The moment he finished speaking, three shuriken flew toward Xuandou's face.
The three Root ninja worked in perfect coordination, opening with killing moves and giving Xuandou no chance.
As the three threw their shuriken, one began forming hand seals, another circled around the flank, and the third pressed forward from the front.
Their movements were swift and coordinated; at a glance, they were clearly teammates who often worked together.
Xuandou, however, was faster.
The instant they attacked, his eyes had already changed.
Three tomoe spun, merged, and transformed into intricate patterns.
Mangekyō Sharingan, activate!
"Susanoo!"
Yellow chakra surged out, condensing into a massive skeletal arm in the blink of an eye and barring the way in front of Xuandou.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The shuriken struck the bones and were all deflected.
The expressions on the three ninja's faces froze.
"What... what the hell is that thing?!"
Before they could react, the Susanoo arm swept toward them.
Thud!
Thud!
Thud!
Three dull impacts rang out almost simultaneously.
The three were swatted to the ground like flies, raising a cloud of dust.
One lay on the ground, gritting his teeth, his gaze fierce:
"You... you dare attack us Root ninja?!"
"Lord Danzo won't let you get away with this!"
"Just you wait! You'll get what's coming to you!"
Xuandou lowered his eyes to look at the fool who had no idea how close he was to death.
"Shut up!"
The yellow arm rose again.
This time, it aimed at their thighs.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Three sharp sounds of breaking bones rang out.
"Aaaaaaah-!!!"
Screams like those of pigs being slaughtered echoed throughout the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Both legs of each of the three Root ninja bent at grotesque angles, splintered bones jutting through their flesh, blood smeared all over the ground.
They rolled on the ground, their screams growing louder and louder. As they kept screaming, their voices gradually weakened, their eyes rolled back, and they passed out.
Xuandou dismissed Susanoo and dusted off his hands, though there was no dust on them.
"Take them away and lock them up."
He glanced back at Inabi and Tekka:
"Also, notify the entire clan. We're holding a clan meeting tomorrow. Everyone must attend."
With that, he left without looking back.
Inabi and Tekka stood where they were, stunned for two seconds.
Then the brothers exchanged a look, irrepressible excitement spreading across their faces.
"Holy crap, Xuandou is way too strong!"
"Quick, quick, quick! Drag these pieces of trash away!"
The two dragged the three Root ninja, whose legs had been reduced to pulp, toward the prison.
The next day.
In the Uchiha Clan Compound, two new buildings were officially completed.
A crowd of clan members stood watching, all craning their necks to look inside.
The first was an apartment building, located at the very center of the Clan Grounds, surrounded by the residential area of the Uchiha clan members.
It was a five-story corridor-style apartment building with gray-white walls, a dark gray tiled roof, and a neat row of windows on every floor.
Envy showed in someone's eyes:
"What an impressive building... if only I could live there."
Someone beside them immediately poured cold water on the idea:
"What are you thinking? Haven't you seen the materials? It must cost a fortune. Can you afford it?"
"That's true..."
Everyone talked over one another, some sighing, others shaking their heads.
But the other building, beside Naka Shrine, silenced them all.
It was the Family Ancestral Shrine.
Uchiha Shrine stood on an open plot of land, surrounded by a low wall.
Its main entrance was a large black-lacquered gate, with a plaque hanging above it bearing the words "Uchiha Shrine" in bold, vigorous strokes.
Beyond the gate lay a bluestone path, lined on either side by rows of pines and cypresses. Though newly planted, they already lent the place a measure of solemnity.
At the end of the path stood the main hall of Uchiha Shrine.
The main hall was a traditional building, with upturned eaves, interlocking brackets, black roof tiles, and white walls.
A row of lanterns hung beneath the eaves, each painted with the Uchiha Clan's fan crest.
The hall doors stood open, revealing the memorial tablets enshrined within.
The clan members filed inside.
The hall was brightly lit.
A row of portraits hung on the wall facing them. Starting with Uchiha Tajima, the faces of successive clan heads had all been carefully rendered and hung on the wall, looking down upon their descendants.
Below the portraits stood rows of memorial tablets.
The front row held the spirit tablets of past clan heads, with those of ancestors who had rendered great service to the clan behind them.
Gold lettering engraved on the sandalwood tablets gleamed under the lights.
The scent of sandalwood incense filled the air, solemn and dignified.
"This... this is so magnificent..."
Someone murmured softly.
"Clan Head Xuandou is truly amazing!"
"We Uchiha finally have our own Uchiha Shrine..."
Some people's eyes reddened.
The three elders stood at the very front, gazing at the portraits on the wall in silence for a long time.
Soon, all the Uchiha clan members had arrived.
Xuandou walked to the front.
"The first item at today's clan meeting is to pay our respects to our ancestors."
Elder Chie slowly stepped forward.
She approached the incense table, lit three sticks of incense, raised them above her head with both hands, and bowed deeply toward the portraits on the wall.
"To all the ancestors of the Uchiha..."
Her voice was solemn:
"Today, our clan members gather at Uchiha Shrine to pay respects to the spirits of our forebears. May our ancestors bless our clan with a flourishing population and an enduring bloodline..."
She placed the incense in the burner, pressed her palms together, and closed her eyes in silent prayer.
The hall fell silent. Everyone bowed their heads, joining her in silent mourning.
A moment later, Elder Chie slowly opened her eyes, turned around, and gave everyone a slight nod.
The worship was complete.
Just then, a sudden commotion arose in the crowd.
Xuandou turned to look and discovered that something had happened where Mikoto was.
Mikoto looked panicked as she held Itachi in her arms:
"Itachi! What's wrong? Wake up!"
Fugaku frowned deeply and strode over:
"What happened?"
Mikoto was so anxious that her eyes had reddened:
"I don't know... just after the elder finished the invocation, Itachi... he suddenly closed his eyes, and no matter how much I called him, he wouldn't wake up..."
Fugaku reached out to check his son's breathing, but before his hand got halfway there, Itachi's eyes suddenly opened.
They were a pair of red eyes.
In his pupils, two black tomoe slowly rotated, gradually taking shape.
After paying respects to the ancestors, seven-year-old Uchiha Itachi had actually awakened his Sharingan on the spot.
And he had started with two tomoe!
Mikoto froze.
Then tears spilled from her eyes.
She hugged Itachi tightly, murmuring, "As long as you're all right," as tears streamed down her face without stopping.
Standing beside her, Fugaku's tense expression relaxed as well.
He looked down at his son, gratification showing in his eyes.
Xuandou took the opportunity to raise his voice:
"Everyone, don't panic!"
Everyone looked toward him.
"Paying respects to the ancestors at the Family Ancestral Shrine can increase the chance of awakening the Sharingan. This is Uchiha Shrine's blessing."
The moment he finished speaking, several more commotions broke out in the crowd.
"My... my eyes!"
"Mine too! It hurts!"
Xuandou looked over and saw several clan members covering their eyes, their faces filled with both shock and delight.
There were young people among them, but more were adults who had already been ninja for many years.
They had long since accumulated enough chakra and ocular power; all they lacked was that final push.
Now, with Uchiha Shrine's blessing, that door had finally been pushed open.
Pair after pair of red eyes opened.
Though most had only one tomoe, the instant that single black tomoe began slowly rotating in their pupils, everyone's face brimmed with irrepressible joy.
Even one tomoe was still the Sharingan.
With it, they could read their opponents' movements in battle, cast basic genjutsu, and advance from genin to chunin.
That was how overpowering the Sharingan was!
The commotion gradually subsided.
Shisui walked over to Xuandou and reported quietly:
"Clan Head, the count is complete. Fifty-three people awakened their Sharingan this time."
Xuandou nodded.
Fifty-three.
In other words, the Uchiha had gained fifty-three more chunin-level fighters.
The way everyone looked at Xuandou changed completely.
No one knew who called out first:
"Xuandou!"
Soon, their voices joined together:
"Xuandou! Xuandou! Xuandou!"
Xuandou raised his hand and pressed it downward, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
"The second matter concerns the apartment building in the center of the Clan Grounds."
Everyone's eyes lit up at once.
Some had already guessed something, but did not dare believe it.