Uchiha Itachi Gets His Home Stolen

Within the Uchiha Clan, pure blood was almost considered a prerequisite for awakening the Sharingan. To ensure their descendants could inherit this powerful Kekkei Genkai, many families in the Uchiha Clan chose to marry close relatives.

Children with mixed blood were highly likely to go their entire lives without awakening the Sharingan, forced to live unremarkable lives. Uchiha Izumi had grown up amid this fanatical obsession with blood purity.

Though she was only thirteen, Uchiha Izumi had already made a name for herself in the clan. She was Itachi's classmate, had awakened her Sharingan at six, and reached the Three-Tomoe level by thirteen—a testament to her talent.

Seven years ago, on the night the Nine-Tails attacked the village, she was only six. She watched helplessly as her father fell before her, shielding her with his body amid the chaos. The agony of that night had been branded into her, becoming the catalyst for her Sharingan awakening.

Because her father was not a member of the Uchiha Clan, she had long been regarded as mixed-blood. She was met with cold stares and ostracized, even cursed at and bullied by the clan's children. Her childhood was full of loneliness and hurt. Though her mother was an Uchiha, she had been marginalized for marrying an outsider. For years, she and her daughter had been forced to live in separate quarters outside the Clan Compound, cut off from the main family.

Then, one day, she happened to meet the Young Clan Head, Uchiha Itachi, in the village. Itachi was only ten then, but everyone already saw him as the Uchiha Clan's hope. He welcomed Izumi warmly and even ate Three-color dango with her.

Encouraged by Itachi, Izumi finally found the courage to return to the Clan Compound and rejoin the family she had always belonged to. She grew used to eating Three-color dango with Itachi, and to his cold gaze.

She knew she had feelings for the powerful boy. Only the strong had the right to protect her.

But Itachi had defected.

That day, he hadn't said goodbye to anyone. If he had, Izumi knew, he wouldn't have said goodbye only to her; he would have said goodbye to her mother and elderly grandmother, too. But Itachi had left nothing behind. He became a rogue ninja and vanished into Konoha's night.

These past few days, Uchiha Yue had assigned Izumi to stand guard in the center of the Clan Compound. Given her status, she had no right to remain in the Core Area, especially with the compound now under tight security, but no one had driven her away.

Tonight, darkness blanketed the Clan Compound. Uchiha Yue was nowhere to be found. Standing beneath the eaves, Izumi gazed at the faint stars on the horizon, worrying about her mother and grandmother.

She wasn't the only one lost in thought. Young Uchiha Sasuke stood silently beside her, thinking about his older brother. His brother... Uchiha Itachi, now a rogue ninja, was missing and presumed dead. His whereabouts were a mystery.

Suddenly, a commotion shattered the night's silence. Cries of battle drew nearer, carrying a heavy stench of blood. Uchiha Izumi rose alertly, threw on her coat, and said softly, "Sasuke, stay here. Don't come out."

Izumi stepped outside the courtyard. The night wind carried a murderous intent. Beyond the courtyard wall, clan members fell one after another, blood flowing everywhere.

Among the bodies stood a man dressed in black. He wore a Swirl mask, and a crimson Mangekyō Sharingan glared out from his left eye, as if he had come from the depths of hell.

Uchiha Obito.

The moment he saw Izumi, his eyes turned cold. It wasn't the indifference of a stranger, but the hatred of someone who knew her well.

He knew Izumi had been close to Itachi, and had once been one of the people Itachi trusted most. In Obito's mind, Itachi's betrayal had forced him to act early. Anyone connected to Itachi deserved to be eliminated as well.

"What beautiful eyes," he said, deliberately lowering his voice. "A shame they'll soon belong to a corpse."

Izumi didn't answer, but her body tensed like a drawn bow. She swiftly drew several shuriken, lowered her stance, and skimmed across the ground, flinging them in a perfect arc. It was a technique Uchiha Itachi had personally taught her. With her Three-Tomoe Sharingan, the angle and force were just right to pierce a vital point.

But—

Just as the shuriken were about to hit Obito, they passed right through his body in an eerie fashion. Izumi's eyes narrowed, and her face turned deathly pale.

It should have been a sure hit. Why?

Obito sneered. That was Kamui's power. He had already made himself intangible. The next moment, he flipped his right hand and pulled a coil of Pitch-black chain out of thin air. Chakra coursed along it, and the chain extended on its own, lunging at Izumi like a living snake.

"It's over," Obito sneered.

Before Izumi could react, the chain had wrapped tightly around her, pinning her limbs in place. She struggled with all her strength, but her opponent's chakra was immense. The chain seemed ready to crush her whole body.

She clenched her teeth, refusing to yield, as the Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun wildly in her eyes. Obito remained expressionless and didn't stop.

Uchiha Izumi's hands were bound tight. Chakra chains coiled around her wrists like venomous snakes, biting into her snow-white skin until blood seeped out. Her body trembled uncontrollably. Her black hair hung messily beside her face, its bloodstained ends clinging to her pale cheek. Like a flower withering beneath the night sky, she looked defeated yet defiant.

"Don't tell me you naively think Uchiha Itachi will come to save you," Obito sneered. "Even if he did, the outcome would be no different. His choice... would be the same as mine. He'd send you off with this false world."

Uchiha Izumi didn't answer. She only bit down hard on her lower lip, which was red as blood. Her shoulders trembled faintly with each breath. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in her eyes had lost its sharpness; tears blurred her pupils. Those red eyes, symbols of the Uchiha's pride, now brimmed with humiliation and indignation.

"Those eyes of yours... will soon belong to me, too." Obito walked over slowly and leaned down, his palm reaching toward Izumi's eyes as if admiring a trophy.

"Get away from me," Uchiha Izumi said quietly. Her voice was weak, but it held an unshakable resolve. Though her body trembled and her chakra was nearly exhausted, she didn't beg for mercy. She was an Uchiha. Even in defeat, she would fall like one.

"And what can you do?" A cold smile touched Obito's lips. His chakra surged, and the chain suddenly tightened with a terrifying series of cracks.

The chain cinched around Uchiha Izumi's neck, cutting a crimson gash into her snow-white skin. Her cry caught in her throat, leaving only ragged breaths as her chest heaved violently. She said nothing more. Her fingertips twitched as she tried to form Hand Seals in secret. She knew she couldn't win, but she still refused to stain her clan's pride.

The Uchiha's dignity could not be profaned.

Just then, a faint breeze stirred, as if the air itself had been gently brushed aside. The next second, Uchiha Izumi vanished before Obito's eyes.

"...!?" Obito started, his pupils shrinking. He immediately activated his Mangekyō Sharingan and scanned the area for chakra. Before long, he pinpointed his target.

On a nondescript tree branch some distance away stood a black-clad ninja wearing a mask. In his arms was the exhausted Uchiha Izumi.

The chains had disappeared at some point. Izumi leaned against the black-clothed ninja, barely able to support herself. Trembling, she slowly placed a hand against his chest. Through the thin fabric, she could feel the strong, steady beat of his heart. Thump, thump—it seemed to drum against her eardrums, and against her already fragile heart.

A strange, indescribable feeling stirred in Izumi's heart. Her breathing grew more rapid, and a blush spread across her cheeks. Fear, pain, and lingering shock mingled with an emotion she couldn't explain even to herself. As if by instinct, she wrapped her arms around the person before her and clung to him, unwilling to let go. Their bodies pressed together, tighter and tighter, almost inseparable.

"Who... are you?" Obito stared at the masked man, his voice turning low.

"Me..." The masked man gave a soft laugh, his tone relaxed yet eerie. "I'm Konoha's hero, Uchiha Obito."

As the words fell, the air seemed to freeze.

Obito's pupils shrank sharply, and a thunderclap went off in his mind: He's me? Then who am I?

Almost at the same time, Obito swung his right hand, and the chain shot out like a venomous snake, wrapping toward the black-clothed ninja. But the moment it touched his body, it was as if it had struck an illusion; the chain passed right through him without resistance.

"How is that possible..." Obito frowned, his mind filled with doubt.