Four Madmen of Uchiha, Part Two!

Time slipped away bit by bit. Uchiha Itachi arrived beneath a withered tree at a corner, his face shrouded in gloom, and spoke with killing intent: "Come out. I know you are here!"

Silence reigned within the withered tree for a moment before a wisp of bone-chilling black mist seeped out. A two-meter-tall Buff Rabbit Head emerged from the trunk, looking drowsy: "Congratulations. Having awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan, you must have witnessed the death of Uchiha Shisui with your own eyes, right?"

The corners of Uchiha Itachi's eyes twitched slightly. His three-tomoe Sharingan began to spin at high speed, merging into the triangular Shuriken pattern as he glared at the High-ranking Dark Elf, stating coldly: "Tell me everything you know, or I will use my own methods to make you spit it all out."

"Heh, are you venting your anger on me?"

The High-ranking Dark Elf sneered: "Last week, I already told you what was going to happen this week. It was you who didn't take my words to heart, which led to Shisui's death. Looking at your expression now, you've met the Uchiha ghost, haven't you?"

"Use your methods to make me spit it all out? Will you use Tsukuyomi to crush my spirit, or Kotoamatsukami?"

The High-ranking Dark Elf—no, Fuyuki, whose consciousness had descended into the body of the High-ranking Dark Elf—couldn't be bothered to care about Uchiha Itachi's threats. No matter what genjutsu or ninjutsu attacks he launched, Fuyuki could easily depart from the High-ranking Dark Elf's body, leaving Itachi to waste his effort.

Hearing the High-ranking Dark Elf's words, Uchiha Itachi stood frozen in place, staring at the creature and murmuring: "Do you truly possess the ability to foresee the future?"

He had only awakened his Mangekyo half an hour ago. No one else was present when he obtained Shisui's eyes, and he had never displayed his Mangekyo abilities, yet the High-ranking Dark Elf could accurately name his techniques.

Combined with the previous prophecy, it was hard for Itachi not to suspect that the High-ranking Dark Elf had peeked at the script!

"Is there truly no hope for the Uchiha?" Itachi stopped maintaining his Mangekyo Sharingan. Since this Summoned Beast knew his abilities yet remained unfazed and continued to tease him, it likely had a way to counter Tsukuyomi.

"Sign this Summoning Contract, and I will tell you the answers you seek." Fuyuki reached into the shadows, pulled out a giant scroll, and tossed it to Itachi, who stood beneath the tree shrouded in a dark and obscure aura.

Itachi had no other choice now. No matter how he looked at it, this malicious Summoned Beast didn't seem like a good creature, but he had no other options. His only path was to extract information about the future from this evil beast to prevent the impending great terror.

Itachi opened the scroll and was stunned; it was the most bizarre Summoning Contract he had ever seen.

The opening lines listed several rules.

1. The contractor shall bear the Chakra consumption of the Summoned Beast! 2. The contractor promises to offer Chakra every week! 3. The contractor is forbidden from inquiring about information regarding the Elemental Dawn. 4. When the contractor summons the Summoned Beast, they must first negotiate terms. 5. Any violation of the rules will result in Eclipse Whip Lash.

What kind of ridiculous Summoning Contract was this? If it were any other Summoned Beast, Itachi might have shoved the scroll into its mouth to let it know who the daddy was!

It wasn't a contract from the Three Great Sage Regions, so where did all these broken rules come from? Itachi cursed the lunatic in his heart, yet he still signed his name, tossed the scroll back to the High-ranking Dark Elf, and said: "Tell me the way to save the Uchiha clan!"

Feeling the Chakra flowing from Uchiha Itachi, Fuyuki, who was controlling the High-ranking Dark Elf, said: "There is no way. The Uchiha clan is naturally asking for a beating. Konoha is too weak right now; no one can cure the Uchiha's natural itch for trouble."

It was a fact that the Uchiha were prone to itching for trouble. Look at Madara, who was hammered into submission by Hashirama and lived peacefully for decades, remaining well-behaved until he awakened the Rinnegan.

Then look at Indra and Asura; it was because Asura couldn't hammer Indra into submission that so much trouble ensued. It wasn't until the generation of Sasuke and Naruto, when Naruto truly hammered Sasuke into submission, that the thousand-year grudge finally ended.

"..." Itachi silently activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.

It was unclear whether he meant to express that he could handle the Uchiha, or to express his dissatisfaction and demand that the High-ranking Dark Elf provide some substantial information.

"Glaring at me won't help. You should have learned from the Konoha Barrier Team that someone has been frequently sneaking into your Uchiha clan's Naka Shrine lately, right?" The High-ranking Dark Elf crossed his arms: "Unless you can kill him, no one can save the Uchiha clan. I can tell you very clearly: he possesses a space-time Mangekyo, has transplanted First Hokage Cells, and can use Wood Release."

"If you don't resolve this Uchiha ghost, the Uchiha clan will never know peace. By the way, you can use genjutsu to interrogate Uchiha Yashiro; he is actually one of the pawns planted in the Uchiha by the Uchiha ghost."

Fuyuki had ways to resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and Konoha, but it was useless. The one truly wanting to wipe out the Uchiha clan was Uchiha Obito. Fuyuki didn't even fear the Six Paths of Pain, but this slippery ghost was a headache; as long as Obito hid in his space-time dimension, Fuyuki would be at a loss.

"Hmm."

Uchiha Itachi was silent for a moment, then said: "Very well. Then can you tell me the exact time of the clan extermination?"

In Itachi's view, since this evil beast could foresee the future, it must know the exact time of the extermination. He wanted to arrange his personal affairs while there was still time.

The High-ranking Dark Elf—no, Fuyuki—was taken aback. He frowned and thought for a moment, recalling the original plot. The Uchiha extermination had been recounted hundreds of times in the main story; Fuyuki could almost recite the lines, but there was one detail he wasn't entirely sure about.

That was the exact timing of the extermination. He remembered that not long after Shisui died, Itachi and Obito began the extermination.

The timeframe was roughly a month, though some said it was a year after Shisui's death.

"Hehehe, don't be silly, brother. I don't have the ability to foresee the future." The High-ranking Dark Elf waved a hand, and a large number of black Bean Sprouts fell from the thundercloud in his lower body: "I just like collecting and analyzing intelligence, and watching other people's tragedies to turn them into my own joy."

"Haven't you heard the saying? One's own happiness is always built upon the suffering of others!"

"..." Itachi didn't answer, just stared at it, a gaze as unsettling as a cat watching a crotch.

"One month. You have one month. The time of the Uchiha extermination depends on when the Uchiha riot begins."

"The Third Hokage plans to wipe out the Uchiha in one fell swoop one day before the riot, when the entire clan is resting and gathering their strength!" As the High-ranking Dark Elf said this, his body stiffened noticeably. Although it was slight, it did not escape the notice of Uchiha Itachi, who had his Mangekyo activated.

"Hey, orphan-boy, why are you looking at me?"

The High-ranking Dark Elf, having regained control of his body, spoke directly to pierce Uchiha Itachi's heart.

"Who was the one talking to me just now?" Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan had seen a trace of Yin Release Chakra depart from the High-ranking Dark Elf's body, so he asked specifically.

After all, having signed the Summoning Contract, he was required to offer Chakra equivalent to his total capacity every week as payment to the Summoned Beast of the 'Elemental Dawn'. He couldn't possibly remain in the dark about everything, could he?

"Ah? You mean Lord 'Moon Worm'? He just went home to sleep. He won't pay attention to you."

"It's the middle of the night now. Could it be that your implication is that Lord Moon Worm is so cute that it makes you, orphan-boy, feel unbearable longing?" The High-ranking Dark Elf teased.

Uchiha Itachi: "You talk too much. I am a contractor of your Elemental Dawn Summoning Grounds. You should explain your summoning family to me, shouldn't you?"

Thanks to Murphy for the 100-coin tip for telling a joke.

Thanks to Xingyue Gupi and Guxing Yue'er for the 100-coin tips. Thank you very much.