Fight to the Death!

"Asuma is dead... It was Ingetsu again!"

Itachi's pupils widened as he glanced toward Sarutobi Hiruzen, who lay on the floor with an ashen face, his life hanging in the balance.

The atmosphere in the office was heavy.

Exclamations mingled with the sounds of first aid.

Itachi stood beside the desk, growing calmer instead, sinking into thought as though cut off from this world.

His expression grim, he quickly reviewed the information on the scroll and immediately guessed why Konoha's higher-ups had urgently summoned him.

At the northwestern border of the Land of Fire, Sarutobi Asuma had taken a team out without authorization to hunt down the Uchiha Squad.

As a result, the temporary squad formed by five elite jonin had suffered three deaths and one capture.

Asuma and Chiriku were missing.

There was almost no chance they had survived.

Of the Fire Temple reinforcements, every monk except Chiriku had died by some strange means.

For Konoha, this was a major loss. For the Hokage, he had lost his only remaining son.

Gloom lay across Itachi's face. He knew that his ally had probably taken part in that battle as well.

Under those circumstances...

Could Uchiha Ingetsu really have safely led nine Uchiha members away?

Suddenly, a hoarse voice broke the oppressive silence of the Hokage Office.

"Itachi... come here..."

The voice was weak and feeble, stripped of its former authority.

Itachi's eyes trembled slightly. Coming back to himself, he followed the voice and saw that Sarutobi Hiruzen's old face had regained a hint of color.

Itachi came before the old man and crouched down.

"I didn't let you go after them before... because the shinobi village needed to be reorganized, and the Root Organization, which existed in name only, needed you to clean it up."

Sarutobi Hiruzen looked straight at Itachi with his murky yellow eyes and said shakily, "After a week of adjustment, how is the work... progressing?"

Itachi replied calmly, "Lord Hokage, the Root Organization has been completely reorganized. At most, it will take a year before Root can once again send nourishment to Konoha, this great tree."

"Good. That's even faster than I expected."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression darkened. He reached out and took Itachi's hand, patting the back of it with his callused, wrinkled palm as he earnestly advised him:

"Then go. Go rescue your mother and eliminate Uchiha Ingetsu for Konoha. If possible... capture him alive!!"

"Yes—"

Itachi's expression shifted slightly, but he did not ask anything further. He simply nodded.

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued gently patting the back of Itachi's hand and said hoarsely:

"Sasuke is an intelligent child with exceptional talent. Now that the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha no longer exists, the past is behind us.

"So, the three of us have decided that once Sasuke graduates from the Konoha Ninja Academy, Kakashi will become his supervising jonin.

"You know that Kakashi was Minato's student. He's reliable, and people can rest easy when he handles things.

"I also hope that in Konoha's future...

"there can be an Uchiha Hokage!

"We'll do everything we can to nurture Sasuke.

"If he's suited for it!"

After saying this, Sarutobi Hiruzen released Itachi's hands and fell silent.

"Yes—"

Itachi's gaze sharpened. He slowly rose, took his leave, and departed the Hokage Building with the Root Organization subordinates waiting in the corridor.

Setting those promises aside...

Itachi had already suspected that his mother's defection might have something to do with Ingetsu.

After hearing the Third Hokage's words today, the doubts in Itachi's heart were resolved.

This proved that the Third Hokage's informants were also tracking the Uchiha defector squad!

At this moment, Itachi himself had to make a trip to the northwestern border of the Land of Fire. Hopefully, he wasn't too late.

Even before Konoha's higher-ups gave him permission to act on his own, he had already taken action in advance.

Hokage Office.

"Sigh..."

After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been helped back into his chair by Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura, let out a long sigh.

"Hiruzen, do you really think that way about Sasuke?" Utatane Koharu narrowed her eyes slightly and asked seriously.

Sarutobi Hiruzen shook his head. Leaning back in his chair, he looked out at the scenery of Leaf Village and clenched both fists, the veins bulging on the backs of his aged hands.

The aura surrounding him showed none of the aging and weakness brought on by grief earlier.

Ingetsu had attacked Asuma!

Destroyed the Fire Temple!

How dare he?

Asuma was Sarutobi Hiruzen's only remaining son!

"As expected, the Uchiha are evil by nature!!

"First Danzo.

"Now Asuma and the Fire Temple.

"Koharu, Homura.

"From this day onward.

"Dead or alive, no matter the cost, drag this Uchiha defector squad out of the Ninja World!!"

Furious beyond reason, Sarutobi Hiruzen slammed a fist into the desk, denting its surface.

Bang—

With a tremendous crash, the desk broke apart and splinters flew everywhere. Several Anbu guards had not been present before, but after sensing the Hokage's fury, they appeared in an instant and respectfully knelt halfway before his chair.

Fire blazed in Sarutobi Hiruzen's eyes. His aged face gradually twisted, and the composure he had cultivated after holding high office for more than a decade vanished in a single moment.

At this moment.

He only wanted to kill Uchiha Ingetsu with his own hands.

Utatane Koharu and Mitokado Homura lowered their heads in silence. When Orochimaru had defected from Konoha, their Hokage had merely remained silent for a few days.

But now, the person Ingetsu had killed was Sarutobi Hiruzen's only remaining son!

The hatred of a murdered son.

A blood feud that could never be shared under the same sky!

The two Hokage Advisors knew that the Uchiha defector squad would next have to endure the Third Hokage Sarutobi Hiruzen's fury, as well as the wrath of all Konoha.

To the bitter end!

Night fell. At the foot of Katsuragi Mountain, amid towering peaks and deep valleys, a bright red campfire burned across the plain.

Various game roasted over the fire, its glow illuminating the exhausted faces of the Uchiha members.

After this period of flight...

They had not encountered another pursuit squad.

The Uchiha's taut nerves had also relaxed. With Tamao mostly recovered, the atmosphere in the group became lively again.

"Captain, what are those white monsters?" Izumi took out her canteen, proactively uncapped it, and offered it to Ingetsu with both hands.

Izumi's beautiful black eyes were wide with curiosity. Her oval face, accented by a beauty mark, looked both adorable and lovely.

At this question.

The Uchiha all turned toward Ingetsu.

From the day they escaped Konoha.

This Uchiha Squad had established Ingetsu as its central leader.

Now that the group had only one captain.

They were also curious about what those monsters that had emerged from the monks that night actually were.

It was just that their entire journey had been spent fleeing, leaving them no time to think about anything else—not even to grieve over the Uchiha Clan Massacre.

Now that they had left the Land of Fire, moved far from Konoha, evaded their first pursuit, and entered the deep mountains, they finally had a chance to catch their breath and gain a sliver of security.

Everyone began to think.

The monsters looked human, yet were not human.

Their bodies were like wood.

They moved strangely, were difficult to deal with, and possessed astonishing vitality. If not for Ingetsu's black flames that night, it would have been extremely difficult to wipe them all out.

"They were White Zetsu."

Ingetsu took the canteen, raised his head, and drank a mouthful. His gaze remained fixed on the dancing flames, their light reflected in his clear pupils.

His tongue and lips tasted sweetness.

He lowered his head and looked at the canteen.

It was pink, with a distinctly girlish style.

Izumi sat beside him with her hands supporting her knees and her chin resting on them. Seeing that Ingetsu had not disliked her canteen and had shared the same mouthpiece, her thoughts immediately drifted away from the question. Her heart pounded wildly, her cheeks flushed, and she secretly rejoiced.

Her little thoughts were noticed by Kurenai Yuhi sitting beside her. The corners of Kurenai's lips curled up slightly. Right in front of Izumi, she asked Ingetsu for the canteen and said with a narrowed, smiling gaze:

"Sorry, I'm a little thirsty too."

Her voice was rich with the magnetic charm of a mature woman, alluring and captivating.

Ingetsu showed no reaction.

Izumi's pupils widened as she stared straight at the ill-intentioned Kurenai Yuhi.

Kurenai Yuhi took the canteen and raised her head to drink. Her posture was uninhibited, her red lips slightly parted.

She deliberately let the water trickle from the corner of her mouth, slide over her exquisite cheek, glide down her slender neck, and disappear beneath the snow-white skin concealed by the armor covering her collarbones.