Is Senior Itachi contacting the masked man?

Konoha Outskirts.

After parting ways with Youhu, Kakashi, and Yamato, Itachi patrolled the outskirts of the village alone.

For the past half a month, Itachi had been in a terrible state of mind.

It started when Brother Shisui told him that the clan members were plotting a coup. To prevent it, Brother Shisui intended to use his Mangekyo Sharingan to control his father, leaving Itachi with a difficult dilemma.

Just as he was struggling with whether to protect his small family or the village at large, an accident occurred.

Youhu's sudden appearance exposed the twisted sexual orientation of the Hokage faction and suggested that his father marry the Third Hokage to become a "Hokage husband," a way to save the clan without bloodshed.

What shocked Itachi was that after Youhu proposed this abstract suggestion, the clan members actually abandoned the coup.

Even Tiehuo, a core member of the war faction, returned to his normal duties and stopped collecting supplies.

After the Third Hokage heard the rumors and scandals, he even did the unprecedented by recruiting Youhu into the Anbu, making Youhu his colleague.

This left Itachi with a deep sense of frustration.

He and Brother Shisui had worked so hard for the clan and the village, yet in the end, it was no match for Youhu's moment of inspiration.

Could it be that the clan members didn't actually want to stage a coup?

Itachi couldn't quite understand the relationship between the clan and the village, nor could he understand the Third Hokage anymore.

Just then, the wind from afar brought a rustling sound. Itachi looked up in the direction of the wind and saw a black-robed figure standing on a tree trunk ahead.

The person was wearing a tiger-striped mask; it was the mysterious masked man he had seen in the surveillance footage earlier that day.

The masked man had appeared!

Itachi felt a jolt in his heart and gripped the kunai hidden in his sleeve.

He stared at the masked man before him, ready for battle at any moment.

Obito leaned against the tree trunk, his figure flickering as he vanished from his spot, reappearing in front of Itachi the next second. He pressed down on the latter's shoulder and said slowly:

"Don't be nervous, Uchiha Itachi. I am not your enemy; we have met before, you know."

Itachi was someone Obito had chosen.

Ever since Itachi was just a Genin, Obito had taken notice of him and even personally helped Itachi awaken his Sharingan.

After Itachi became the top student in the Chunin Exams and joined the Root, Obito paid even closer attention to him.

In Obito's view, Itachi was an Uchiha well worth cultivating and very suitable to become a member of the Akatsuki.

Of course, Itachi could never forget the masked man. His Sharingan had awakened when he witnessed the masked man killing his comrade, and he himself had nearly died at the masked man's hands back then.

Thinking of this, Itachi quickly pulled away from Obito, his Kunai pointed at him.

"What is your true purpose for sneaking into the village this time?"

Obito chuckled softly, then immediately said, "I am also an Uchiha. Why can't I return to Konoha to take a look? Besides, if I really wanted to do something, could you stop me?"

"There has never been anyone like you in the clan."

"Konoha isn't the only place with Uchiha. Throughout Konoha's history, there have always been a few Uchiha who left the village temporarily for various reasons."

Obito did not reveal his identity, offering only this ambiguous explanation.

An Uchiha who left Konoha for various reasons?

Could it be Uchiha Madara?

Itachi could only think of that legendary ninja of the Uchiha Clan, the Uchiha Madara who stood on equal footing with the First Hokage.

But given Uchiha Madara's age, even if he hadn't been killed by the First Hokage back then, he would be at an age where he would have died of old age by now.

Therefore, the person before him could not be Uchiha Madara; he likely had another identity.

"Since you are not an Uchiha of this village, did you cause the Nine-Tails' Rampage?"

After his brain processed the situation rapidly, Itachi recalled Youhu's proposal from earlier in the day. It would be better to play along with the Masked Man for now, taking the opportunity to gather intelligence on him before making any further plans.

In any case, they had already reported the situation to the Third Hokage, so it wouldn't count as colluding with an enemy.

The Masked Man remained silent for a few seconds, seemingly weighing the pros and cons, then nodded slightly:

"The Nine-Tails' Rampage was indeed related to me, but that was a debt Konoha owed me. We are even now. As for me, I am more interested in seeing how you Uchiha juniors are growing."

"But all I see is a mediocre clan, and an Uchiha youth who has ambition but nowhere to display it."

After saying this, the Masked Man stopped speaking, seemingly waiting for Uchiha Itachi to respond.

Uchiha Itachi felt a bit strange. The Masked Man appearing here in the dead of night and suddenly saying these things—could he be trying to recruit him?

This mysterious Masked Man, while powerful in martial prowess, did not seem particularly intelligent.

Just as Uchiha Itachi prepared to pretend to agree with the Masked Man to gather information, several figures darted through the night, arriving before Itachi and the Masked Man in just a few breaths.

The arrivals were none other than Youhu, Kakashi, Yamato, and the others.

After finishing their barbecue with Naruto, Youhu had proposed sending some over to Yamato and Itachi as well, considering it a welcome ceremony for the new members joining the Anbu.

Kakashi felt it was strange to hear a "welcome ceremony" mentioned by Youhu, who was also a new member, but he agreed nonetheless.

After all, they had to pass through Itachi's patrol area to take Naruto home, and he didn't want to let down Youhu's good intentions.

However, to Kakashi's surprise, while searching for Itachi, he spotted an enemy of Konoha—the mysterious masked man who had breached the Konoha Barrier and was the mastermind behind the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

Itachi was currently in a standoff with the mysterious masked man.

Unexpectedly, they had approached the masked man while accompanied by the Jinchuriki.

"Yamato, take the Jinchuriki and retreat!"

Kakashi signaled Yamato with his eyes to retreat. The latter understood immediately, hurriedly grabbing Naruto and leaving. The remaining Anbu ninja followed suit; their primary mission was to protect the Jinchuriki.

Itachi and Obito had not expected Youhu and the others to arrive at this moment, nor that they would stumble upon their meeting.

Obito glanced at Youhu and Kakashi, then immediately said to Itachi:

"It seems you'll have some explaining to do when you return. With your intellect, you should be able to handle this matter properly. I look forward to our next meeting."

Just as Obito prepared to use his space-time ninjutsu to depart, Youhu used the Body Flicker Technique to arrive in front of the two. A smile tugged at the corner of his mouth as he said to Itachi, "Senior Itachi, you've delayed him long enough. Let's work together to keep the masked man here."

Itachi really wanted to say that this was just an accident; he truly hadn't expected the masked man to seek him out.

However, since Youhu and Kakashi had already stumbled upon his meeting with the masked man, he realized that if he didn't take the initiative to attack now, things would likely become very troublesome for him.

Kakashi, who had just arrived, was slightly startled, but he quickly removed his eyepatch and entered a combat state.

Regardless of who the masked man was, anyone who invaded the village was an intruder, plain and simple. With Naruto nearby, they had to delay long enough for reinforcements to arrive.