Glitching

And so, ten days before the night of the clan's annihilation, the ninjas of the Uchiha clan hastily concluded their discussion regarding whether or not to seize power from Konoha by force.

However, the silver lining was that six years after the Nine-Tails Incident, the Uchiha had finally united once more, save for a few individuals who didn't quite fit in.

Zongyi Uchiha: "..."

Uchiha Shisui: "..."

Uchiha Itachi: "..."

After the meeting concluded, although the clan head Uchiha Fugaku departed first, the Uchiha ninjas present did not move; instead, they turned their gazes toward Uchiha Izuna.

Uchiha Fugaku paused in his tracks. He looked back at his clansmen with a complex expression, then cast a meaningful glance at Uchiha Izuna.

Uchiha Izuna cleared his throat: "It is getting late, everyone should return and rest. I, Uchiha Izuna, guarantee here that my attitude toward the Konoha high command will never soften, never compromise, and never yield!"

"Yes!" x10086. The next moment, the group of ninjas transformed into streaks of black shadows and vanished from the clan meeting hall.

Uchiha Fugaku also turned and left, his figure appearing somewhat lonely. This made Uchiha Izuna want to say something, but he knew he absolutely could not show weakness now.

Because Uchiha Itachi, Uchiha Shisui, and Zongyi Uchiha were still present.

Uchiha Izuna looked at them with amusement: "What? Still not leaving?" As he turned, his long hair fluttered and his face was full of mockery; it seemed that in his eyes, these three were nothing more than ants.

"Zhan, when did you acquire such powerful strength?" Uchiha Shisui asked, puzzled. He had often visited Uchiha Fugaku's home while spending time with Uchiha Itachi.

Therefore, he had greeted Uchiha Izuna many times. At Uchiha Fugaku's home, Zhan had been like a background character, bowing and scraping timidly whenever anyone spoke to him.

He never expected that he, Uchiha Shisui, would have been so blind. This guy's chakra was likely even greater than that of the Hokage!

"Just now." Uchiha Izuna smiled.

Uchiha Shisui's mouth twitched. Are you trying to fool a ghost? However, since this was his secret, it wasn't appropriate for him to press further.

Only Uchiha Itachi frowned, looking somewhat annoyed: "Zhan, if you don't want to say it, then don't. Why mock Shisui-san?"

"Believe what you want." Uchiha Izuna shrugged. If he didn't believe the truth, there was nothing he could do.

Veins bulged on Uchiha Itachi's forehead. He intended to teach his ignorant younger brother a lesson and show him the proper attitude to hold toward his elder brother.

This time, Uchiha Shisui did not stop Uchiha Itachi, as he too was curious about what level Uchiha Izuna's strength had reached.

"Ding, congratulations to the host for completing the mission: Refute Uchiha Shisui. Completion level: SSS. Reward: Skill Indomitable Body (Incomplete). Each time you are struck, damage is reduced by 10%, up to a maximum of 100%."

[Because you are afraid of death, the system has rewarded you with a damage reduction skill.]

Uchiha Izuna's eyes lit up—a conceptual god-tier skill! The corners of his mouth curled upward as he thought of a way to exploit the bug.

He held up his middle finger at Uchiha Itachi. Uchiha Itachi was stunned; he didn't understand what Uchiha Izuna meant, but it certainly wasn't anything good!

"Zhan, I challenge you!" Uchiha Itachi's eyes turned cold, and he prepared to perform the Seal of Reconciliation.

Uchiha Izuna waved his hand instead. This gesture caused contempt and disdain to rise in Uchiha Itachi's eyes. As expected, he was just a hollow shell; did he chicken out the moment things got real?

Uchiha Shisui, however, felt it wasn't that simple, so he quietly observed Uchiha Izuna's next move.

"Itachi, I think we should be at the training ground, not here, don't you? After all, this is where the Uchiha clan holds meetings; it wouldn't be good to break anything," Uchiha Izuna said calmly.

Uchiha Itachi was taken aback. That did seem reasonable, so he nodded: "In that case, I will wait for you at Training Ground 7."

With that, his figure vanished into thin air, transforming into a murder of crows.

If Uchiha Izuna only possessed the strength of a genin, he might have been intimidated by this move. But after merging with the Uchiha Madara [Founding of Konoha] template, this so-called Crow Clone Technique was nothing more than a parlor trick in his eyes.

When one's chakra reaches a certain level and one possesses a pair of powerful Mangekyō Sharingan, one can see through the fundamentals of all ninjutsu.

Uchiha Shisui did not leave; he continued to observe Uchiha Izuna. He saw Uchiha Izuna give him a thumbs-up before vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Uchiha Shisui's face turned pale. In the mere blink of an eye, Uchiha Izuna had disappeared from his sight!

However, he quickly reacted. Knowing the final destination, he unleashed the Phantom Body Flicker Technique and rushed toward Training Ground 7.

When Uchiha Shisui arrived, Uchiha Itachi smiled slightly: "Shisui-san, will you act as the referee?"

Uchiha Shisui looked at Uchiha Izuna and nodded slightly: "Very well." He then looked at Uchiha Izuna: "Zhan, rest assured, I will oversee this battle from the most impartial perspective, staking the honor of the Uchiha clan on it."

Uchiha Izuna nodded. Since Uchiha Shisui had staked the honor of the Uchiha clan, it showed his determination for fairness.

Seeing Uchiha Izuna nod, Uchiha Shisui raised his hand: "3, 2, 1, battle start!"

Uchiha Izuna's mouth curled upward, and he slapped his own chest ten times.

Thump, thump, thump, thump...

Uchiha Itachi was puzzled. Could his younger brother have something wrong with his brain? Why start the fight by slapping himself ten times?

"Ding, damage reduction 10%, 20%, 30%... 100%." The system prompt sounded, and Uchiha Izuna's mouth curled upward.

Alright, I'm ready. Now, let the battle begin!

Although Uchiha Itachi didn't understand what Uchiha Izuna was doing, for a ninja, striking first was the best strategy!

Uchiha Itachi drew his long blade and pointed it at Uchiha Izuna: "My foolish little brother, today I will make you understand that even if you have awakened the Mangekyō, you cannot contend with a battle-hardened ninja by relying solely on ocular jutsu."

With that, he lunged forward, closed the distance, raised his katana, and slashed at Uchiha Izuna.

Uchiha Izuna did not dodge or evade, standing rooted to the spot! Uchiha Itachi's pupils constricted, and he immediately tried to pull back his strength, but it was too late; he only managed to retract half of it.

The katana slashed toward Uchiha Izuna's shoulder.

"Damn it, are you an idiot? Move!" Uchiha Itachi roared. Although he wanted to teach his brother a lesson, he never intended to kill him!

Uchiha Izuna looked at Uchiha Itachi with a smile. Uchiha Itachi's pupils shrank as the long blade struck Uchiha Izuna's shoulder with a ding!

Sparks flew everywhere!