Death

"Come with me." Shuichi threw down his game console, stood up, pointed outside, and said, "Let's try out the specific changes right away and go practice in the training ground."

Itachi was indeed quite curious about his Sharingan. Although Shisui and Fugaku had told him a lot about how to use it beforehand, he could only master it by trying it out himself.

The two came to the courtyard and faced each other, with Bai watching from the side.

Itachi kept his eyes fixed on Shuichi's body with his single Tomoe, and could vaguely sense the flow of chakra, but he couldn't see it very clearly.

"So? Do you know what methods I'm planning to use?" Shuichi asked.

Itachi thought for a moment and replied, "Not yet. I can't see through the opponent's chakra flow. I can only observe whether they're about to use Ninjutsu, and I can roughly tell the amount..."

Shuichi understood. Simply put, it means being able to see the blue bar change, but the single Tomoe's insight into chakra is indeed quite limited.

"Try it for Dynamic Vision."

Itachi simply made a starting gesture, and the next moment he rushed in front of Shuichi and launched an attack. The two exchanged blows, leaving countless afterimages, and the sounds of their collisions were incessant.

"Not bad, the improvement in close Taijutsu is immediate." Shuichi knew that his disciple was a quiet type, so he took the initiative to analyze the situation for him during the fight.

Next, Itachi took out his short sword and slashed at Shuichi. As his proficiency in using the Sharingan increased, his limits were quickly tested.

Ding ding ding--

He deliberately stepped back to create some distance, Shuichi sheathed his sword and stopped, laughing, "That's enough for today's practice. You're lucky, kid."

"I just came up with some new research results and you suddenly had an eye on things; it's a good opportunity to test how effective they are."

"..."

Itachi watched silently Shuichi ran into the room and took out bags of various items, then revealed a syringe filled with a clear solution in his hand. His expression didn't look like that of a good person.

"This injection will guarantee you'll be on a rampage towards godlike status. Don't worry, why would I ever harm you?"

Shuichi quickly beckoned him over and injected it into Itachi's left and right hands respectively, then his back and abdomen, until the entire vial of liquid was used up.

This stuff is really good; it's the First Hokage Cell Transplant Serum that Shuichi spent a lot of time developing.

Although it is much weaker than direct flesh transplantation, it is safer, more reliable, and has no side effects.

Shuichi only applied this to Itachi after he had personally tested it.

According to his assessment, its effect was very similar to the unknown substance that Kabuto injected into Sasuke.

This is absolutely something Danzo has always dreamed of!

Shuichi originally thought that completing this technical task would be quite difficult, but he succeeded only after Tsunade gifted him the research results on White Zetsu Cells, combined with the data left by Orochimaru and Shuichi's own years of experimental experience.

"Remember to eat well when you go home recently. Your constitution will gradually improve, so make sure you get enough nutrition. Otherwise, a deficiency in your body can lead to chronic health problems..."

Swish!

Before Shuichi could finish speaking, a figure rushed into his Villa.

The Anbu would only issue such a notification in a relatively urgent or unexpected situation, so it seems something serious has happened.

"Lord Shuichi, the Third Lord requests your immediate visit to the Anbu Base!"

"I understand." Shuichi regained his serious expression and instructed Itachi, "I don't know if it's because of a mission, but if I'm not back for a while, please look after Shiro after graduation."

"No problem, teacher."

After Shuichi left, Itachi spent the entire afternoon training with his junior brother, and only returned to the Uchiha Compound alone when it was almost lunchtime.

"Father, today... my Sharingan has awakened!"

At the dinner table, the family of four ate their meal in silence, displaying impeccable manners and aristocratic upbringing.

While Mikoto was clearing away the dishes, Itachi promptly informed Uchiha Fugaku of the news.

"Oh? Really?" Upon hearing this, the other three looked over in surprise.

Fugaku's serious expression completely relaxed, and a rare smile appeared on his lips. Mikoto's eyes narrowed into crescent shapes, and little Sasuke excitedly jumped onto his brother's back.

"As expected of my son, what exactly was the process of opening his eyes?"

Fugaku's inner joy was far greater than it appeared on the surface. To awaken one's Sharingan at just over ten years old was to be considered a top-tier genius in the entire history of the Uchiha.

He was naturally quite curious about this, and these details would certainly be recorded in the family documents for future generations to refer to.

"... I... awakened my Sharingan during extreme training with my teacher..." Itachi stammered, "But he said the main reason was that my physical abilities and willpower had been honed to perfection."

He was too embarrassed to tell the truth about his experience of gaining insight through playing games, so he could only say that Shuichi disguised himself as an assassin to test him, and he only realized his true potential when faced with a life-or-death situation.

"Really? Your situation isn't common, but there are a few recorded cases."

Fugaku raised an eyebrow, not suspecting his son of lying. Judging from Itachi's expression, he didn't seem to be worried about losing a teammate, and there was no need to hide his experience of awakening his Sharingan.

While the family atmosphere was harmonious, Fugaku, as the father, had more on his mind. His gaze unconsciously drifted to Sasuke a few times. "Itachi experienced a significant mental fluctuation at the brink of death."

According to clan records, brothers are very similar, so this method of stimulation might...

Sasuke was all smiles, suddenly felt a chill, as if he sensed that someone had ill intentions towards him, but the feeling vanished immediately.

Completely unaware that his father was planning to assassinate him, he quickly put the matter out of his mind. "I guess I haven't been sleeping well these past few nights. Sigh, my brother is amazing. I must train harder and try to surpass him when I get to the Ninja Academy..."

Shuichi followed the Anbu who was leading the way, and soon they entered the Anbu Base.

The atmosphere in the center of the arena was somewhat heavy. Besides the Third Hokage, there were two other teams waiting silently.

"What happened?" Shuichi asked as he approached.

Although his expression remained unchanged, he sensed that the Third Hokage's mood was slightly different than before. His chakra seemed to be obscured by dark clouds, and it would be difficult to detect unless one's perception was extremely strong.

Upon his arrival, the Third Hokage immediately said, "Urgent mission! Breaking news: the Land of Forests, with which we maintained good relations, has completely betrayed us. Our hidden Anbu members are being besieged by a large number of ninjas. You will lead a team to provide immediate support."

Shuichi remained expressionless, realizing that asking about the details at this moment might be inappropriate, so he immediately replied, "Yes! Both teams, follow me!"

Swish Swish Swish--

Without further ado, several figures quickly passed through the underground passage and left the village, heading towards the border region between the Land of Fire and the Land of Rivers.

Shuichi took the lead and ran ahead. This speed was just so-so for him. He barely managed to use 30% of his ability. He only slowed down to take care of the team members behind him.

The two teams of Anbu behind remained silent. They had already given it their all, but no matter how fast they rushed, it would still take more than a day to reach the Land of Rivers, and their fighting strength would definitely be diminished.

It was clear that Lord Purple Aurora's strength was even more unfathomable than in previous years. The Third Hokage guard, codenamed "Elephant," looked to the side and exchanged a glance with the captain of another team, "Fox."

Seeing the latter nod, Xiang immediately spoke up, "Lord Shuichi, may I have a word to say?"

"Oh? What is it?" Shuichi didn't want to waste his energy by turning on the full-view camera, so he naturally didn't see their little actions. He was surprised to hear them speak.

"We would like to request that you make your journey to the Land of Forests as soon as possible, Third Lord... As the Hokage of the village, there are some things that cannot be said on the spot."

Speaking while running at full speed can easily disrupt one's breathing, but Xiang didn't care about that. He said urgently, "The Homura Squad is the main force responsible for long-term surveillance of many small countries in the west, so... you can leave us behind and go ahead. Hopefully, you'll make it in time..."

Shuichi suddenly realized that the ANBU member codenamed Anbu was one of the Third Hokage's right-hand men, the latter's eldest son. He had met him several times, but couldn't say he was very familiar with him.

Sarutobi Hiruzen inherited the Hokage Position from the Senju Clan, and countless eyes in the village are watching his every move. If he were to abuse his power for personal gain, it would certainly cause dissatisfaction among many people.

Therefore, Yan has always kept a low profile and carried out missions as a member of the Anbu.

The reason why Xiang and the others discussed letting Shuichi leave was because they felt sorry for the Third Hokage, who was too old to withstand any more setbacks.

Having lost his wife Biwako a few years ago, the birth of his grandson Konohamaru last year was good news. But if he were to lose his father at just one year old, it would be a huge blow to the entire Sarutobi.

"I see... then I'll be going now!" Shuichi didn't refuse their request; he wanted to finish the mission as soon as possible anyway.

The ninjas from the same village will naturally do their best to rescue them. As for the final outcome, they can only do their best and leave the rest to fate. If the other party can hold on, there is still hope.

"You should know the code words; I'll leave a mark..."

After a brief explanation, in the eyes of Xiang and the others, Shuichi suddenly shot off at a terrifying speed, as if they hadn't actually moved at all.

The person in front merely stomped their feet twice, their silhouette completely obscured, becoming just a tiny black dot rapidly shrinking before disappearing entirely after a few breaths...

In a relatively prosperous area of Land of Forests, or rather, the Land of Rivers, four people were fleeing rapidly through a dense forest.

More accurately, it was actually two people carrying two others on their backs as they ran. Judging from their masks and clothing, it was a full-strength Konoha Squad.

"Sae, Shanta might still be salvageable, but Captain En..." An Anbu glanced at the ninja on his blond teammate's back.

The blood flowing from the wound on his chest stained his back, and he was already lifeless. Coupled with the jolting caused by the violent running, there was probably no hope of saving him.

"Damn it, even so, I don't want to abandon the captain!" Sae gasped through gritted teeth, "That group behind us is hot on our heels, looks like they're trying to wear us down. Will reinforcements from the village arrive?"

"..." The members of the Anbu couldn't answer. Given the suddenness of this matter, they would have to wait at least half a day before they had a chance.

However, the remaining two members of the team were in poor condition, and with the added burden, they ran even slower, making it impossible for the opponents to let them go.

Considering the behavior of ninjas... especially those in the Anbu, their actions were actually quite foolish.

However, they were all young people under twenty years old, recruited into the Anbu as fresh blood after the Third Great Ninja War. They were essentially trained by En, and had a deep bond with each other.

Moreover, it's unclear when it started, perhaps after the Konoha's White Fang, but the practice of not abandoning comrades has gained increasing acceptance among ninjas.

After the war, the number of grueling missions decreased significantly, and countries actively sought to recuperate and avoid further conflict.

Such a sudden and dramatic change was indeed unpredictable for these passionate young people.

Whoosh--

The Anbu team rushed out of the forest, but to their despair, they found themselves in a dead end; the enemy knew far more about the surrounding environment than they did.

They ran until they reached the edge of a cliff, below which lay a bottomless valley with an exceptionally steep slope.

Normally, a person can slowly walk using chakra, but now the pursuers are about to arrive, and when countless stones and ninja tools come crashing down, he will definitely be finished.

"Sae, you're faster than me and you have intelligence too, hurry up and try to leave!" the Anbu member shouted, half-bowing, "We can't let everyone's sacrifices be in vain..."

Swish Swish Swish--

Unfortunately, a large number of figures rushed out of the forest, roughly fourteen or fifteen in total.

The two leading ninjas, their faces cold and their killing intent palpable, charged forward with their men without uttering any threats.

With a wave of his hand, Fire Release, Water Release, and even more ninja tools surged towards the Konoha Squad, leaving them with no angle to dodge in this terrain...

Ice Release: Ice Crystal Wall!

A large bird flew swiftly from the distant horizon, and a triangular ice block several meters high fell from the sky, crashing into the ground with a loud thud, blocking the path of the Anbu squad.

All attacks grazed the central edge of the Ice Wall and were deflected to the sides by the laws of physics. The Ice Wall showed almost no cracks, demonstrating its astonishing defensive power.

"What? Ice?"