Naka Shrine

"Hmm?

"Who are you?"

Just then, one of the guards by the entrance noticed him.

But a moment later, he seemed to recognize the figure and let out a long sigh of relief. Smiling, he said,

"What? It's just Itachi. You gave me quite a scare."

"Out on a mission this late, Anbu? You guys sure are busy!"

Hearing that, the other guard relaxed, too. He walked over with a chuckle and said,

"Haha, yeah, Itachi. Finish up your mission and get some rest. Don't wear yourself out. After all, you're..."

The guard didn't get to finish.

Suddenly, a silver flash cut through the night sky, and blood sprayed into the air.

At some point, Itachi had appeared behind the two guards.

He held a long blade in his hand, crimson blood slowly dripping from its tip.

The two guards stared in disbelief, terror sinking deep into their bones.

"Itachi... you... how could you..."

Before they could finish, both bodies fell straight to the ground.

Their eyes were vacant. They stopped breathing.

They died on the spot.

Yet even as their consciousness faded, they couldn't believe Itachi had suddenly turned on them.

"..."

Silence fell as scarlet blood seeped across the ground.

In the darkness, Itachi's Sharingan glinted coldly.

He didn't look at the bodies. Instead, he raised his blade,

spun around, and raced toward another house.

At that moment,

high above Konoha,

under the moonlight,

a man stood in midair.

He wore a long, moon-white robe, a short sword at his waist, and silver hair that stirred gently in the wind.

The mysterious Fox Ghost mask on his face wore a silent smile.

From where he stood,

the whole of Konoha lay beneath his gaze.

Looking down, he murmured to himself,

"If I remember right,"

"Naka Shrine should be somewhere by the river..."

The Naka River

ran through all of Konoha.

According to the information Chen Xiaoxi had gathered earlier, the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine was downstream, near the river's mouth.

After confirming the location, Chen Xiaoxi didn't hesitate. He used Flash Step and shot downward.

His first priority

was to complete the system's side quest: read the Uchiha Clan's inscription at Naka Shrine.

As for Itachi and the Masked Man,

Chen Xiaoxi already had a complete plan.

In front of Naka Shrine,

two Uchiha guards sat idly on the steps, chatting.

One took a puff of his cigarette, narrowed his eyes, and said with a sigh,

"Come to think of it, young master Itachi, the clan leader's son, really is a genius through and through!"

"Hmm? What makes you say that?"

"This afternoon, I saw him leaping across the rooftops of the Uchiha Compound. His speed was incredible! He even came here!"

"What?

"No way! Young master Itachi came to the shrine?"

"Yeah."

The guard with the cigarette chuckled.

"I bet he was taking a good look around the Uchiha Compound. That way, he'll be able to protect us in the future!"

The young guard beside him widened his eyes in admiration.

"Just as you'd expect of young master Itachi!"

"He's only thirteen, but he already cares so much about the whole clan!"

However,

as soon as he said that,

a chuckle suddenly sounded behind them.

"Heh. That's an interesting way of looking at it."

"Did it never occur to you that he might have been scouting the place so he could kill people more easily later?"

"?"

At the sound of the voice, both guards jumped.

Who was talking?

They turned around in alarm and looked behind them.

The moment they did,

their blood ran cold.

At some point, a moon-white figure had appeared on the roof of the shrine behind them.

He wore a smiling Fox Ghost mask, which looked especially eerie in the moonlight.

"Who... who are you?"

"H-how dare you bad-mouth young master Itachi! There's no way he'd kill anyone!"

Though frightened, the two guards gathered their courage and shouted, their voices trembling.

In truth,

they were terrified.

They hadn't seen the figure appear at all. He was like a ghost...

And with the shrine beside them, the whole scene felt even more frightening.

Hearing them,

Chen Xiaoxi simply smiled and leapt down from the roof, making no effort to explain.

Once Itachi arrived, they'd probably understand.

As Chen Xiaoxi approached, the two guards shuddered and hurriedly raised their weapons, trying to defend themselves.

But in the next instant,

they felt an invisible pressure descend from above!

Thud!!

Both of them dropped to their knees at the same time!

The invisible, terrifying force felt like a pair of enormous hands pressing down on their bodies. They could barely stay upright!

W-what was happening?

What... what kind of power was this?

The guards knelt on the ground, their faces pale. Their eyes widened in shock, and sweat poured down their faces.

Chen Xiaoxi continued smiling as he spoke.

"Listen carefully. I'll only ask once."

"Does the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine have an underground chamber? Where's the entrance?"

"...!"

The moment he heard the question, both guards stiffened.

What was going on...

This mysterious man wanted to enter the shrine's underground chamber?

But Clan Leader Fuyue had ordered that no one could enter without his permission...

As the two hesitated,

the terrifying pressure on them suddenly grew even stronger!

"?"

"Looks like you two still don't understand."

Chen Xiaoxi raised his right hand slightly, gathering moon-white Void Reiatsu. He looked at the guards and smiled warmly.

"Stepping over an ant without crushing it takes a very delicate touch."

After Hollowfication, Chen Xiaoxi's Reiatsu was more than five times stronger than his normal level.

His influence on the physical world had grown far beyond what it had been before.

He didn't even need to build up his power. Just releasing his Reiatsu was enough to keep these weaklings from standing.

Feeling the terrifying pressure intensify, the two guards were scared out of their wits!

"Aah! The underground chamber is through the second inner passage in the shrine!"

"Y-you just have to touch the Mechanism Stone outside the passage, and it'll open the door to the underground chamber!"

Their bones were nearly crushed by the pressure. They had no time to worry about the clan leader's orders. Staying alive mattered more!

So they hurried to confess.