"Why?"
Mo was somewhat puzzled. Although the talent he had displayed was astonishing enough, the Great Elder's immense confidence seemed to stem from something beyond talent.
"..."
Uchiha Setsuna fell silent for a moment. Then, he suddenly raised a hand and poured himself a cup of sake before speaking slowly.
"The Uchiha Clan has been passed down for a thousand years. Although the Warring States Period was utterly chaotic, the Uchiha still preserved relatively complete historical records for sacrificial purposes..."
"During the Warring States Period, the clans were constantly at war, and there was no time within the clan to organize those historical documents. But after Hidden Leaf was founded, the Uchiha enjoyed a relatively peaceful period. So the clan's higher-ups at the time discussed compiling the Uchiha's historical records..."
"Once they were organized... the clan head and elders discovered an astonishing pattern!"
Hearing this, and recalling how Uchiha Setsuna had suddenly mentioned Madara earlier, Mo had already formed a rough guess.
His expression remained calm, but inwardly, he was truly shocked.
Had the Uchiha already discovered that Indra's chakra kept reincarnating?
It seemed unbelievable, but if that guess was true, then there was a plausible explanation for why the Uchiha in the original story had stubbornly insisted on a coup despite seeming utterly unaware of their clan's true strength...
That was, some radical higher-ups who knew the truth had regarded Shisui as Indra's chakra reincarnation. That would also explain why Shisui's death had provoked such an enormous reaction from the Uchiha, and why, after Shisui was gone, they had already reached the point of no return...
Uchiha Setsuna drained the sake in his cup in one gulp and continued.
"We discovered that nearly every hundred years, an exceptionally special individual would emerge within the Uchiha... He might not reach the terrifying strength of the great clan head, but compared to other ninja, he would already be an existence beyond reach... And now, roughly eighty years have passed since the great clan head was born..."
He raised his eyes, and a sharp gleam suddenly flashed through his aged, clouded gaze.
"This discovery circulated among the clan's upper ranks for a long time. Some believed the Uchiha were blessed by heaven and that it was merely coincidence. Others believed it was an objective pattern existing within the fate of the Uchiha Clan! By now, many who knew of it had passed away. Only a few old men, myself included, remained alive..."
"..."
"This old man had been waiting all along. I thought I would have to wait at least another ten years before seeing that person, but now..."
As he spoke, he set down his cup, leaned forward, and moved closer to Uchiha Mo.
"This old man believes that person... has already appeared!"
"Mo, ever since you began to make a name for yourself, this old man has been watching you and paying attention to you. Your talent is the greatest among all Uchiha I have ever seen. Even the great clan head might not have been your match at your age. Your combat instincts and killing techniques are equally outstanding, far beyond what a boy your age should possess..."
"Most importantly, your way of thinking is the closest thing to the great clan head that this old man has ever seen! You are an Uchiha who grew up in peaceful times, yet the darkness within you is deeper than that of us remnants from the Warring States Period."
"You... are the person this old man has been waiting for!"
Uchiha Setsuna straightened up. A faint flush colored his aged face as his bright eyes stared fixedly into Mo's.
"..."
Mo's expression was calm. He showed no excitement over the misunderstanding.
"I am myself, Uchiha Mo, not anyone else."
"No! You are the person the Uchiha have always been waiting for!"
Yet Mo's denial did not shake Uchiha Setsuna's confidence. Instead, it made him even more certain of his own guess.
So alike! Far too alike! Someone as self-centered as the great clan head would never acknowledge something like this!
"..."
Seeing Setsuna's increasingly excited expression, Mo gave up on explaining.
"So what? Even if I am that person, what does it change?"
Setsuna's lips curled slightly as he chuckled, then he abruptly rose to his feet.
"Wait a moment."
With that, Setsuna quickly left the sitting room and returned to his bedroom. Only a few breaths later, he came back carrying an enormous scroll.
"Take it." He held the scroll out before Mo.
Mo glanced at the excited Setsuna, then raised a hand and accepted the scroll.
Setsuna sat cross-legged on the floor again. As he refilled his cup with sake, he said,
"This scroll contains every Ninjutsu, Taijutsu, secret technique, and forbidden technique collected by the Uchiha... as well as those two legendary forbidden arts!"
"Izanagi and Izanami?!" Mo's pupils contracted in surprise.
Setsuna nodded. "That's right! Izanagi and Izanami! But you know the price of using those two techniques... Mo, never use forbidden techniques unless there is absolutely no other choice!"
Mo spread open the scroll, scanned through it, and nodded.
"I already know what you intend to do. More than forty years ago, the Uchiha failed to seize the opportunity offered by the great clan head. But now..."
"This old man and several other old men will fully support your decisions. Focus on increasing your strength. This old man promises you that once the time is ripe, the Uchiha will follow closely in your footsteps!"
"The Uchiha's future... rests upon you! This old man believes you can bring new light to the Uchiha, who have lain silent in darkness for over forty years!"
"Snap!"
Uchiha Mo rolled up the scroll, a smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.
After merely skimming the table of contents, Uchiha Mo had already found several techniques he needed, including the Transcription Seal, Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change, and the Five Elements Seal.
"I will use the power of these eyes to carve out a new future for the Uchiha!"
Rotten Roots Buried in Mud, the Serpent
By the time Mo left the Great Elder's residence, it was already afternoon.
Uchiha Mo brought Shisui home to rest for a while, then hurried to Kurenai Yuhi's house.
The afternoon passed, and Kurenai Yuhi's performance exceeded Mo's expectations.
Based on her portrayal in the original story, Kurenai Yuhi should have been nothing more than an ordinary person with a bit of talent. At most, she might reach Jonin level in this life. Yet in a single day, she had nearly mastered the Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique. Some of the questions she asked even struck directly at the crucial points in Mo's eyes...
This level of Genjutsu talent might not compare to an Uchiha genius like Shisui, but among ordinary people, it was already exceptional.
Even so, Mo did not pay it much mind.
After all, without the support of the Sharingan or Rinnegan, the upper limit of Genjutsu was too low. A powerful Genjutsu specialist was destined never to enter the highest tier. Even Mo himself studied Genjutsu only because he valued its utility and wanted to improve his own resistance to Genjutsu along the way.
By the time the lesson ended, the sky had already darkened.
Uchiha Mo and Shisui bid Kurenai Yuhi farewell and set off for home.
Hidden Leaf was somewhat deserted at night. There were few people on the streets, but warm lights shone from the houses around them, and laughter from dinner tables occasionally drifted into the streets.
"Kenta! You can't be picky with food~ You need to eat more vegetables if you want to grow taller."
"I don't want to! Vegetables taste awful, Mom!"
"You child..."
"Alright, alright, honey. If Kenta doesn't want to eat them, then forget it..."
"..."
The laughter and conversation reached them clearly. Shisui suddenly raised his head and looked at Uchiha Mo's profile.
He had no memories of his parents, yet he had never felt even the slightest sense of loss. That was because someone had carried everything on equally young shoulders.
Although Mo was cold by nature, Shisui had personally experienced the meaning of the phrase, "an elder brother is like a father."
So when he heard that conversation, he did not feel nostalgic or sentimental. Instead, a question arose in his heart... What would someone like Brother be like if he started a family someday?
As he thought this, an image immediately surfaced in his mind: Uchiha Mo smiling at the dinner table as he pleaded on behalf of his child...
"Honey..."
In only an instant, Shisui shuddered with disgust at the image and hurriedly rejected the thought.
That's way too disgusting...
But immediately afterward, he recalled Kurenai Yuhi's attentive manner whenever she faced his brother. The curiosity in his heart was fed once more and began growing wildly, like a feather lightly scratching at his heart.
He looked up at Mo's profile and asked, "Nii-san, do you know Sister Kurenai..."
Before he could finish, Shisui saw Mo suddenly stop walking. Mo pulled him behind himself in one motion, his eyes lighting up with scarlet radiance as he stared straight toward the clan grounds' entrance.
"Rat, get out here!"
"..."
Shisui came back to his senses and quickly poked his head out from behind Mo, warily looking toward the red torii gate ahead.
"Tap, tap, tap..."
A figure slowly stepped out from behind the gate's side pillar, one step at a time. Only after reaching the center did he stop and slowly turn around.
He was a sinister-looking man with a hooked nose, narrow triangular eyes, and faint wrinkles creeping across his face, revealing the first signs of age. His face was somewhat gaunt, his cheekbones prominent, and an X-shaped scar marked his chin. White bandages tightly covered his forehead and left eye, making him instantly recognizable.
(Shimura Danzō [Bandages Revealed])
"Boy, didn't you say that if this old man wished to see you, I should personally crawl uglily into the sunlight? Now this old man has come. What are you afraid of? Why do you hesitate to move forward..."
Hearing that, Uchiha Mo did not respond. Instead, he looked up at the pitch-black night sky and suddenly gave a soft laugh.
"..."
Shisui could clearly see the veins at the man's temple suddenly bulge. His hands clenched tightly around his cane, and visible fury erupted from him. Yet only a few breaths later, he had strangely calmed down.
"Uchiha Mo, Uchiha Shisui, this old man is Shimura Danzō, a council elder. Hidden Leaf needs the strength of you two brothers."
"Hidden Leaf has always been using my strength."
Mo's expression was calm, and the tomoe in his eyes slowly rotated.
"Then leave. This old man needs to speak with Shisui."
Shimura Danzō shifted his gaze to Shisui, who was peeking out from behind Mo.
With things having developed to this point, Shimura Danzō had realized that Uchiha Mo was not an easy person to deal with. Though he appeared to be only ten years old, his will was already exceedingly strong, making him difficult to mold into the form Danzō desired. Besides, Danzō's original target had been this younger and more manageable Uchiha.
Mo glanced at Shisui and was about to speak, but Shisui suddenly stepped out from behind him and spoke first.
"I have nothing to discuss with you. You were the one who had people watching me before, weren't you? I don't approve of those methods!"
Hearing that, the corner of Uchiha Mo's mouth lifted slightly, and he said nothing more.
Shimura Danzō narrowed his eyes and said in a deep voice, "Naive little brat! This is precisely how we protect the village. Hidden Leaf is such a vast entity—do you think everything is as glamorous as it appears to you? Where there is light, there will be shadow... Hidden Leaf needs leaves that bask beneath the sun, but it also needs roots buried deep in darkness... The prosperity and flourishing you see exist only because people like this old man bear certain heavy burdens for the village in the darkness..."
As he spoke, an indescribable presence spread from Danzō's body. It was a Mū-comparably resolute will.
Although some of the things Danzō did later harmed Hidden Leaf more than they benefited it, at this point, before Hiruzen Sarutobi's second term in office, he had not yet fallen into madness because of obsession. He was indeed qualified to say such words.
"Uh..." Shisui looked toward Uchiha Mo with Mū-like helplessness. No matter how gifted he was, at five years old, he was clearly no match for an old fox like Shimura Danzō in an argument.
Mo grabbed Shisui's wrist with one hand and replied indifferently,
"Then carry it yourself."
With that, he led Shisui toward the clan grounds, intending to pass by Danzō.
Shimura Danzō's expression grew even darker. His one eye narrowed as he stared gloomily at the two approaching boys, then he shouted sharply,
"No one can refuse this old man a second time, Uchiha Mo. Can you bear this old man's wrath?"
"Your anger is not worth mentioning before the name of Uchiha..."
Uchiha Mo led Shisui past Danzō's side without looking back, speaking with an indifferent expression.
The instant his words fell, Danzō suddenly thrust his cane viciously at Uchiha Mo with Mū warning!
Driving Back Danzō, Shadows of the Past
"Clang!"
The tip of the cane struck the gleaming blade of the straight sword, spraying sparks!
Uchiha Mo held Futsunomitama in one hand, having drawn it from his waist to block the cane. With his other hand, he swiftly shoved Shisui backward, then turned to look into Shimura Danzō's eyes.
"In this situation, even if I kill you, the Third Hokage won't be able to say anything, right?"
Before you continue