Visitors from the Root Division

The gap is truly this vast?

A single exchange was all it took for me to lose all ability to resist; in an instant, I didn't even have time to use the Crow Substitution Technique.

At this moment, Itachi's composure was somewhat shattered.

Having been called a genius since childhood and graduating from the Ninja Academy in just one year, he truly hadn't been able to withstand even a single strike from Yun.

"That's not right. Even Shisui's Body Flicker Technique couldn't reach this level! My eyes told me clearly that you had already predicted my movements before I even made them."

Itachi said this as he turned back to stare at Yun.

Yun smiled and replied, "That is why you have yet to reach the level of Shisui and me. So, just be content with being a genin for now. No matter what happens, Shisui and I will lead the Uchiha down the correct path. After all... I quite like this village."

Itachi frowned slightly, nodded, and replied, "I understand. But I will also strive to reach your heights. The path for which Father sacrificed his life is one I will continue to walk."

"Swish!"

A faint sound echoed through the woods. Yun smiled and said, "A Chunin teacher from the academy? But isn't this kind of movement underestimating Tokuma a bit too much?"

Itachi, standing to the side, thought for a moment and said, "Although they are teaching Chunin, they aren't opponents an average student could handle. But choosing this moment... they must have intended to strike while I was away."

Yun looked at him. "Speaking of which, how have you been a genin for two years? Didn't you go to the previous Chunin Exams?"

Itachi shook his head. "Shinko and Tenma were both injured during a mission, and that was when I awakened my Three Tomoe Sharingan."

As he spoke, Itachi looked toward the distant tents. "Aren't you worried about them?"

Yun replied calmly, "Although Tokuma is from the Hyuga Branch Family, his mastery of the Byakugan is not poor at all. And there is Izumi; aside from her Sharingan, she is not weak either."

"Tell me about that mission where you awakened your Three Tomoe Sharingan..."

Itachi was stunned upon hearing this. "You suspect there was something wrong with it?"

After a moment of contemplation, Itachi nodded and said, "That mission was indeed strange. It was a C-rank escort mission, yet we were intercepted by a large number of ninja halfway through. At that time, I only had the Two Tomoe Sharingan, and Minazuki-sensei was also pinned down."

"The mission rank changed mid-way, so we abandoned it. But it was clear that the other side had come prepared, and my counter-kill at the very last moment felt far too smooth."

"It was as smooth as if the opponent had done it on purpose!"

Yun asked, "Did the smoothness of the counter-kill start after you awakened the Three Tomoe?"

Itachi nodded. "Although the evolution of these eyes did indeed increase my strength, at that time, it shouldn't have been the deciding factor."

"Is that so?"

Uchiha Yun let out a breath. It seems Danzo has set his sights on Itachi now. Well, that makes sense—a genius Uchiha youth, awakening the Two Tomoe at five years old.

In terms of the Sharingan, Danzo likely believes he is inferior to Itachi. An Uchiha without a Sharingan... in his eyes, they are nothing.

"I remember reminding you before... why didn't you use the crow Shisui gave you?"

Itachi looked slightly embarrassed. "At first, I intended to resolve it myself, and later..."

Yun already knew the rest without him needing to say it. Later, the typical Uchiha "red-eye disease" flared up, which prompted the emergence of the Three Tomoe.

Is this the common affliction of geniuses?

As they spoke, they arrived at the tent where they had set up camp earlier. Itachi had already drawn a kunai, standing ready.

They saw two people wearing plain masks outside the tent, holding Tokuma and Izumi at knifepoint.

"Are you asking us to surrender?" Yun asked with a smile.

"You two, if you don't want your companions to get hurt, surrender immediately!"

The words of the two kidnappers made Yun's eye twitch. He looked at Itachi—should they play along?

"Thud."

Itachi dropped his kunai to the ground, and both of them raised their hands in surrender.

The kidnappers across from them laughed triumphantly. "It seems you two, who are called Uchiha geniuses, are nothing special. You surrendered so easily."

The other accomplice was just about to step forward to tie up Yun and Itachi when he suddenly froze in place.

Yun, who had just surrendered, was now standing behind them, his kunai held across their necks.

The two kidnappers wanted to call out to their accomplice, only to see that Tokuma and Izumi, who were in front of them, now had two kunai pressed against their stomachs by Itachi.

"Although we don't see each other often, your Transformation Technique is not the same as the Tokuma I just saw," Itachi said, retracting his kunai.

Yun, standing behind them, also let them go and said awkwardly, "Who wrote the script for this exercise? It's cringeworthy to the point of death. Making a ninja surrender? Just raising a hand counts as surrendering?"

The four kidnappers removed their masks; they were indeed teachers from the Ninja Academy.

One of them smiled bitterly. "Because we weren't familiar with him, I didn't even dare to speak, yet you still saw through us immediately."

Yun scratched his head. Izumi had his Flying Thunder God formula on her; no matter how they transformed, it would have been useless.

At this moment, the real Tokuma and Izumi emerged from the woods, dragging two captives—also teachers from the Ninja Academy.

The two looked at the scene before them and understood immediately. Izumi ran over, giggling, and said, "So, you teachers were planning to use the Transformation Technique to deal with my brother? Didn't expect to miscalculate, did you?"

One of the so-called homeroom teachers smiled bitterly. "Everyone knew you were hard to deal with, so nobody wanted to come. We had no choice but to come up with this trick."

Tokuma looked at Yun and Itachi. Sending a few Chunin to deal with these two? And they were even Chunin instructors? Wasn't this just serving themselves up on a platter?

On the morning of the third day, after securing a casual ranking, Itachi's squad returned to the academy.

Uchiha Izumi looked at Itachi ahead of them and asked Yun, "Brother, I want to awaken the Sharingan too. Itachi's eyes are truly beautiful."

Yun looked at his younger sister. Compared to his memories, her personality had changed significantly due to his own existence.

He didn't know what that girl, who had awakened the Three Tomoe at thirteen, had endured on that night of the clan's annihilation. But as far as the present was concerned, perhaps never awakening those eyes was the greatest protection for her.

"Those eyes can only be awakened by experiencing pain."

As he spoke, Yun ruffled Izumi's hair. "If it were possible, I would hope you never awaken those eyes in your entire life. If there is danger, I will protect you. Believe in me."

After the exercise, the academy went on break, and Yun and Izumi prepared to head home together.

However, before they even reached the Uchiha Compound, Yun glanced toward a corner in the distance.

"Swish!"

Two figures appeared before Yun and Izumi, wearing masks different from those of the Anbu. The blades on their backs and the armor on their upper bodies were very familiar.

"Uchiha Yun, come with us."

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