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The elder glanced at Xuan, somewhat surprised. "You're this young, and you've come to take a mission?"
Xuan hugged the Amanokumo sword to his chest and smiled. "A ninja's strength isn't always measured by their age."
The elder nodded in agreement, looking him over a few more times. "Are you Uchiha Xuan?"
"How did you know?" Xuan touched his face in confusion. Was his name written on his forehead? He was absolutely certain he had never met this elder before.
Curious, he took a closer look at the man. The elder appeared to be in his fifties—a remarkably long lifespan for a shinobi in the brutal meat grinder of the Warring States Era. He wore the traditional black, high-collared Uchiha robes and exuded a vigorous, spirited aura. But his most striking feature was his left eye. The socket was completely hollowed out, as if the eyeball had been gouged out alive. Xuan couldn't help but stare for a moment.
Seeing Xuan staring at his missing eye, the elder didn't take offense. Instead, he chuckled warmly. "The Uchiha clan has produced two peerless geniuses: Uchiha Madara and Uchiha Xuan. Your reputations have long since spread throughout the entire compound. For a kid your age to swagger in here and ask for a mission, your identity isn't exactly hard to guess."
After a hearty laugh, the elder pointed at his empty socket. Normally, a disabled veteran would hate having people stare at their scars, but this man was different; he wore his mutilation like a badge of honor. "This left eye... about twenty-five years ago, I was fighting for my life against the Senju on the battlefield. They managed to trap me. In that moment of absolute desperation, I awakened the Sharingan.
"Unfortunately, there were simply too many of them, and I knew I couldn't win. Knowing I couldn't let my eyes fall into enemy hands after I died, I gouged out my own left eye and crushed it in my palm. But just as I was about to dig out the right one, clan reinforcements unexpectedly arrived. Recognizing my loyalty and sacrifice, the clan never sent me back to the front lines. Instead, they gave me this job handling missions, and I've been here ever since."
Xuan listened in silence. Though the elder brushed it off with just a few sentences, Xuan could easily imagine the sheer, suffocating terror of that situation. Unless all hope was truly lost, no Uchiha would ever resort to destroying their own Sharingan.
"Ah, listen to this old man ramble. I got so carried away I forgot you're here for a mission! Come, come. Since it's your first time, let me walk you through the system."
Smiling, the elder waited for Xuan to nod before beginning his explanation. "The clan handles two distinct types of missions. The first are External Bounties—commissions from other clans, factions, or wealthy clients. For example, if a minor clan encounters a problem they can't handle, they pay us a massive sum to intervene. We evaluate the difficulty and then assign it to our shinobi.
"The second type are Internal Clan Missions. These are directives issued by the Uchiha clan itself. The monetary payout might not be as high as an external bounty, but the rewards often include Ninjutsu scrolls. However, internal missions are generally far more dangerous. In times of extreme emergency, they are issued as mandatory directives and cannot be refused. Sigh... I remember the last time we fought an all-out war with the Senju. Internal missions were issued one after another. Every single Jōnin and Chūnin not already on the front lines was deployed. When we finally ran out of manpower, we had no choice but to send children your age into the slaughter. The casualties were catastrophic."
Xuan nodded slowly. So that was how it worked.
"Furthermore, we grade missions based on their evaluated difficulty," the elder continued, gesturing to the stacks of paper on his desk. "See these sheets of plain white paper? These are White-Rank missions, the lowest tier, suitable for a Chūnin. These ones with grey text are Grey-Rank missions, meant for Tokubetsu Jōnin. Above that are Black-Rank missions, which are generally assigned to full-fledged Jōnin. Anything above a Black-Rank mission requires an Elite Jōnin or higher. You won't find those posted here; they are issued directly by the Clan Head."
"Of course, this isn't an absolute rule," the elder clarified. "If a war reaches a critical boiling point and manpower is scarce, Black-Rank missions might be delegated down to a squad of Tokubetsu Jōnin working together. You can take a look yourself." He pushed the various stacks of mission files forward across the desk.
Hearing this, Xuan carefully flipped through the documents. Looking at the White, Grey, and Black categories, he silently came to a realization. This must be the prototype for the D, C, B, A, and S-rank system Konoha will eventually establish. However, the current era's classification was incredibly generalized. It was highly susceptible to miscalculations and fell far short of the precision the hidden villages would achieve in the future.
He was certain the Senju clan utilized a similarly crude evaluation model.
He casually thumbed through the White-Rank missions. Most were relatively simple tasks—escort details or basic intelligence gathering. A standard Chūnin was more than capable of handling them, and the rewards were exclusively monetary.
Xuan had zero interest in these. His primary goal was to hunt down missing-nin or targets with active bounties on their heads to grind his System points.
Without a second thought, he tossed the White missions aside and began browsing the Grey-Rank files.
The very first sheet bore a massive "Kill" character, circled in blood-red ink—the universal sign for an assassination mission. He read the details below:
[Mission: Assassinate the General of the Meiryō Faction]
[Time Limit: Valid for three months]
[Strength Analysis: The Meiryō faction is not a shinobi clan, but a militant force operating in the northern Land of Fire. The General is guarded day and night by three Tokubetsu Jōnin. Furthermore, there is an accompanying Samurai of unknown strength.]
[Mission Difficulty: Grey]
[Reward: 30,000 Ryō]
[Recommendation: A squad of five Tokubetsu Jōnin, or two full Jōnin.]
Reading this, Xuan furrowed his brows. The three Tokubetsu Jōnin were fine, but what was the deal with a Samurai of 'unknown strength'? He recalled from the original story that Samurai were a relic of the past, a warrior class rendered nearly obsolete by the rise of shinobi. Supposedly, they only existed in the isolated Land of Iron now.
After a moment of thought, he set the mission aside. The current era's classification system truly was unreliable. They had assigned a difficulty rank without even confirming the actual combat capabilities of the target's guards.
Naturally, Xuan was confident he could easily complete the assassination alone. But there was simply no need to bother. Fighting Tokubetsu Jōnin offered zero challenge at his current level, and his sole objective was to hunt down full-fledged Jōnin.
With that in mind, he shoved the stack of Grey missions away and directly opened the Black-Rank files. The very first brief instantly caught his eye.
[Mission: Execute the Rogue "Blood Ninja"]
[Time Limit: Before the target escapes the Land of Fire]
[Strength Analysis: Target is a former Jōnin of the Hatamoto Clan, dubbed the "Blood Ninja" due to his habit of leaving a bloody handprint on his victims. One month ago, for unknown reasons, he raped and brutally murdered the eldest daughter of the Hatamoto clan. During his escape, he killed two Hatamoto Tokubetsu Jōnin and severely injured one standard Jōnin. He is currently on the run, and the Hatamoto Clan has issued a continent-wide bounty. Latest intelligence places him in the northwestern region of the Land of Fire one day ago. It is suspected he intends to flee into the Land of Earth.]
[Mission Difficulty: Black]
[Reward: 80,000 Ryō]
[Recommendation: Due to the Blood Ninja's combat strength exceeding that of a standard Jōnin, it is highly advised that a two-man Jōnin squad or a single Elite Jōnin accept this mission.]
Xuan tore the page from the ledger and placed it firmly on the desk. "I'll take this one."