I, Uchiha, will not be whitewashed!

Chapter 91 Transformation!

Uchiha clan territory, Shisui's room.

Zhi Shui sat by the window, his left shoulder wrapped in a bandage, a dark red stain seeping through it.

It's not blood, it's paint.

He collapsed in front of Bai, having been stabbed in the chest—the stab was constricting, and the blood was like a pigment sac.

The explosion was also pre-planned; the rubble was real, but the slab of stone that pinned him down was hollow and lightweight. Everything was calculated perfectly, except for Bai's reaction.

Quanmei pushed open the door and came in, carrying two bags of fruit. Her ponytail was tied high, and there were no signs of injury on her face, except for a band-aid on her right palm—the cut was real, from when the gravel flew.

She put the fruit on the table, picked up an apple, and took a bite.

"He still threw out 6,000 letters at the training ground today."

Shisui remained silent.

Quanmei threw the apple core into the trash can. "When do you think he'll be able to get over this?"

Shisui stood up and dusted off his pants. "When he can finally stop hesitating."

He walked out of the room and stood on the veranda.

The moonlight shone on the stone path of the Uchiha compound, giving it a cold gleam.

Half the leaves had fallen from the old tree in the yard, carpeting the ground with a layer of withered yellow. He stood there for a moment, then turned and went back into the house. Throughout the entire ordeal, there was no wound beneath the bandage on his left shoulder.

On the training field, Bai was still throwing out thousands of balls.

Six targets were replaced, and a layer of sawdust piled up on the ground.

The needles were coated with poison, their tips gleaming with a purplish-black light under the moonlight.

He threw one, and it landed right in his throat.

Another one, nailed to the heart.

Another one, pinned to the eye.

Another one, pinned to the wrist.

He needled that spot a thousand times, which isn't too many.

Bai stopped, panting, his forehead covered in sweat.

Looking down at my hands—the gloves were torn, and blisters had formed on my palms.

But he didn't stop. He inhaled and tried again. The senbon flew from his fingers and landed on his wrist. He threw them all night long, until he couldn't lift his arm anymore, until there wasn't a single senbon left in his ninja tool pouch.

He pulled the senbon needles off the target one by one, wiped them clean, and put them back into his ninja tool pouch.

The next morning, Sakugo waited for him in the lobby of the Uchiha compound.

Bai stood at the door, dressed in a black combat uniform, with his ninja tool pouch tied around his waist and his senbon needles neatly arranged.

"There's a new mission today," Shuo Ge said in a neutral tone. "Rank B. You're alone."

Bai remained silent.

"Shisui is gone. Izumi is gone too. You'll have to get used to being alone."

Haku lowered his head to check the straps of his ninja tool pouch.

"If you can capture them alive, disable their mobility first. If you can't capture them alive, kill them. Corpses can also store information, so prioritize your own safety." Shuoge looked at him.

—This time, it's a real test.

"Yes."

Bai turned and left. Shuoge stood in the hall, watching his back as he walked through the courtyard and disappeared into the alley.

Zhi Shui walked in through the side door and stood next to Shuo Ge.

"He went alone?"

"Um."

'

Shuoge nodded. He turned and went into the house, picked up the knife leaning against the wall, hung it on his back, and went out through the back door.

Zhi Shui stood in the hall, looking at the empty courtyard, for a long time.

Uchiha compound, Izumi's room.

Izumi was writing a letter while lying on the table. She looked up and saw Shisui come in, then lowered her head and continued writing.

"To whom is it written?"

"White." Izumi paused, her pen still. "But I don't plan to send it. I'll tear it up when I'm done. I want to talk to him."

Shisui sat down opposite her and remained silent for a while. "He'll be alright."

Izumi put down her pen, leaned back in her chair, and stared at the ceiling. "I know."

She smiled, then stopped smiling. She picked up the letter, tore it in half, stacked them together, tore it again, stacked it again, until scraps of paper were scattered all over the table.

The scraps of paper piled up in a small heap. She glanced at them, picked them up, and threw them into the trash can.

"Brother Zhishui, tell me, will you still be able to trust others after this?"

Shisui did not answer. He stood up and left.

The door closed.

Quanmei sat alone at the table, moonlight streaming in through the window and falling on the scraps of paper in the trash can. She stared at them for a long time, then stood up, turned off the light, and lay down.

She pulled the blanket up to her chin and closed her eyes.

Training ground. Bai is still training.

It's not a thousand books, it's physical techniques.

Shuoge taught him a set of close-quarters combat techniques. The moves weren't fast, but each one could break a person's hand bones.

He hit the wooden stake again and again, his fists covered in blood, his skin broken, and blood smeared on the stake.

He stopped, looked down at his fist—the glove was completely torn, revealing swollen, red knuckles.

He tore off his tattered gloves, threw them on the ground, and took out a new pair from his ninja tool bag and put them on.

It's black, the same style as the one Zhishui gave him.

But it wasn't that one.

Bai clenched his fist. "Suitable."

He tucked the old one deep inside his ninja tool pouch, at the very bottom, next to the shuriken Shisui had given him.

He stood up, walked to the target, and continued throwing the thousand.

The listless sunlight shone on the training field, the bullseye was bright, the needles were bright, and the white eyes were not so bright, but they were not extinguished.

In the evening, Bai walked out of Konoha Village.

One person, without looking back.

Unbeknownst to him, after he left, Shisui stood by the training field, picked up the senbon ball he had thrown, looked at it, and then put it down.

Izumi stood next to Shisui, holding a piece of candy in her hand. She unwrapped the candy and put it in her mouth; it was sweet.

She folded the candy wrapper and stuffed it into her pocket.

The two stood in the sunset, neither of them speaking.

After resting in Konoha for a while, Haku gave him a new mission.

The new mission Bai received was simple: there was a group of mountain bandits on the border of the Land of Rivers, about ten people, whose leader was a rogue genin. They were not very strong, but recently they had started robbing trade routes.

When Shuoge pushed the reel to him, his tone was as indifferent as ever: "Clean it up, one person."

Bai carefully put the scroll away without asking any further questions.

Two days later, he arrived at the valley where his target was located.

The bandits' stronghold was very simple, with a few wooden houses surrounding a courtyard, where a dozen or so men were drinking and playing drinking games.

The leader sat in the middle, a katana at his waist, a scar on his face, and drank wine until his face was flushed.

Bai squatted in the bushes outside the village, not in a hurry to make a move. He first circled the village, making sure he saw the sentry posts, the entrances and exits, and the outbuilding where firewood was piled up.

There were three sentries in total, two at the village gate and one behind the house. He waited until late at night, when the banquet ended and most people went back to their houses. Only two half-drunk men remained at the village gate, leaning against a pillar and dozing off.

He emerged silently from the bushes.

With a thousand skeins between his fingers, he nailed the first one to the throat of the sentry on the left. The man slid down against the pillar without making a sound.

The second bullet struck the sentry on the right in the temple; his head lolled to the side, and he stopped moving.

He went around to the back of the house, where the third sentry was already asleep against the woodpile. Senbon pierced his neck from behind.

Lay the person flat and drag them behind the woodpile.

Pushing open the village gate, I entered the courtyard. The chief's house was at the very back, and the light was still on.

When Bai pushed the door open, the leader was snoring on the table, with his wine bowl overturned beside him and wine dripping down the edge of the table.

Shiro stood behind him, with Senbon pressed against the back of his neck.

He hesitated for a moment—not because he was afraid of killing, but because he was wondering whether to question the suspects first or kill them directly.

Questioning? Seems unnecessary; the mission is simply to eliminate them.

With a flick of his finger, the thousand needles pierced through.

The leader's body twitched twice, then he stopped moving.

The others were dealt with in their sleep. One man got up to use the bathroom, and the moment he opened the door, a senbon needle was found stuck in his throat. The others heard the commotion and rushed out of the house, only to be stopped by Bai in the hallway.

A thousand books flew together, and three people fell down. Two of them clutched their wounds; the poison took effect very quickly, and they stopped moving within seconds.

The last person ran up the mountain from the back door of the side house. Bai chased after him and intercepted him at a bend in the mountain path.

The man knelt down and begged for mercy. Bai looked into his eyes and thought of Zhi Shui. No, don't think about it.

He struck with a thousand strokes, nailing the needle to the back of the man's neck.

As dawn broke, Bai stood in the middle of the village and counted the corpses.

Eleven, plus the leaders, twelve in total.

He pulled out the senbon needles one by one, wiped them clean, and put them into his ninja tool bag.

The sky was overcast, and birds could be heard calling in the distance. He stood in the courtyard, looking down at his hands; there was blood on his gloves, which looked black in the morning light.

He turned around, went down the mountain, and returned to Konoha.

After listening to his report, Shuoge nodded. "Go and rest."

Bai walked out of the base, sunlight shining on his face. Early-rising vendors were already setting up their stalls on the street, and the ramen shop owner was boiling water.

After walking through several streets, I entered a secluded house.

This is the accommodation that Sakugo arranged for him. It's located on the west side of the village, some distance from the Uchiha camp.

A few leaves were blown off the old tree in the yard by the wind.

He washed his hands clean by the water vat, took off his gloves, hung them out to dry on the porch, and then pushed open the door to go inside.

He didn't sleep, but sat by the window, taking out the shuriken that Shisui had given him from his pocket—

He stared at it for a long time.