Enslaving Uchiha Izumi

A series of knocks came from the door, leaving Uchiha Shūichi slightly puzzled.

At that moment, Uchiha Shūichi had already returned to Konoha Village and was at home.

As mentioned earlier, even within the Uchiha Clan's already remote district, Uchiha Shūichi lived in its most secluded, outlying corner.

Uchiha Shūichi usually kept to himself in the Uchiha Clan. On top of that, because he had to maintain his disguise, he was cold toward most of the Uchiha. So even though he was considered a prodigy of the clan, almost no one associated with him.

In fact, even Uchiha Shisui, the Uchiha Clan's strongest ninja, and Uchiha Itachi, the son of the clan head, faced plenty of cold shoulders and rejection within the clan.

Uchiha Shūichi was less talented than Uchiha Shisui and lower in status than Uchiha Itachi, so his standing within the Uchiha Clan went without saying.

As for Konoha... the village's higher-ups treated Uchiha Shūichi as a pawn too, and a backup pawn ranked behind Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi.

Whenever the village had a covert mission, it usually went to Uchiha Shisui or Uchiha Itachi. They didn't have much contact with Uchiha Shūichi.

Now, both of Uchiha Shūichi's "close friends," Uchiha Shisui and Uchiha Itachi, had become experimental subjects in Orochimaru's hands. He couldn't imagine who else might come knocking.

When he opened the door, Uchiha Shūichi paused. A pretty Uchiha girl stood outside. She looked worried, and when she saw him, she seemed at a loss.

"You're... Uchiha Izumi?"

Uchiha Shūichi searched his memory for a moment before recalling the girl's name.

Uchiha Izumi, Uchiha Itachi's rumored girlfriend in the original story. Later, she died at Uchiha Itachi's hands on the night of the massacre.

In the original manga, aside from his parents, his younger brother, and Uchiha Shisui, she was probably the Uchiha closest to Uchiha Itachi.

However, this Uchiha girl also had a rather distant relationship with the clan.

She wasn't a pure-blooded Uchiha. Her mother was a commoner from the Uchiha Clan, and her father was an ordinary ninja. Normally, she would no longer have been considered part of the clan.

Later, during the Nine-Tails Night, Uchiha Izumi lost her father and awakened the Sharingan. Only then did the Uchiha Clan take her back, more or less by force. For that reason, she wasn't particularly close to the clan.

"Is there something you need, Miss Izumi?"

Uchiha Shūichi asked flatly. Though they were both outsiders within the Uchiha Clan, their circumstances were different, and they had almost never interacted.

Uchiha Izumi looked a little nervous. She took a couple of deep breaths before asking hesitantly:

"Jonin Shūichi, do you know what's happening with Itachi?"

Uchiha Shūichi's expression turned slightly impatient.

"Chunin Uchiha Izumi, you should know that Uchiha Itachi joined the Anbu."

The identities of Anbu ninja were normally kept secret, but the Uchiha Clan was a special case. Almost everyone knew Uchiha Itachi's status.

"I... I know Itachi joined the Anbu, but..."

Uchiha Izumi grew even more nervous. Though she was an elite ninja of the Uchiha Clan, she stumbled over her words.

"Don't go asking around about other ninja's intelligence. I'm sure you learned that in your first lesson at the Ninja Academy! Anbu intelligence is especially classified—even more than top secret."

"If you ask around carelessly, you could be branded a spy and sent straight to the Intelligence Division!"

Uchiha Izumi took a deep breath. Her previously pale face gradually grew calm, and she gritted her teeth as she spoke:

"Enough! A while ago, I saw Uchiha Itachi come in here... One of his eyes was already blind then! How could he possibly be going on missions now?"

Hearing the near-hysterical edge in Uchiha Izumi's voice, Uchiha Shūichi lowered his gaze, his tone tinged with helplessness.

"So you noticed! That Uchiha Itachi really is hopelessly careless!"

Normally, with Uchiha Itachi's abilities, he wouldn't have let anyone notice anything was wrong.

But at the time, Uchiha Itachi's mind had been a complete mess. On top of that, he had lost sight in one eye. Just making it to Uchiha Shūichi's home had taken all he had.

It was only natural that, by chance, the Uchiha girl who had always cared about him noticed something was wrong.

When Uchiha Shūichi admitted it, Uchiha Izumi's expression immediately brightened. She hurriedly asked:

"Where is Uchiha Itachi now?"

But as soon as she finished speaking, Uchiha Shūichi lifted his head. The three tomoe in his eyes spun and transformed into the bizarre, four-pointed shuriken pattern.

"Kotoamatsukami!"

The immense Mangekyo Dojutsu Power instantly broke through Uchiha Izumi's mental defenses, completely twisting her thoughts and will.

Uchiha Izumi froze for a moment, then her body shuddered. The anxious look on her face vanished, replaced by calm.

"I'm sorry, Lord Shūichi! I was wrong. I shouldn't have pressed you... Uchiha Itachi's business means nothing to me. I was out of line, Lord Shūichi!"

In an instant, Uchiha Izumi's attitude had completely changed. Her face was full of respect, and she looked at Uchiha Shūichi with complete obedience.

Uchiha Izumi now belonged entirely to Uchiha Shūichi. She wouldn't resist anything he did to her.

However, Uchiha Shūichi had no lecherous intentions. Uchiha Izumi was about the same age as Uchiha Itachi, just thirteen or fourteen. He wasn't about to commit a crime.

"All right, stop apologizing. By the way, have you told anyone else about Uchiha Itachi?"

"I haven't told anyone. At the time, I suspected Uchiha Itachi might have gotten into trouble, so I didn't dare tell anyone."

"If I hadn't gone so long without seeing Uchiha Itachi, and if the food you bought had only been enough for one person, I wouldn't have grown suspicious and come here to question you, sir."

"I see. It's best that the news hasn't gotten out."

Uchiha Shūichi nodded, relieved, then carefully studied Uchiha Izumi.

Despite her impure bloodline, this girl had awakened the Sharingan at an early age and trained it to the Three Tomoe stage. In terms of talent, she was only a little behind Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Shisui. His Kotoamatsukami hadn't gone to waste.