In the Yomi Illusion Realm, Uchiha Rei was talking with Rekka.
"Danzo is nothing but a complete liar. Don't let his words fool you again."
Uchiha Rei's voice struck Rekka right in the heart.
"His tricks only work on people who are devoted to Konoha and still cling to their illusions.
They're afraid of being cast out, afraid of being betrayed, so they let his threats and false promises lead them around by the nose."
"But if you truly mean to break free of all this and become a rogue ninja, then his pathetic schemes... can't hurt you at all."
Rekka nodded. With Rei's help, his injuries had healed, and he left the Yomi Illusion Realm.
On his way back from outside the village to the Uchiha Clan Compound, before he had even reached home, several masked ninja in matching uniforms blocked his path.
They were silent and taciturn—the members of Root.
"Uchiha Rekka, Lord Danzo wants to see you."
Rekka frowned slightly. "I never thought the first ones to come looking for me would be you, not the Hokage..."
He said nothing more and followed them deep into Root. A heavy stone door slowly swung open, revealing a circular hall.
Shimura Danzō sat in a place of prominence, looking down at Rekka.
Rekka stood in the middle of the hall without bowing. Even without the Mangekyō Sharingan, he wasn't the least bit timid.
"Tell me," Danzō said, his voice like iron scraping against stone. "Where have you been these past few days?"
"Where I've been is none of your business. I have no obligation to answer you." Rekka's tone was cold. "I'll give my intel only to Lord Hokage."
Danzō smiled faintly, but there wasn't a trace of warmth in his eyes.
"Do you think the Hokage will listen to you? Rekka, I know you. You're a capable Konoha Ninja—loyal, strong-willed, and spirited. You despise the Konoha high-level's suppression of the Uchiha, and you look down on your clan members, who spend all day complaining but never accomplish anything."
He slowly rose. "You want to prove yourself, but they've never trusted you. Uchiha Fugaku doesn't promote you. Uchiha Itachi ignores you. Even in the village, there isn't a single person truly on your side—not even the Hokage."
Rekka looked at him with scorn and let out a cold laugh.
Danzō stepped closer. "I can give you a chance. All you have to do is be loyal to me, loyal to Konoha."
"Shut up." Rekka glared at him. "Don't talk to me about loyalty. You have no right."
Danzō didn't show a hint of anger. He simply smiled. "You're an Elite Jonin, but you have no support. As things stand, Konoha has already abandoned you. Even the Uchiha Clan no longer acknowledges you."
He slowly raised a hand, as if delivering a sentence. "You have only two choices now. First, join 'Root' and become Konoha's shadow. Second, walk out that door and become a rogue ninja."
"The Uchiha have abandoned you, and you've seen through this village's hypocrisy. Are you really willing to die for them? You're a fine ninja. Why bury yourself alongside them?"
Rekka closed his eyes as scenes flashed through his mind.
As a child, he had longed for recognition;
when he graduated from the Ninja Academy, his clan had treated him coldly;
he had narrowly survived countless battles, yet his clan had never seen him as a hope for the future;
after every A-rank mission he had completed alone...
"No one believes in me." Rekka clenched his fist.
But just then, a voice rang clearly in his heart, standing in stark contrast to Danzō's words.
"I never mock people for having dreams."
Those were Uchiha Rei's words—clear, genuine, and steadfast. In that moment, a light was kindled again in the darkness.
Rekka opened his eyes, his gaze burning like a flame.
"I refuse to be Root's lapdog."
The air turned still. Danzō narrowed his eyes, his expression darkening.
"Pity," he said coldly. "Another fool who doesn't know his place."
Before his voice had even faded, terrifying chakra erupted from Danzō, shaking the entire hall.
Rekka reacted instantly, flipping backward as he swiftly formed Hand Seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
Flames burst from his mouth. A blazing fireball swelled in an instant, sending waves of heat surging toward Danzō.
The fireball passed straight through Danzō, leaving him completely unharmed.
"What a pathetic little flame!" Danzō sneered, raising one hand. Wind-nature chakra suddenly surged around him.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Serial Waves!"
A sharp rush of air split the silence. A series of invisible Wind Blades swept toward Rekka like razor-sharp knives. Just as Uchiha Rekka tried to dodge, a stab of pain shot through his side, and blood spattered everywhere.
A razor-sharp Wind Blade had struck him dead on. He staggered to the ground, barely managing to prop himself up.
"Damn it... I wish I were stronger!" Rekka gritted his teeth, pain and helplessness flashing in his eyes. "If I had the Mangekyō Sharingan, I'd teach this old bastard a lesson."
"You're too slow." Danzō's cold, merciless voice came from all around him. "You can't even see where I am, and you still think you can resist?"
His words cut into Rekka's confidence like icy blades.
"I'll give you one last chance. Join Root and become Konoha's shadow."
The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in Rekka's eyes spun rapidly as he tried to pinpoint Danzō's position and find an opening.
"You want a good look? Then I'll make sure you get one!" Danzō quickly formed Hand Seals and accelerated in an instant, his voice full of contempt. "Your resistance is worthless. You're too weak."
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
With a deafening boom, a violent gale swept through the entire hall. The wind roared like a raging beast, as if it would devour anything in its path.
Rekka fought desperately to hold his ground, but the powerful gust hurled him into the stone wall. The impact rang out like a thunderclap. The Forehead Protector on his head broke, and blood streamed from his temple.
"I won't... I won't give up so easily!" Rekka gritted his teeth and rose, defiance burning in his eyes.
"Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Several fireballs streaked through the air like meteors, hurtling toward Danzō.
But Danzō flickered, then vanished into the flames.
"You rely too much on your Sharingan." A cold voice came from behind him.
Rekka's heart lurched. He whipped around.
"Wind Style: Vacuum Great Ball!"
With a wave of Danzō's hand, a blast of air as powerful as a rocket slammed into Rekka's chest. Amid the ear-splitting crack of breaking bones, Rekka was sent flying into the hard stone wall.
"Cough, cough..." Rekka spat out a mouthful of blood and fell to his knees.
Danzō slowly approached and looked down at his battered form, sneering. "Now do you see? The Uchiha Clan are nothing but useless trash to me."
As soon as he finished speaking, Danzō formed Hand Seals again. A sharp Wind Release: Vacuum Wave shot toward Uchiha Rekka like a razor.
A ring of flames suddenly burst from the ring on Rekka's little finger, forming a blazing wall that blocked the Wind Release attack.
The flames crackled, setting Danzō's robe alight. Danzō recoiled in surprise.
Seizing the moment while Danzō was distracted, Rekka sprang up and rushed at him, swinging a loud, vicious slap across Danzō's right cheek.
"I've put up with you long enough!" Rekka growled, his voice like thunder.
But the instant the slap landed, several shadows dropped from the walls. Several Root ninja appeared without a sound, their blades held to Rekka's throat.
"You weakling! Hand over the intel you know, now, or today will be your last!" one of the ninja threatened coldly.
Rekka fell silent for a moment, looking down at the blade's tip as if time had stopped.
Then he slowly lifted his head. "I ran into a shadowy organization... They're all S-rank rogue ninja, and they're extremely interested in the Uchiha Clan. I barely managed to escape. I only just got away from them..."
After hearing Uchiha Rekka's explanation, Danzō sneered. "No one can save the Uchiha Clan."
With that, he turned and ordered the Root ninja, "Take him back to his quarters. Let him think carefully about whether he wants to remain a cursed Uchiha or give everything for Konoha."
"Yes!" The ninja lowered their blades and escorted Rekka away.
Rekka didn't struggle at all. His face was filled with the helplessness of defeat.
He had failed, not because he was unwilling to fight, but because he truly wasn't strong enough.
Touching the ring, which still held a trace of warmth, he thought perhaps only Lord Uchiha Rei was capable of standing against the immensely powerful Danzō.
Shimura Danzō watched Uchiha Rekka being escorted out of Root, a sneer on his face.
"Pathetic Uchiha brat."
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