Betrayal Village

Outside the Uchiha Clan Compound.

Several tall towers stood here, built by Konoha to monitor the Uchiha.

Itachi did not head out of the village. Instead, he walked toward the three towers.

The Third Hokage's direct Anbu were stationed atop the towers. Seeing Itachi approach, they began to feel uneasy.

"Isn't that Itachi? What is he planning to do?"

A cold gleam flashed in Itachi's eyes. Before reaching the towers, he had already formed the hand seals.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

As several enormous fireballs flew out, several bottles smashed against the wooden towers.

Boom!

With the help of the flaming oil, towering flames erupted at once.

The nine Anbu atop the three towers jumped down like dumplings being dropped into a pot.

With a wave of Itachi's hand, countless Shuriken shot toward the living targets in midair.

"Itachi! What are you doing?!"

"Damn it!..."

"Ah!..."

Although Itachi had struck without warning, the Anbu had been on guard.

All nine Anbu drew their weapons to block, and only two were struck in vital areas and died on the spot.

The four who had just spoken and glared at Itachi suddenly blacked out and lost consciousness.

As ninjas, falling from dozens of meters up normally would not have been a problem, but while unconscious...

Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud! Four dull impacts rang out as the four of them were smashed directly into pulp.

The remaining three were terrified out of their wits. "Itachi! Are you trying to betray the village?!"

These Anbu were merely surveillance personnel, so their strength was not particularly impressive to begin with.

Itachi leaped into the air and killed two of them with two slashes.

Then he pinned the last Anbu to the ground with a single blade.

"Pfft!" The Anbu spat a mouthful of blood onto his mask.

Expressionless, Itachi stepped on his chest and pulled out a kunai from his pouch.

"Go back and tell Sarutobi Hiruzen that he doesn't need to work out a foolproof plan anymore."

"I, Uchiha Itachi, have betrayed the village!"

As he spoke, he slashed across the forehead protector on his brow with the kunai.

"Itachi, you...!"

The Anbu's eyes were filled with shock.

Itachi had betrayed the village so directly. Just two days ago, he had still been the Anbu captain.

He still possessed countless Konoha secrets.

Patrol routes, shift change times, barrier frequencies, and more.

After Orochimaru, he was the first person from Konoha to openly betray the village.

Afterward, Itachi pulled the weapon from the Anbu's body.

Only after wiping the blood from it on the Anbu's clothes did he leave the scene.

The sole surviving Anbu was badly injured and could only lie on the ground, watching the three towers burn before collapsing.

Soon, several Anbu leaped down. "Number Seven, what happened?!"

Number Seven took a breath. "Uchiha Itachi attacked us and publicly betrayed the village!"

"What?!"

Konoha Hospital.

Kakashi, whose eye had been gouged out, had already awakened.

"No!! My eye!!"

"Where is my eye?!"

Kakashi was utterly terrified. It had been Obito's final gift to him, yet now it was gone.

Everyone he had loved in this world was already dead, and now even this last memento was gone.

Kakashi was on the verge of breaking down.

The Medical Ninja and the Anbu waiting nearby hurriedly pinned him down.

Once Kakashi had calmed down, they began explaining what had happened yesterday.

Kakashi had never expected so much to have happened while he was unconscious.

In other words, the Uchiha Clan and Konoha were now in a state of rupture, and they might even end up fighting Konoha later.

Even though Obito had given him the Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan still had the right to take the eye back.

Because that eye had first belonged to the Uchiha Clan, then to Obito, and only lastly to Kakashi.

Danzo's Root had clashed with the Uchiha Clan like this.

There was simply no way for Kakashi to retrieve Obito's eye.

Because of that, he broke down even more.

Hokage's Office.

"Itachi killed eight people, then defected from the village!?"

The Third Hokage said in disbelief.

An Anbu answered, "Yes. Itachi said you no longer needed to think up a foolproof plan. He defected from the village."

The Third Hokage's expression darkened upon hearing the Anbu's report.

Itachi had indeed awakened from the previous brainwashing.

It was normal for the Third Hokage's political brainwashing to be broken, but Itachi had come to his senses in just one night.

That final remark had made all his plans come to nothing; it was clearly mocking him.

The Third Hokage paused. "What about the rest of the Uchiha Clan?"

"Reporting to Hokage-sama, the Uchiha civilians are still going about as usual."

"Some combat personnel have left the village, but their numbers and destination have not been confirmed."

The people Itachi had taken with him were all elites and had largely concealed themselves, so even the Anbu had not seen them clearly.

At that moment, there was a knock at the door, and another Anbu entered.

"Third Hokage-sama, Kakashi has awakened. He wishes to see you."

The Third Hokage smoked as he pondered. Hearing this, he gave a slight nod. "Tell him to rest first. I'll go see him later."

"Yes!"

"You may all leave."

"Yes!"

After the Anbu left the office, the Third Hokage spoke to the empty office. "Call them back."

A voice replied, "Clan Head Lord, it will be difficult to conceal such a large number of people."

The Third Hokage slowly exhaled a puff of smoke. "Jiraiya will arrive tomorrow night. There won't be a fight for the time being. Have the clan members enter in batches."

"Will five hundred be enough?" A figure vaguely appeared beside the office bookshelf.

After all, too many people would be difficult to hide. Unless necessary, Sarutobi Hiruzen did not want Konoha's other Ninja Clans to know he possessed such a force.

Although Sarutobi Hiruzen wanted to continue concealing his strength, he also knew clearly that the Uchiha Clan and the village could start fighting at any moment.

If the other Ninja Clans stood by and did nothing, five hundred members of the Sarutobi Clan would not be enough to suppress the situation.

"Call them all back." Sarutobi Hiruzen looked somewhat troubled.

The strength he had hidden so well for so many years was about to be exposed, leaving him in a very passive position.

That figure also knew Konoha was in a critical situation. There was no other choice.

"Clan Head Lord, should we call Asuma back?"

The Third Hokage slowly took a drag from his cigarette. The smoke he exhaled covered his face, concealing his expression.

"After his big brother died, Asuma became somewhat defiant."

"His thinking is too naive. Let him temper himself at the Daimyo's Mansion."

"He can't help here. Don't worry about the Land of Lightning mission for now. Stay in Konoha recently."

"I understand. I'll make the arrangements."

Konoha Hospital.

"How is your recovery, Kakashi?"

The Third Hokage stood with his hands behind his back. It was as though yesterday's conflict with the Uchiha Clan had never happened, and he appeared calm and composed.

"Third Hokage-sama, I'm already fine, but my Sharingan..."

The Third Hokage waved a hand, signaling Kakashi that there was no need to continue.

"The key to this matter lies with Danzo, but he was severely injured by Itachi's genjutsu. Whether he can even wake up remains unknown."

"Anbu just reported that Itachi has openly defected from the village."

"As for the Sharingan, you should prepare yourself."

Kakashi looked somewhat dazed. In that case, it was very likely that Obito's eye would never be recovered.

The Third Hokage knew full well how much Kakashi valued that eye.

He changed the subject. "The Uchiha hold quite a grudge against me, but that Sharingan was, after all, a gift from Obito to you."

"If you have a chance to meet the Uchiha later, you can gauge their attitude."