Night fell.
In the courtyard outside the room Hiruzen Sarutobi had arranged for Teacher Chen.
"Little fellow, that's all for today's training. From now on, just come here every afternoon."
"Oh, and remember this. Because you're from the Uchiha Clan, the taijutsu I'm teaching you is only meant to improve your physical conditioning, but that doesn't mean you can slack off."
"Do you understand?"
Teacher Chen spoke with earnest concern.
Uchiha Itachi answered with a serious expression.
"Yes, Teacher!"
Whoosh!
Just as their training ended, a blurred figure appeared beside Uchiha Itachi.
It was Shisui Uchiha.
"Itachi."
"Shisui, you're here!"
"Mm."
Though he was answering Uchiha Itachi, his body instinctively moved to shield him.
Seeing this, Teacher Chen immediately picked up speed and positioned himself on Uchiha Itachi's other side.
"Shisui?"
"Itachi, don't move from this spot."
Shisui Uchiha grasped the two shuriken that slid out of his sleeves, one in each hand.
"Teacher Chen, sorry for the trouble, but please look after my little brother. Leave these unidentified assassins to me-"
"No."
Just as Shisui Uchiha was about to act, Teacher Chen reached out to stop him.
The next moment, Teacher Chen stretched his limbs, his joints popping and cracking, and grinned.
"Opportunities to give a student a live demonstration like this are very rare."
Tap, tap.
Bam!
Teacher Chen charged forward, reaching a large tree in moments.
"Itachi, watch closely. This is real taijutsu!"
"Konoha Great Whirlwind!"
"Bastard!"
The Root member hiding behind the tree flung out several shuriken, retreating as he formed hand seals.
Unfortunately, his hand seals were a little too slow against a taijutsu ninja like Teacher Chen.
Boom!
After a thunderous crash, Teacher Chen stood with his foot on the Root ninja's head and flexed his hands.
"Honestly, you call yourselves assassins with skills like these? When this old man was killing enemies on the battlefield, you little brats were still playing in the mud back home."
"It's dark. This old man needs his sleep."
"So..."
Bam!
Before everyone's eyes, Teacher Chen lashed out with his right foot. A powerful whirlwind erupted, tearing apart the ground throughout the area.
Then, as the whirlwind's head took the shape of a dragon, Teacher Chen swept toward the area where the Root members were hiding, bringing it with him.
"Time to end this!"
Konoha Dragon God!
Rumble...
Moments later, all ten Root assassins hidden in the woods had been taken down by Teacher Chen.
Once he was done, Teacher Chen gave Itachi a thumbs-up.
"What did you think, Itachi?"
"That was amazing!"
"..."
After chatting with Teacher Chen for a little while, Shisui Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi left and returned to the Uchiha Clan compound.
As for the Root assassins' bodies, Shisui Uchiha asked the nearby Anbu members to help collect them and deliver them to the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
But shortly after the two disappeared into the Uchiha Clan compound, two dark figures suddenly appeared in a tree.
One held a brush and wrote on a scroll, while the other watched the activity inside the Uchiha Clan compound, his face full of irritation.
"We've tested the Konoha Dragon God's strength. If our lord hadn't forbidden us from acting, that old bastard would be dead."
"A taijutsu ninja's fatal weakness is genjutsu!"
"Exactly. But since our lord ordered us to do this, let's not do anything unnecessary. Hurry back and report. Sooner or later, we'll take the heads of the Konoha Dragon God and Uchiha Itachi-"
Splurt!
Before the Root ninja keeping watch could finish, his head burst apart.
"You'll do what? Go on."
Wearing a black cloak, Shisui Uchiha wiped the blood from his hands as he spoke flatly to the remaining man.
His voice was icy.
The remaining Root assassin turned and fled without the slightest hesitation.
But as he retreated, his eyes suddenly narrowed sharply.
Then a strange sensation spread toward Shisui Uchiha.
Is this... genjutsu?
Using genjutsu against the Uchiha Clan? How laughable!
But just as Shisui Uchiha was about to finish off the last Root assassin...
A dark figure suddenly rushed out of the Uchiha Clan compound.
Shisui Uchiha saw no unnecessary movements from him. He merely spoke calmly, and the last Root assassin immediately lost his life.
"You dare touch my child? Die!"
Seeing this, Shisui Uchiha turned toward the newcomer, his expression grave.
The man who had killed the Root assassin with genjutsu was none other than the Uchiha Clan's current leader.
Uchiha Fugaku!
Before you continue