Time swiftly rolled into Konoha Year 43.
The shinobi world was eerily peaceful during this period—and Tangping's strength had once again advanced.
At present, his chakra reserves had definitely reached one full card.
For an ordinary ninja, that was the mark of a bona fide super genius.
After all, he didn't have any "alien bloodline" to rely on.
And yet, Tangping felt vaguely humiliated by that fact.
Other transmigrators in those novels? They'd be Jōnin in a few weeks, Kage-level in a few months, and Six Paths-level in a few years—crushing Konoha with a casual punch and kicking the Five Kage around for fun.
But him? This was all he had to show for it. If that wasn't embarrassing, what was?
Still, compared to him, both Yamanaka Koji and Hyūga Aotsuki had made even more terrifying progress.
Kōji's body had grown visibly stronger.
With two "engines" now running inside him, his taijutsu alone was already no weaker than that of a Chūnin. Combined with his Wind Release techniques, "Elite Chūnin" wasn't an exaggeration.
Of course, on paper he was still ranked as a Genin.
His disguise had also begun to fade—revealing his true appearance bit by bit.
In a world with fish-faced guys like Kisame, a few odd features wouldn't raise suspicion.
Other than being more muscular, Kōji had also started losing his hair—his looks plummeting dramatically.
His situation could be summed up in one line:
Is he strong? Sure—but he paid with his face.
Kōji didn't mind one bit.
In the shinobi world, strength was everything.
If people could really trade looks for power, it'd be a national frenzy.
And if Kōji's improvement was considered fast—then Hyūga Aotsuki's was nothing short of ascension.
Other than lacking real combat experience, she was already on par with an Elite Jōnin.
She could even manipulate repulsive and attractive forces to a preliminary degree.
Catch an opponent off guard, and even a Jōnin would be forced to kneel.
Unfortunately, she had no access to the advanced Gentle Fist techniques that complemented the Byakugan, so she could only develop her own jutsu based on Tangping's theoretical guidance.
Take the Eighty Gods Vacuum Attack—
Of course she couldn't recreate something like that.
But as long as she understood its theory and effects, she could still produce simplified variations—especially since the Regeneration Serum allowed her to instantly heal from failed experiments.
And with Tangping's encyclopedic knowledge of ninjutsu—Rotation, Eight Trigrams Palm, Gentle Step Twin Lion Fists, and countless others—she had more than enough inspiration.
His hands-on ability aside, Tangping's theoretical foundation was unmatched.
Given more time, their little trio's strength would grow even more absurd.
Unfortunately—
that peaceful time came to an end today.
Caw!
A messenger hawk soared above Konoha's skies—signaling major news.
Before Tangping could react, still lounging by the stream where he'd been fishing since leaving the hospital, a masked figure appeared beside him.
"Chūnin Uchiha Tangping," the man said. "This is an assignment from the village."
He handed over a mission scroll.
A mandatory mission!
This type was personally assigned by the village—non-negotiable.
Of course, only registered shinobi could receive them.
Unregistered ones—those who lived off clan resources—weren't obligated to take forced missions, since they didn't rely on the village's funding.
Though, in a true crisis, even the Hokage could conscript them by decree.
But Tangping was a registered ninja, which meant he had no choice but to accept.
Once he took the scroll, the masked operative vanished in a blur of Shunshin.
Tangping quickly unrolled the mission document.
A C-rank mission—
He was to rendezvous with a convoy outside the village, then escort them to their destination.
Something felt off.
His very first thought upon reading it was:
There's a problem.
The details were far too vague—no number of personnel, no specified limits, no client description.
To an ordinary new ninja, it wouldn't raise suspicion.
After all, the order came from the village itself.
But Tangping was a transmigrator.
He didn't trust the "higher-ups" as blindly as others did.
Especially since the masked ninja just now wasn't wearing a standard ANBU animal mask.
That meant—Root.
How could he not be suspicious?
Sure, he was an Uchiha, but he wasn't some self-sacrificing fool or gullible saint like Itachi or Shisui.
He knew better than to trust Konoha's F4 unconditionally.
But as the saying went—"Orders are as immovable as mountains."
No matter how shady the mission, he had to obey.
"Root, huh…" A cold gleam flashed in Tangping's eyes. "You're digging your own graves."
Yes, his dream might be to "lie flat," but that didn't mean lie down and die.
If someone wanted his life, he wouldn't hesitate to take theirs first.
He wasn't the type to let others trample him without biting back.
He returned to the Uchiha compound to gear up—
trading his casual clothes for a black combat uniform, strapping on his tool pouch, filling it with ninja tools and vials, and finally tying his forehead protector in place.
For missions, wearing it was mandatory.
As for Uchiha Mei—
she had just ascended to head of the Main Branch and was too busy consolidating her position to see anyone.
Whoosh!
Tangping dashed across the rooftops at full speed, heading straight for the village gate.
Thanks to his promotion to Chūnin, he could now take missions outside the village independently.
In Konoha's hierarchy, Genin were purely field operatives—tools to follow orders—
but Chūnin acted as squad leaders, qualified to lead missions solo.
So don't be fooled by his early promotion; apart from Kakashi, most of his peers were still Genin.
"Mission deployment," Tangping said, handing the scroll to the two gatekeepers.
A mission scroll from the Hokage's Office could serve as a formal travel permit.
Without such authorization, no shinobi was allowed to leave the village.
Only exceptions like Jiraiya and Tsunade could roam freely—anyone else would be branded a rogue.
The shinobi world, after all, wasn't just about killing—it was also about politics.
Once outside the gates, Tangping sprinted at full speed.
Suddenly—he stopped dead.
"Come out," he said coldly.
His tone was calm, but his senses were sharp—
even without strong perception ability, he could feel them.
Whoosh!Whoosh!
Several masked figures appeared, surrounding him from the trees and ground alike. Their killing intent was palpable.
"ANBU?"
Tangping asked, feigning confusion.
No way he'd reveal that he could distinguish ANBU from Root operatives.
"Uchiha Tangping," the leader said flatly, "you're under suspicion of colluding with foreign villages. You'll come with us for interrogation."
So that was it—a capture mission, not an assassination.
They'd been waiting for this.
Their orders had been out for weeks, but their target had always been protected—either beside Namikaze Minato, within the Uchiha compound, or at Konoha Hospital.
They finally had their chance today.
"This is slander!" Tangping barked, face contorted in outrage. "I've never betrayed Konoha! You've got the wrong man!"
He looked properly indignant—making no move to resist.
The leader nodded toward two of his teammates, signaling them to restrain him first.
Rustle… rustle…
But just as the two stepped forward—
They heard a sound that made their blood run cold.
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