Uchiha Who Were Forever Elegant

Early morning. The rain had stopped.

The wind swept through the forest as if it were passing through Konoha's alleyways, stirring the leaves into a rustling chorus. Countless droplets fell from the branches, almost like rain falling once more.

"Whoosh!"

A kunai flew from a concealed spot with a rush of wind, shattering the droplets along its path.

Countless black feathers burst open in front of the kunai, scattering noisily in every direction.

The crows were so densely packed that there wasn't even room to escape. Their countless black wings severely obstructed the middle-aged ninja's vision.

"Clang!"

He drew his sword and easily blocked the incoming kunai. Following its trajectory, he saw a cold face filled with killing intent.

It was the brat who had just been struck by the kunai, then escaped using the Crow Substitution Technique.

A ferocious smile appeared on Yun Tun's honest-looking face.

Years spent gathering intelligence in Konoha had given him a thorough knowledge of information about certain special individuals.

So he easily recognized the boy who had come to kill him.

At least it isn't Uchiha Qing Xuan.

He spoke in a sly tone and pressed down harder on the sword in his hand. His dull eyes took on a crazed, mocking look.

"Otherwise, I'd already be dead! Hmm? What do you think, Uchiha Itachi?"

The extreme madness in his manner made Itachi frown.

His Sharingan was already visible, and he watched the blade pressing against his neck without the slightest trace of panic on his face.

"I hate you people who think you're geniuses!"

As though the strain of years had brought him to the brink of collapse, Yun Tun just wanted to roar and let it all out.

"Why? I just wanted to live a decent life! How many years has it been? I gave them so much confidential information! And what did I get in return? Just because Uchiha Qing Xuan wanted to make a deal with the Raikage, they exposed me without a second thought!"

Madness, ferocity, pain, and twisted emotions writhed across his face, making his honest features look increasingly hideous, until they finally became a mask of bitter anguish.

Yun Tun felt as if he really was going insane.

Perhaps he had gone mad the moment he agreed to become a Kumo spy more than a decade ago.

But even so, nothing had driven him more insane than everything he had suffered yesterday.

The rain-soaked night that seemed as if it would never end, the cold stares of the Konoha comrades who had once been his own, the way the Cloud ninjas had looked at him as if he were discarded trash, and the Third Hokage's disappointed gaze...

Every last thing had been enough to drive a person mad.

He suddenly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes fixed on Itachi's face.

Last night, he had seen that same expression of indifference toward him, as though he and the box in his hands were both lifeless communication tools.

In that child's eyes, he couldn't find even the slightest sense that he was being seen as a person.

In the end, he had even been treated like a gift whose fate could be decided at a moment's notice!

[Let Itachi kill him. Consider it a gift from me to my older brother.]

That was the reason he had been allowed to leave Konoha unharmed, and those words had cut deeply into his heart.

"Uchiha Itachi!"

Yun Tun twisted his face into a smile as sparks flew where his sword clashed against the kunai.

"I hate you! I hate Uchiha Qing Xuan! I hate your Uchiha Clan! I hate all of Konoha!"

He laughed until his voice was hoarse. His superb swordsmanship let his blade slip easily past the kunai, and the sharp edge at its hilt was about to slash the boy's tender neck.

"Black feathers, blood-red eyes. It all comes from that cold, lonely heart."

The emotionless words came from his expressionless mouth.

Yun Tun suddenly froze. He lifted his gaze and met those cold, scarlet eyes.

The next instant,

A blazing inferno engulfed the sword and surged toward him.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Yun Tun stared in terror at Itachi's left hand, which had been hidden in his sleeve. In an instant, the torrent of fire swallowed his entire upper body.

"Boom!"

"Argh! Ugh!"

His scream had barely begun before it was swallowed by the flames.

Itachi landed lightly on the ground and used his right hand to wipe away the lingering flames at the corner of his mouth.

Villains die because they talk too much.

Qing Xuan's words surfaced in his mind once more.

Itachi hadn't told him that he had been there the entire time the previous night, brought along by his father.

When an opponent was on the verge of death, no Uchiha would turn down the chance to say something exceptionally cool.

Qing Xuan was always right, and his father was always telling him to learn from Qing Xuan.

The brief flicker of delight in Itachi's heart, now calm again, made him even more certain of that.

"Now!"

Itachi put away his kunai and turned to look at the enemy, still being harried by the crows, and Tenma, sitting on the ground beside him.

Yuki and Shinoko were standing near the two missing-nin, apparently surrounding them.

"Let's go, Shinoko!"

"Yes!"

As they charged at the enemy, the flock of crows took flight and disappeared into the forest.

"Gaaah!"

The enemy let out a desperate death cry and fell to the ground.

After carefully surveying their surroundings, Itachi quietly joined the others.

"You made the right call, Itachi."

Yuki dealt with the body of one of the missing-nin as he turned and praised him. Tenma had gotten to his feet and stood nearby, looking at them with anger and resentment.

Shinoko ignored the boys and ran over to check on the other dead enemy.

Among the vegetable merchants who regularly came and went from Konoha was a member of the Cloud Village's intelligence unit. His identity had been exposed.

The Second Squad, which Itachi belonged to, received orders to eliminate him, and set out from the village.

The job of assassinating members of enemy nations' intelligence units was usually handled by the Anbu. But the Anbu were currently occupied with a major incident, and every last member was away from the village.

The failed abduction of Hinata Hyuga—

A leader of the Cloud Village's ninja forces, which had long been hostile toward Konoha, had come to Konoha to form an alliance.

The village was filled with a celebratory atmosphere.

Yet that very night, Hinata Hyuga, the main family's eldest daughter, was nearly abducted. The culprit was killed, and the incident didn't escalate at first. But afterward, they discovered that he had been a leader of the Cloud Village's ninja forces, turning it into a dispute between the two villages.

With one of their ninja leaders dead, the Cloud Village took a hard line and demanded the body of a member of the Hyuga Clan's main family.

Apparently, things had gotten quite heated last night. There were rumors that the Uchiha had been deployed as well, but the Anbu had sealed off the street, so no one knew what had ultimately happened.

The entire Anbu force had been sent out that morning. Many people in the village were worried that war might break out.

Even so, they couldn't just stand by and let a Cloud Village spy escape.

And so the Second Squad had been chosen.

In truth, it wasn't so much the Second Squad as it was Itachi who had been chosen.

Itachi was only seven, but some said he was strong enough to defeat an average Chunin. Konoha's leaders had their eyes on his abilities.

In fact, the mission had gone very smoothly.

But Itachi knew.

The truth behind all this was far more outrageous than the rumors suggested.