Tit for Tat

Uchiha Yuan forced himself to calm down as he pondered the assassin's motive. A Hidden Leaf Village ninja working for Danzo—did the attacker want the Sharingan? Uchiha Yuan knew that under Danzo's right-eye bandage lay a Sharingan. Could the vision in Danzo's right eye have grown so poor that he desperately needed a replacement? Following this line of thought, Uchiha Yuan calmly calculated. Right now, relations between the Konoha Higher-Ups and the Uchiha Clan were tense because of the Nine-Tails Night, and facing the retreating Uchiha Clan, Danzo simply could not find an opening to strike. Therefore, choosing him, a lone Uchiha clansman, made sense. Moreover, during the Third Shinobi World War, Danzo had operated in the Rain Country and the Earth Country, leaving him with very few opportunities to build up a reserve of Sharingan. As everyone knew, it was only after the Night of the Uchiha Clan Massacre that Danzo had the chance to collect an entire arm's worth of Sharingan. Because of this, when faced with a lone Uchiha Yuan, Danzo had been forced to strike under conditions of insufficient intelligence. Thus, the assassin had not immediately killed Uchiha Yuan, and had even purposely wasted breath just to confirm the information about the Sharingan. Yet what the attacker had not expected was that Uchiha Yuan had already mastered the Spiritualisation Technique. Caught completely off guard, the assassin not only failed to succeed, but was even turned the tables on by Uchiha Yuan. Having sorted this out, Uchiha Yuan's gaze grew cold and sharp. With Danzo acting as a member of the Konoha Higher-Ups, there was currently no chance to retaliate against him, but as for this Root assassin... Uchiha Yuan controlled the assassin to pull off the mask, and through the reflection of the metal forehead protector, he discovered that this face was quite unfamiliar, lacking any of the common physical traits of the village's major clans on the surface. Without the slightest politeness, he shattered the opponent's consciousness curled up within the spiritual realm, and then his soul returned to his own body. Picking up the assassin's kunai, Uchiha Yuan gave the opponent a thorough, heart-chilling pierce. Immediately, he retreated to the mouth of the mountain cave and performed hand seals without hesitation. Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique Having already mastered intelligence regarding the Spiritualisation Technique, Uchiha Yuan did not want any living person to know about it now. About five minutes later, the Konoha ninjas finally noticed the fire. When a group of ANBU arrived, they only had time to see a mountain cave that retained high-temperature embers, with a charred corpse curled up at the edge of the stone wall. Right away, several Konoha ANBU ninjas performed Water Release to extinguish the fire, and soon they discovered a Hidden Mist forehead protector inside the mountain cave, along with a Hidden Mist ANBU mask that had not been completely burned away in a blind spot of the cave. Once the scene was under control, Uchiha Yuan then grabbed the arm of an ANBU ninja while panting heavily. "Hidden Mist! It was Hidden Mist ninjas who ambushed me. Save me!" ... The news that Hidden Mist ninjas had appeared near the outpost spread quickly, placing all Konoha ninjas on high alert, and even Uchiha Yuan was placed under the monitoring and protection of the ANBU. Fortunately, not long after, Orochimaru and Danzo appeared in the mountain cave where he was being kept under house arrest. "Orochimaru, is this the Uchiha Yuan you spoke of, whose soul strength is no less than Dan Katō's?" Scanned by the one-eyed Danzo, Uchiha Yuan felt the sharp chill of a sheep eyed by a starving wolf. "Yes, Lord Danzo." "Although he hasn't unlocked the Sharingan yet, his spiritual talent is very strong." "Hmm, train him as quickly as possible to the level where he can contribute to this mission." With those words, Danzo turned and left. From beginning to end, he did not look at Uchiha Yuan straight in the eye even once. As Danzo left, the atmosphere eased in silence. "Well, when that lord is around, even I feel uncomfortable." Orochimaru dismissed the ANBU and looked over Uchiha Yuan with great interest. "Yuan-kun, I've heard about those events. It seems I underestimated you before; perhaps you are the strongest of the three in your class." "However, that doesn't matter anymore. Over the next few days, I will personally guide you in practicing the Spiritualisation Technique." Uchiha Yuan looked up and nodded, like a child who had suffered a grievance and just found comfort. Yet in a place where Orochimaru could not see, the joints of his fingers were tense. Having crippled a subordinate of Root, Uchiha Yuan did not believe Danzo would let the matter rest. ... To prevent a repeat of events like the "Hidden Mist ambush," Orochimaru specially arranged a training location for his disciple. In the dim candlelight, the teacher and student sat cross-legged facing each other. The mission had already begun, and Orochimaru was likewise busy; he could only squeeze out time to help Uchiha Yuan master the Spiritualisation Technique. "Relax your body. Now I will cast the Contract Release Seal on you." When Orochimaru displayed the side of himself as a teacher, he was always the mentor that ordinary ninjas dreamed of. Under his guidance, Uchiha Yuan's results in practicing the Spiritualisation Technique were "gratifying." "You can feel your body breaking free from the shackles of the flesh, floating in a vast void." Orochimaru's voice guided him step by step, while Uchiha Yuan merely moved his soul upward by three inches. After thoroughly mastering the Spiritualisation Technique, such a trick was effortless. "As expected, you are even more suited for the Spiritualisation Technique than Dan Katō. The effect that took him a full week to achieve, you managed in just a single day." A rare note of delight colored Orochimaru's tone. To this, Uchiha Yuan was too lazy to even roll his eyes. He merely "reluctantly" followed the requirements provided by Orochimaru to display his practice progress. "However, as long as your soul can leave your body, casting the Spiritualisation Technique becomes much simpler." "For the time being, you must quickly grow accustomed to this state. Afterward, I will have someone teach you a genjutsu sufficient to shake the Tailed Beasts." Uchiha Yuan's face was pale as his soul returned to his body, presenting the appearance of someone who had overconsumed chakra. The voice by his ear sounded like a Tailed Beast Bomb exploding. "Genjutsu? Teacher, is it necessary to use genjutsu to counter a Tailed Beast?" Taking a deep breath, he patted his face to make himself look a bit more energetic before Uchiha Yuan asked Orochimaru with lingering fear. "Of course. You might not understand this aspect yet. Tailed Beasts have thick hides and massive chakra reserves, and few ninjas can match them head-on. At times like that, one needs to target the Tailed Beast's weakness." "Its mind, or rather, its soul." "Originally, the Yamanaka Clan's mind secret techniques were very well-suited for dealing with Tailed Beasts, but their soul strength simply cannot compare to yours." "Moreover, under the influence of a Tailed Beast's soul, they can't even maintain their composure." "As for ninjutsu cast through the mind and soul, it is consistent with genjutsu, primarily utilizing Yin-release chakra." "With your soul strength, you won't be affected even when facing a Tailed Beast directly." "Then your genjutsu will inevitably take effect on the Tailed Beast. You must know that wild Tailed Beasts have no Jinchuriki to help them dispel genjutsu, you see." Uchiha Yuan listened thoughtfully to Orochimaru's analysis of ninjutsu. It was the first time he had learned what kind of concept his soul strength actually was. His soul wouldn't even be affected when facing a Tailed Beast directly! Such an evaluation coming from the mouth of a shadow-level powerhouse like Orochimaru held no small degree of credibility. "So, Teacher! Will I face a Tailed Beast directly when carrying out the mission? Will it be dangerous?" Even if his soul truly was strong, Uchiha Yuan had no desire to take risks, let alone when facing a Tailed Beast. Unusually, Orochimaru did not put a hand to his forehead over his disciple's cowardice. "Rest assured, Yuan-kun. All you will need to do when the time comes is follow orders and release a genjutsu against the Three-Tails—that will be enough." "Just as I promised, Teacher will ensure your safety." "I understand, so that's how it is!" Uchiha Yuan let out a long sigh of relief, his cowardice causing Orochimaru to repeatedly press a hand to his forehead. "Very well, Yuan-kun. For the time being, you must practice keeping your soul outside your body for three minutes. Once you manage that, I will arrange for someone to teach you genjutsu." With those instructions, Orochimaru vanished silently into the shadows.