The Third Hokage's Reward, Setsuna's Visit / The Destined Savior, Yin-Yang Release and the Six Paths Forbidden Jutsu!

"Alright, Obito. Kurenai was only trying to scare you. She won't really cut it off. Come out."

Meanwhile, Asuma quietly discussed something with Gekko Hayate, then suddenly smiled and called out loudly:

"We've worked hard for so long. Once we get back to the village, I'm treating everyone to barbecue! What do you say? Want to come?"

"Awesome!"

"This great me won't..."

"I'm going!"

"Huh? Rin, you're going too? Then... Asuma, count me in too!"

Asuma turned to Kakashi and tipped his chin up.

"Kakashi, what about you?"

Kakashi had one hand in his pocket and a book in the other, reading with his head lowered. Hearing Asuma, he looked up and glanced at him, then turned back and replied in a muffled voice:

"Fine."

Asuma smiled and nodded, then turned toward Uchiha Mo. He gathered his thoughts and was just about to speak when Mo suddenly looked back at him and said flatly:

"Not going."

"Ah... o-okay."

"Cough! Come... cough cough! Come to think of it, Teacher Mo seems to have... cough! Never attended one of our gatherings... cough cough!"

Gekko Hayate leaned close to Asuma and muttered quietly, but due to his condition, he truly had trouble controlling his volume while speaking, so everyone heard him.

Mo continued walking at the very front without looking back, as if he had not heard a thing.

Kurenai Yuhi pressed her pink lips together and explained:

"Maybe Mo just doesn't like that sort of occasion..."

Hidden Leaf—Uchiha Clan District.

Setsuna placed the ancient book with its black cover on the table and let out a long sigh.

"Finding this ancient book at a time like this can only be fate... Sure enough, Mo is that special person..."

The Third Hokage's Reward, Setsuna's Visit

"Mo, you've worked hard."

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, smoked his pipe behind his desk, wearing a kindly smile.

Mo nodded to the old man without saying anything, but Asuma immediately picked up the conversation.

"Old... Lord Hokage, we killed quite a few enemies this time. Teacher Mo made such a great contribution. You said there would be a reward, so you can't go back on your word, right?"

Asuma had endured more trials than in the original story, and his mind had matured considerably. He even knew how to read the room when speaking now.

Hiruzen Sarutobi laughed heartily at that.

"Hahaha! Of course I won't go back on my word. In fact, I prepared it long ago."

As he spoke, the Third Hokage opened a drawer on the right side of his desk, took out a small scroll, and handed it toward Uchiha Mo.

"Mo, this is the catalog of the village's forbidden techniques. Your contributions are still a little short of qualifying, but I believe your future performance will make up for it. So think about which one you want first. Tell me your answer before your next mission."

Mo was somewhat surprised. He stepped forward, took the scroll, and gave it a glance before putting it into his Ninja Tool Pouch.

Though he had only glanced at it, Mo was certain that aside from techniques like Impure World Reincarnation, which were somewhat immoral, Multiple Shadow Clone, Flying Thunder God, Mutually Multiplying Explosive Tags, and other techniques were all listed.

In truth, Mo could more or less guess that the order issued on the Hidden Cloud battlefield half a year ago had most likely come from the Third Hokage.

The purpose was simple: prestige!

The one thing a Hokage could not lack was prestige. Uchiha Mo's performance on the battlefield had even begun to surpass Minato's, clearly giving him the foundation to contend for the position of Hokage. Most importantly, Mo was not even twelve years old yet!

That was why such an order had been given, to let his reputation cool down for a while.

Clearly, the Third Hokage did not want the Uchiha Clan to have any possibility of claiming the Hokage's position. Even temporarily yielding ground on the Hidden Cloud battlefield was acceptable for that purpose.

Looking at it that way, the Third Hokage should have been a smiling tiger filled with malice and prejudice toward the Uchiha Clan. Thus, Mo had not actually expected to receive this reward.

But... judging from both the earlier invitation and his complete lack of hesitation in granting this reward, the Third Hokage seemed to sincerely admire and value Uchiha Mo, even though he was a pure-blooded Uchiha.

"He is a contradictory old man."

That was Uchiha Mo's assessment.

Weakness and strength, cowardice and courage, prejudice and fairness—such contradictory and opposing traits had somehow appeared within the same person.

Perhaps he was not old enough yet, and still retained some of the bearing of a "Hero of the Shinobi." Or perhaps it was all an act, and he was simply a sinister, cunning politician. But Uchiha Mo did not care about any of that.

After completing his report, he left the group and set out alone for the Uchiha Clan District.

More than half a year had passed. Standing on the streets of Hidden Leaf and gazing toward the clan district, Mo found that the Uchiha Clan was still the same as ever.

"Huh? Is that Mo?"

"Hm?! It really is! Mo's back!"

"Mo, you're back! The brothers from the Military Police Force are having drinks tonight. Want to come?"

Several men with the Uchiha Crest embroidered on their shoulder sleeves immediately surrounded Mo after recognizing him. They all appeared to be members of the Uchiha Police Force.

"Kazuya! What are you talking about? Mo is still underage. How can he drink?"

"Ah, what's the big deal? Tekka is a year younger than Mo! At worst, we'll just tell Yakumi. It'll be fine."

Mo glanced at them and replied in an even tone:

"No. I have something to do."

With that, Mo turned and walked toward the entrance to the clan district.

Uchiha Shoushao was still the same as ever, selling pancakes near the entrance to the clan district. In fact, he had practically taken over breakfast for most of the clan's children. Even Mo had often visited the Uchiha Pancake Shop during those years when he woke up early to train.

As a result, most of the clan's children knew this kind middle-aged uncle, and he often gave them discounts.

At that moment, when the man saw Mo entering through the gate, he immediately grabbed a pancake and waved, about to say something.

Mo's eyes flicked toward him. The instant he saw that, he vanished from the spot with a whoosh.

Uchiha Shoushao stood there in stunned silence. Only after a long while did he scratch his head.

"Am I that scary...?"

Meanwhile, Mo had already returned to the front of his house. However, the first thing he saw was a spirited little old man.

He wore a pale white robe with a black haori draped over his shoulders. An Uchiha Emblem was embroidered on the collar of the haori. His body was straight and upright, and his expressionless face carried a hint of majesty beneath its severity.

Yet the moment the little old man saw Uchiha Mo, the wrinkles on his face seemed to melt away like snow, revealing a kindly smile.

"Mo."

Uchiha Mo walked up to him and nodded.

"Great Elder, is something wrong?"

Setsuna nodded and took a black-covered book from behind his back.

"There are a few matters."

Mo gave it a glance and immediately recognized it as the ancient book Setsuna had been reading that day.

"Let's talk inside."

With that, Mo stepped into the courtyard and knocked on the door.

A moment later, the door opened with a click. Seven-year-old little bean Shisui stood behind it. When he looked up and saw his older brother at the entrance, his face instantly broke into a smile.

"Brother! You're back!"

Mo handed the ninja sword and Ninja Tool Pouch at his waist to Shisui, then stepped into the house.

"Put those away. The Great Elder is here too. Go make some tea."

Mo changed his shoes expressionlessly and sat down at the table in the living room. Setsuna followed close behind and said:

"No need for such trouble. A cup of plain water for little Shisui will do."

"Okay!" Shisui replied.

Setsuna turned back around, placed the black book on the table, and pushed it in front of Mo.

Mo did not lower his head to look at the book. Instead, he turned to Setsuna in confusion.

Setsuna accepted the cup from Shisui and took a light sip.

"No rush. Did things go smoothly on the battlefield?"

Mo withdrew his gaze and answered evenly, "Not bad. Hidden Cloud wasn't particularly strong."

"Hahaha!"

Uchiha Setsuna laughed twice. "Well, it was you, after all..."

After saying that, he shook his head with a chuckle and continued:

"It's just that this battle has made many of the clan's younger members even more excited. Quite a few of them now think you may be able to succeed Hiruzen Sarutobi as the Fourth Hokage and improve the clan's situation."

"What do you think?"

Setsuna smiled as he looked into Mo's eyes.

"Children always like to deceive themselves with naive fantasies." Mo remained expressionless.

Setsuna withdrew his gaze, without much surprise on his face.

"Alright. I'll control the related rumors. Take a look at this book. Remember to use your Sharingan."

The Fated Savior, Yin-Yang Release and the Six Paths Forbidden Techniques!

Mo lowered his head and glanced at the ancient book's black cover, picking it up without opening it immediately.

"What is this?"

"It fell off a bookshelf while I was looking through documents earlier. It looked unfamiliar, so I brought it home. After opening it, though, there was nothing inside except a pile of incomprehensible runes. Once, it suddenly occurred to me that perhaps I could try using the Sharingan... In any case, you'll understand once you see it. If it's you, you'll definitely be able to see more."

As Setsuna spoke, he took another sip of water, a mysterious smile appearing on his face.

"..."

Mo expressionlessly looked away again. By the time Setsuna was halfway through speaking, he had more or less understood what was going on. As a result, he no longer held much expectation for this so-called "ancient book" in his hands.

Rustle—!

As the pages turned, Mo's eyes immediately became dyed crimson.

[In the ancient era, the world had no concept of chakra, and humanity continued to slaughter one another. Then one year, the Divine Tree descended upon the earth and was worshipped by humanity for generations...]

"Rustle..."

Mo flipped through the pages at an extremely fast speed. As expected, the contents were the altered stone tablet inscription Black Zetsu had created to deceive Madara Uchiha.

But on one page, the contents changed.

[The Rabbit Goddess pitied the suffering of the world. In pursuit of peace, before her death, she divided her own power and wisdom. Her powerful chakra and ocular power were bestowed directly upon her eldest grandson, Indra, while her wisdom transformed into Indra's guide...]

"..."

[Thus, the Sage of Six Paths' lack of understanding prevented Indra from completing his mission. Yet he still refused to give up, and could only carve the method to save humanity onto the stone tablet before dying...]

Uchiha Mo narrowed his eyes slightly. His expression did not change, but his mind began turning rapidly.

In almost an instant, he completely saw through Black Zetsu's scheme.

Clearly, Black Zetsu had completely treated Mo as Indra and had even placed the Eye of the Moon Plan upon him...