Is It Over, Itachi

"Very good."

Chen Xiaoxi nodded in satisfaction after hearing their reply. He turned and began walking toward the shrine, smiling as he spoke with his back to the two men:

"Your lives are spared for the time being."

As his words faded, he had already used Flash Step to enter the main hall of the shrine.

Only then did the two guards let out a sharp, ragged breath of relief.

"Hoo..."

However, they soon realized that the pressure weighing down on them had not lifted at all. The two remained unable to stand, forced to stay kneeling on the ground...

"..."

The two looked at each other in silence, offering only bitter smiles.

In their hearts, they could only pray that someone would come to their rescue.

Meanwhile, having entered the shrine, Chen Xiaoxi paid no mind to his surroundings. Following the intelligence provided by the guards, he went straight behind the second entryway.

Sure enough, in this small room, there was indeed an object resembling a Mechanism Stone.

With a thought from Chen Xiaoxi, his Reiatsu surged, and the Mechanism Stone began to operate.

The next moment, two floor tiles ahead suddenly parted, revealing an entrance leading downward.

It was the basement.

Without hesitation, Chen Xiaoxi immediately began to descend the stairs.

He knew that down here, he would find the stone tablet that had been tampered with by Black Zetsu.

As he descended, he could clearly feel the temperature dropping and the surroundings growing quieter.

When Chen Xiaoxi reached the bottom, he saw a sealed stone door at the end of the passage.

Various complex incantations were inscribed upon it, clearly indicating that something of extreme importance was kept inside.

Chen Xiaoxi had no intention of reading the seals. Instead, he calmly raised a single index finger and pointed it directly at the stone door ahead.

The next moment, moon-white hollow Reiatsu began to gather at his fingertip, condensing at high speed like a small ball of energy.

Once it reached a certain limit, Chen Xiaoxi said indifferently:

"Cero."

As the word fell, the ball of light at his fingertip shot out instantly, transforming into a brilliant pillar of Reiatsu that slammed into the stone door like a laser cannon!

The residual power of the immense Reiatsu made the entire space tremble!

Under the force of Chen Xiaoxi's Cero, the stone door, covered in seals, was instantly shattered and blown to pieces!

Dust and stone fragments flew into the air.

Chen Xiaoxi revealed a satisfied smile.

The power of the Cero had not disappointed him.

Chen Xiaoxi stepped into the stone chamber. The moment he entered, he immediately saw a black stone tablet resting silently within.

Chen Xiaoxi's eyes lit up, and he walked forward at once.

The Naka Stone Tablet, an object personally inscribed by the Sage of Six Paths.

Its original purpose was to guide the reincarnations of his eldest son, Indra, back to the right path.

However, as history unfolded, variables often emerged.

After the Sage of Six Paths passed away, Black Zetsu found this tablet and altered its contents to lead that man astray.

Eventually, this tablet became a fixture within the Uchiha clan's Naka Shrine.

According to the tablet's design, its contents were divided into three parts, requiring the Sharingan, the Mangekyou Sharingan, and the Rinnegan, respectively, to be deciphered.

Those who had not awakened their eyes could only see the most superficial information.

"It seems this is the very thing that ruined Uchiha Madara's entire life."

Chen Xiaoxi looked at the tablet before him with a faint smile.

He did not possess a Sharingan, so naturally, he could not read any of the hints contained within.

However, not being able to read it didn't matter.

Because, the moment he finished reading the superficial inscription on the tablet, a notification sound rang out instantly.

[Ding! Detected the Naka Stone Tablet, modified by Black Zetsu. Do you wish to extract the hidden information?]

"Ding! Congratulations to the host, the main branch quest has been completed!"

"Read the Naka Shrine stone tablet once (1/1), completed. Reward: Reiatsu +5!"

Five points of Reiatsu added just like that?

Chen Xiaoxi's eyes lit up instantly, and he couldn't help but reveal a smile of pleasant surprise.

As expected of a main branch quest, the rewards were completely superior to those of ordinary side quests!

It seemed he couldn't afford to be careless with the remaining branch quests either.

At this moment, outside Naka Shrine.

Just as Chen Xiaoxi was reading the inscription, a black figure suddenly arrived before the shrine.

It was none other than Itachi Uchiha.

His expression remained indifferent, yet at some point, a few droplets of fresh blood had splattered onto his face.

The blade in his hand was covered in streaks of flowing blood, appearing exceptionally sinister under the moonlight.

A bleak, cold wind swept past.

He walked silently toward the two guards ahead, a flicker of complex emotion occasionally crossing his eyes before being instantly suppressed.

At this point, he knew there was no turning back.

Having slaughtered his entire clan, he could not stop here.

However, just as he reached the side of the two guards, one of them noticed his arrival and said with great delight:

"Itachi, Young Master Itachi? Thank goodness! You've finally arrived!"

"We just discovered a..."

"Pfft!"

Before the words could finish, blood sprayed into the air.

Under the pale moonlight, the blood bloomed upon the earth like splashing flowers.

Itachi Uchiha's sharp blade had sliced across the throats of both guards with lightning speed, without the slightest hesitation.

As for the words the guards had left unfinished, Itachi did not care.

No matter what they had intended to say, it no longer mattered.

Because now, everything was coming to an end.

This was the final meeting point he had agreed upon with the mysterious Masked Man.

The cold wind blew past.

The scent of soil mingled with the stench of blood.

Itachi Uchiha lowered his eyes slightly, sheathed his blade, and exhaled slowly.

This was the end of it; he had finished everything he needed to do.

Itachi looked up toward the direction of the Uchiha Compound, his gaze complex.

He could almost still see his younger brother's look of despair and fear, and the rage he displayed when he awakened his Sharingan.

Forgive me, Sasuke.

Live on well, and then, become stronger...

Just as Itachi was lost in thought, a distorted spatial vortex suddenly began to appear in the air behind him.

Following that, the Masked Man in the black robe emerged from within.

"Oh..."

"Is it already over, Itachi?"

The moment he appeared, the Masked Man spoke in his uniquely low, gravelly tone.

The reason he had designated Naka Shrine as their meeting point was, first and foremost, because it was rarely frequented by anyone; let alone the villagers of Konoha, even the members of the Uchiha clan seldom came here.

Furthermore, it was situated directly on the edge of Konoha, meaning one could essentially leave the village just by hopping over a wall.

Hearing the Masked Man's voice, Itachi immediately pulled himself out of his thoughts and turned around.

He saw that the Masked Man's black robe was now stained with a significant amount of blood, dyed a sinister, dark crimson.

Clearly, his arrival here meant that every single member of the Uchiha Police Force had already been wiped out.