As soon as the words fell, three shuriken were already flying toward Gento's face.
The three Root Ninja coordinated flawlessly, striking with killing intent the moment they moved, leaving Gento no opportunity at all.
As the three threw their shuriken, one had already begun forming hand seals, one flanked from the side, and one pressed forward from the front.
Their movements were swift and perfectly synchronized; teammates who often worked together.
However, Gento was faster.
The instant they made their move, his eyes had already changed.
The three tomoe spun and merged, forming intricate patterns.
Mangekyo Sharingan, activated!
"Susanoo!"
Yellow Chakra surged out and, in the blink of an eye, condensed into a massive skeletal arm, blocking in front of Gento.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The shuriken struck the bone and were all deflected.
The expressions on the three ninja's faces froze.
"Th-This… what the hell is that?!"
Before they could react, the Susanoo arm had already swept across.
Bang!
Bang!
Bang!
Three dull thuds rang out almost simultaneously.
The three were smashed to the ground like swatted flies, kicking up a cloud of dust.
One of them lay prone, gritting his teeth, his eyes filled with viciousness:
"Y-You… you dare attack Root?!"
"Danzo-sama won't let you off!"
"Just you wait! Wait to be dealt with!"
Gento lowered his gaze, looking at this fool who didn't know the meaning of death.
"Annoying."
The yellow arm rose once more.
This time, it aimed at their thighs.
Crack.
Crack.
Crack.
Three crisp sounds of bones breaking rang out.
"AAAAAAAHHHHH!!!"
Pig-slaughtering screams echoed throughout the Uchiha clan grounds.
The three Root Ninjas' legs bent at grotesque angles, bone fragments piercing through flesh, blood smearing across the ground.
They rolled on the ground, their screams growing weaker and weaker, until their eyes rolled back and they fainted.
Gento dismissed the Susanoo and dusted off his hands as if brushing away nonexistent dirt.
"Take them away. Lock them up."
He turned his head to glance at Inabi Uchiha and Tekka Uchiha:
"Also, notify the entire clan. A clan meeting will be held tomorrow. Everyone must attend."
With that, he left without looking back.
Inabi and Tekka stood there, stunned for two seconds.
The two brothers exchanged a glance, their faces unable to hide their excitement.
"Damn, Gento is way too fierce!"
"Hurry, hurry, drag these pieces of trash away!"
The two dragged the three Root Ninja, whose legs had already turned into pulp, toward the prison.
...
The next day.
At the Uchiha clan grounds, two new buildings were officially completed.
A crowd of clan members gathered around, all craning their necks to look inside.
The first building was an apartment, located at the very center of the clan grounds, surrounded by the residential area of the Uchiha clan.
The building was a five-story block, with gray-white walls and a dark gray tiled roof, each floor lined with neat rows of windows.
Some people revealed looks of envy:
"This place looks so impressive… if only we could live there."
Someone beside them immediately poured cold water on their hopes:
"What are you thinking? Didn't you see the materials used? It's definitely ridiculously expensive. Can you even afford it?"
"That's true…"
Everyone chattered at once; some sighing, some shaking their heads.
Meanwhile, the other building located beside the Naka Shrine made everyone fall silent.
That was the Clan Ancestral Hall.
The ancestral hall stood on an open ground, surrounded by low walls.
The main gate was a black-lacquered door, above which hung a plaque inscribed with the four bold characters: "Uchiha Clan Ancestral Hall," the strokes powerful and vigorous.
Passing through the gate, there was a stone-paved path, lined on both sides with rows of pine and cypress trees. Though newly planted, they already carried a solemn atmosphere.
At the end of the path stood the main hall of the ancestral shrine.
The main hall was built in a traditional style, with upturned eaves and intricate bracket structures, black tiles, and white walls.
A row of lanterns hung beneath the eaves, each painted with the Uchiha clan's fan crest.
The hall doors were open, revealing the memorial tablets enshrined inside.
The clan members filed in one after another.
Inside the hall, the lighting was bright.
On the front wall hung a row of portraits. Starting from Tajima Uchiha, the faces of successive clan heads had all been carefully depicted, hanging on the wall, overlooking their descendants.
Below the portraits were row after row of memorial tablets.
The very front row held the spirit tablets of the past clan heads, and behind them were those of the ancestors who had made great contributions to the clan.
The sandalwood tablets were engraved with golden characters, glimmering under the light.
The air was filled with the scent of sandalwood incense, solemn and dignified.
"Th-This… this is too magnificent…"
Someone murmured.
"Clan Head Gento is truly incredible!"
"Our Uchiha clan… finally has its own ancestral hall…"
Some people's eyes reddened.
The three elders stood at the very front, gazing at the portraits on the wall, silent for a long time.
Soon, all the Uchiha clan members had gathered.
Gento walked to the front.
"The first matter of today's clan meeting is to pay respects to our ancestors."
Elder Chie slowly stepped forward.
She walked to the incense altar, lit three sticks of incense, raised them above her head with both hands, and bowed deeply toward the portraits on the wall.
"Ancestors of the Uchiha clan…"
Her voice carried solemnity:
"Today, the clan members gather in the ancestral hall to worship the spirits of our forebears. May the ancestors bless our clan with prosperity, flourishing descendants, and an unbroken bloodline…"
She inserted the incense into the burner, clasped her hands together, and closed her eyes in silent prayer.
The hall fell into complete silence. Everyone lowered their heads, following in mourning.
After a moment, Elder Chie slowly opened her eyes, turned around, and gave a slight nod to the crowd.
The ritual was complete.
At that moment, a sudden commotion arose within the crowd.
Gento turned his head to look and discovered that something had happened on Mikoto's side.
Mikoto looked panicked, holding Itachi in her arms:
"Itachi! What's wrong? Wake up!"
Fugaku frowned deeply and strode over:
"What happened?"
Mikoto's eyes were red with anxiety:
"I don't know… just now, after the elder finished the prayer, Itachi… he suddenly closed his eyes, and no matter how I call him, he won't wake up…"
Fugaku reached out to check his son's breathing, but before his hand could reach, Itachi's eyes suddenly opened.
They were a pair of red eyes.
Within the pupils, two black tomoe slowly rotated, gradually taking shape.
Seven-year-old Itachi Uchiha, after paying respects to the ancestors, had awakened the Sharingan.
And it was two tomoe right from the start!
Mikoto froze.
Then tears burst from her eyes.
She held Itachi tightly in her arms, murmuring, "It's okay, it's okay," as her tears streamed down uncontrollably.
Fugaku stood to the side, his tense expression finally relaxing.
He looked down at his son, a look of relief appearing in his eyes.
Gento took the opportunity to raise his voice:
"Everyone, do not panic!"
The crowd looked toward him.
"Paying respects to the ancestors in the Clan Ancestral Hall can increase the probability of awakening the Sharingan. This is the ancestral hall's blessing."
As soon as he finished speaking, several more disturbances arose within the crowd.
"M-My eyes!"
"Me too! It hurts!"
Gento looked over and saw several clan members clutching their eyes, their faces showing both shock and joy.
There were young people, but even more were adults who had been ninja for many years.
They had long accumulated sufficient Chakra and ocular power, lacking only that final push.
Now, with the ancestral hall's enhancement, that door had finally been pushed open.
Pairs of red eyes opened.
Although most were only single tomoe, the moment that black tomoe slowly rotated within their pupils, every face was filled with uncontrollable joy.
A single tomoe was still the Sharingan.
With it, one could see through an opponent's movements in battle, perform basic genjutsu, and advance from Genin to Chunin.
This was the dominance of the Sharingan!
The commotion gradually subsided.
Shisui walked to Gento's side and reported in a low voice:
"Clan Head, the count is complete. A total of fifty-three people awakened their eyes this time."
Gento nodded.
Fifty-three people.
That meant the Uchiha clan had gained fifty-three additional Chunin-level combat forces.
The way everyone looked at Gento quite changed.
No one knew who shouted first:
"Gento!"
Very quickly, the voices merged into one:
"Gento! Gento! Gento!"
Gento raised his hand and pressed it downward, signaling for everyone to quiet down.
"The second matter concerns the apartment building at the center of the clan grounds."
Everyone's eyes immediately lit up.
Some had guessed something; still, they didn't dare to believe it.
...
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