"Hah... hah..." A disheveled figure hid in a corner of an alley somewhere in the Uchiha Clan compound. He worked to steady his breathing, trying to make his presence less noticeable.
A bead of sweat slowly slid down his face, and his eyes, edged with faint crow's feet, narrowed slightly.
His scarlet Three-Tomoe Sharingan carefully scanned his surroundings.
"It's already been three minutes. Why hasn't that guy come to get me yet... wasn't this the time we agreed on?"
Uchiha Onigawara gritted out the words so quietly that only he could hear them.
His voice brimmed with frustration and anxiety.
When he noticed figures flickering past not far away, he immediately shifted deeper into the corner. It was a blind spot from several directions, just enough to keep him hidden.
"Damn it, where the hell are you!"
To escape the holding cell in the Military Police Force Building, he had killed a ninja from the Konoha Military Police Force. Every last one of them must have been mobilized by now.
If that man didn't show up soon...
He would definitely be caught!
Fragments of memories flashed through Uchiha Onigawara's mind-after his deeds had been exposed and the Anbu had suspended him pending an investigation.
A young man wearing a strange mask had approached him.
-"Heh heh... Uchiha Onigawara, you tortured two comrades to death. Do you think those foolish ninja in Konoha can still tolerate you? All that awaits you is imprisonment in Konoha Prison. Twenty years? Thirty? Or perhaps the rest of your life?"
-"I won't hide it from you. It's precisely because your special bloodline has considerable value that our lord wants you to join us. He promises that your taste for torture and murder will be fully satisfied with us."
-"All you need to do is leave Konoha. Is there anything here you still care about? As long as you dare to defect, I'll come to get you at the right moment."
-"Oh, right. I forgot to mention that you're certainly familiar with our lord."
At first, Uchiha Onigawara had no idea who the other man was.
He only knew that anyone who could slip past the people watching him without a sound and meet him must be quite capable.
Then he saw a small white snake emerge from the man's cuff.
Uchiha Onigawara immediately knew who was offering him an olive branch.
As a proud member of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Onigawara had no intention of becoming a subordinate to a Konoha rogue ninja. Once that man's "spy" planted in Konoha helped him out of the village, he would kill the "spy" without hesitation and get far away from Konoha!
"Tch... my special bloodline..."
Uchiha Onigawara narrowed his eyes. "He covets that brat Chisen's Lava Release Kekkei Genkai, but doesn't dare lay a hand on him, so he's settling for me instead, isn't he?"
In truth, he had no idea why his nephew, whose personality was far too extreme, possessed double Kekkei Genkai.
Neither he nor his late sister or brother-in-law had ever awakened a Lava Release Kekkei Genkai.
Of course, that didn't stop Uchiha Onigawara from trying to use Orochimaru's spy to escape Konoha.
It was just...
"Where the hell did he go?!" As Uchiha Onigawara seethed through clenched teeth, his Three-Tomoe Sharingan keenly caught a drop of blood-red "rain" falling from above.
Drip-
A splash of blood spread across the damp ground at his feet, making Uchiha Onigawara's gaze sharpen.
He hastily looked up.
He saw a dark figure plummeting toward him.
Uchiha Onigawara reacted swiftly, catching the falling figure before the noise could draw the police force down on him.
"This is..."
But Uchiha Onigawara's pupils abruptly contracted. What he had caught was a corpse that was still warm!
Blood poured from the corpse's neck, and the mask on his face slipped off, revealing an expression frozen in terror.
Cold sweat streamed down Uchiha Onigawara's body.
He didn't recognize the face, but he recognized the fallen mask-this was the ninja spy Orochimaru had planted in Konoha, the one who had contacted him half a month ago and offered him an olive branch!
"I happened to run into him while looking for you. The 'evil' he'd committed was like a light bulb in the dark. I couldn't ignore it."
The sudden voice set alarm bells ringing in Uchiha Onigawara's mind.
No longer caring about staying hidden, he immediately used the Body Flicker Technique to reach a spot where he believed he could advance or retreat freely, then looked up again.
Two pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan locked gazes through the air.
Uchiha Onigawara recognized him at once.
"Chisen?!!" His nephew had left quite an impression on Uchiha Onigawara. He had seen plenty of extreme Uchiha, and he counted himself among them.
But...
He felt positively immature compared with Uchiha Chisen.
Even though he was a full twenty years older!
Uchiha Onigawara had already taken a stance that let him form hand seals at any moment. The "ninja spy's" corpse on the ground darkened his expression, and the killing intent brewing in Uchiha Chisen's eyes made his skin crawl.
Uchiha Onigawara drew a deep breath and asked warily, "Chisen... have you come to deal with me?"
"Yes."
Uchiha Chisen's concise reply immediately made Uchiha Onigawara's heart sink.
He couldn't help gritting his teeth. "We're blood relatives! Chisen, why don't you leave Konoha with me? You know what kind of reputation you have here, don't you? No one in this village will accept your Nindo. The Uchiha Clan won't accept it either. There's no point in you staying in Konoha, is there?"
"Chisen, you're our Uchiha Clan's genius with double Kekkei Genkai. And I'm no slouch myself. If we join forces, there won't be anywhere in the entire Shinobi World we can't go. We can carry on the Uchiha Clan's bloodline outside Konoha!"
As Uchiha Onigawara spoke, his heart sank further and further.
He realized that his "invitation" hadn't tempted Uchiha Chisen at all.
Steeling himself, he said, stressing every word, "Chisen, think of your late mother! I'm her younger brother! I'm your closest family, the only close family you have left!"
"Finished?"
Looking down at him, Uchiha Chisen asked the question without expression.
"...Yes." Uchiha Onigawara suppressed his discomfort.
Uchiha Chisen said, "'Evil' is 'evil.' The [absolute justice] I believe in won't forgive you just because we share similar blood. Besides, I don't have the authority to forgive you."
Damn it... this brat was extreme beyond words!
Uchiha Onigawara's expression turned utterly grim.
He already regretted hiding here. If he had chosen somewhere else, perhaps he wouldn't have run into this brat who wouldn't even spare his own family.
Then he heard Uchiha Chisen say indifferently, "Uchiha Onigawara, all you regret is running into me. You're beyond saving. The sight of you makes me sick enough to vomit."
Uchiha Onigawara's face filled with disbelief.
Was it really that easy to see what he was thinking?
And this damned brat...
"Fire Release...
"Great Fireball Technique!!!"
Without hesitation, he rapidly formed hand seals, sending a massive fireball hurtling toward Uchiha Chisen above.
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