Youhu: Itachi, You Need to Sacrifice Yourself for the Village

Time is money. In the race to the Hokage Building, Youhu took first place.

Youhu knocked on the door of the Hokage Office and shouted, "Hokage-sama, we have major intelligence to report. This matter may very well concern the life and death of the village."

The Third Hokage, who had just put down his paperwork to enjoy a moment of leisure, felt a jolt in his heart upon hearing Youhu's voice.

It was only this morning that he had arranged for this kid Youhu to work in the Anbu. Not even half a day had passed, so why was he appearing before him again? His old bones were about to be rattled to pieces.

"Come in."

The Third Hokage set down his pipe, feeling very reluctant.

After Youhu and the other two walked into the office, the Third Hokage spoke with the tone of an elder, "Youhu, in the darkness you cannot see, the village is always full of undercurrents. Do not make a scene over trivial matters."

"Even if the sky were to fall, I, as the Hokage, am here to bear it. What are you panicking about?"

Youhu seemed to have been educated and nodded in agreement. "In that case, finding the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails Night must also be a trivial matter. I'll head back to rest now and come find you again tomorrow, Hokage-sama."

"As long as you know..."

The Third Hokage was just about to nod when he discovered a blind spot. He frowned and said, "Wait... you said you found the culprit of the Nine-Tails Night? Where did you see this?"

For most ninjas in Konoha, the Nine-Tails' Rampage had always been nothing more than a natural disaster, an accident.

The Nine-Tails had accidentally broken through the Jinchuriki's seal and rampaged inside the village, triggering a great crisis. It was only because the Fourth Hokage had sacrificed his life that the crisis was brought to an end.

But for the Third Hokage, the Nine-Tails' Rampage was absolutely a man-made disaster, a calculated conspiracy.

The one who launched the Nine-Tails' Rampage could have been a foreign ninja village like Cloud Hidden or Rock Hidden, or perhaps the Uchiha Clan within the village. After all, they were the only ones with the suspicion of being able to cause such a rampage.

"Hokage-sama, please take a look at this first."

Youhu took out a video tape. The Third Hokage took it and used a crystal ball to watch it.

Seeing the masked man pass through the Konoha Barrier without any obstruction, the Third Hokage frowned. Upon seeing the blood-red Sharingan of the masked man, the Third Hokage fell into silence.

After a while, the Third Hokage looked at Youhu and asked:

"Youhu, why do you believe the masked man is the killer of the Nine-Tails Night? He looks like one of your Uchiha. Do you think this was done by your Uchiha clan?"

Hearing this, Kakashi's expression changed slightly.

Itachi thought to himself that things were bad. The situation he feared most was about to happen; after seeing the masked man, the Third Hokage had begun to suspect the Uchiha.

Youhu thought for a moment and stated his reasoning:

"Hokage-sama, I have heard from clan members about the feats of Uchiha Madara controlling the Nine-Tails. Therefore, as long as one's ocular power is strong enough, there must be an Uchiha capable of controlling the Nine-Tails. And since the masked man can pass through the village's barrier now, he certainly could have done so back then."

"As for whether it was done by a clan member, I can say for certain it wasn't the Uchiha in the village."

"Why is that?" the Third Hokage asked in return.

"If those old guys in the clan had that kind of strength, they wouldn't spend every day bickering meaninglessly at clan meetings. They're just old; their strength doesn't even compare to a single finger of yours, Lord Hokage."

"What you say has some merit, but stop slandering your elders."

"They have made contributions to the village, after all."

The Third Hokage smiled. He felt that what Youhu said made a lot of sense; the Uchiha staying in the village currently possessed no real power. Back then, Uchiha Setsuna, who had clamored for a coup, was captured directly by men sent by Teacher Tobirama.

Perhaps he was just being overly sensitive about the Uchiha; the current Uchiha were actually just as weak as they had been in the past.

Is he willing to go as far as slandering his own clan just to curry favor with the Third Hokage?

Kakashi gained a new perspective on this new subordinate of his. At the very least, he himself would never slander his own clan in front of outsiders, and neither would his other subordinate, Uchiha Itachi.

The Third Hokage changed the topic, looking toward Kakashi: "Kakashi, how do you think the village should deal with the Masked Man? His Space-Time Ninjutsu is extremely troublesome."

"..."

"There is no way for now..."

Kakashi thought for a moment, then ultimately shook his head.

The Third Hokage looked toward Uchiha Itachi, but the latter remained silent, appearing to have no good solutions either.

This put the Third Hokage in a very difficult position. Although he currently knew that a powerful enemy was lurking near the village, hindered by the opponent's Space-Time Ninjutsu, Konoha had no way to resolve this threat sleeping right at their doorstep.

In the end, the Third Hokage could only fix his gaze on Youhu and ask: "Youhu, you were the first person to discover the Masked Man. Do you have any good way to deal with him?"

"Lord Hokage, the last time the Masked Man came to Konoha, it was to incite the Nine-Tails' Rampage..."

"That is correct." The Third Hokage nodded.

"Then he must have a specific purpose for coming here this time as well..."

Youhu contemplated for a while before suggesting a possibility: "The matter that has been causing such a stir in the village these past few days—the rumors about you and Clan Head Fugaku—could the Masked Man be here to crash the wedding?"

"Stop fooling around..."

The Third Hokage's expression shifted uncertainly, and he threatened: "Youhu, do you still want to work in the Anbu or not?"

"I'm just trying to lighten the mood."

Youhu revealed a cunning smile, then proceeded to deduce the process based on the results:

"I've thought about it for a long time. The fact that the Masked Man appeared near the Uchiha District this time likely means he wants to incite a clan coup and trigger an Uchiha's Rampage within the village."

"After all, the Nine-Tails' Rampage last time caused massive losses to the Village."

"If we want to take down the Masked Man, we must send a trustworthy Uchiha to make contact with him. Once they start talking, we can seize the opportunity to launch a surprise attack."

"Your plan is excellent."

After hearing these words, the Third Hokage's eyes lit up; he felt this method had great potential.

He had thought that Itachi was the only one in the Uchiha Clan who possessed a Hokage Mindset. He hadn't expected there to be another master like Youhu, and since Youhu's strength was mediocre—only at the level of a Chunin—he would be easy to control.

Compared to Uchiha Itachi, who was already being watched by Danzo, utilizing Youhu was much safer.

The only problem was, who would this Uchiha sent to contact the Masked Man be? This person had to be sufficiently loyal to the Village and possess enough strength to hold their own against the Masked Man for a period of time.

The Third Hokage hesitated.

At this moment, Youhu proactively steered the calamity toward Itachi:

"Itachi, are you willing to sacrifice yourself for the Village and become the Uchiha who makes contact with the Masked Man?"

"The Hokage and I can only trust you now..."

Aren't you an Uchiha yourself?

Itachi's expression was one of astonishment. He hadn't expected the plan Youhu proposed to be carried out by him. He hadn't said a single word, so how did it end up falling on him?

Can't you do it yourself? Or what about Brother Shisui?

But seeing the gazes of Kakashi and the Third Hokage fixed upon him, Itachi had no choice but to bite the bullet and nod:

"If the Village needs me, I am willing to contact the Masked Man."