Xuan curled his lips. The only person who would dare ambush him right in front of the Clan Head's door was Uchiha Izuna. There was no one else.
After a moment's thought, Xuan didn't let go. Instead, he grabbed Izuna by the back of his collar and hoisted him up. Terrified, Izuna started screaming, "Hey, what are you doing?! Let me go! If my big brother finds out, he won't let you off!"
Unfazed, Xuan carried him straight to a small spring in the courtyard. Ignoring Izuna's horrified gaze, he tossed him in with a heavy splash.
"Waah... help... glub... I can't swim... glub!" Izuna screamed for help, but Xuan ignored him, turning on his heel and walking away.
The spring wasn't deep; it was just enough to submerge Izuna's head. Xuan wasn't worried about him drowning. There were plenty of guard ninjas hidden within the Uchiha compound. It wouldn't take long for someone to fish the brat out.
As Xuan walked past Uchiha Tajima's room, he subconsciously glanced inside. Through the crack in the door, he saw his uncle discussing something with two clan elders, pointing at a map laid out on the table.
Retracting his gaze, he headed straight for his own room without stopping. The Uchiha was a major clan in the ninja world, currently fighting a war on three fronts. From the rumors Xuan had overheard, the situation was far from optimistic.
However, no matter how cruel the era was, children under ten usually weren't sent to the battlefield. Even in absolute emergencies, the cutoff was around eight years old. A toddler like Xuan wouldn't be deployed anytime soon.
After entering his room, Xuan sat quietly on the edge of his bed and summoned the System, scrolling through the Exchange menu item by item.
Aside from the initial Rinnegan, Sage Body, and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, there was also the standard Mangekyō Sharingan for 100,000 Points, and the Three-Tomoe Sharingan for 10,000 Points.
The rest included things like Kekkei Tōta, the Wood Style Kekkei Genkai, various secret ninja arts, and more. It was all-encompassing. As long as it had appeared in Naruto, it was listed here without exception.
Unfortunately, no matter how much Xuan coveted them, he was completely broke. All he could do was stare at the screen and drool.
Hey, System, besides waiting for you to issue Quests, is there any other way to earn Points?
[Aside from Quests, Points can also be acquired by submitting Jutsu or ninja tools. The payout is one-fifth of their Exchange value.]
...You greedy, black-hearted System!
He thought about the Jutsu he currently knew. I have the Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu here. I'll give it to you for 100 Points. A C-Rank Jutsu cost 500 Points to exchange, so one-fifth of that was exactly 100.
He had already learned this technique anyway, so he might as well recycle it. He had already made up his mind: from now on, any Jutsu he learned would be tossed to this black-hearted System. Even the smallest mosquito is still meat.
[This System does not recycle Jutsu that the Host has already learned!]
A day passed quickly. The next morning, Uchiha Tajima departed with a large contingent of Uchiha clansmen. Rumor had it that the war against the Senju clan at the front lines had reached a fever pitch, with both sides pouring in immense blood and resources.
Three months later, Uchiha Tajima returned covered in blood. Xuan didn't know the outcome of the battle, but judging by Tajima's gloomy expression, it probably wasn't good.
It wasn't until two days later that Xuan heard the details. Somehow, the Senju clan had convinced the Hyuga clan to join forces and set up an ambush. Uchiha Tajima had to fight a bloody battle just to break out of the encirclement. Xuan also heard that out of the three Great Elders, two had sacrificed themselves to cover his retreat.
Things have gotten serious! That was Xuan's first reaction upon hearing the news.
According to Uchiha tradition, there were three Elders directly below the Clan Head, all highly respected figures. Losing two of them at once was the biggest blow the Uchiha clan had suffered in fifty years. Moreover, looking at the Senju clan's aggressive posture, they had no intention of stopping. If things went south, it would turn into a decisive final battle between the two clans.
Regarding all this, Uchiha Xuan could only watch coldly from the sidelines, quietly observing how things developed.
Sure enough, after Tajima's return, he issued the clan's highest mobilization order. All Uchiha clansmen currently away from the compound, regardless of their reasons, were to abandon their missions immediately and return to the clan grounds.
Suddenly, the atmosphere within the Uchiha compound grew heavy. Every day, ninjas rushed back from all over the country. This was also Xuan's first time witnessing the true, fully mobilized might of the Uchiha, one of the two great clans of the Warring States Period.
When over a thousand Uchiha clansmen gathered at the training grounds, the visual impact was indescribable. A thousand clansmen sporting the Sharingan—even if half of them only had a single tomoe—was enough to make any enemy tremble in fear.
"Not long ago, our clan's elites were ambushed by the cunning Senju and Hyuga clans! We suffered heavy casualties, and two of our Elders were killed in action!"
"This is a humiliation our Uchiha clan has not faced in fifty years! Blood must be paid with blood! We are the Uchiha, the number one clan in the ninja world! We cannot swallow this insult. We will make our enemies understand what a foolish mistake it is to offend the Uchiha clan!"
Uchiha Tajima delivered a passionate speech from the podium, making his final pre-war mobilization. Uchiha Xuan and the other five kids crouched on a distant wall, watching this rare and grand spectacle.
"I really want to grow up faster. That way, I can join them on the battlefield and show everyone how brave and strong I am!"
Xuan turned to look at the speaker. It was Uchiha Fei, who was only half a month younger than him. Xuan curled his lip and ignored him. Young and ignorant kids always thought the battlefield was a place to show off a man's valor, never considering its sheer cruelty. People like that were usually the first to die in a war.
Unlike these children who didn't yet understand the horrors of war, the six-year-old Uchiha Madara looked at the massive crowd of clansmen on the training grounds with deep worry in his eyes.
"What are you worried about, Madara?" Seeing the concern in Madara's eyes, Xuan couldn't help but ask. He was quite curious about what was going through Uchiha Madara's mind at this age.
Hearing this, Uchiha Madara frowned in displeasure. "Call me 'Big Brother'."
He was very dissatisfied with Xuan calling him by his first name. Whenever Izuna came crying to him and he stood up for his little brother, more than half the reason was because of how Xuan addressed him.
Xuan shrugged carelessly. You've got to be kidding me. Making me call a six-year-old brat 'Big Brother' is harder than killing me. Even if he was the future pinnacle of the ninja world, Uchiha Madara was no exception.
Madara didn't force the issue. It wasn't the first or second time this had happened anyway.
"I'm worried because the Senju clan is just as famous as our clan and incredibly powerful. They won't be an easy opponent to defeat. Coupled with the Hyuga clan, I'm afraid this war will drag on for a long time. Who knows how many more of our people will die... Sigh!"