I Want to Live Freely

As the strange incantations fell, the shadow beneath Sasuke Uchiha began to stretch outward.

However, because Sasuke's current energy was far too depleted, the unfolding of the Taming Ritual became sluggish and slow.

The darkness spread outward in thin strands, while a massive white phantom remained only faintly visible in the depths of the shadows.

Sasuke's retinas began to hemorrhage, and he could taste the metallic tang of blood in his mouth.

No matter how slowly the ritual progressed, its massive demand for energy was frantically draining his physical body.

Veins bulged beneath his skin, and his bones emitted sounds of unbearable strain.

Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan contracted violently.

In his field of vision, he could not see any flow of chakra.

No chakra meant this was not ninjutsu.

But Itachi's intuition was still screaming warnings; the massive white object in the shadow beneath Sasuke was definitely some kind of powerful entity comparable to a Tailed Beast.

Since when did the Uchiha clan possess such an ability?

Why had Father never mentioned it?!

At the same moment, on the other side of the Uchiha compound.

The Masked Man stopped his task of collecting Sharingan.

He snapped his head toward the direction of Sasuke's residence.

Space became extremely unstable under that unknown pressure, and even the intangible space of Kamui began to produce a sense of repulsion.

The single eye beneath the mask was filled with shock.

This kind of power should not belong to the Uchiha, nor to the Nine-Tails; what exactly had Itachi done?

However, today's goal had already been achieved, and the Anbu would likely arrive here soon; there would be plenty of time in the future to slowly investigate these things.

Without any hesitation, he immediately activated Kamui, swirling his body into a vortex and disappearing from the spot.

Several kilometers away at the Hokage Building.

Hiruzen Sarutobi stood up abruptly from behind his desk, his pipe falling to the floor.

Although it lasted only a few seconds, it made this battle-hardened Hokage clench his fists.

He looked out the window toward the Uchiha compound.

"Anbu!" he shouted.

Four ninjas wearing animal masks appeared instantly in the office.

"Head to the Uchiha compound immediately to investigate the situation! Prioritize protecting the civilians, then do your best to protect the barrier."

Deep underground, at the Root Base.

Danzo's single eye widened, and his cane struck the ground heavily.

This aura made him instinctively feel wary, but soon his eyes turned greedy.

For the sake of Konoha, what could not be utilized?

He issued an order to the Root member kneeling on one knee: "Go to the Uchiha compound and bring the source back to me. If you cannot bring it back, eliminate it on the spot."

The movements of all parties erupted in an instant, and within the room at the Uchiha compound—the center of the storm—Itachi was also trying to find a way to break the deadlock.

Itachi sensed several powerful chakra signatures rapidly approaching from the direction of the village; who else could it be but the lackeys of the Konoha high command?

If the high command saw Sasuke as he was now, the script he had painstakingly planned to protect Sasuke would be completely destroyed.

He absolutely could not let this monster emerge. He also absolutely could not let the Konoha high command discover this ability of Sasuke's.

The ritual was still slowly advancing, and a massive white hand had already gripped the edge of the shadows.

Itachi did not hesitate, pushing the ocular power of his Sharingan to the limit.

Body Flicker Technique activated.

Itachi turned into a blur, pushing against that pressure as he charged straight into the shadows.

He grabbed Sasuke's hand, which was still forming seals, in a death grip.

Itachi's fingers were like iron pincers, forcibly prying apart Sasuke's interlaced palms.

The shadows rapidly receded, and the phantom of the white wheel slowly vanished.

Sasuke remained standing in place, relying on his extremely formidable mental strength to forcibly lock himself into a state of consciousness.

But his legs had lost their strength, and he slid down to sit on the floor, his back against the paper door.

Blood flowed slowly from his seven orifices.

The cursed energy was still too little; was he unable to even complete the Taming Ritual...

He raised his head and looked calmly at Itachi Uchiha.

You are lying.

What exactly are you trying to do?

Itachi Uchiha read the words in Sasuke Uchiha's eyes. After a moment of contemplation, he finally closed his eyes and turned his head away, avoiding his younger brother's piercing gaze.

Sasuke Uchiha's composure and rationality far exceeded his expectations.

Whether it was the personality that differed completely from the past, or the unheard-of ninjutsu he possessed.

But this play had to continue.

The people from Konoha had already arrived; it would be better to take everything upon himself.

Itachi Uchiha straightened his body, gripped his long sword tightly, and pointed it at Kei, who was sitting on the ground.

"What an ugly struggle. Do you really think you can launch a counterattack against me in your current state?"

Itachi Uchiha's voice echoed through the empty room.

"Go to the basement of the main hall at Naka Shrine. There, you will find the stone tablet passed down through generations of the Uchiha Clan, which records the true secrets of the Sharingan."

After delivering his final line, Itachi Uchiha sheathed his long sword, turned, and leaped out the window.

Less than ten seconds after Itachi Uchiha left, four Anbu members burst through the windows from different directions.

They immediately occupied the four corners of the room, kunai held across their chests, scanning the scene rapidly.

The floor was littered with corpses, and Sasuke Uchiha sat by the wall, forcing his eyes to stay open.

"Target confirmed. Sasuke Uchiha is alive," the Anbu captain, wearing a fox mask, reported in a low voice.

The captain walked over to him and crouched down.

He had assumed the child would be terrified into a stupor, but after seeing Sasuke Uchiha's eyes clearly, he dismissed that notion.

There was only contemplation and coldness in Sasuke Uchiha's eyes.

"Can you still speak?" the Anbu captain asked tentatively.

Sasuke Uchiha glanced at the Konoha emblem on the other man's uniform.

"He left," Sasuke Uchiha said, his voice hoarse.

"Who?"

"Itachi Uchiha."

"There was a massive energy surge here just a moment ago. What happened?" another Anbu member pressed.

Sasuke Uchiha looked up.

"I don't know," he replied crisply.

The Anbu captain frowned.

"He used Tsukuyomi on me, then decided I was too weak and didn't even have the interest to kill me, so he just left."

He pushed all the unexplainable anomalies onto the Tsukuyomi of the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Kei and Itachi Uchiha had actually chosen the exact same course of action.

Because Kei had already made a judgment on the higher-ups of Konoha...

They were not worth his honesty.

The captain stared at Sasuke Uchiha for a while.

The child was severely injured, his internal chakra nearly exhausted...

He must have been insane to think a child could have used that ninjutsu which shook the entire village.

It must have been something Itachi Uchiha did that caused the recent disturbance.

"Medical team, begin emergency treatment immediately," the captain ordered, then looked at Sasuke Uchiha, "You are safe now."

Sasuke Uchiha leaned against the tattered paper door, watching as several medical ninjas rushed forward, pressing palms glowing with green light against his chest.

Warm chakra began to repair his torn organs.

He truly hated the feeling of 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...

Although he knew Itachi Uchiha might also have been used as a pawn, Itachi Uchiha could not treat him like one either.

He would act with absolute freedom; he would never be played in the palms of Konoha and Itachi Uchiha.