"You've been poisoned by a salamander!"
"But why panic so much just because I was poisoned by a salamander?"
The Medical Ninja froze.
"You know what kind of poison that is? Ibuse is—"
"I know." Uchiha Rei cut him off. "Ibuse is Hanzō, the Demigod of the Ninja World's, summoning beast. Its poison has no antidote."
"Without immediate treatment, anyone poisoned by it can survive only one day," the Medical Ninja said.
"Ridiculous." Uchiha Rei smiled. "I learned Ninjutsu before I learned to walk."
"All that chakra I've built up over the past decade or so... Was it all for nothing?"
"I can survive at least three days."
The Medical Ninja opened his mouth, then looked at the Uchiha Jonin before him. In the end, he said nothing.
Uchiha Rei raised his head and gazed out the window. Sunlight poured through the glass and fell across his handsome face. Its brilliance stung his eyes, forcing him to squint. He adjusted his Goggles, took a deep breath, and left the hospital.
The poison was slowly spreading through his body, like an invisible snake.
"I can still survive at least three days." He took a deep breath.
The streets bustled with people. Konoha's spring always seemed too bright, as if darkness and killing could never touch it. But Uchiha Rei knew that Konoha's shadows had never gone away. They were only temporarily concealed.
He still had to find a way to cure the poison.
Where should he go? The Uchiha Clan? No. That place was a den of danger. The Uchiha Clan was already quietly roiling with unrest beneath the surface. Itachi and Obito, the CS Duo, were like venomous snakes lurking in the shadows, ready to strike at any moment.
"Akatsuki." He gritted his teeth. "They're the only ones who can get their hands on salamander poison."
They'd been on patrol last night. Of their four-person squad, he was the only survivor.
"I should go to the Hyuga Clan first." He made up his mind.
They shared the other half of Uchiha Rei's bloodline. His left eye was red, and his right eye was white.
The Hyuga Clan's estate lay deep in the southeastern corner of the village. A Branch Family shinobi at the gate watched him for a long while before letting him in.
But he didn't get to see the Main Family's Clan Head, Hyuga Hiashi.
"The Clan Head is busy and cannot see you." The Branch Family elder spoke evenly, his face expressionless. "But the Clan Head already knows what you're asking for."
"I only want to borrow the Hyuga Clan's medical resources." Uchiha Rei frowned. "I've been poisoned by a salamander."
"We know." The elder nodded and said coolly, "That's why we've prepared two options for you."
"What options?" he asked warily.
The elder's voice held not a trace of emotion. "Either surrender your Byakugan or have the Caged Bird Seal inscribed on you."
Uchiha Rei froze. After a long silence, he murmured, "I'm of Hyuga blood, too."
"That's only blood." The elder's tone didn't change. "It doesn't make you one of us."
The air seemed to freeze.
"Your Hyuga Clan won't even help someone who's about to die?"
"It's not that we're unwilling to help," the elder replied. "We simply won't help someone we can't control."
Uchiha Rei slowly clenched his fists.
He smiled, but there was no warmth in it.
"So I either have my right eye gouged out or become a Hyuga prisoner under the Caged Bird Seal? Is this what the Will of Fire means?"
The elder didn't answer. He only handed him a scroll and a small knife. "Choose one. You're running out of time."
"I want neither!" His voice was quiet, yet sharp as a steel needle.
Uchiha Rei turned and strode out without looking back.
"I'd rather die than become a caged bird."
"Looks like I can only go back to the Rabbit Clan. After all, my name is Uchiha."
Ever since the Nine-Tails' Rampage, the Uchiha Clan had been moved to the village's outskirts, and its relationship with Konoha's high-level officials had grown increasingly strained.
The road back to the clan grew quieter and quieter. People had already begun moving away from the streets around the Uchiha Clan's neighborhood.
Even ordinary people knew a crisis was coming. Were the Uchiha still living in a fantasy?
He pushed open the door and entered the courtyard.
"Who's there?" a voice called out. It was his peer, Uchiha Yue, a Chunin in charge of internal affairs at the Clan Compound.
"You're back?" Yue was clearly surprised, her voice hesitant. "Weren't you... at the hospital?"
"I'm here to see the Clan Head," Uchiha Rei answered bluntly.
"The Clan Head is in a meeting." Yue sighed, her voice lowering. "He won't see you easily."
"Then I'll see him anyway." Uchiha Rei strode forward, his voice turning cold. "If anyone tries to stop me, they can't blame me for fighting back."
"Rei!"
He didn't wait for Yue to stop him. Without breaking stride, he headed straight for the Assembly Hall.
That was where Uchiha Fugaku handled clan affairs. The Uchiha Clan Crest hung high above the entrance, with two guards standing before the door. As soon as they saw him approach, they drew their swords and blocked his way.
"Stop!" one of them barked.
"This is the clan meeting hall. No outsiders allowed!"
Before he could finish, a scarlet gleam flashed in Uchiha Rei's left eye. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan glowed crimson in the night!
Genjutsu.
The two guards froze. Their eyes soon went unfocused, and they crumpled to the ground.
He pushed open the heavy wooden doors and stepped inside.
Lamplight fell across the familiar yet stern faces in the hall. Uchiha Fugaku sat in the central seat, his gaze sharp and his expression stern. Several senior elders sat beside him, quietly discussing something.
When Uchiha Rei barged in without permission, silence fell over the hall.
"Uchiha Rei?" Fugaku raised an eyebrow, his voice steady but cold. "Do you know the consequences of barging into a clan meeting?"
"Shouldn't you be lying in the hospital?" one elder asked in a low voice.
"Clan Head, I'm here to report what happened yesterday." Uchiha Rei stopped before them. His face was pale and his lips cracked, but his voice remained calm and resolute.
"Speak." Fugaku's gaze was sharp.
"Last night, our squad was attacked by unknown shinobi while on patrol." His eyes swept over everyone in the room. "There were four of us. I was the only one who survived."
The atmosphere in the hall turned tense.
"I was poisoned," he continued. "It was salamander poison."
Everyone present immediately changed expression.
"Salamander poison? Hanzō's Poisonous Weapon?" one elder exclaimed. "How could it be in Konoha?"
"Did you see who poisoned you?" Fugaku asked, his voice suddenly grave.
Uchiha Rei slowly nodded. He should have said, "I didn't get a clear look," but he had no intention of doing that.
This was his chance. If he said it was the Hokage's men, he could become a witness exposing a conspiracy among the high-level officials. No one would dare let him die after that.
"I saw them." He paused, then said quietly, "It was... the Anbu."
The entire hall fell silent.
Fugaku's gaze sharpened. He was about to press him for details when suddenly—
[Ding! Host's life signs have reached a critical level. System binding initiated...] ["Hokage Sign-in System" successfully bound!] [First sign-in complete! Reward: Mangekyō Sharingan (left eye)!]
A fierce burning sensation erupted in Uchiha Rei's left eye socket. He clutched his eye and staggered.
"Rei?!" "What happened?" the others asked.
"I'm fine!"
"I saw them!"
"It was Uchiha Itachi, from the Anbu!"
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