The next day.
Uchiha Yuan was walking toward Training Ground 17. New supervising jōnin would arrive today; after a few days of adjustment training they would head to the battlefield.
A faint gust of wind cut across his path. Yuan stopped. A masked shinobi materialized in front of him.
Seeing the mask patterned with several colored markings, Yuan's expression changed. This was a Root operative.
The night before, after a conversation with clan head Uchiha Fugaku, Yuan had learned a little about the village's inner workings — for example, the distinction between ANBU and Root. ANBU operatives wore animal-themed masks; Root operatives' masks were made of multi-colored patterned designs.
What Fugaku had said about the village using missions to quietly deal with disobedient shinobi was only clan conjecture without hard proof. Still, several talented clan members had died under mysterious circumstances during missions, and some teams sent out on assignment had been ambushed. That left room for suspicion. The Uchiha imagined the shadowy assailants might be Root.
"Uchiha Yuan, Lord Danzō wishes to see you." The Root operative's voice was cold.
Yuan looked the masked man up and down with obvious displeasure and said, "Danzō? Who's that? I've never heard of him. Some nobody orders me to meet him and I'm supposed to go? Hmph — I have no interest in seeing a coward who hides his face!"
Yuan did his best to act the proud, untamable Uchiha.
A murderous chill settled around him. The masked operative's eyes behind the mask grew ice-cold and ferocious; he barked a command.
"How dare you! Such insolence to Lord Danzō."
Before the words finished, a fierce gust slammed into Yuan. He slid backward, his feet gouging two furrows more than twenty meters long in the ground.
Yuan lowered his right hand — just before, he'd raised it to catch a sweeping flying kick launched by the Root operative.
That kick was not mere intimidation; it had been delivered without holding back. If Yuan hadn't intercepted it, he would've suffered broken bones and twisted sinews.
The Root operative showed no change in breathing upon seeing Yuan block his kick. His icy gaze fixed on Yuan; his voice, flat and emotionless as a machine, continued: "Uchiha Yuan, come with me to see Lord Danzō. Your insults toward Lord Danzō will be judged by Lord Danzō himself."
Yuan and the operative stared at each other for a few seconds. Yuan assumed an arrogant mien and said, "Fine. From your looks it seems I have no choice — but in Konoha, no one dares to harm an Uchiha."
He followed the operative to a secluded area in the village's northwest.
Suddenly two more masked Root shinobi appeared on a rooftop ahead. The escort halted; his voice remained void of emotion: "Lord Danzō requests his presence."
Yuan felt two frigid gazes lock onto him; in an instant it was as if two venomous snakes had coiled around him. Any abnormal move would invite a deadly strike.
In the next moment two Root operatives materialized on either side of him.
A detached voice whispered in his ear, "Close your eyes."
Yuan shot a glare at the two Root operatives and snapped, "Hey — I don't want to meet your Danzō!"
He turned to walk away, but shadows flickered across the surrounding rooftops — a dozen Root operatives appeared in an instant. Killing intent saturated the air; a dense death-like aura pressed in on Yuan.
He glanced around, a mocking smile at his lips, then slowly turned and obeyed, closing his eyes.
A sack was thrown over his head. Two Root agents seized his shoulders and leapt away.
After several changes of direction the motion stopped. The two who had held him released their grip.
"Lord Danzō, Uchiha Yuan has been brought here." One of the Root operatives reported on bended knee.
When the sack was removed from his head, Yuan's face showed tense bewilderment as he took in his surroundings: a vast, dimly lit chamber.
On a raised platform ahead, a grim old man leaned on a wooden staff. Half his body was bound in bandages; a single eye stared coldly at him.
The Root operative who had brought him remained kneeling, whispering his report.
Yuan tucked away his alarm and put on a brazen, arrogant expression. "Hey, old man — you must be this Danzō that those riffraff talk about. What do you want with me?"
The temperature in the hall dropped instantly. Ice-cold gazes from every corner landed on him; thick, murderous intent closed in.
Danzō snorted. His eyes showed loathing as he stared at Yuan and menacingly intoned, "Assaulting a supervising jōnin as a mere genin — that is your first major crime. Sympathizing with Hatake Sakumo, a criminal in the village's eyes, shows you are discontent with Konoha. More so, speaking disrespectfully to me is another grave offense. You must be severely punished."
As he spoke, Danzō slammed his staff heavily into the floor.
The killing intent aimed at Yuan seemed to take on substance.
Yuan gritted his teeth against the oppressive atmosphere and shouted, "Old man, I'm of the Uchiha clan. Whether I've committed a crime is for my clan to decide. The village has no right to judge me. Besides, my clan head told me the village hasn't punished me."
Danzō sneered. "You are a foolish ignoramus."
To Danzō, Yuan was merely a child intoxicated by the Uchiha name, believing his clan could do anything.
"I could kill you on the spot and the Uchiha would never dare to speak out. In Konoha, it isn't for the Uchiha to boss others around."
Yuan fell silent, unease creeping into his eyes; he kept glancing at Danzō. For a moment he felt proud of his own performance.
Danzō's cold gaze never left him. When fear finally showed on Yuan's face, contempt and mockery gleamed in the old man's eye.
"But you defeated a Special Jōnin by taijutsu alone. In hand-to-hand combat, you are a prodigy. I admire that. So — if you join my Root, you will be spared punishment."
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