Blade Forest

A flock of crows suddenly dove toward Ye Wuyue. Once they reached him, they formed into a figure...

A young man wearing a Konoha forehead protector appeared before Ye Wuyue. Tear troughs ran beneath his eyes, and three tomoe spun in his pupils as killing intent radiated from his entire body.

Brother...

Ye Wuyue recognized him instantly. Emotion and surprise flooded his heart, but he was too exhausted to speak.

"Water Release: Water Wall!"

A wall of water rose up, blocking eight kunai tied with explosive tags. Explosions rang out, yet Ye Wuyue was completely unharmed.

In the final moment before he lost consciousness, Ye Wuyue heard a sentence.

"Sorry, Sasuke. I came too late."

Ye Wuyue's exhausted body finally gave out, and he fell unconscious. Fire-Burning City Walls could no longer be maintained either, dissolving into spirit particles that scattered back into heaven and earth. Only five Uchiha remained inside.

The moment Setsuna saw Uchiha Itachi, he chose to flee, abandoning his subordinates. However, another Itachi appeared before him and charged straight at him.

Clone Great Explosion!

An explosion rang out, blowing off one of Uchiha Setsuna's arms. Yet he did not dare look back, because he knew how terrifying Itachi's genjutsu was. Even with the same Three-Tomoe Sharingan, there was a high chance he would fall for it.

After seeing Uchiha Setsuna flee, Itachi did not continue pursuing him. Getting Sasuke somewhere safe was the priority now. However... the remaining people would not be so lucky.

Genjutsu: Shiranui!

Itachi's gaze fell upon Setsuna's remaining subordinates. The next moment, the five Uchiha's eyes turned vacant. They froze in place, unable to move, while cold sweat continuously poured from their bodies as though they were enduring immense agony.

A visual genjutsu cast through the Sharingan, it allowed enemies to experience the pain of their bodies being burned by flames within an illusion.

Afterward, Itachi learned the full sequence of events and the identities of everyone involved.

"You can die now," Itachi murmured coldly.

The five Uchiha clansmen before him picked up their own kunai with vacant eyes and slowly slit their own throats.

To Itachi, Sasuke was his one untouchable weakness. Anyone who touched him had to die. He was the very image of an overprotective brother.

After dealing with those people, Itachi picked up Sasuke and hurried home. He had already checked Sasuke's body and found that he had merely fainted from excessive exhaustion.

Itachi had appeared there because he had just returned from a mission outside the village. After hearing that Sasuke had entered the Ninja Academy that day, he had wanted to pick him up and bring him home. He had never expected to encounter something like this.

Even now, lingering fear remained in his heart. If he had arrived any later, he and his younger brother might have been separated by life and death. Itachi looked down at Sasuke in his arms, his heart full of pain...

That evening.

Uchiha Itachi and Mikoto stood watch beside Sasuke's bed. He had yet to wake up. After receiving the news yesterday, Fugaku had immediately taken men to search for Uchiha Setsuna. The tense atmosphere had made most Uchiha sense that something major was about to happen.

"Sasuke, Sasuke."

Mikoto brought over a bowl of porridge and placed it on the table beside the bed. She gently shook Sasuke's body a few times, trying to wake him so he could eat something, but there was still no sign of him waking.

Sasuke had clearly only fallen unconscious from physical exhaustion. Why had he still not awakened?

Itachi was puzzled, and the worry in his heart only grew stronger. Mikoto felt the same.

Creak!

The door was pushed open, and Fugaku entered with his anger suppressed. The moment he saw Sasuke on the bed, his eyes filled with concern.

"How is Sasuke?" Fugaku asked.

Itachi shook his head.

"He still hasn't woken up. The clan's medical ninja have already examined him and said it's only physical exhaustion. But Sasuke still hasn't regained consciousness," Itachi replied.

"And your side, Father?" Itachi asked.

"That bastard has defected, and he took more than fifty Uchiha clansmen with him," Fugaku said through gritted teeth.

When he had led people to Setsuna's home, Setsuna was already gone. According to people nearby who had seen him, he had taken more than fifty Uchiha clansmen toward the outskirts of Konoha.

Fugaku had immediately led people after them, but they had failed to catch up.

He now hated Uchiha Setsuna to the bone, not only because Setsuna had tried to assassinate his son, but also because of the consequences this act would bring. The Uchiha Clan had only just managed to strengthen their ties with the village. After members of other clans joined the Konoha Military Police Force, the villagers' criticism of the Uchiha Clan had noticeably decreased.

Now, once news of Uchiha Setsuna's defection spread through the village, the Uchiha Clan would once again become a target of public condemnation. If this was not handled properly, their situation might even become worse than before Minato took office.

"The Konoha higher-ups will definitely summon me over this matter soon. Take care of Sasuke," Fugaku said.

"Mm." Itachi nodded.

"Clan Head, Lord Naruto requests your presence." An honest-looking Uchiha clansman appeared outside the door, kneeling on one knee as he spoke.

"Understood." Fugaku answered and walked out of the room.

Itachi looked at Sasuke lying on the bed, hoping that he would wake soon...

"Wuyue..."

"Wuyue..."

Who... is calling me?

In his haze, Ye Wuyue heard a voice calling out to him. It sounded exceptionally clear and penetrating, and it seemed to belong to a man.

In his daze, Ye Wuyue felt as though some force was pulling his consciousness toward one place.

As some awareness returned, Ye Wuyue was confused. The voice had called out his original name directly rather than his identity in the Naruto World, Sasuke. Moreover, it sounded completely different from the system's voice.

After a while, Ye Wuyue opened his eyes. He then discovered that he was in an unfamiliar space. Before him stood a white forest of metal, with countless white blades several zhang tall pointing straight into the sky.

Where... is this?

Ye Wuyue was utterly stunned by the sight before him, his mouth hanging open.

"Wuyue."

It was that voice again. This time, Ye Wuyue heard it clearly. It was a voice as sharp and penetrating as blades and spears, and its source was directly above him.

Ye Wuyue raised his head. Under the sunlight, someone stood atop the tallest blade in this Blade Forest.

Ye Wuyue narrowed his eyes to inspect him. It was a figure dressed in white robes, but he could not make out anything more clearly.

Then, that figure leaped directly down from the blade, which stood nearly ten zhang high. He was as fast as a sharp sword, or perhaps... an enormously long blade extending at extreme speed.

When the figure was one or two meters above the ground, his speed suddenly slowed. He flipped and touched down lightly, his white robes drifting down around him.

Ye Wuyue finally saw the man clearly. He was an extraordinarily handsome young man with a cold face, long silver-white hair, and a silver blade-shaped mark beside his right eyebrow.

Just as Ye Wuyue was studying the man before him, he suddenly spoke.

"So we finally meet, Ye Wuyue."