"...You're later than I expected. Did something happen?"
After a moment of silence, Itachi asked coolly:
Indeed,
given what he knew of Masked Man Madara Uchiha's strength, dealing with a single security force shouldn't have taken this long.
Hearing that, the Masked Man let out a low chuckle and replied:
"Heh..."
"Nothing happened. I just took care of a little something."
"Let's go, Yi Da Qi."
"I can take you to the organization now."
With that,
the Masked Man turned around.
Itachi's gaze flickered slightly, and he turned as well, ready to leave.
But just then,
suddenly,
a faint voice drifted softly out of the darkness behind them, ethereal as the ring of a blade.
"Tsk, tsk..."
"I didn't expect you to have finished your mission so quickly."
"You two Uchiha sure move fast."
"?"
The words rang out like an explosion in the darkness.
In an instant, the Masked Man and Itachi both froze, their pupils contracting sharply as they swiftly turned to look behind them!
The two of them were utterly shocked.
With their formidable abilities, they hadn't even sensed anyone behind them!
Who was it?
When had they arrived?
What was their purpose?
In the half-second it took them to turn around, countless thoughts flashed through their minds.
But when they finally saw who was behind them,
their thoughts came to a halt.
There,
atop a streetlamp in front of the shrine,
stood a moon-white figure.
He wore a mysterious Fox Ghost mask, with a White Dagger hanging at his waist.
A light breeze stirred his clothes and sent his silver hair fluttering.
Under the moonlight,
the whole scene looked so eerie and out of place.
This man
gave them an intensely dangerous feeling!
Like bleached bones,
like a beast on the hunt!
The Masked Man and Itachi immediately exchanged a glance, then saw the same trace of wariness in each other's eyes.
Clearly, neither of them knew who this person was.
Realizing that,
both of their expressions turned serious.
Itachi even placed a hand on the hilt of the sword on his back, ready to fight at any moment.
The plan had come this far. He wouldn't allow anything else to go wrong.
The Masked Man narrowed his eyes slightly and said in a low voice:
"Tsk. What a theatrical fool..."
"Who are you?"
At that,
Chen Xiaoxi, standing on the road, smiled and said:
"A theatrical fool?"
"Compared to you, I still have a long way to go."
"Lord Madara Uchiha."
"..."
He knew the identity I'd made up?
The Masked Man's gaze flickered, and he couldn't help wondering.
Very few people knew that he appeared wearing this orange mask and pretended to be Madara Uchiha.
Aside from Pain, Konan, and Zetsu of the Akatsuki, it seemed that in the Leaf Village, only Itachi Uchiha and Shimura Danzō knew.
But clearly, Itachi wouldn't reveal anything about him.
Which meant...
Could this man have been sent by Danzō?
Realizing this,
the Masked Man raised his eyes and said gravely:
"Tch."
"You... are one of Shimura Danzō's men?"
At that,
Itachi's gaze shifted slightly.
However,
Chen Xiaoxi suddenly chuckled, raised both hands, and applauded.
"Clap, clap."
"As expected of you... You guessed right."
"In that case,"
"I suppose there's no need for me to keep hiding it..."
As he spoke,
Chen Xiaoxi leaped down from the streetlamp and approached them.
As he stepped forward, he slowly drew the white blade at his waist.
Smiling, he said softly:
"That's right."
"I was sent by Lord Danzō."
"My mission is to collect all the Sharingan tonight and... silence the two of you."
"?"
As soon as the words fell, the Masked Man and Itachi's pupils both contracted.
They froze.
Dead silence.
Naka Shrine had already been utterly quiet,
but the gleam of that shining blade made it quieter still!
The Masked Man and Itachi
were both stunned.
In fact, they had both just been speculating about why this man had appeared.
But
even though they'd braced themselves for the worst, they hadn't imagined he would say something like that!
He wanted to take all the Sharingan and... kill the two of them?
Had Shimura Danzō gone mad?
Besides,
weren't they supposed to be partners in the Uchiha Clan's massacre?
Why was he suddenly pulling this?
The Masked Man's expression darkened. He narrowed his eyes slightly and stared at Chen Xiaoxi.
"Hmph!"
"That old man Shimura Danzō... Is he going to break his promise and turn against us?"
At this point,
he had no reason to doubt Chen Xiaoxi's identity.
After all, aside from him and Itachi,
the only person in the entire Leaf Village who knew the details of the massacre plan and Madara's existence was the leader of Root, Shimura Danzō.
The mask this man wore did bear many similarities to the masks of Root.
"That's an interesting question."
Hearing the Masked Man, Chen Xiaoxi chuckled, his body Hollowfied, and said:
"Lord Danzō did say he would work with you to wipe out the Uchiha Clan."
"But,"
"he never said he'd let the two of you leave alive."
"Isn't that right, my two 'pawns'?"
"..."
At those words, not only the Masked Man but even Itachi's gaze sharpened.
Two pawns?
Was he talking about the two of us?
Had that old fox Danzō planned to double-cross us from the start?
As the two of them seethed with anger, Chen Xiaoxi spoke again.
He raised a hand, opened his palm, and smiled at the Masked Man.
"Come on, Madara Uchiha."
"Hand over all the Sharingan you collected from the Uchiha Clan tonight."
"It'd be rather inelegant if I had to take them by force."
"?"
At that,
the Masked Man felt as if he'd just coughed up a mouthful of blood!
You're standing there asking me for them outright, and you're saying it's not taking them by force?
And you're calling that elegant?
"...Hmph!"
"Looks like the higher-ups in the Leaf Village really can't be trusted."
The Masked Man tilted his head slightly. His red Sharingan glinted as he narrowed his eyes and said coolly:
"Go ahead, Yi Da Qi."
"Show that old man Shimura Danzō how foolish it was to choose us as his enemies..."
With that,
the Masked Man leaped back and came to a stop at the side, folding his arms as he chose to watch.
As the Ninja World's number-one survivor,
he wasn't about to make a move without knowing anything about this mysterious enemy.
And Itachi, standing beside him, was the perfect fighter to send in his place.
Before you continue