Killing? A pledge of allegiance!

The Forest swayed, their dense leaves rustling softly against each other.

Several figures flashed by and rushed straight towards the Lake. However, as they passed through the Forest, they found that the surrounding scenery suddenly became distorted.

"Everyone be careful, this is an illusion."

Kakashi lifted the Forehead Protector covering his Sharingan, revealing a scarlet pupil, and the three Tomoe slowly began to rotate.

Itachi's mastery of Genjutsu is extremely high; he can even Jonin a Jonin in a genjutsu illusion in an instant.

Upon hearing this, the expressions of the three members of the makeshift team —Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, and the Konoha Torture and Interrogation Force leader Ibiki— changed. They had no idea that they had fallen into Itachi's illusion!

Kakashi surveyed his surroundings with a grave expression. There was one piece of information he hadn't told the Third Hokage: Tōka had appeared at the dumpling shop.

For some reason, Kakashi felt that the Genjutsu Trap in front of him was set up by Tōka.

The only sounds in the tranquil forest, besides the rustling of leaves in the wind, were the beating of their hearts. If even Kakashi, with his Sharingan, couldn't see through the Genjutsu...

Ibiki stared at Kakashi with a stern face, while Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki on their surroundings.

In the tranquil forest, a ghostly shadow flashed by, ethereal as a wisp of smoke, drifting through the air like a rootless duckweed, silently approaching.

"Kakashi, you shouldn't have come here."

A pair of scarlet pupils suddenly appeared in everyone's minds, and the pitch-black windmill seemed to be spinning slowly, but in fact it was spinning extremely fast.

Itachi Uchiha!

The four men's hearts skipped a beat. The dense forest vanished abruptly, completely swallowed by the overwhelming darkness that swept in.

One way to break Genjutsu is to trap the victim in another Genjutsu, which will then naturally dispel the previous Genjutsu.

At this moment, Itachi used the Dojutsu of his Sharingan to forcibly pull Kakashi and his group of four into the illusion he created, and in an instant, the four of them escaped from the Genjutsu Trap set by Tōka.

"Don't look into his eyes. The only one who can meet the Sharingan is me, who also possesses Sharingan!" Kakashi stared solemnly at Itachi, his words subtly reminding the other three.

Ibiki quickly turned his head away, not daring to look Itachi in the eye.

Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki were a beat slower in their reactions, reflexively preparing to close their eyes just as...

Buzz!

A powerful spiritual force, almost tangible, shot out, causing Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki to freeze in shock, their bodies stiffening as they fell straight down.

"Izumo? Kotetsu Hagane?" Kakashi's expression changed drastically, and even the three Tomoe in his eyes solidified.

"Kakashi, don't let your guard down!" Ibiki bit his thumb, and blood seeped out from between his teeth.

Summoning Technique: The Torture Chamber!

Splash...

Several thick iron chains suddenly shot out, binding the weasel tightly all over its body, and the surrounding scene changed, entering the Torture Chamber in Dimension Space.

The Torture Chamber was filled with various instruments of torture. Ibiki could use his Ninjutsu Power to torture his enemies, but at the same time, he would suffer the same pain as his enemies.

"Summoning Technique? This is an illusion. Are you sure you've trapped me?" Itachi glanced at Ibiki indifferently, not taking him seriously at all.

"Ibiki?" Kakashi didn't understand why this guy would use Summoning Technique against Itachi.

The main point is, if you're going to target Itachi, why lock him up too?

Ibiki remained expressionless, ignoring Itachi and Kakashi's words, and continued to activate his Jutsu Formula as if nothing was wrong.

The Wire binding the three people tightened more and more, Wire creases in their clothes as if the fabric itself was digging into their flesh.

The pain struck as expected; the merciless Wire felt as if it were scraping flesh off the bone.

Kakashi frowned, beads of cold sweat trickling down his forehead. He stared at Ibiki with a puzzled look, even wondering if Ibiki had fallen under Itachi's Genjutsu.

Before Kakashi could speak, Itachi, who was standing not far away, noticed something amiss.

"You don't think you can break the Genjutsu with pain?" The words carried a hint of a laugh, as if mocking Ibiki's ignorance.

Ordinary Genjutsu can indeed awaken someone with a sudden, intense pain.

However, the Genjutsu used by the two was not an ordinary Genjutsu. In order to bring Kakashi and Ibiki out of the Genjutsu Trap set by Tōka.

Itachi used the power of the Sharingan, or more accurately, the power of the Mangekyo!

"What did you say?!"

Ibiki surprised and furious, astonished that his Ninjutsu, just as Itachi had said, had not brought him and Kakashi out of the Genjutsu space.

What angered him was Itachi's nonchalant gaze, the kind of gaze one would give a five-year-old child!

"Don't be impulsive, Ibiki." Kakashi quickly stepped in front of Ibiki, his crimson Three Tomoe fixed on Itachi.

"Kakashi, you're absolutely right about something: only the Sharingan can truly meet the Sharingan. It's a pity..."

Itachi paused, and the windmill in his eyes began to spin rapidly, his Dojutsu pouring out like a torrent.

"Your eyes aren't enough to see this Mangekyo."

Buzz!

A strange and inexplicable chakra emanated from Itachi's body. Kakashi and Ibiki were about to react when they heard a low murmur in their ears.

"Tsukuyomi!"

Itachi abruptly closed his right eye, revealing only his left eye's crimson pupil. This Genjutsu space, which controls time and mass, is one of the Dojutsu that brings the "hypnotic eye" to its ultimate expression.

The surrounding scenery shook...

Kakashi and Ibiki were instantly pulled into Itachi's Tsukuyomi Space.

The leaves rustled.

Tōka stood atop the treetops, with snow crystals piled up at her feet, a white expanse covering the entire Forest.

He lowered his eyes to look at the three people facing off in the woods.

Tōka could clearly sense the immense Dojutsu of Itachi's eyes. Meanwhile, Kakashi and Ibiki, with their blank expressions, looked like they had been caught in Genjutsu and had gone insane.

However, Tōka was 100% certain that the two were not under his Genjutsu.

Because the Genjutsu Trap that Tōka set up before leaving was just Fox Heart Technique, although it was enhanced with the power of the Six Harmonies Divine Technique to make the ordinary Genjutsu more powerful.

But they will never appear with a blank stare, standing there helplessly at the mercy of others.

"Tsukuyomi? Did you deliberately drag the two of them into the Tsukuyomi Space to betray them?" Tōka frowned as he stared at the three of them. With his Dojutsu, it wasn't impossible for him to forcibly disrupt Tsukuyomi.

However, this completely ruined the plan.

Tōka rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought, his gaze inadvertently sweeping over the two Konoha gatekeepers lying on the ground.

Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki are definitely from the Hokage Faction.

Otherwise, even after such a huge blunder, they wouldn't have been able to join Kakashi's temporary squad to track down and arrest Itachi.

"If these two die here, then Itachi's pledge of allegiance will be forfeited..."

Hmph!

Tōka sneered, Shuriken appearing at his fingertips with a flick of his wrist. Besides their Kekkei Genkai, the Uchiha Clan had two other famous techniques.

Firstly, it is undoubtedly Fire Release.

Secondly...

It's naturally the throwing technique of this Shuriken!

Tōka flicked his wrist, and a Shuriken fingertip, the spinning Shuriken cutting through the air with a buzzing sound.

Just hearing it evokes a sense of sharp edge, as if a blade capable of shattering stone and gold is drawing an arc through the air.

Pfft!!

Two muffled sounds rang out almost simultaneously. The Shuriken, leaving a trail of blood, before completely disappearing into the Big Tree that had been stained white by snowflakes.

"Let's see if you dare to tattle on me in front of the Third Hokage again!" Tōka stood on the treetop, hands behind his back, looking down at the three people below.

Regardless of whether Itachi was the one who did it, Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki died right before his eyes.

Even if the Third Hokage trusted Itachi, a slight resentment would still grow in his heart.

This is what it means to be in a position of power...

The snow drifted in the wind, falling silently onto the Small Woods surrounding the Lake.

On the treetops covered in silver, Tōka's figure also drifted away with the wind, the lingering scent in the air buried by the snowflakes.

Two muffled thuds broke the tranquil beauty of the painting.

Kakashi and Ibiki collapsed to the ground, their pale faces contorted in agony.

"Ugh..." Itachi pressed his forehead, a series of sharp pains assaulting his brain.

The veins on the back of his large hands bulged, as if he were using all his strength to suppress the waves of pain.

After a few breaths, the stinging sensation subsided slightly.

Itachi slowly opened his eyes, and when he glanced at the two corpses not far away, his expression turned unusually grim.

Itachi knew that Tōka had killed Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki, but he did not intervene.

Tōka wouldn't be at ease until these two people were dead, until they were killed by Itachi Uchiha.

"Sasuke, I hope you grow up soon."

Itachi's face turned pale. He had overused his Dojutsu to cast Tsukuyomi and forcibly break Tōka's Six Harmonies Divine Technique, and his vision was gradually becoming blurred.

With a soft sigh, Itachi turned to look in the direction of his former home.

I don't know if I can hold out until then.

The wind passes without leaving a trace, but the snow falls with color.

In the Forest, four figures lay silently on the thick snow, soon covered by a thin layer of frost.

Swish swish swish!!

In the Forest, another small team of four people soared through the air.

"Here they are!" The first to spot Kakashi and his group was Kurenai, who paused as she descended from mid-air.

With a light and agile figure, like a swallow, she knelt down on one knee in the snow, squatted beside Kakashi, and reached out to check his breath.

Asuma and the other two ninjas also used Body Flicker Technique to enter the snow and check on the condition of the other three.

"Kakashi is still alive," Kurenai said, secretly relieved.

"Ibiki is still breathing." Asuma immediately helped Ibiki up, supporting him on his shoulder.

"Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo have already..." The other two ninjas silently withdrew their fingers.

"There were no obvious signs of a battle around them, so it's clear that the four of them were subdued by the enemy in an instant." Kurenai supported Kakashi, her intelligent eyes scanning the surroundings.

"An Elite Squad was subdued by the enemy in a single encounter?" Asuma and the others looked horrified.

Even the Lord Hokage couldn't do something like that, right?

In a one-on-one fight, the Hokage might easily take down a Jonin, but against an Elite Squad, while the Lord Hokage could win, it wouldn't be that easy!

Kurenai and Asuma clearly knew the purpose of Team Kakashi.

Has that man matured to this point?

"Let's take Kakashi and Ibiki back first," Kurenai said quickly, noticing that Kakashi's body temperature was dropping.

"Alright, we'll take them both to the hospital. You take the bodies of Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki back." Asuma made the final decision, and the four of them, each carrying one of the bodies, darted into the Forest.

The four arrived quickly and left just as quickly.

Apart from the footprints left in the snow, there was no other trace.

In the Hokage Building, the Hokage stood anxiously by the window, pipe in hand, wisps of smoke drifting out.

Two other people were standing inside: Kurenai and Asuma, who had returned after taking Kakashi and Ibiki to the hospital.

"Kakashi and Ibiki out of danger?" the Third Hokage asked, clearly indicating that the other two ninjas had already come to report on the mission.

"Neither of them had any obvious external injuries, but according to the Medical Ninja's diagnosis, their mental state was extremely poor," Asuma replied.

The wrinkles on the Third Hokage's forehead deepened. He took a deep drag of his cigarette and then slowly exhaled.

Genjutsu... Is it really you, Itachi?

"Were Kotetsu Hagane and Izumo Kamizuki killed by the same Shuriken?" The Third Hokage sat back down in his chair and looked up at Asuma as he asked.

"Yes, it was definitely the same Shuriken after confirmation, and the squad that was sent out afterwards also found the Shuriken that killed the two on the Battlefield," Asuma replied.

Shuriken, Genjutsu.

The Third Hokage had read the report and naturally understood that everything pointed to Itachi, but emotionally he couldn't accept it.

In the silence, Asuma and Kurenai could sense the desolation emanating from the Third Hokage.

There was even a hint of anger in his eyes!

Shinobi Hero gets angry, even someone Danzo has no choice but to avoid his sharp edge and choose to endure.

Hong glanced furtively at Asuma, who remained silent with a stern face, then lowered her head again, knowing that it wasn't the right time for her to speak.

Finally, the Third Hokage suddenly asked, "Where is Tōka? Where is Tōka?"

"They say he's out shopping." Asuma knew what the Third Hokage suspected; Tōka's Genjutsu skills were already incredibly powerful several years ago.

He even felt that it was inferior to the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan.

The Third Hokage also knew how strong Tōka was. Although Tōka held the title of Chunin, his Ninjutsu, Genjutsu, Taijutsu were all at the Jonin!

"Can you confirm that it's Tōka himself?" the Third Hokage pressed.

"This..." Asuma didn't see it with his own eyes, so how could he be sure? Besides, even if he had seen it with his own eyes, he wouldn't be sure.

Is that so... The Third Hokage squinted his cloudy eyes, a wise glint flashing in them like that of Shahe.

Between Tōka and Itachi, one of them must be lying to him.

"Go down." The Third Hokage extinguished the Kakkō in his pipe and waved for the two men to leave.

Upon hearing this, Asuma and Kurenai nodded slightly and quietly withdrew.

An eerie silence fell over the room once more...