A Visit from the Root, That Lord

By the time they left, the sky had gradually darkened.

After declining Kurenai Yuhi's invitation to stay for dinner, Uchiha Mo set off for home with Shisui.

Today, he had not taught the two any specific genjutsu. Instead, he had focused more on the application of genjutsu and theoretical knowledge such as Yin Release. Kurenai Yuhi had listened in a daze, only half-understanding, while Shisui had grasped it with remarkable ease.

However, Mo had not expected Kurenai Yuhi to understand everything. As long as she had a general impression, learning genjutsu later would become much easier.

Before leaving, Mo left behind a scroll for the "Demonic Illusion: This Place Is Not This Place Technique" for her to study on her own, saying that he would return tomorrow to answer her questions. Uchiha Mo himself still had many matters to handle, so naturally he could not teach her hand in hand like a private tutor.

After Mo and Shisui returned home and took a brief rest, Shisui plunged straight into the kitchen to prepare dinner. Before long, the dining table was covered with beautifully presented dishes.

Thanks to Mo's gains in the Land of Birds, their meals had become much more lavish. Moreover, both brothers were still growing, so Mo naturally did not begrudge spending money on food.

Dinner officially began, but before the two had even taken a few bites, several uninvited guests suddenly arrived in the room.

They were three figures clad in iron armor and wearing animal masks—two men and one woman. They swooshed into the room through several open windows in the living room.

"Uchiha Mo, Uchiha Shisui, an important figure wishes to see you. Come with us now."

"ANBU?"

Shisui's hand, holding his rice bowl, paused slightly as he turned to look hesitantly at his older brother.

Mo remained expressionless. Without even turning his head, he picked up a piece of meat and placed it in his bowl.

"Eat."

"Ah... okay!"

Hearing that, Shisui no longer paid any attention to the ANBU and continued eating heartily.

"..."

The three figures stiffened slightly. After a moment, the woman spoke sharply, "Put down your bowls and chopsticks, and come with me to meet that person!"

"..."

As her words fell, the entire room once again sank into silence. Only the clinking of bowls and chopsticks and the sounds of chewing remained. No one paid her any heed.

"..."

The woman immediately clenched her fists, her entire body trembling slightly. Though her expression beneath the mask could not be seen, it surely was not a pleasant one judging by her movements.

"Tap!"

She took a step forward and reached toward Mo's shoulder.

However, just as she began to move, Uchiha Mo suddenly turned his head. Violent killing intent flashed within his pair of three-tomoe Sharingan, and powerful ocular force instantly filled the entire room. A cold, terrifying aura assaulted everyone's nerves.

"!"

All three of them froze at once, even instinctively holding their breath.

"If you dare extend that hand any further, I'll chop you to pieces and feed you to my summoned beasts."

"!"

This guy... isn't joking... he'll really kill me!

Looking into Mo's eyes, the woman's mind shook. Stiffly, she withdrew her hand.

I'm only not fighting him because I have to complete Lord Danzo's mission...

As if comforting herself, the female Root member muttered inwardly before returning stiffly to her original position.

The three Root members simply stood there and watched. After a while, the dishes on the table had been cleared, and Shisui swiftly tidied up the dishes and the table.

Once Shisui had finished cleaning everything up, a tall male Root member looked at Uchiha Shisui and said in a deep voice:

"Now you'll come with us, right?"

Shisui looked uncertainly at Mo, whose expression remained calm.

"At this hour, you should be sleeping."

For adolescents, nighttime was the golden period for physical growth. Even the ninja world's superhuman physiques were no exception, so Mo required Shisui to get enough sleep every night no matter how busy he was.

Shisui looked at the three armored figures, then at his older brother. In the end, he nodded and headed toward his bedroom.

"Uchiha Mo!"

The three Root members instantly flew into a rage at those words. The man stepped forward directly, gritting his teeth, his voice trembling faintly with anger.

"Do you know what sort of person wishes to see you?! The three of us have already quietly waited for you brothers to finish an entire table of food. Don't you—"

"What sort of person? Before the Uchiha, there are no so-called important figures. Your master is nothing but a maggot in a gutter to the Uchiha. A creature that cannot bear the light dares to act like an elder before me? If he wants to see me, let him crawl his ugly self out into the sunlight!"

Before the Root member could finish, Uchiha Mo cut him off.

"As for you... I never said I would go with you."

As his words fell, the air sank into deathly silence.

The three Root members' bodies trembled, their expressions beneath their masks twisting.

"You refuse a toast only to drink a forfeit!"

With a low shout, the tall Root member in the lead reached for the short blade on his back. The two beside him instantly lowered their bodies as well, their right hands resting on their weapons in a stance of full alert.

"Overestimating yourselves."

Mo calmly spoke four words, and his eyes suddenly erupted with a crimson glow.

Genjutsu: Sharingan!

Powerful ocular force poured forth in an instant. The Root member in the lead reacted quickly and hurriedly averted his gaze, but his other two teammates shuddered and were caught immediately!

Their eyes transformed into the shape of Sharingan, and they stood there blankly.

The remaining Root member hurriedly drew the short blade from his back, gripping the hilt tightly with both hands. His gaze remained fixed on Uchiha Mo's legs as cold sweat streamed down his face.

They might not have been considered true experts, but all three were among the better chunin. Yet before Uchiha Mo, two of his teammates had been powerless to resist.

Is this the strongest genius Uchiha has produced since the village was founded? The gap in strength...

He swallowed hard, warily staring at the young man's calves.

Yet after glancing at him, Mo simply turned around and headed toward his bedroom.

"Go back and tell your master: Uchiha is the strongest clan in the ninja world. The power of the Sharingan will not be wielded by light-shy rats. Save yourselves the trouble."

"Tap, tap, tap..."

"Creaaak—click!"

Only after the door had opened and closed, and Uchiha Mo's figure had completely vanished from the living room, did the Root member lower his guard and begin gasping for breath.

As the door shut, the two Root members beside him gradually came back to their senses as well.

They woke up in a daze and looked blankly at their captain, who was panting heavily.

"Boss, you... what happened?"

The Root member turned back to his teammates and said through gritted teeth, "Let's go. Report the situation to Lord Danzo!"

"Huh? What about the mission?"

"Shut up. This guy isn't easy to deal with. Follow orders!"