"However, the most important thing now is to shake off the pursuers behind me!"
Looking at the familiar mask worn by the Anbu captain, Uchiha Ye's heart sank slightly. Hatake Kakashi. This guy's trouble.
He burrowed into the magma and vanished at incredible speed.
"Tracking team, don't let him get away!"
Seeing this, Hatake Kakashi narrowed his eyes and calmly issued the order.
A member of the Hyuga Clan Anbu immediately activated his Byakugan and led the others in pursuit.
Meanwhile, over with Uchiha Obito!
"Good. I'll remember you, brat!"
Tearing off his scorched sleeve, Uchiha Obito's eyes turned ice-cold.
He was Uchiha Obito, the man who secretly manipulated the shinobi world. Yet after personally making a move, he had been tricked by a thirteen-year-old brat's Shadow Clone.
This humiliation had to be avenged!
He would take Uchiha Ye's Two-Tomoe Sharingan!
At the same time!
"I'm sorry, Father, Mother!"
Uchiha Itachi's hands trembled as he gripped the bloodied short blade. Staring at his parents lying in a pool of blood, he fell to his knees, on the verge of mental collapse.
"Don't... blame yourself, Itachi. Compared to you, we suffered only a moment's... pain."
Uchiha Fugaku's voice was weak, but his tone was accepting. "Even if we... chose different paths, I... still consider you my pride!"
As he neared death, he smiled and took his wife's hand. Then he said to Uchiha Itachi, "Take... good... care of Sasuke!"
With that, he died with a smile.
"Yes!"
Uchiha Itachi rose in grief. By the time he stood, his tears had dried, and only the lines around his mouth had deepened.
Half an hour later, in the Hokage Office.
"What did you say?"
After hearing Kakashi's report, Shimura Danzō roared in disbelief. "The members I sent out were outstanding elites by any measure in the entire shinobi world. How could they all have died at the hands of a Uchiha brat?"
"Kakashi, what kind of joke is this?"
Hatake Kakashi replied calmly, "Lord Danzō, I know this is difficult for you to accept, but it's the truth."
"If you don't believe me, you can send someone to verify it at the village entrance."
Danzō's expression immediately darkened further. He snorted and sat back down.
He felt awful!
Before this operation, the higher-ups had all agreed that, aside from the brothers Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Sasuke, there couldn't possibly be a third survivor of the Uchiha Clan.
But now, he had botched such an important matter.
What would all of Konoha think of him?
An incompetent fool?
He couldn't tolerate it!
"Sarutobi, dispatch a pursuit squad at once. We absolutely can't leave such a threat alive!"
"There's still time to act!"
Now that it had happened, there was no use being angry.
The right thing to do was deal with the deserter quickly and make up for the failure.
He wanted to know who had managed to stay hidden under his nose for so long without arousing his suspicion!
However!
The Third Hokage shook his head. "From what Kakashi just told us, he was strong enough to take out more than five Root elites in just a few minutes."
"Moreover, this person hid his strength within the Uchiha Clan for so long without being exposed. He also predicted the crisis so accurately that he left Konoha as soon as we made our move. Clearly, he's no ordinary opponent."
"I don't think a reckless pursuit will accomplish anything!"
Hearing this, Shimura Danzō immediately grew anxious. "Sarutobi! How can you know it won't work if you don't try?"
He needed this pursuit to restore his authority!
How could he let the Third Hokage refuse?
The Third Hokage thought it over, but still shook his head.
Then he straightened his expression. "More importantly, we should quickly handle the aftermath of the Uchiha Clan's downfall and prepare for the reactions of the various powers in the shinobi world."
"Konoha's peace and stability matter more than anything!"
Mitokado Homura and Utatane Koharu, the two advisors beside him, nodded in agreement.
But Shimura Danzō couldn't accept this at all.
His face darkened as he tried to argue. "Sarutobi, you..."
Before he could finish, the Third Hokage said sternly, "Danzō, this is a Hokage order!"
Shimura Danzō's face flushed with anger. He glared at the Third Hokage with murderous eyes for a full half-minute, then rose and stormed out in indignation. "Sarutobi! You'll regret this decision!"
Evil must be rooted out completely!
He was truly disappointed in the Third Hokage!
If that's the case, then Uchiha Itachi can't be allowed to live!
The Uchiha Clan had already been eliminated with Uchiha Itachi's help, so there was no need to keep him alive.
They could pin the massacre on Uchiha Itachi, clear the higher-ups of suspicion, and preserve their good image.
After all, the dead couldn't talk!
It might even help restore some of his own reputation!
But a few hours later, at Root headquarters...
"G-g-g..."
After hearing his subordinate's report, his face turned ashen once more, and his eyes grew so cold they seemed capable of killing.
"You're saying... you let Uchiha Itachi... get away too?!!"
Shimura Danzō spoke in a low voice, like a beast about to devour its prey.
"Yes!"
The Root member giving the report was so frightened that his voice trembled. "Uchiha Itachi never let his guard down around us."
"He had placed genjutsu on every former 'teammate' he'd ever worked with, so when we attacked him, the genjutsu activated automatically. In the end, we all slaughtered one another, and he was able to leave at his leisure."
Hearing this answer, Danzō's teeth ground together. His face twisted with rage as he shouted, "So after all these years of training you, this is the useless bunch I ended up with?!"
He rose in a fury and kicked the Root member over. "It's one thing to all get wiped out by some unknown Uchiha brat, but if you'd just killed Uchiha Itachi, I could still have salvaged my reputation."
"But you..."
His teeth clenched as murderous intent blazed in his eyes. "Is this how you repay me for all the years I spent training you?"
"Have you all been living like dogs? You can't even handle one Uchiha Itachi!"
Not a soul answered in the vast Root headquarters.
Only Shimura Danzō's angry, labored breathing echoed through the place.
Meanwhile, somewhere in the Land of Fire.
"As expected of Konoha's Anbu. They really won't quit chasing me!"
Looking at the devastated ground, Uchiha Ye shook his head and erased his tracks.
After luring all the pursuers to a remote area, he had taken them out with a single Lava Scorch Shot.
"Now, I need to find somewhere to settle down!"
After resting briefly, Uchiha Ye headed northwest.
If he stayed too long, Konoha's pursuers would surround him, which would be quite a hassle.
While leading Konoha's Anbu on a chase just now, he had already roughly planned his next steps.
First, he would join a faction and build up his strength. Then he would establish his own shinobi village.
Only with strength could he pursue his ambitions.
And the faction he had chosen was none other than Akatsuki, the organization perpetually shrouded in rain!
Before you continue