Will the Third Hokage really trust Uchiha?

"Pfft!"

A spray of blood splashed everywhere, drenching the Root ninja's head and face.

But his eyes were wide with panic, devoid of any joy at completing the mission.

His short sword felt like it had struck thick cowhide; the move that should have cut through in an instant was stuck midway.

He abruptly looked up, only to see the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had woken up at some unknown point. A fiery red Chakra was emanating from him, churning and surging like boiling lava. Three long energy tails thrashed wildly behind him, cracking the ground wherever they passed and sending debris flying.

Their eyes met. He only saw a pair of brutal, beastly eyes.

There was no human emotion in those vertical pupils, only the most primal desire to kill.

The moment he was stared at, the Root ninja felt like prey locked onto by a natural predator, his blood threatening to freeze.

This is bad!

The Nine-Tails Jinchuriki has lost control!

"Die!"

He shouted and desperately pressed his body down, shoving the short sword downward with all his might.

But the Nine-Tails Chakra on Naruto acted like a solid shield, firmly blocking his short sword. No matter how much force he applied, it didn't budge.

The wound on his neck, which had been cut open, was now writhing with newly grown flesh, emitting wisps of white smoke, and healing in an instant.

"Roar!"

Naruto roared to the sky and swung his small hand forward. A giant fox-shaped energy claw attached itself to his arm, tearing through the air with a sharp ripping sound, moving so fast it left only a red afterimage.

The Root ninja didn't even have time to react before the fox claw pierced his heart.

A blood-red heart was held in the fox claw, still beating slightly. After a brief display, the claw tightened its grip.

With a "splat," blood splashed everywhere, covering Naruto's face and then sliding down his Chakra cloak, pooling on the ground.

"Awooo..." Smelling the familiar scent of blood, the Nine-Tails inside Naruto became excited and let out a wild roar to the sky.

The roar was deafening, carrying the unique pressure of an ancient Tailed Beast. The surrounding trees shook violently under the sonic impact, their leaves falling like rain.

But after roaring, it lowered its head and saw a pair of familiar blood-red eyes staring coldly at it.

The Mangekyo pattern in those Sharingan eyes was slowly rotating, like an abyss threatening to suck in its consciousness, making it feel that terrifying oppressive force etched into its memory once more.

"Damn Uchiha!!!"

The poor Nine-Tails only managed to curse before its vision blurred, and it found itself back in its familiar cage, not even having time to pounce and fight.

"Ah... another Uchiha!!!"

Experiencing the powerlessness of facing the Sharingan again, and the contempt and disdain reflected in those eyes, the Nine-Tails became enraged and, losing its mind, frantically lunged at the cage door, biting and clawing.

But the sealing jutsu emitted a blinding red light, nullifying all its attacks, leaving only its futile roars echoing in its consciousness space.

Outside, Naruto, unprotected by the Nine-Tails Chakra, was greatly weakened. His body swayed, and he fell backward, losing consciousness.

Uchiha An nodded in satisfaction, watching the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, who had been instantly defeated.

With these eyes as an aid, collecting the Ten-Tails in the future should be much easier.

He had known before that his clan's Sharingan had a natural counter to Tailed Beasts, but he had never actually put it into practice. Now, with this small test, he knew it lived up to its reputation.

He turned his head and looked at Yamanaka Fu, who had fallen back to the ground due to the backlash, and taunted him:

"Hey, Yamanaka Fu, your plan was really good. It saved me a lot of time."

"Without your help, I think killing all six of you would have been quite a hassle!"

His voice was filled with cold sarcasm, his Sharingan flashing an eerie light in the shadows, as if admiring his prey's final struggles.

The surrounding flames had not yet completely died down, casting his figure like an envoy from hell.

However, Yamanaka Fu was no longer able to respond to his words.

Even an elite Jonin like Yamanaka Fu couldn't withstand the repeated backlash of secret techniques.

He now lay on the ground, the moonlight illuminating his pale face. His once sharp eyes were beginning to glaze over.

His body twitched uncontrollably, blood continuously pouring from his seven orifices. He was barely breathing and not far from death.

But Uchiha An still hadn't retracted his Susanoo. He swung his arm from a distance, striking down at Yamanaka Fu on the ground. At the same time, his Sharingan intently watched Yamanaka Fu's every move, fearing he might suddenly pull off a forbidden jutsu like the "Reaper Death Seal" and take him down with him.

"Itachi, you're really cautious!"

Seeing that "Uchiha Itachi" wasn't falling for it, Yamanaka Fu couldn't help but sigh, his heart sinking.

His specialty was actually the Body and Mind Transformation Puppet Curse Seal Technique, using puppets to secretly assassinate people. Because the jutsu was concealed, it often had a "first encounter kill" effect on enemies from other villages, making it quite powerful.

But facing someone from the same village like "Uchiha Itachi," who knew him inside and out, he didn't even get a chance to use it before suffering a crushing defeat.

It could only be said that in battles between ninja, intelligence was always paramount.

As a Root ninja, he naturally didn't fear death, but he regretted not being able to complete his mission.

"I'm sorry, Lord Danzo, I can no longer follow you."

Yamanaka Fu's eyes flashed with a resolute light as his ninja attire suddenly began to emit a blinding red glow.

That was the light of Explosive Tags!

With a flash of fire, his body rapidly expanded, turning into a massive fireball in an instant.

"Boom!"

The light instantly illuminated the entire night sky, and the shockwave from the explosion swept outwards, tearing up the ground.

The scorching heatwave instantly carbonized the surrounding trees, and gravel scattered like a torrential rain.

Even the giant palm of the Susanoo was repelled by the power of the explosion, failing to achieve its objective.

A few breaths later, the explosion's power subsided, leaving only a large crater. Yamanaka Fu was nowhere to be found, not even his bones.

"Tch! Just as expected from Root!"

Uchiha An scanned the area, confirming Yamanaka Fu was dead and not a trick like the Substitution Technique, before deactivating the Susanoo's defense.

He searched the area carefully again but found no method Root used to transmit information.

The methods for transmitting information in the ninja world were too numerous; even within the same village, he couldn't know everyone's methods completely.

Especially Root, who always acted in secrecy, making information transmission naturally a top priority.

Given Root's habits, the information should have already been sent back to the village by now, right?

Was it through insects, or ninja beasts?

Whatever!

As long as the information got back.

He wondered who the next wave of pursuers would be.

Come on, the Uchiha Clan's ninjutsu, the Uchiha Clan's genjutsu, the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan, the Uchiha Clan's Mangekyo, and on top of that, the Uchiha Clan's Susanoo. Who can say I'm not Uchiha Itachi!

This was information bought with six lives. Who would dare not believe it?

Now, Third Hokage, let me see if you truly trust another Uchiha as much as you say!

Uchiha An briefly cleaned up the battlefield, then, carrying the unconscious Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, continued his journey towards the Land of Rain.