Danzō's surveillance kept Uchiha Shinsuke on guard at every moment.
The Darkness of the Shinobi World was no idle phrase: in the original story, the death of White Fang, the tragedies of Nagato and the others, and ultimately the Uchiha massacre were all things that old dog Danzō had a hand in.
For now, only by taking control of the Uchiha Clan could Uchiha Shinsuke truly have the capital to hold his own against Konoha's higher-ups.
Before long, an opportunity for advancement arrived.
An elite chunin selection assessment was to be held within the Konoha Guard.
This assessment was not open to all chunin within the clan, but was specifically targeted at young ninja within the Guard who already held squad leader positions and had performed outstandingly in recent missions.
Uchiha Shinsuke was naturally on the list of those invited to participate.
For this assessment, Uchiha Fugaku had taken his place in the chief seat as clan head, a conspicuous presence.
Beside him sat Uchiha Tekka along with several Uchiha jonin elders of high standing and great respect within the clan.
"Clan Head Fugaku is here in person: the standard of this assessment is clearly set quite high."
"Of course, elite chunin are the reserve forces for the Guard's future leadership."
"I wonder who will stand out this time? I've heard Uchiha En and Uchiha Kako are both very strong."
"And then there's that Uchiha Shinsuke: his strength is quite formidable too! I heard he once pushed Squad Leader Tekka back."
The audience seats buzzed with discussion.
Eyes from every direction fixed on Uchiha Shinsuke, carrying curiosity, scrutiny, disdain, and envy alike.
Uchiha Shinsuke paid none of it any mind.
Before long, Uchiha Tekka stepped forward and announced the assessment rules.
The assessment was divided into two parts: a one-against-many combat bout, and a ninjutsu development showcase.
In the combat round, each candidate had to face a surrounding assault squad made up of three veteran Guard chunin simultaneously, and either hold out for ten minutes without being defeated or defeat their opponents outright in order to pass.
Most candidates fell under the combined assault of the three chunin, with only a small number managing to barely hold on for ten minutes.
"Next, Uchiha Shinsuke!"
Uchiha Shinsuke walked calmly onto the field.
Up in the supervisor's seats, Uchiha Fugaku's gaze also settled on Shinsuke.
As clan head, Uchiha Fugaku held considerable expectations for this rising star whose name had been spreading far and wide.
"Assessment, begin!"
At Tekka's command, the three veteran chunin serving as examiners instantly formed a triangular encirclement and closed in on Uchiha Shinsuke from all sides!
The three veteran chunin, working in seamless coordination, opened with killing moves from the very first exchange!
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
"Earth Style: Earth Flow Wall!" (used to cut off Uchiha Shinsuke's retreat)
The three chunin's attacks came from different angles with flawless coordination.
In the instant before the attacks were about to reach him, two points of crimson blazed suddenly in his eyes as two jet-black tomoe began to rotate slowly!
Two-Tomoe Sharingan, activate!
Uchiha Shinsuke's figure flickered slightly and he swiftly evaded all three of their ninjutsu attacks.
Whoosh! Whoosh!
"What?!"
The pupils of all three chunin contracted sharply, clearly not having expected Shinsuke's speed and reactions to be this fast!
The audience seats also erupted in waves of astonished cries.
Uchiha Shinsuke's two-tomoe Sharingan and extraordinary reaction speed drew gasps of admiration from all present.
"Not done yet!" one chunin shouted in fury, lunging forward again with a kunai driving straight at Uchiha Shinsuke's throat!
Uchiha Shinsuke pressed forward instead of retreating, his left hand darting out like lightning to seize the opponent's kunai-holding wrist with precision, then twisting with a measured force!
Crack!
A faint sound of bone shifting out of place!
That chunin let out a muffled grunt and the kunai in his hand dropped to the ground!
Immediately after, in the palm of Uchiha Shinsuke's right hand, a ball of scorching flame and wild lightning intertwined and surfaced!
"Lightning Flame Palm!"
Boom!
The palm struck that chunin squarely in the chest!
The scorching lightning-fire chakra erupted in an instant, and the chunin immediately spat blood and flew backward, crashing hard to the ground and losing consciousness on the spot!
One move!
A single move had taken down one veteran chunin!
The entire field fell into dead silence!
Every person present was stunned by Uchiha Shinsuke's clean, decisive, and even ferocious method!
"This... is this a level of power a chunin can possess?!"
"What terrifying ninjutsu!"
The other two chunin now had cold sweat seeping across their foreheads.
The boy before them was not someone they could deal with easily!
"Together! Don't give him an opening!"
The two exchanged a glance and both unleashed their most powerful ninjutsu simultaneously!
"Fire Style: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
"Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!"
Wind feeding the flames, an even more massive fire dragon roared and swept toward Uchiha Shinsuke!
Faced with this combined assault comparable in power to a B-rank technique, Uchiha Shinsuke's expression did not change in the slightest.
His hands flew through hand seals at speed!
"Lightning Style: Chidori Stream!"
Crackle!
Blinding blue lightning, like countless tiny thunder snakes, covered his entire body in an instant!
His whole person seemed to transform into a human-shaped blade of lightning!
"Break!"
Uchiha Shinsuke let out a low shout and pressed forward instead of retreating, charging headlong into that fire dragon!
Sizzle sizzle sizzle!
The wild lightning and the surging flames collided violently, sending out a piercing series of explosive cracks!
Under the horrified gazes of everyone present, Uchiha Shinsuke, using the Chidori Stream wrapped around his entire body, tore straight through the center of that fire dragon by sheer force!
Sparks scattered and lightning flashed!
Shinsuke's figure passed through the shattered flames and came out the other side without a scratch!
"Impossible!"
The chunin who had used the fire style let out a cry of disbelief!
And at that very moment, Uchiha Shinsuke's figure had already appeared before him as though by instant movement!
At some point Uchiha Shinsuke's palm had condensed a rapidly spinning chakra sphere.
It was the new ninjutsu Shinsuke had developed by fusing lightning-fire nature chakra into the base of the Rasengan:
"Lightning Flame Rasengan!"
BOOM!!!
The Lightning Flame Rasengan slammed hard into that chunin's abdomen!
The terrifying rotational force and explosive power poured out in an instant!
That chunin did not even manage to let out a scream before flying backward like a kite with its string cut, smashing into the training ground's wall hard enough to crack it in a spider-web pattern, his condition unknown!
In the blink of an eye, all three veteran chunin had been defeated at Uchiha Shinsuke's hands.
The entire training ground was now utterly silent!
Every person stared at the composed young man standing in the field with eyes that would befit looking at a monster.