Kumogakure Envoy Group Arrives

When Itachi Uchiha opened his eyes again, they had transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Contained within those Mangekyo was the soul of a sinner who had endured immense suffering.

At this moment, Itachi Uchiha seemed like a completely different person, having become unnaturally mature.

"Itachi, is your consciousness clear right now?"

"After awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan, extreme emotions can easily cause drastic changes in a person; you need to remain calm."

Ensei Uchiha spoke up to offer a reminder, while simultaneously preparing himself for combat.

Beside him, after opening his eyes, Itachi Uchiha appeared as if he had fallen into a stupor, showing no reaction even to Ensei Uchiha's warning.

Just as Ensei Uchiha began to suspect that something had gone wrong with the experiment, Itachi Uchiha suddenly spoke: "Just now, we were conducting an experiment to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan, right!"

"Uchiha... forgive me, my memories are a bit chaotic. You are... Ensei?"

As Itachi Uchiha spoke, he shook his head vigorously.

Nearby, the expressions on Fugaku Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha's faces shifted from pleasant surprise to worry, yet they dared not speak, fearing they might influence Itachi Uchiha.

"Father... Shisui..."

"It's truly wonderful that you are both still alive!"

"This time... I will definitely..."

With those words, Itachi Uchiha collapsed to the ground, losing all responsiveness.

Fugaku Uchiha was startled by the sight and rushed over immediately.

Covering a distance of less than two meters, Fugaku Uchiha actually utilized the Body Flicker Technique, which spoke volumes of his inner agitation.

"Don't worry, it's just excessive mental exhaustion."

"In these short ten-plus minutes, Itachi Uchiha lived through over a decade of time within the illusion; it is fortunate that such a massive influx of information didn't blow his mind apart."

Ensei Uchiha stepped forward to examine him, then removed a tiny bit of flesh from Itachi Uchiha's eyeball, extracting some residual, peculiar Chakra he had discovered.

While he was at it, Ensei Uchiha injected some of his self-developed cell virus—the same type he had previously injected into Kakashi's eye, though this version was now upgraded.

It was better to keep the Mangekyo Sharingan he had created under his own control; it would be quite laughable if he were to be injured by his own creation.

"Alright, he will likely sleep for a long time—days, perhaps even over a week, but he will certainly wake up within a month."

"As for what will happen after he wakes up, I am not entirely sure."

"You know as well as I do that most who awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan undergo a drastic change in temperament, and for someone like Itachi Uchiha who awakened it through special means, it is even harder to predict."

"Therefore, you will need to pay close attention to your eldest son when the time comes."

After offering a few perfunctory words, Ensei Uchiha chased the three of them out. He needed to seize the time to study that peculiar Chakra from the brain—this was, after all, the very Chakra capable of awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan.

Time slipped away quietly, and in the blink of an eye, the day arrived for the Kumogakure delegation to visit.

Because they were there to sign a peace treaty with Konoha, the individuals sent by Kumogakure were not weak, with the vast majority at the level of Jonin.

Hiruzen Sarutobi had already guessed from Ensei Uchiha that the Kumogakure delegation was here with ill intent, yet he still maintained a very enthusiastic facade, and the Kumogakure delegation did the same.

The two factions had been hostile for a long time, yet at this moment, it was as if all those grudges had vanished into thin air.

The atmosphere in the village was also lively. These ordinary villagers lived in a world far removed from that of the ninjas and understood little of the grievances between them, hoping only for peace.

In truth, war had the least impact on the ordinary people of Konoha, but that did not stop them from celebrating the coming peace.

As for those ninjas who died in the war...

No one cared, including the ninjas of Konoha; for a ninja, death was a common occurrence.

After a full day of high-sounding rhetoric, Ensei Uchiha returned home, feeling somewhat annoyed.

Having wasted an entire day like this, he truly regretted agreeing to Hiruzen Sarutobi's request.

The following two days proceeded as usual, with the people from Kumogakure and Hiruzen Sarutobi debating certain clauses of the treaty for a long time.

It wasn't until the night of the third day that Ensei Uchiha, through the malice detection of the Zero-Two Model, discovered that two Kumogakure ninjas had left the residence where the delegation was staying.

Based on their movement patterns, it was clear that one was preparing to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan, while the other was preparing to infiltrate the Hyuga Clan.

The Kumogakure ninja attempting to infiltrate the Uchiha Clan was discovered quickly and captured on the spot by a patrolling Uchiha squad.

For his own safety, Ensei Uchiha not only kept the Zero-Two Model's malice detection active at all times, but he had also set up a barrier around the Uchiha compound and arranged for several Three Tomoe Jonin to patrol daily.

Under such circumstances, let alone Kumogakure ninjas, even if the Fourth Raikage himself came, he wouldn't be able to sneak in.

Things were fine on the Uchiha side, but the situation with the Hyuga Clan was different.

Logically speaking, the Byakugan should be better suited for reconnaissance than the Sharingan, and the defense within their family compound should be even higher.

But in reality, the Hyuga Clan rarely activated their Byakugan within Konoha, and within their own family, especially at night, it was strictly forbidden.

As for why... it was, of course, because the peeping ability of the Byakugan was too powerful.

Initially, Ensei Uchiha thought that after receiving a warning from Hiruzen Sarutobi, the Hyuga Clan would be careful over these few days, but he hadn't expected that an opportunity would be found on the very first attempt.

Watching the small red dot on the light screen already beginning to retreat toward the outside of the village, a faint smile appeared on the corner of Ensei Uchiha's mouth.

I thought I would have to find an opportunity, but who would have expected it to go so smoothly?

Creating a Shadow Clone and taking several Cell Collection Devices, Ensei Uchiha headed in a specific direction.

Because the Uchiha Clan was already located on the outskirts of Konoha, even though the Kumogakure ninja had been running for a while, Ensei Uchiha intercepted him halfway without any effort.

"Move aside, or I'll strangle her."

"I've already investigated; this is a member of the Hyuga Clan..."

Before the Kumogakure ninja could finish his sentence, his body was seized by a genjutsu.

"With this level of strength, what gives you the confidence?"

Ensei Uchiha took Hinata Hyuga from the man's arms and, finding her in a state of unconsciousness, began collecting cells without any hesitation.

Soon, Ensei Uchiha had finished gathering the necessary materials.

Losing this small amount of cells would have no impact on Hinata Hyuga; the number of cells contained within the human body is vast.

Looking at the Kumogakure ninja controlled by his Sharingan, Ensei Uchiha thought for a moment, grabbed the man by the neck, and began dragging him toward the location of the Kumogakure delegation.

Sha~ sha~

The sound of the Kumogakure ninja's body being dragged across the ground was exceptionally conspicuous on the silent streets of Konoha.