Fusion of Powers, Mockery from the ANBU

He raised his head toward the forest where Naruto was. Moonlight spilled through a break in the clouds, illuminating a fleeting flash of crimson in his eyes.

His Three Tomoe Sharingan glowed in the night, deeper than before.

Indra's chakra and the blood of the Uzumaki Clan had fused inside him, producing a strange and dangerous reaction.

Yin Release pushed to its limits, combined with the immense vitality of Uzumaki blood.

The two powers should have repelled each other, yet they had reached a delicate balance within him.

"Interesting."

Zuo Hao looked away and turned toward the old house.

As he passed an empty alley, he paused and glanced into its depths.

Several ANBU presences flickered in the darkness.

Since the Uchiha Clan Downfall, the Third Hokage had stationed ANBU around the Uchiha Clan Compound. They were supposedly there to protect it, but in truth, they were watching it.

For five years, they had hovered around Zuo Hao and Sasuke like a disease that would not let go. He could neither shake them off nor drive them away.

In the past, Zuo Hao had pretended not to see them.

Today, he turned toward the darkness and smiled.

It was not a polite, perfunctory smile, but one full of youthful swagger and provocation.

"Thanks for the effort."

That was all he said.

Then he turned, slipped his hands into his pockets, and walked unhurriedly down the weed-choked path into the Uchiha Clan Compound.

In the darkness, the ANBU exchanged looks. Several seconds passed before one murmured, "Was he... talking to us just now?"

No one answered.

For the past five years, the boy had never once looked them in the eye.

But that single glance had sent a chill down the necks of men who had survived countless battles.

The house was dark when Zuo Hao opened the door.

Sasuke was already asleep. Two rice balls wrapped in plastic sat on the low table in the living room, with a note beside them.

"Big brother, I saved these for you."

Zuo Hao read the note. The corner of his mouth lifted almost imperceptibly. He folded it, tucked it into his pocket, then took a rice ball to the veranda and bit into it.

It was cold, but the rice was still soft, with a pickled plum inside.

As he chewed, his gaze settled on the weeds running wild in the courtyard.

Five years had passed since the clan's downfall, and no one had tended the courtyard. Weeds pushed through cracks in the paving stones; in places, they reached his waist.

He could not be bothered to pull them out.

He was halfway through the rice ball when he abruptly stopped.

Several presences were approaching rapidly from the edge of the compound. This was no distant spying from the shadows. They were running across the roof tiles without bothering to hide.

Three seconds later, three ANBU landed in the courtyard.

They wore animal masks—a cat, a dog, and an ape—and formed a triangle that half-surrounded Zuo Hao on the veranda.

The cat-masked ANBU stepped forward. "Sahiro Uchiha. Lord Hokage wants to see you. Come with us."

Zuo Hao did not move.

He took another bite of his rice ball, chewed and swallowed at his leisure, then looked up at them. "What time is it?"

The cat-masked ANBU visibly faltered. "What?"

"I asked what time it is." Zuo Hao rested the rice ball on his knee. "It's the middle of the night. Doesn't the Hokage need sleep? Or does he think a Genin doesn't?"

The dog-masked ANBU lost patience. His voice was low and sharp. "Cut the crap. Lord Hokage has summoned you. Just come along."

Zuo Hao put the rice ball back on the plate, brushed the grains from his hands, and stood.

"Fine. Let's go."

His composure caught all three ANBU off guard.

As they left the weed-choked path through the Uchiha Clan Compound, the cat-masked ANBU spoke, a trace of mockery in his voice.

"This place is a wasteland. Back when the Uchiha Clan was riding high, I bet you couldn't find a single fallen leaf on this path."

Zuo Hao kept walking, his expression calm, though his brow furrowed slightly.

The dog-masked ANBU picked up the thread with a snort.

"Right? Konoha's most prestigious clan, the Uchiha Clan. Who would've dared cross them? Now the weeds are swallowing the path, and there isn't even anyone to sweep it."

"That's what happens," the cat-masked ANBU drawled, glancing back at Zuo Hao. "The higher you climb, the harder you fall."

"The Uchiha Clan is the perfect example. All those years of glory, gone in one night. They barely left anyone to collect the bodies."

Behind his mask, his eyes stayed fixed on Zuo Hao's face.

He wanted to see the boy get angry, lose control, and show how shaken he was under the mockery—the Uchiha Clan's last surviving orphan, brought low by a few words.

Zuo Hao stopped.

All three ANBU stopped with him. The cat-masked one quietly laid a hand on the ninja-tool pouch at his waist.

The air around them pulled taut, like a bowstring drawn to its limit.

Zuo Hao slowly raised his head. Moonlight fell across his face. His black eyes held no emotion, still as stagnant water.

He looked at the cat-masked ANBU and spoke.

"You're right."

The cat-masked ANBU froze.

"The Uchiha Clan did suffer." Zuo Hao's voice was soft. "The whole clan was slaughtered in a single night. The killer is still walking free. The Konoha High Command never gave us a single word of explanation..."

He paused, shifting his gaze from the cat mask to the dog and the ape.

"And now a few cowards who won't even take off their masks dare talk trash in front of me."

"What did you say?!" The dog-masked ANBU stepped forward, fists clenched.

"Was I not clear?" Zuo Hao tilted his head. "I said you're all cowards."

The air seemed to freeze.

Teeth ground beneath the dog mask. The cat-masked ANBU held him back, his voice turning cold. "Sahiro Uchiha, watch your mouth. You're just a Genin fresh out of the Ninja Academy, while we—"

"You?" Zuo Hao cut him off and stepped forward.

He stood nearly half a body shorter than the cat-masked ANBU, yet that one step made all three feel a sudden pressure.

It was not chakra. It was something deeper.

His black eyes bored into the eyes behind the cat mask, and his voice carried an almost arrogant ease.

"What are you? ANBU? Konoha's elite? Then where were you on the night the clan was wiped out?"

The cat-masked ANBU's throat bobbed. He said nothing.

"I'll tell you." Zuo Hao answered for him. "You were outside. You surrounded the Uchiha Clan Compound and blocked every exit to make sure no one escaped."

"Were you there to help kill us? No. Were you there to collect the bodies? No."

He laughed, the sound edged with bitter scorn.

"You were there to watch. You stood outside listening to the screams, watching the flames rise. Only after it was all over did you come in to count the bodies."