madnovel Chapter 197 197: If It Doesn’t Target the Uchiha, Is It Even Root?
Chapter 197 197: If It Doesn’t Target the Uchiha, Is It Even Root?
Hiruko ultimately accepted the mission.
He had no desire to experience Root's inhumane punishments again.
They hadn't even asked him anything.
Just torture—over and over—shouting, "Will you talk? Will you talk?"
Talk about what?!
Root had zero humanity.
Hiruko put on a mask and donned ANBU combat gear.
The two of them exited Konoha through the sewer route—Root's exclusive VIP passage.
Even ANBU didn't necessarily know of this path.
If you weren't Root, you didn't get to use it.
At least spiritually, Root claimed superiority.
"Really living up to the 'can't be seen' reputation," Arin muttered as they emerged into the forest.
Their target was the route an Uchiha squad would pass through.
The mission details were clear:
A Kirigakure squad had infiltrated the Land of Fire. Konoha had dispatched the Uchiha team to eliminate them.
Arin and Hiruko's task?
Eliminate the three Uchiha jōnin.
Ignore the Mist squad entirely.
Arin couldn't help but mutter, "Danzō isn't secretly connected to Kirigakure, is he?"
It would be something he'd do.
Though maybe not yet.
They moved swiftly through the forest canopy.
Arin, however, pulled out a scroll mid-run.
"What are you doing?" Hiruko asked darkly.
"Learning ninjutsu."
Arin waved the scroll casually.
Hiruko's eye twitched.
Who studies ninjutsu on the move?
Do you think techniques just absorb themselves?
Even D- and C-rank techniques required time and practice.
"Learned it."
Arin tossed the scroll into his inventory.
He had no choice.
Dragged from the Hokage's vault straight to Root, then immediately assigned a mission.
Even livestock deserved rest.
He had to study on the way.
Hiruko: "???"
What kind of technique learns itself instantly?!
"Sensei, look here."
Arin raised a hand.
Hiruko instinctively glanced over.
Flames erupted around Arin, engulfing him completely.
His body vanished—like he had been burned to ashes.
Hiruko stopped abruptly, scanning the surroundings.
Impossible.
Arin wouldn't burn himself alive.
"No… it's genjutsu!"
He formed seals rapidly.
"Genjutsu Release!"
Arin reappeared—calmly reading another scroll.
"Sensei, you were slow to notice."
He tucked away the second scroll.
Another learned.
Hiruko's expression darkened.
"What medium did you use to cast it?"
"Isn't that obvious?"
Fire.
Genjutsu was fundamentally mental energy.
Chakra merely enhanced spiritual force.
Yin Release equaled spiritual energy.
Yang Release equaled physical energy.
All genjutsu fell under Yin.
Hiruko said nothing further and continued forward.
By the time they reached their destination—
Arin had learned all eight.
For him, chakra control was perfect.
His mental strength immense.
Learning genjutsu wasn't difficult.
With the two already in his inventory—
Ten complete.
Next step: max them and synthesize Yin Release.
"Strange," Arin muttered. "Strong body, strong mind… why is my chakra pool still small?"
The system interface probably capped growth.
In games, NPCs always had larger energy reserves than players.
But this was reality now.
Chakra felt insufficient.
There were ways to increase it—
Consumables and equipment.
Sunagakure dropped plenty of chakra-enhancing gear.
But consumables?
Only Konoha ninja dropped those.
And he currently couldn't farm Konoha ninja.
"Remember," Hiruko said gravely, "never lock eyes with an Uchiha during battle. Eye contact means defeat is inevitable."
There was a saying in the ninja world—
If you encounter a three-tomoe Uchiha one-on-one—
Run.
Arin glanced sideways.
Hiruko clearly had no idea how he fought.
Still—
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Long-range combat wasn't ideal against Uchiha.
Cloud ninja had high mobility—hard to hit.
But Uchiha with three-tomoe Sharingan?
Their dynamic vision made dodging distant attacks easier.
As a Sharingan owner himself—
Arin knew that well.
Even if he rarely used it.
To be safe—
He decided to upgrade one genjutsu.
[Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change (Lv1) – EXP 0/500]
The reflection technique.
He selected it immediately.
[Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change (Lv8) – EXP 0/64000]
Level 8 was enough.
Maxing it would cost too much.
He planned to have his external incarnation cast genjutsu remotely anyway—
Avoid suspicion.
Peace?
That was peace for the ninja world.
Not for Hyuga Arin.
He activated his Byakugan.
[Byakugan (Lv9) – EXP 0/218700]
Thanks to the two Main House donors.
During the Hyuga confrontation, he hadn't just fought—
He looted.
Two Byakugan had boosted him to level nine.
Just one more needed.
Waiting for a lucky Main House volunteer.
His vision now extended eighteen kilometers in all directions.
No current Hyuga matched that.
Even future Hinata wouldn't reach this range.
At max level—
Twenty kilometers.
"I see them," Arin said calmly.
Hiruko tensed.
"Where?"
"About ten kilometers out."
Hiruko: "???"
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