Late at night.
Uchiha Itachi arrived at the Forest of Death as agreed.
The river gurgled nearby. Uchiha Itachi activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and warily surveyed his surroundings.
Suddenly, a flame flared to life.
Uchiha Itachi narrowed his eyes and looked over. Hyuga Neji was walking out of the dense woods, holding a torch.
Neji stopped ten meters in front of Uchiha Itachi and opened his Tenseigan. "Itachi, you finally came."
Uchiha Itachi nodded. "I came looking for answers. What lies in the Uchiha's future?"
Neji fell silent for a moment, then said calmly, "If your death could save the Uchiha, would you be willing to sacrifice yourself?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi suddenly felt a knot of unease. Instinct told him something was wrong.
A trap?
Was this a trap meant for him?!
Clinging to his last shred of hope, Uchiha Itachi asked coldly, "Don't tell me you invited me here to kill me?"
Neji nodded. "If you hadn't come, I would've had to think of another way. Fortunately, I didn't misjudge you. You really did come."
Uchiha Itachi was horrified. "Why would you do this?"
"After your death, the Uchiha clan will unite, instead of remaining split into two factions. Fugaku will also abandon his last illusions about the village and devote himself to planning a coup."
"When that happens, Kumogakure will get its chance."
Neji laid out the plan without expression.
Cold sweat ran down Uchiha Itachi's face.
This guy hadn't come to Konoha to take the Chunin Ninja Exams.
His goal was to sow discord between the Uchiha and the village, driving the Uchiha to stage a coup and leaving Konoha badly weakened.
Then the Cloud ninjas would seize the opportunity and defeat Konoha in one fell swoop.
In just a few seconds, Itachi had thought of