In the 25th year of Konoha, the ninja academy welcomed a graduation season.
Tsunade, Orochimaru, and Jiraiya successfully graduated and were taken as personal disciples by the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, their futures boundless.
At the same time, Hatake Sakumo, Kato Dan, Uchiha Kirito, and other highly anticipated talents graduated as genin with outstanding results, becoming the backbone of Konoha's "Silver Generation."
However, there was also a group whose brilliance wasn't as dazzling, quietly receiving their genin forehead protectors in unnoticed corners.
It's worth mentioning that Might Dai, having consistently failed to master ninjutsu, was held back yet again and had now become Uchiha Nian's junior.
On this day, Uchiha Kirito—who had just passed the genin exams but hadn't yet been assigned to a team—was urgently summoned back to the clan compound.
The reason was that the current head of the Uchiha clan had personally named him to complete a mission, using the authority of the clan leader to pressure him with an uncompromising attitude that left no room for refusal.
"The clansmen originally stationed at Hell Valley lost contact three months ago. As the clan's future genius, I'm entrusting you with the task of investigating what happened there."
"Hell Valley!" Kirito's eyes widened upon hearing those words, instinctively recalling a certain incident from the past.
Many years ago on a sleepless night, when he had stubbornly refused to go to bed, his older sister had told him about it as a scary bedtime story to frighten him into sleeping.
That was a period of history nearly forgotten, so ancient that even the dust seemed to have settled. Deep within the shinobi world's memories lay events far older than the conflict between Senju Hashirama and Uchiha Madara.
During the Warring States Period, when countless clans stood tall and the concept of hidden villages did not yet exist, there was a clan called "Chinoike" that stood shoulder to shoulder with the Uchiha at the pinnacle of genjutsu and ocular bloodline limits.
They dwelled in the distant Land of Lightning, wielding a bloodline limit known as the "Ketsuryūgan" (Blood Dragon Eye), capable of manipulating blood itself. It was said that once caught in their ocular techniques, escape became absolutely impossible.
Once, a princess of the Chinoike clan embarked on a journey to the daimyo's family of the Land of Lightning as a concubine, carrying with her the hopes and future aspirations of her entire clan.
The girl was gentle and beautiful, with a pure heart, yet this very tenderness became the shackles of her fate.
The principal wife of the daimyo's household had once stood proudly above all others, but the arrival of the new bride silently stole away the radiance that belonged to her.
Jealousy clouded the principal wife's heart like a shadow, and she secretly plotted, vowing to remove this thorn from her side.
As fate would have it, shortly after the girl's marriage, the daimyo suddenly passed away from illness. Seizing this opportunity, the principal wife fabricated false accusations against the girl, claiming her presence was an ill omen and the direct cause of the daimyo's death.
From that moment on, the fate of the Chinoike clan was rewritten.
Under the hefty bounty offered by the Land of Lightning's Daimyo, various clans rose against them in unison. Outnumbered, the Chinoike clan was swiftly defeated and exiled to a point of no return—the Hell Valley.
And those capable of guarding them were none other than the Uchiha clan.
The Land of Lightning's Daimyo had initially promised the Uchiha substantial rewards to station them at Hell Valley. Faced with those pairs of crimson Sharingan eyes, the Chinoike found escape impossible, forced to live in complete isolation within the valley, enduring days of hunger and bitter cold.
Tears of blood in the valley, flowers bloom upon the pond.
With no outlet for their grievances and no one to understand their suffering, the clan's resentment festered into hatred over time. Their towering rage gradually shifted from the Daimyo's court of the Land of Lightning onto the Uchiha clan.
This is precisely why, even after the Warring States Period ended and hidden villages were established, even when the Land of Lightning ceased its funding, the Uchiha stubbornly refused to relinquish their suppression of the Chinoike clan.
Later, when Uchiha Madara defected from Konoha, leaving the clan critically short of top-tier combatants who had to rely on the village's support, they became even more vigilant against the Chinoike. To this day, they remain obstinately stationed at Hell Valley, constantly monitoring the movements of the Chinoike clan.
"You're sending me alone on this kind of mission?" Kirito was stunned.
He sought out Orochimaru and Nian to discuss, and the group gathered at the secret base for a meeting. The conclusion they reached was:
When the city gate catches fire, the fish in the moat suffer.
The newly appointed Uchiha clan leader had only just taken his position—this was about asserting authority over the clan. Kirito was merely caught in the crossfire.
"I don't think this matter is targeting you specifically. We should still inform Sister Naori," Uchiha Nian analyzed calmly.
"Hmm, I remember she was exceptionally promoted to captain of the security force by the village recently. That might have made the new clan head nervous?" Orochimaru also offered his opinion, "But this isn't something we can influence right now."
Soon, through the pitiful complaints of the three young genin, Uchiha Naori learned about this matter.
She was furious. Although the Blood Prison Clan's abilities were somewhat countered by the Uchiha, their overall strength still shouldn't be underestimated. This kind of mission was absolutely not something mere genin could handle - there was a real risk of losing their lives.
Sending her younger brother on such a suicide mission was clearly a provocation against her!
Years of service in the guard force had honed her decisive personality, and she immediately took Kirito to confront the current clan leader.
"Revoke the order? Ridiculous! Do you take my commands as some child's play?"
"This kind of mission is practically suicide, isn't it?"
"As shinobi, we must be prepared to sacrifice at any moment! Obeying orders is a ninja's nature! And as members of the Uchiha clan, we must follow our leader's commands all the more!"
"Damn it, what you're doing is clearly strangling the future of our clan!"
"Dare you question me?" The current clan leader sneered with a chilling laugh, his words dripping with sarcasm. "Have you grown so accustomed to groveling before the village that you no longer even respect your own clan leader?
Ever since the death of Uchiha Kagami, Uchiha Hikaku had been jointly removed from his position by both the village and the Uchiha clan due to his association with Kagami. Since then, the position of clan leader had remained vacant, with undercurrents of tension surging within the clan as many had long coveted the seat.
For a full nine years, the Uchiha clan had been left without a leader. Prolonged disunity had severely weakened their cohesion, and if this continued, they would likely soon lose their status as Konoha's strongest clan.
Until the year 23 of Konoha, after numerous clan meetings, they finally decided to select a clan leader with both virtue and talent. However, after nine years of development and training, there were no shortage of capable individuals. Due to the intense competition, the elders unanimously decided to determine the victor through individual death matches.
To avoid internal strife and prevent the use of any clan or external resources, the dueling grounds were set up in the canyon behind the Naka Shrine. Two competitors would enter, and the one who emerged alive would become the clan leader.
Thus began a two-year-long bloodbath.
At that time, the Uchiha clan boasted countless young talents, emerging like schools of fish crossing a river and vanishing like shooting stars. They challenged for the position of clan leader time and again. After each death match, a new leader would emerge—though it also meant the Uchiha clan had forever lost another promising talent.
The hardcore election methods and frequent changes in clan leadership left the entire clan in a state of unrest. Sometimes, a clan leader's tenure lasted merely two months—certain children might have only seen them once before another person occupied that position.
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