Mangekyo Abilities

[Bitter Fruit Entry System]

Target detected: Orochimaru (S-rank rogue ninja)

Bitter Fruit type triggered: Betrayal Bitter Fruit

Behavior assessment: Actively betrayed his village, leaked classified information, fled with malicious intent, and continued forbidden experiments.

Harvesting...

[Harvest successful!]

[Orochimaru's Betrayal Bitter Fruit]

[Extractable entries: Root Concealment Detection (Passive), Uchiha Guardian Aura (Intermediate), Uchiha Clan Grounds Alert Buff (Permanent)]

Since the Bitter Fruit was produced by an S-rank rogue ninja, all entries can be extracted.

"Are they really all passive?" Hayato murmured to himself.

Looking at the three options above, he could tell at a glance that they were all passives. But even if Orochimaru's defection had produced passive abilities, shouldn't they have been related to Konoha?

Why were they all passives related to the Uchiha and Root?

Hayato rubbed the space between his brows. He felt he needed to think carefully about the reason behind these rewards.

After giving it some thought, Hayato came up with a few guesses.

Orochimaru's defection had most likely severed Danzo's chain of Sharingan experiments, which would lead him to become even more ruthless in capturing Uchiha clan members to complete his data.

"Did Orochimaru's actions create a causal connection?"

Of the four major types of Bitter Fruits, causality was the one Hayato understood the least. But if he considered it from this angle, the system's rewards suddenly made sense.

"Extract them all."

Hayato extracted all the entries, and two more appeared in his passive ability list.

"The Uchiha Clan Grounds Alert Buff can give me advance warning of any outsiders who infiltrate the compound. Root Concealment Detection, meanwhile, directly counters Root's specialties: infiltration and assassination."

He went to the window and sat down, gazing at the shadowy outline of Kage Rock. "If any bugs get in from now on, I'll know right away."

The Uchiha Clan Grounds Alert Buff might seem useless, but Hayato knew that even Kamui and the White Zetsu's Mayfly Technique were difficult to detect.

With this, he would know right away where every enemy lurking in the shadows was, and could strike back accordingly.

It was like turning on wall hacks in a battle royale game. Sweet.

"I hope you come now, Obito. Then I can show you whether my ocular techniques can still be dodged with your Kamui."

Hayato turned and went back into his room. His Mangekyo abilities were both fascinating and powerful.

His left eye's Chibiki Stone ability reversed the relationship between attacker and target, forcing the enemy to suffer their own attack.

His right eye's Yomotsu Hirasaka reversed or nullified the nature of all ninjutsu—even Kekkei Genkai abilities.

As for what his eyes could do together, Hayato couldn't help smiling. If it weren't for the enormous chakra cost, he really wanted to try it out.

These ocular techniques gave him the ability to turn the tables after an enemy struck first: lure them into an all-out attack, then send it right back at them.

As long as he didn't recklessly charge into a hopeless position in battle, he could be almost invincible.

The only problem was that it seemed to take a lot out of him.

"Knock, knock—"

Hayato had just finished washing up when he heard someone knock on his door.

He went over and opened it to find Shisui already waiting outside. "Hayato, are you ready?"

"Yeah, I just finished getting ready. Give me a moment." Hayato nodded, then hurried to finish up.

The two headed deeper into the compound together. When they arrived, they found Fugaku already there, waiting.

No one else was around.

Fugaku turned at the sound of their approach. When he saw the two of them, he nodded. "From now on, the two of you will train separately from everyone else."

"Yes!" Hayato and Shisui answered in unison.

"Good. Let's begin." Fugaku said little else, instead offering pointers based on their previous training.

Beneath the moonlight, the two young men sweated through their training, each driven by the ideals in his heart.

Only after training ended did Shisui walk up to Fugaku and speak. "Clan Head, there's something I'd like to ask you."

Fugaku, who had been about to leave, turned around and looked at Shisui in confusion.

"I want to rejoin the Police Force."

Shisui spoke quietly, his expression serious.

After awakening his Sharingan, Shisui had accepted missions and joined a team in the village, hoping to gradually advance and eventually enter the Anbu.

That had also been what the clan had asked of him at the time, and Shisui had no objections. He had been striving to honor his grandfather's wishes, too.

But his interactions with Hayato had helped him understand a few things. At the very least, he now wanted to join the Uchiha Police Force and try to gain influence within the clan.

"All right. You and Hayato can be on the same team."

Fugaku looked quietly at Shisui. Only after a long pause did he reply.

"Thank you, Clan Head." Shisui bowed to Fugaku.

Fugaku nodded and turned to leave. Shisui looked over at Hayato. "Hayato, I look forward to working with you."

"Sure."

Hayato more or less understood Shisui's thinking. It was much like his own.

"Hmph!"

At Root Base, Danzo was seething, his cane slamming against the ground.

"Jiraiya, Fugaku—they're both threats to Konoha!"

Several Root members knelt silently on one knee. They were the team Danzo had ordered to bring Uchiha Hayato and Shisui back to Root, but they had failed because of Jiraiya and Fugaku.

Danzo glanced at the people kneeling below him and said coldly, "Go and accept your punishment."

"Yes, Lord Danzo!"

The Root shinobi answered in unison, without a trace of resentment.

Only after everyone had left did Danzo sit down on the stone chair behind him, eyes narrowing.

He had known about Orochimaru's defection. In fact, he had even leaked some information. But he hadn't expected—

Orochimaru had destroyed all the data!

After Orochimaru left the village, Danzo had gone to take over the place Orochimaru had left behind, only to find it reduced to ruins.

"Orochimaru..."

Danzo repeated the name under his breath, unable to quell the fury in his eyes.

"The Uchiha clan is an evil clan by nature! The power of the Sharingan can only be put to greater use in my hands, to protect Konoha!"

Danzo was utterly convinced of this. Only by taking control of such a dangerous power and using force to eliminate every destabilizing factor could he follow the true "way of the Hokage."

"Someone!"

A figure wearing a Root mask appeared below and silently awaited Danzo's orders.

Danzo stood and approached the figure, whispering a few words. The figure vanished on the spot.

Danzo's gaze flickered, as though he could see through Root Base to where the Uchiha clan lived. "Uchiha, for the sake of Konoha's stability, you lot are a blight that must be eradicated." ```