As the strange incantation faded, the shadow beneath Sasuke Uchiha began to spread outward.
However, Sasuke had far too little energy right now, so the Taming Ritual unfolded sluggishly and slowly.
Darkness crept outward bit by bit, while a gigantic white silhouette flickered in and out of view in its depths.
The blood vessels in Sasuke's retinas began to burst, and he could taste iron in his mouth.
No matter how slowly the ritual proceeded, its enormous energy demands were ruthlessly draining his already weakened body.
His veins bulged beneath his skin, and his bones groaned under the strain.
Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan constricted sharply.
In his field of vision, he couldn't see any chakra flowing.
No chakra meant this wasn't a jutsu.
But Itachi's instincts were still screaming alarms. The gigantic white object in the shadow beneath Sasuke was undoubtedly some powerful being on par with a Tailed Beast.
Since when had the Uchiha Clan possessed an ability like this?
Why had Father never mentioned it?!
At the same time, at the other end of the Uchiha Compound,
the man wearing a spiral mask stopped collecting Sharingan.
He abruptly turned toward Sasuke's home.
Under that unknown pressure, space became extremely unstable. Even the Kamui dimension seemed to repel him.
Shock filled the single eye beneath his mask.
This power shouldn't belong to the Uchiha or the Nine-Tails. What on earth had Itachi done?
Still, today's objective had already been achieved, and the Anbu would arrive soon. He'd have plenty of time to investigate this later.
Without a moment's hesitation, he activated Kamui, drawing his body into a vortex and vanishing from the spot.
Several kilometers away, inside the Hokage Building,
Hiruzen Sarutobi shot to his feet behind his desk, and the pipe beside him fell to the floor.
Though it lasted only a few short seconds, the disturbance made the battle-hardened Hokage clench his fists.
He looked out the window toward the Uchiha Compound.
"Anbu!" he shouted.
Four shinobi wearing animal masks appeared in the office in an instant.
"Go to the Uchiha Compound and find out what's happening! Protect the civilians first, then do everything you can to protect the barrier."
Deep underground, at Root Base,
Danzo's eye went wide, and he planted his cane heavily on the ground.
The aura instinctively put him on guard, but soon greed crept into his gaze.
For the sake of Konoha, what couldn't be put to use?
He gave an order to the Root member kneeling before him. "Go to the Uchiha Compound and bring me the source. If you can't bring it back, eliminate it on the spot."
The various forces sprang into action all at once. In the room at the heart of the storm, inside the Uchiha Compound, Itachi was also trying to find a way out of the situation.
Itachi sensed several powerful chakra signatures rapidly approaching from the direction of the village. Who else could they be but the Hokage's lackeys?
If the higher-ups saw Sasuke as he was now, the carefully planned script Itachi had devised to protect him would be completely ruined.
He absolutely couldn't let that monster emerge. And he absolutely couldn't let Konoha's higher-ups discover Sasuke's ability.
The ritual was still advancing slowly, and the giant white hand had already gripped the edge of the shadow.
Without hesitation, Itachi pushed the power of his Sharingan to its limits.
Body Flicker Technique!
Itachi became a blur and charged straight into the shadow, braving the pressure.
He seized Sasuke's hands as he formed the Hand Seals.
Itachi's fingers were like iron clamps as he forcibly pried apart Sasuke's clasped palms.
The shadow quickly receded, and the phantom of the white wheel slowly vanished.
Sasuke remained where he was. Relying on his exceptionally strong mental fortitude, he had forced himself to stay conscious.
But his legs had lost their strength. He leaned back against the paper door and slid down to sit on the floor.
Blood trickled slowly from his eyes, nose, and mouth.
His Cursed Energy was still too low. He couldn't even complete the Taming Ritual...
He looked up and calmly met Itachi's gaze.
You're lying.
What are you really trying to do?
Itachi read the questions in Sasuke's eyes. After a moment's thought, he closed his eyes and turned away, avoiding his younger brother's accusatory stare.
Sasuke's calm and reason far surpassed anything he had imagined.
His personality was completely different from before, and he had used a jutsu Itachi had never heard of.
But the performance had to continue.
The people from Konoha had already arrived. He might as well take all the blame upon himself.
Itachi straightened up, gripped his long sword, and pointed it at Fushiguro Megumi, who was sitting on the floor.
"What an ugly struggle. You think you can fight back against me in your current state?"
Itachi's voice echoed through the empty room.
"Go to the basement beneath the main hall of Naka Shrine. There's a stone tablet passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan. It records the true secrets of the Sharingan."
After delivering his final line, Itachi sheathed his sword, turned, and leaped out the window.
Less than ten seconds after Itachi left, four Anbu burst through the windows from different directions.
They immediately took up positions at the room's four corners, Kunai held across their chests as they swiftly surveyed the scene.
Bodies littered the floor. Against the wall sat Sasuke Uchiha, struggling to keep his eyes open.
"Target confirmed. Sasuke Uchiha is alive," the Anbu Captain wearing the Fox Mask reported in a low voice.
The captain walked over and crouched down in front of him.
He had assumed the boy was too terrified to think straight, but when he saw Sasuke's eyes, he realized he was wrong.
There was nothing in them but thoughtfulness and cold detachment.
"Can you still talk?" the Anbu Captain asked cautiously.
Sasuke glanced at the Konoha symbol on the man's uniform.
"He left," Sasuke said, his voice hoarse.
"Who?"
"Itachi Uchiha."
"There was a huge energy disturbance here just now. What happened?" another Anbu pressed.
Sasuke lifted his head.
"I don't know," he answered bluntly.
The Anbu Captain frowned.
"He used Tsukuyomi on me, then decided I was too weak to bother killing and left."
He could blame every inexplicable phenomenon on the Mangekyō Sharingan's Tsukuyomi.
Fushiguro Megumi and Itachi had actually chosen exactly the same course of action.
Because Fushiguro Megumi had already made up his mind about Konoha's higher-ups...
They weren't worth telling the truth to.
The captain watched Sasuke for a while.
The boy was gravely injured, and his chakra was almost completely depleted...
He'd been crazy to think a child could use a jutsu powerful enough to shake the entire village.
It must have been something Itachi Uchiha had done that caused the disturbance.
"Medical team, stabilize him immediately," the captain ordered. Then he looked at Sasuke. "You're safe now."
Leaning against the broken paper door, Sasuke watched as several medical ninja hurried over and pressed their glowing green palms to his chest.
Warm chakra began repairing his torn organs.
He really hated being treated like a pawn.
Just like the things Toji Fushiguro had done to him, the things the Zenin Clan had done, and the things Sukuna had done to him...
He knew that Itachi might also have been made into a pawn, but that didn't give Itachi the right to treat him like one.
He would act freely. He absolutely wouldn't let Konoha or Itachi manipulate him like a puppet.
Before you continue