Shinji held his palms suspended above the carp, a faint glow of Chakra emanating from them.
He focused his breath, concentrating fully on controlling the output of his power.
Suddenly, his right hand trembled slightly, causing the Chakra to overflow instantly.
The carp's abdomen on the scroll immediately turned charred black, and its mouth, which had been slightly opening and closing, stopped moving completely.
"Sigh, another failure. Medical Ninjutsu really isn't that simple."
Shinji shook his head gently, wiping the thin sweat from his temple as he looked helplessly at Rin.
Nohara Rin quickly waved her hands, her tone tinged with excitement. "Don't say that, Shinji. You're improving really fast."
"It won't be long before you officially master the Mystical Palm Technique."
She was genuinely surprised.
Shinji's talent was beyond imagination, and even she couldn't help but feel a little envious.
Shinji smiled and patted her arm. "It's all thanks to you being such a good teacher, Rin."
He was already quite skilled, and with the Sharingan allowing him to clearly see the flow of Chakra, learning Ninjutsu naturally became much easier.
It felt as effortless as a graduate student taking a middle school final exam while being allowed to use their phone.
Flattered by his words, Nohara Rin clasped her hands behind her back, her eyes curving into a smile.
"You've worked hard tonight, Shinji."
"I'll have to trouble you to teach me more in the future, Rin-sensei."
Shinji looked into her eyes, his tone particularly earnest.
He glanced at the table again—all three carp had failed to survive.
In a nearby cage, three white mice had their limbs, tails, and eyes wrapped in thick bandages.
Those were the experimental subjects Rin had intentionally cut and re-sutured to demonstrate transplantation surgery to him.
A thought quietly surfaced:
It seems I'll need to sacrifice quite a few small animals in the future.
"Sure," Nohara Rin nodded readily. "Whenever you need help, I'm here for you."
Just then, the wall clock in the living room suddenly chimed.
"Dong—dong—dong—"
Both of them looked up simultaneously.
"Oh, it's already eleven o'clock!" Nohara Rin panicked slightly. "How did it get so late?"
She hadn't returned home since leaving the hospital today and hadn't informed her family. Her parents were surely worried.
"It's so late, why not stay here for the night?" Shinji's heart stirred, and he casually suggested, "I have a spare room."
"Huh?!"
Nohara Rin was startled, frantically waving her hands. "No, no, I have to go back. I can't stay at your place."
"Th-that would be like... like living together, wouldn't it?"
Her cheeks instantly flushed bright red, and her heart pounded loudly.
A second later, she realized Shinji was teasing her.
"Shinji, you're joking again!" she scolded, glaring at him.
Shinji curled his lips into a mischievous smile.
He wasn't entirely joking, though.
Having lived alone for so long, he genuinely wished for someone to be by his side.
"Then I'll walk you home."
"Okay."
Pushing open the entrance door, Shinji reached out his hand to her.
Nohara Rin instantly understood his meaning, gently biting her lower lip as she offered her hand.
Their fingers intertwined.
Side by side, they walked toward Rin's home.
Their steps were deliberately slow, the streetlights stretching their shadows long and close. Every few steps, they would unconsciously glance at each other, unspoken smiles hidden in their eyes.
...
Three days later.
The internal turmoil within the Uchiha Clan continued.
Since the culprit—Shinji himself—remained at large, the Police Force members grew increasingly irritable, carrying out their duties in Konohagakure with even greater severity.
Throughout the streets and alleys of Konohagakure, many residents were being deliberately harassed or unjustly targeted by some members of the Uchiha Police Force.
Minor issues were nitpicked, and normal passage was forcibly obstructed.
The slight positive impression Shinji had painstakingly built for the Uchiha was gradually fading away.
A faint, almost imperceptible sense of guilt flickered within him.
After all, he had let the entire Uchiha Clan take the blame for him. Watching the clan's reputation decline, and even seeing his own people harass ordinary villagers, it was hard not to feel somewhat uneasy.
But this guilt was fleeting. He knew all too well that, no matter what, he could never step forward and turn himself in.
Moreover, whenever he went out recently, he could always sense a few faint, elusive gazes.
Using the Transparent Escape to conceal his presence, Shinji quietly investigated the sources of those gazes. He discovered that not only were Anbu watching him, but Root operatives were as well.
They had deployed a large number of personnel, closely monitoring every move of the Uchiha Clan, with some even keeping an eye on him specifically.
"Are they guarding against the Uchiha, or are they looking for me?"
Shinji's brow furrowed slightly as he discreetly glanced toward a blind spot on a distant roof beam.
There, two Anbu ninja lay hidden, silently lying in wait.
For the moment, he couldn't discern their true intentions and could only endure quietly.
"Better head to the Police Force first."
Shinji turned and walked toward the center of the clan compound, temporarily pushing the matter of surveillance to the back of his mind.
He had already arranged to meet with Clan Head Fugaku and Elder Yashiro today.
The headquarters of the Uchiha Police Force had always exuded an aura of cold, rigid authority.
The vermilion bird tower soared into the clouds, flanked by stone pillars carved with clan symbols, their surfaces faintly retaining traces of Chakra.
Entering the Police Force and stating his purpose, the clansman on duty immediately directed him.
Shinji went straight up to the second floor, walked along the corridor to the innermost room, and knocked on the door.
"Enter."
The authoritative voice of Fugaku came from within.
Pushing the door open, Shinji saw Uchiha Fugaku seated in the center, with Elder Yashiro on his left and a young man named Yakumi Uchiha on his right.
This man was Fugaku's direct subordinate, the current captain of the Police Force, and known within the clan for leaning toward a more moderate faction.
After briefly greeting the three, Shinji got straight to the point.
"Clan Head, Elder, has my application been approved?"
Two days earlier, Shinji had proactively approached Fugaku to apply for permission to learn the Mystical Palm Technique and the Chakra Scalpel—two Medical Ninjutsu.
At the time, Fugaku hadn't given a direct answer, only instructing him to come to the Police Force today, which was why he was here now.
"Hmph!"
Yashiro had been increasingly irritable these past few days. His subordinates, Tekka and Inabi, had failed in their duties, allowing intruders to breach the sacred grounds of Naka Shrine. In the end, they hadn't even managed to capture the invaders, causing him to lose face within the clan.
As for the young man before him, Yashiro had initially intended to win him over, but Shinji was stubbornly fixated on Medical Ninjutsu.
They were Uchiha.
How could they delve into something like Medical Ninjutsu, just like Tsunade of the Senju clan?
In Yashiro's eyes, this was nothing short of neglecting one's duties, bordering on betrayal.
"If the clan doesn't hand these two scrolls over to you, what do you plan to do?" Yashiro asked sternly.
Fugaku stood with his arms crossed, eyes closed, clearly leaving the matter to Yashiro. Meanwhile, Yakumi kept his head lowered the entire time, paying no attention to Shinji.
Shinji frowned slightly.
"The application wasn't approved? That shouldn't be the case."
Judging by Yashiro's attitude, it seemed the clan did possess these two scrolls but simply didn't want to give them to him.
Ignoring Shinji's muttering, Yashiro tossed two scrolls toward him.
"I'm giving you a mission. Consider it your contribution in exchange for these two scrolls."
Shinji quickly caught them, unrolling them to confirm their contents. Indeed, they contained the Mystical Palm Technique and the Chakra Scalpel.
Feeling a surge of joy, he finally had the Ninjutsu in hand and couldn't be bothered to dwell on Yashiro's attitude any longer.
"What mission?"