Uchiha within Uchiha, Bloodline Disease

Before he could say anything, Uchiha Mo suddenly turned his head. A pair of scarlet eyes hung on his calm face.

Genjutsu: Sharingan!

Asuma's mind froze, and he instantly stiffened in place. His right arm dropped, and he immediately became obedient.

"Uh... Mo... isn't this a bit much? At the end of the day, he's just a child."

Minato Namikaze scratched his cheek and smiled awkwardly.

Hearing this, Mo turned his gaze toward him. Obito immediately shuddered and ducked behind Minato Namikaze, timidly peeking his head out.

"I'm disciplining my own student. Are you teaching me how to do things?"

Minato hurriedly waved his hands, a few drops of cold sweat appearing at his temple.

"Of course not... I just think we should be a little more tolerant toward children."

Uchiha Mo turned his gaze back and ignored Minato. He merely told the three, "Follow me," before turning and walking toward the door.

The four members of Team Minato stood there blankly. Only after the footsteps of the four from Team Eight had completely faded did they dare to speak.

Obito let out a huge breath. "Man... he's finally gone. That murderous bastard."

Seeing Obito's exaggerated reaction, Rin Nohara asked in confusion:

"Obito, isn't that a little exaggerated? That person might look a bit fierce, but he didn't really do anything to Asuma, did he? He only used genjutsu to restrain him temporarily."

Obito hurriedly said, "Rin! You're just too kind. You have no idea how terrifying that guy is! Mo... he's practically... an Uchiha among the Uchiha!"

"An Uchiha among the Uchiha?" Rin Nohara tilted her head, confused.

"Yeah! Once, when he returned to the clan compound, he was covered in blood! He was only six at the time. After charging into a cult, he killed every single organizer and every brainwashed person inside!"

His eyes were wide, his body trembling, as though it were all true.

As soon as he finished speaking, Rin Nohara cried out.

"Ah! Then that means... the civilians who were brainwashed inside also..."

Before she could finish, Obito, who understood what she meant, nodded solemnly. Leaning close to Rin, he whispered, "I heard fewer than twenty people survived... The clan's Great Elder said he was just like an Uchiha born in the Warring States Era..."

Rin's face turned pale at his words, while Obito was rather pleased by her reaction. He pressed on while the iron was hot, warning her, "So, Rin, you absolutely have to stay far away from him from now on. You're so cute..."

Before Obito could finish, a large hand suddenly smacked the top of his head, choking off the rest of his words.

Minato bent down and brought his face close to the two of them, flashing a sunny smile.

"Alright, that's enough. Talking about someone behind their back is very rude, you know. Besides, isn't Mo your clansman too, Obito?"

Kakashi, meanwhile, looked at Obito with a slight frown.

Although Mo seemed very cold, Kakashi only felt that he was a normal Uchiha with a sharp tongue. At heart, he was still a very caring person. After all, he had said he would not lecture him that day, but when he saw how lost Kakashi was, he still ended up saying a great deal. Kakashi did not believe Mo was that kind of person.

Elsewhere.

Mo brought the three to the training ground. Only after seeing them sitting obediently on the grass did he release the genjutsu on Asuma.

"Hm?" The scarlet in Asuma's eyes slowly faded, returning them to normal. Coming back to his senses, he shuddered and sat honestly on the grass, not daring to raise his head to look at Mo.

Uchiha Mo ignored him and said evenly:

"Give a simple introduction. I'll demonstrate first. My name is Uchiha Mo. I don't have any particular favorite foods. I like ninja tools, dislike sweets, and dream of becoming the strongest ninja. That's it. Kurenai, you're first."

Kurenai Yuhi looked up and met those clean black eyes, and two red clouds suddenly bloomed across her pretty face.

He remembers me!

She covered her face and avoided his gaze before speaking softly:

"My name is Kurenai Yuhi. I like shochu and octopus, and I hate cake because it makes you gain weight easily. My dream is... to live a peaceful and happy life."

"Huh? I thought ninja weren't allowed to drink before reaching adulthood?" Hayate Gekko scratched his head and asked in confusion.

"..."

As soon as he spoke, the surrounding air fell silent. Kurenai lowered her head, her little face flushed red. The atmosphere had been too comfortable, and she had temporarily forgotten about that.

"Hayate Gekko, your turn."

In the end, Uchiha Mo shifted his gaze and spoke, breaking the awkward silence.

"Huh? Oh!" Hayate Gekko belatedly raised a hand to rub the back of his neck, hunching over and shrinking his neck awkwardly.

"My name is Hayate Gekko. My favorite food is... cough cough! Ramen. I hate taking medicine, and my dream is to become a healthy, powerful ninja."

As soon as he finished, the other three looked toward Hayate Gekko's pale face and the heavy dark circles beneath his eyes.

Bloodline Disease—the most unsolvable killer in the entire ninja world. No matter how talented or powerful one was, no one could escape its clutches.

Even geniuses on the level of Itachi Uchiha and Kimimaro Kaguya could not avoid it. Even biologists and doctors on the level of Orochimaru and Tsunade could do nothing about it, much less Hayate Gekko.

Mo looked away and pressed his lips together slightly. He had awakened his Sharingan at five, yet by the age of ten, he still only had two tomoe because he feared developing Bloodline Disease.

Looking across Uchiha history, the age at which one awakened their eyes did not truly prove anything. Sasuke had only awakened one tomoe after his entire clan was sacrificed. To ordinary people, this meant Sasuke lacked talent, but Mo believed this was precisely where Sasuke's monstrous talent lay.

Awakening one's eyes earlier was not necessarily better. Obtaining the appropriate power at the appropriate age was true talent. Madara Uchiha, for instance, only awakened his eyes at fifteen, yet that did not stop him from becoming the strongest in Uchiha history.

The Sharingan was the strongest Yin Release power among all bloodlines in the ninja world. Itachi awakened the Mangekyo at eleven, and as his ocular power rose, he gradually began showing symptoms of Bloodline Disease.

Mo guessed that the reason was most likely the enormous gap in the power of Yin-Yang Release. The overwhelming ocular power had pressured Itachi's still-developing body, causing sustained, irreversible damage.

Based on that speculation, even though Mo's ocular power was now no weaker than that of an ordinary three-tomoe Sharingan, he still did his best to suppress the urge stirring in his eyes.

Hayate Gekko's frail health was no secret in the class, but the three members of Team Eight did not understand the terror of bloodline diseases.

Although she had just been embarrassed, Kurenai still leaned forward slightly as she looked at Hayate Gekko, her face full of pity.

Asuma completely forgot his earlier displeasure. He patted Hayate Gekko on the shoulder, thumped his chest, and loudly promised, "Don't worry. When Lady Tsunade returns to the village next time, I'll have the old man put in a word and get her to take a look at you."