A couple of months after Shisui’s death, Yugao informed Jun that Itachi was made the captain of an ANBU squad. He left his usual unit to have his own team. She knew this because she was taking the vacant spot left by the Uchiha in his old unit. Everyone had heard the rumors about Itachi's involvement in Shisui’s death. Yugao was concerned about seeing the young prodigy getting promoted. Jun thanked her for the information.

His mother was still in contact with her parents. When Jun questioned her about the situation in the clan, she said that her parents were very nervous, even more than before. The tone in their letters was almost pleading at times. There were an increasing number of sentences like ‘We need to talk.’ ‘You support us, don’t you?’ ‘Can we count on you?’

Hazuki played along. She stayed calm, firm, and kept demanding clear explanations. However, she couldn’t help but worry. Her parents were proud, arrogant, tough, and loyal to the clan. They weren’t the type to get so nervous. Something was wrong. Jun didn’t dare to tell her the Uchihas were planning a coup and that his grandparents probably didn’t want them to get in their way.

Jun believed the Uchihas overestimated their strength. They didn’t stand a chance according to him. Their active shinobis were all members of the Police. Most of them never fought an enemy in a life-and-death battle. They had been dealing with civilians or the occasional ninjas who would hold back to avoid further punishment.

The Uchihas’ last real combat experience was during the Third Ninja War, and many of them had been shielded from it. Most of the few that went on the battlefields didn’t come back. Their Dojutsu made them prime targets on any battlefield. The jonins belonging to the village had far more experience and were more prepared for war than the Uchihas. There would be casualties on both sides, but Jun believed the village would still come out on top.

The teenager knew some major events were about to unfold. His mother must have felt it as well. Her exchanges with her parents had become more cautious. They were almost paranoid. They changed the method of communication every week. At the moment, they were exchanging their letter by slipping them into a storage seal hidden in the collar of a cat belonging to a civilian who lived near the Uchiha district. Nao fed the animal in the morning in front of her house, and Hazuki took advantage of her lunch break to slip some pieces of smoked fish to recover the letter.

Jun wondered if he could create an instant message seal. It would be like placing an object in a storage seal somewhere, then drawing the same seal somewhere else to be able to open it and retrieve the package. Right now he had a specific seal to store equipment on his person. If he could create another seal and link them together to access his storage space anywhere, he wouldn’t have to carry scrolls on him. It was just a passing idea in his mind.

The following month, Jun carried out his first mission as a team leader. His objective was the elimination of a gang of bandits who had taken a hamlet hostage and made it their fortress. Some of the bandits were nukenins. Jun was given the right to choose his team members. He decided on Kanna and Gai.

He needed people to protect the civilians from getting hurt or worse during the battle. He also selected Susumu and Natsumi, his former teammates. The teenager felt the need for one last melee fighter. He would have chosen Miyamoto, but he wasn’t available. Therefore, he took Anko instead.

Susumu and Natsumi remembered Gai and Anko, who had trained with them to prepare for their first chunin exam. Kanna, on the other hand, was unknown to them. The young woman knew Anko, though. They’ve performed a few missions together. And it was her first time meeting Gai.

They all got along well. Jun was reassured. One of the greatest fears of a team leader forming a new team was whether they would cooperate well with each other. The bond with his former comrades from Team 14 was still there.

“Hey captain, do we have a strategy for our assault?” Susumu asked.

He never missed an opportunity to call his friend ‘captain.’

“A strategy? I made the team so big to make things simple.”

Susumu laughed.

“You haven’t changed a bit.”

The attack on the bandits was bloodier than Jun had expected. There were many enemies and many hostages. The place was well guarded, fortified, and under surveillance. Slipping in discreetly was impossible. They had no choice but to launch a frontal assault. However, it was paramount not to destroy the hamlet. It was apparently important. There was a mine from which Konoha obtained much of the ore needed to forge chakra-conducting weapons.

The strategy was simple enough as Jun mentioned. Anko, an expert in assassination and infiltration, also knew how to extract the hostages. She was in charge of taking care of them with Susumu, a Genjutsu user, and medical-nin. Natsumi would cover their backs. Jun, Gai, and Kanna would charge head-on.

Everything went as planned. Kanna ripped through their fortifications with her Doton jutsus while Gai and Jun decimated the enemies. Anko, Susumu, and Natsumi disappeared within the hamlet to evacuate civilians. They also had to get their hands dirty. Susumu stunned or disoriented their enemies with Genjutsu. Natsumi eliminated anyone who spotted them with her projectile weapons, and Anko rounded up civilians while creating a safe perimeter with her snakes.

There were at least four jonin level opponents among the bandits. The first was a Taijutsu specialist. He was incredibly fast and wielded two thin blades with diabolical skill. Jun almost had his throat cut open twice before Gai intervened. Another jonin came to aid the bandit. He was a swordsman who swung waves of fire with each movement of his blade.

However, he wasn’t enough to corner Gai. He went from one enemy to the other like a tornado. He did a lot of damage in close combat. But Jun confronted the swordsman who was trying to hinder Gai and ended up blasting his head off with a well-placed Raiton before resuming his run through the small village. Kanna’s affinity with the Earth was very useful. She could change the landscape, disappear into the ground to emerge a meters away, and cut the throat of the enemy. She was methodical and brutal.

Jun’s methods were destructive. The teenager was a terrifying fighter. He had greatly improved compared to his level three years earlier. He had surpassed his former teammates long ago and was now at Shiba’s level without using his Sharingan. It was his first mission as a captain and he had the opportunity to fight openly. He crushed his opponents and blew up anything he touched with his Explosive Seal.

There were waves of destructive winds, explosions of fireballs, and deafening impacts of crashing lightning. It was complete chaos. He tore a dozen bandits to pieces before running into another group. A jonin, using the Futon, began the hurl his wind jutsus at him. There were powerful techniques. The clashes of their jutsus ravaged the streets and even caused a couple of houses to collapse.

Jun felt like everything was happening too fast. His opponent turned around after a few minutes and began running away. The battle turned into a chase. But his enemy had no chance. Jun had learned the Body Flicker Technique from Shisui, the indisputable master of the Shunshin No Jutsu. The teenager quickly caught up and killed him amidst screams. The silence that followed was almost shocking.

The Uchiha looked at the damaged houses and the unrecognizable streets. A few buildings were on fire. Moreover, there were corpses on the ground, a lot of them. Some looked like they were sleeping peacefully. Others laid in pools of blood, their faces twisted in agony. Several were charred by either a Katon or Raiton jutsu. Jun had killed before but never so many people at once. He hadn’t restrained himself at all. All the low-level bandits he had effortlessly decimated, had he given them a chance to surrender? They were weak; they didn’t stand a chance against him.

He was a bit ashamed to have let himself go like that. The place was ravaged, but he had achieved his goal. The mine wasn’t damaged, but he could have done better to preserve the buildings.

The team had to put out the fires and collected the bodies. It was an unpleasant task. Even being as experienced as they were with deaths and corpses, it was difficult to exchange pleasantries while burying bodies. The only ones who had the guts to do so were Susumu and Anko.

The hostages were returned to their homes. They were pale and horrified. Most people looked appalled as they contemplated the devastation and the bloodstains smearing the streets. Jun wondered what it must be like for civilians to live in the shinobi world. These people stared at him, not knowing whether they should see a teenager or a monster with the blood of countless people on his hands.

How many people had he killed? Jun never thought about it. He didn’t lose sleep over it. It was the life he had chosen, and he didn’t regret it. He wasn’t unhappy. He had never liked killing, but he enjoyed fighting and winning. He wanted to be strong, seize his destiny with both hands, and decide the direction in which he wanted to move forward. He desired his voice to be heard. Strength was the only way to achieve that in this world.

It was kill or be killed. Jun would rather kill; he had to return home to his loved ones. As a shinobi, you couldn’t cherish all human lives. You had to learn to leave your compassion for your comrades.

“You’ve become absolutely terrifying since you became jonin.” Natsumi commented admiringly as they headed back.

“In a good way, I hope.”

“Oh yes, I meant it as a compliment. You know, when Shiba-sensei said you were to become a jonin, Susumu and I were a little jealous…”

“Oh come on…”

“Honestly, you weren’t that far ahead of us. But back there, when I saw the flames and lightning from your jutsus, I realized how far you’ve reached.”

Gai burst into laughter, and Anko chuckled and put an arm around Jun’s shoulders to ruffle his hair vigorously.

“Jun had grown up.”

“The flames of youth burn stronger than ever within you. You’ve come a long way since you were genin. You can be proud of yourself.” Gai added.

Jun smiled a little.

“Thank you, guys. But you know, I couldn’t have achieved anything without your help…”

“We make a good team, don’t we?” Natsumi said with satisfaction.

It was true. Jun took a deep breath, letting his lungs swell with satisfaction, comfort, and optimism. Death and blood were part of the job, but it was a path he didn’t regret taking. Moreover, he wasn’t alone. He smiled, and for a moment, he allowed himself to believe that the future would be bright… A very foolish thought… considering what was happening in the village in their absence.