"Hokage-sama, esteemed Advisors, what are your orders?"
Uchiha Itachi arrived at the Hokage's Office and knelt on one knee to receive his orders.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was very pleased by Uchiha Itachi's customary respectfulness, his face full of kindly warmth.
"Itachi, you've worked hard. No need to be so formal. I summoned you here because of an urgent matter. Just now, the Root Base was infiltrated. Many Anbu comrades were killed, important secrets were stolen, along with a large amount of supplies. The attacker was the Uchiha Madara you reported last time."
The usually expressionless Uchiha Itachi was startled to hear that the one who had attacked Root was Masked Man Uchiha Madara, but he quickly regained his composure.
"I understand, Hokage-sama. Do you need me to lure him out? I will complete the mission."
Seeing how perceptive Uchiha Itachi was, Shimura Danzō stepped forward.
"Next, you will assist this old man in capturing that outrageously bold impostor. The time has been set for tomorrow night."
The next day soon arrived. Minagawa Uchiha had not slept all night, spending the entire time training in the Dream Space, intending to seize the time and master the strength he now possessed. Early that morning, his chakra was no longer sufficient to maintain the Dream Space, so he prepared to come out, eat something, and adjust his condition.
The moment he emerged, he received intelligence from the Spore Technique placed on Shimura Danzō and learned what had happened at the Hokage Building.
"Tonight, huh? Heh, as expected, Sarutobi Hiruzen will also deploy the Anbu. Looks like there'll be quite a show tonight. Sadly, I won't be able to take part in such a wonderful performance!"
"Heh, Uchiha Itachi really is fiercely loyal to Konoha. What a pity. You're also an Uchiha, yet no matter how much you do, you'll never earn their trust. Don't you find this obvious ploy of making the tiger devour the wolf utterly pathetic?!"
In this grand show he had personally directed, Minagawa Uchiha saw through the roles played by every side at a glance. As he sneered inwardly, he could not help feeling some frustration at Uchiha Itachi's refusal to fight for himself.
"White Zetsu's Spore Technique really is useful. I remember Yamato of the Wood Style using a similar method at Tenchi Bridge. The spore on Shimura Danzō was created before I obtained the complete power of Wood Style, so the intelligence it sent back was not very detailed."
"Still, once the Spore Technique is infused with the complete power of Wood Style, its information-gathering ability should greatly improve. It will definitely bring me surprises in the future."
Minagawa Uchiha did not dwell on it further. After hurriedly finishing breakfast, he went out. He needed to spread the enhanced Spore Technique around the Uchiha Clan Compound, to prevent the Konoha High Command from panicking and launching the Night of the Uchiha Clan Downfall ahead of schedule if they lost to Obito Uchiha and could no longer control the situation.
Time flowed like water, and before long, night had arrived.
Cold moonlight spilled across mottled tree shadows. Uchiha Itachi stood silently atop a huge boulder with his eyes closed. During the day, he had already used a special method of communication to notify the Masked Man and arrange to meet here tonight.
As the appointed time drew near, ripples suddenly spread eerily through the empty air not far behind Uchiha Itachi, and a masked figure appeared along with them.
"Uchiha Itachi, did you arrange this meeting at this hour because you've decided to make your move early?"
The Masked Man did not waste words and asked directly, though his tone carried a hint of mockery.
"Madara, you violated our agreement."
Uchiha Itachi instantly opened his eyes, his scarlet Mangekyō Sharingan staring coldly at the Masked Man.
"Violated our agreement? Heh heh, the current situation doesn't look like I'm the one who broke our agreement!"
The Masked Man paid no heed to the threat in Uchiha Itachi's words. He continued staring directly into the other man's Mangekyō Sharingan without evading, the amusement in his eyes entirely undisguised.
Seeing the Masked Man act this way, Uchiha Itachi instantly understood that he had likely seen through this ambush long ago. He simply had absolute confidence in his strength and did not care.
That was only natural. In Obito Uchiha's view, after Konoha lost the Fourth Hokage, Namikaze Minato, there was no one left capable of threatening him. The fact that he could enter and leave Konoha at will without ever being discovered was proof enough.
However, Uchiha Itachi was someone he thought highly of. He had even helped him awaken his Sharingan, and had watched over him all the way until he awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. Naturally, he did not want to casually discard a pawn he had cultivated with his own hands. Therefore, even knowing this was a trap, he had still come to ease the relationship between the two sides.
"Tsukuyomi!"
Uchiha Itachi had no intention of responding. He immediately unleashed his Dojutsu, and Obito Uchiha offered no resistance, allowing himself to be pulled directly into Tsukuyomi Space.
At the very moment Uchiha Itachi unleashed Tsukuyomi, a visible barrier immediately rose around the perimeter, instantly sealing off the entire area.
"Did it work?"
As the barrier was successfully deployed, Shimura Danzō and Sarutobi Hiruzen appeared outside it. Inside, masked Anbu members stood packed together. Clearly, just as with Uchiha Shisui back then, Uchiha Itachi had not concealed anything about his Dojutsu, allowing for such seamless coordination.
Yet the moment Shimura Danzō finished speaking, the Masked Man inside the barrier suddenly shuddered. He let out a low groan and staggered back a step as though severely wounded, his body swaying as if about to collapse.
No orders were needed. The Anbu inside the barrier launched an attack at the unsteady Masked Man in unison, while Uchiha Itachi had already formed his hand seals.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"
"..."
In an instant, countless ninja tools and ninjutsu densely engulfed the Masked Man's figure.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Explosions thundered throughout the barrier. Once the smoke and dust dispersed, a crater more than ten meters wide had appeared where the attacks had landed.
However, when Sarutobi Hiruzen and the others focused their eyes on it, the Masked Man was standing at the edge of the crater. Not a single wound marked his body, and even his clothes were completely undamaged. He looked exactly as he had when he first appeared. Clearly, his earlier appearance of suffering severe injuries had merely been him toying with them.
"My, my, what a novel welcome ceremony this is, everyone from Konoha."
The Masked Man spread his hands in complete indifference, his mocking words following close behind.
At that moment, everyone on Konoha's side, whether leaders such as Sarutobi Hiruzen and Shimura Danzō or the other Anbu members, felt an unprecedented fury. They wanted nothing more than to bombard him with another wave of ninjutsu.
But recalling the bizarre scene from before, it was clear that their attacks had been completely ineffective. Before understanding the reason, they could only hold back rather than humiliate themselves again.
Before you continue