He took out a scroll he had prepared in advance from his Ninja Tool Pouch, spread it out on the ground, and studied it carefully.
Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique. It was an A-rank Genjutsu that relied on the Sharingan, a lesser version of Tsukuyomi. Orochimaru had been defeated by Itachi using this technique and left Akatsuki.
Its manifestation was similar to Tsukuyomi's. The caster would construct a mental world, and captured enemies would feel as if their bodies had been pierced by enormous iron stakes. While enduring excruciating pain, they would be unable to move freely, with smaller iron stakes restraining their limbs as well. It was one of the strongest Genjutsu in terms of mental assault among conventional illusions.
The sun slanted westward. It was time for lunch again.
The two headed home together, but the moment they returned to the clan grounds, a squinting middle-aged man with short brown hair and a dark blue long robe came jogging over to them.
Seeing this, they slowed to a stop. Once he reached them, Shisui asked, "Uncle Yashiro, what is it?"
Uchiha Yashiro, thirty-two years old and a Jonin, was a pillar of the clan's radical faction. After Shisui's death in the original story, he had been the one to bring Uchiha Inabi and Uchiha Tekka to question Itachi.
Yashiro smiled, raised a hand to ruffle Shisui's hair, then looked at Uchiha Mo on the left. His eyes opened slightly as he said:
"Mo, the Great Elder has invited you to his home for lunch. Today."
Uchiha Mo glanced up at the sky, then turned his gaze away. "Got it. Shisui, come with me too."
He had only dealt Root a resounding slap yesterday. Given Danzo's petty nature, he was probably close to going mad with rage. Shisui could not stray too far from him now, or he worried that that rabid dog might do something excessive.
"Huh? Me too? Is that appropriate?"
Shisui pointed at himself and looked at Uchiha Yashiro in confusion.
"Ha ha ha! Don't worry, the Great Elder's household can spare you a meal." Yashiro laughed as he rubbed Shisui's hair into a messy bird's nest.
The brothers' parents had died before Shisui was even a year old. Five-year-old Mo had taken clan missions to earn money while using their parents' inheritance to place Shisui in different foster homes and raise him. Shisui had practically grown up eating at every family's table in the clan.
Nearly all the clan elders liked this gifted and gentle child. On top of that, he was Mo's younger brother, so they had never mistreated him. In fact, most clan members asked for no payment when taking Shisui in; Mo had simply forced money into their hands.
"Let's go. If we don't get there soon, the Great Elder will start worrying."
Uchiha Yashiro patted Shisui's shoulder and walked ahead to lead the way, with the two brothers following closely behind.
The Great Elder lived near Naka Shrine, and Mo and Shisui had returned to the clan grounds from the Naka River, so the distance was not far. Before long, a pitch-black little house entered the trio's view.
Yashiro led the three into the courtyard and called toward the house.
"Elder Setsuna, I brought Mo!"
As soon as his voice fell, steady footsteps sounded from inside.
Not long after, a thin old man with a somewhat gloomy face emerged from the darkness by the door. He had short hair streaked black and white. Though he showed signs of age, his eyes remained bright and piercing.
Uchiha Setsuna, fifty-one years old and the same age as Hiruzen Sarutobi, was currently the Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan and the leader of the Hawk Faction. His status was exceptionally important.
"Shisui came too? Come in and sit."
Shisui returned his smile, then slowly entered the house behind Mo. Seeing this, Uchiha Yashiro turned and left.
The meal Setsuna had prepared was not lavish. Its presentation, quantity, and taste all paled compared to what Shisui made at home, but neither brother had any complaints.
The three quickly finished all the food around a small table. Only after draining the last cup of wine did Setsuna turn his gaze to Shisui and say softly:
"Shisui, wait outside for a moment. I have something to discuss with your brother."
Shisui looked up at Mo's profile. Seeing no reaction from him, he nodded, stood up, opened the living room door, and stepped into the courtyard.
Setsuna placed his wine cup on the table and looked at Mo's calm face.
"I heard... you awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan? And destroyed Kakuzu's four hearts?"
Mo did not answer. His black eyes suddenly turned crimson, three black tomoe resting quietly within his pupils.
Setsuna paused slightly, though his expression did not change much.
He fell silent for a while, seemingly organizing his words.
"Mo, how do you think the Uchiha Clan should treat Hidden Leaf now..."
The Enraged Danzo, Uchiha Clan & Hidden Leaf
Time rewound to the previous night.
Hidden Leaf—Root Base.
The three Root members who had left Uchiha Mo swiftly returned to the underground base, entering the dark, damp depths below.
The three hurried through the base and soon arrived before Shimura Danzō.
Danzō was only beginning to show his age. Though already in his fifties, he had only just begun to leave his prime by a ninja's standards. Even without deliberately displaying it, his heavy aura and the authority cultivated from years in power still made people afraid to meet his gaze.
"Lord Danzo!"
The three swiftly dropped to one knee, bowing their heads and not daring to raise them.
Shimura Danzō had been reclining on a stone chair with his eyes closed. Only upon hearing them did he lift one eyelid and look over.
Seeing that there was nothing behind the three of them, he straightened slightly and asked beneath lowered lids:
"What happened? Where are Uchiha Mo and Uchiha Shisui?"
"Lord... Lord Danzo..."
The lead Root member's voice trembled. He hesitated, unable to speak.
Shimura Danzō's gaze sharpened as he snapped:
"Speak."
"Uchiha Mo... he... he refused to cooperate and attacked us with Genjutsu. This subordinate was incompetent and failed to bring him back..."
As he spoke, his bowed body began trembling violently.
Shimura Danzō had commanded Root for many years and knew his subordinates extremely well. Seeing the lead man shaking so badly, he braced his hands against the chair and asked suspiciously:
"Is that all?"
"M-My lord..."
The Root member dared not deceive Danzo, much less repeat Mo's exact words. Panic overwhelmed him. His body shook like a sieve, cold sweat pouring down, teeth chattering as he helplessly called out.
"Speak!"
Shimura Danzō's cold command fell, and the Root member immediately prostrated himself on the ground. Gritting his teeth as if smashing a broken pot, he blurted out every word Uchiha Mo had said in one breath:
"Uchiha Mo said that before the Uchiha Clan, there are no so-called important figures. To the Uchiha Clan, you are nothing but a maggot in a gutter. He said that if you wanted to see him, you should crawl your ugly self into the sunlight..."
"He also said... the Uchiha Clan is the strongest clan in the Ninja World. The power of the Sharingan will not be used by rats afraid of the light. He told you to give up on that idea..."
As his voice fell, the entire dark chamber sank into deathly silence. The three kept their heads bowed, barely daring to breathe. They stood motionless like stone statues, terrified of drawing Danzo's attention...
"Crack, crack, crack..."
A string of teeth-grinding cracks sounded. After an unknown amount of time, Danzo's indifferent voice finally came from above.
"You may leave first..."
The three felt as though they had been granted amnesty and hurriedly rose, heads still bowed, before leaving.
Once the dark chamber was empty, a furious roar suddenly exploded.
"Arrogant! Disrespectful of elders, you innately evil Uchiha brat! How dare you insult me like this?!"
Enraged, Shimura Danzō rose to his feet and smashed the cane concealing his sword against the stone chair. Then he kicked the chair over and continued roaring:
"I have willingly remained in the darkness for Hidden Leaf for decades! How could a mere child like you understand such greatness? That damned Uchiha brat dares to behave this way! I will—"
As he spoke, Danzo narrowed his eyes, danger flickering within them.
Yet just as a thought arose in his heart, Hiruzen Sarutobi's stern face suddenly flashed through his mind.
"Do not harbor improper thoughts toward those two brothers. At least, not yet!"
"Hmph!"
Danzo snorted coldly, drew a deep breath, and muttered to himself:
"Fine. For Hiruzen's sake, Uchiha Mo, I will give you one more chance. I hope you do not ruin yourself..."
"Mo, how do you think the Uchiha Clan should treat Hidden Leaf now..." Setsuna stared directly into Uchiha Mo's clear black eyes.
"..."
Their gazes met, and the air fell silent.
After a long while, Uchiha Mo finally spoke slowly.
"Great Elder, did you call me here merely to ask such a boring question as 'how to fight stray dogs for food'? Or do you hope I will play an actor who cooperates with you in this boring stage play?"
As soon as those words fell, Uchiha Setsuna froze. Once he understood Mo's meaning, his expression rapidly turned extremely ugly. Yet he did not lash out. After all, the person before him truly was the most gifted Uchiha he had ever seen, second only to that man.
"You think the Uchiha Clan should not fight for power in Hidden Leaf?"
His gloomy eyes locked tightly onto Uchiha Mo. The questioning in his words added several degrees of killing intent to the atmosphere.
But Mo remained expressionless and asked calmly:
"Hidden Leaf? Power? Will copying others and playing politics restore the Uchiha Clan to its former glory?" As he spoke, he shook his head and chuckled.
"Heh. I don't believe it... If the Uchiha Clan could take that path, it would not be in its current situation."
"Then where do you think the Uchiha Clan's future lies?"
Uchiha Setsuna was somewhat confused. From Mo's words, his stance was unquestionably firm on the clan's side, yet he seemed utterly dismissive of both voices within the Uchiha Clan.
Mo silently looked at Setsuna, and his black eyes abruptly shifted into crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"This is the Sharingan, unquestionably the strongest Kekkei Genkai in the Ninja World. The only thing that could rival it was the Senju Clan's absurd constitution, but the Senju Clan has already vanished. So why should the Uchiha Clan remain confined to the territory of one village, agonizing over how to fight stray dogs for food? Does the Uchiha Clan lack the ability to hunt for itself?"
"!"
The words reached his ears, and Setsuna froze. He stared blankly at Uchiha Mo. In a daze, two completely different faces seemed to gradually overlap.
"Clan Head..."
Mo looked at the stunned Setsuna and continued, "The Uchiha Clan is the strongest clan in the Ninja World. Hidden Leaf is not the Uchiha Clan's Hidden Leaf, and the Uchiha Clan is not Hidden Leaf's Uchiha Clan."
The same idea had been raised by another person decades ago. He had been the strongest figure in the Uchiha Clan's thousand-year history. At the time, the Uchiha Clan had been immersed in fantasies of a beautiful future, and not one person had been willing to follow him away...
Setsuna had only been a child then. He had naively believed that the Clan Head had merely gone out on a mission and failed to seize the opportunity.
And no one could have imagined that decades later, another person would present him with the very same opportunity.
But this time, the one proposing the idea was a ten-year-old Uchiha boy, while Setsuna had become the aged Great Elder of the Uchiha Clan.
Setsuna looked at the handsome, extraordinarily talented Uchiha boy before him, his heart filled with mixed emotions.
"So alike, far too alike! I think the person I have been waiting for has finally descended upon the Uchiha Clan once more..."
Setsuna, Uchiha Forbidden Techniques
Uchiha Setsuna sighed and said slowly:
"Mo, do you know? You are not the first person to raise this idea."
As he spoke, Setsuna raised his head, seemingly sinking into memory.
"That was decades ago. The legendary ninja, the Clan Head Madara Uchiha... He once had thoughts similar to yours, but no one in the Uchiha Clan had been willing to follow him then."
After that, Setsuna sank into his memories, calmly recounting that piece of history.
Mo merely watched him in silence. Only after Setsuna finished did he speak calmly:
"Great Elder, are you saying the Uchiha Clan will not acknowledge my idea?"
"Theoretically, yes. Even the Clan Head's immense strength could not make the clan members resolve themselves, let alone you, Mo, who are only ten years old? However..."
"..."
"However, time changes everything. If you want to do it, if it is you, then I believe you can certainly accomplish it, Mo."
Setsuna looked into Mo's eyes with a serious expression and an inexplicable certainty.
Before you continue