Shien's Mangekyō Sharingan

Elsewhere, under Shisui's fearless assault—after all, an Impure World Reincarnation body was immortal—and shaken by Shisui's sudden appearance, Itachi had no will to fight at all.

He feinted, then seized the opening from Shisui's strike. With a bang, he turned into countless crows, passed through the roof, and fled in panic.

"Don't think you can run!" Shisui immediately moved to give chase.

"Let him go!" Shien shouted, though his gaze remained locked on Fugaku.

"Fugaku, can you see it now? A variable has appeared! The future of certain death you foresaw has changed!"

Under the suppression of the Mangekyō Sharingan, Fugaku's expression constantly shifted.

Beside him, Mikoto lay on the ground, yet a glimmer of hope appeared on her face.

No one knew how many clansmen were still alive. Shien spoke quickly, his thoughts clear.

"There's no time for you to hesitate! Do you want to atone? Do you want to truly protect Sasuke, so the Uchiha name won't vanish completely tonight?"

"Then catch up to Itachi! Not to kill him, but to fight your way out with him!"

"You and your son both possess Mangekyō Sharingan, and he has one as well as extensive ANBU experience. If you join forces to break out, who in Konoha can stop you easily?"

"As long as you escape alive and become two blades hanging over Konoha from beyond its borders, the Konoha higher-ups won't dare make public the charge that the Uchiha attempted a coup!"

"Instead, they'll desperately cover up the truth. Only then can Sasuke truly live safely in the village! This is your only way out!"

The dead light in Fugaku's eyes flickered violently. Shien's words were like lightning, splitting apart the thoughts he had sealed away in despair.

That's right. If both he and Itachi "defected," Konoha would need stability and would want to avoid escalating the conflict.

They wouldn't dare lay a hand on Sasuke Uchiha. They might even protect him, lest Fugaku and Itachi be driven into a desperate counterattack!

Fugaku exchanged a glance with his wife Mikoto and immediately made his decision.

"I... understand!"

He gave Shien and Shisui a deep look, then turned into a black shadow and instantly shot out of the residence, racing in the direction Itachi had fled.

Shien shook his head. The sharply enhanced ocular power and vast influx of knowledge and experience left him dizzy.

But he didn't have much time to sort through it now.

Still, his ocular technique?

Hmm...

Shien tilted his head and glanced at Mikoto, who lay on the ground. He and Shisui had arrived together and heard the entire conversation between Fugaku and Itachi.

As the clan head and his wife, they hadn't sought benefits for the clan. Instead, they had simply stretched out their necks to be slaughtered. It was truly contemptible.

Still, Mikoto couldn't have done anything about this sudden situation.

Shien reached out and patted Mikoto's shoulder. His Mangekyō Sharingan spun once.

"Sister Mikoto, even if we get through tonight, life won't be easy for you and Sasuke afterward. You need to prepare yourself."

Mikoto's eyes were filled with complicated emotions, but she still nodded, unaware that a trace of special ocular power had already invaded her body.

Shien turned to Shisui, whose face was full of pain.

"Shisui, go wake up the remaining clansmen right now and organize them for battle."

"Hold the clan grounds. Don't charge out. We still have quite a few clansmen alive."

"I'll head to the Konoha Military Police Force and see if anyone there is still alive."

Before the Uchiha Police Force headquarters, firelight and bloodlight intertwined. More than a dozen corpses already lay scattered across the ground.

A young man was locked in a deadly battle with a bizarre figure wearing a tiger-skin mask.

He moved with agility, twin blades in hand. Wind and fire howled with every swing. His movements were as dazzling as a performance, yet every strike was lethal.

Wind Release: Chaotic Slash!

Invisible wind blades scattered through the air with his slashes, carving deep marks into the ground and walls.

Fire Release: Flame Battle Garment!

Blazing flames instantly coiled around his twin blades. The young man resembled a warrior god draped in fire, every slash carrying scorching waves of heat.

This young man was Uchiha Akabane, an elite renowned within the clan for his rebellious nature and flashy style.

His combat style was unique. He disdained traditional large-scale Fire Release techniques, instead specializing in the Flame Storm sword art, which fused elemental Chakra with swordsmanship.

Yet the techniques he took such pride in now seemed utterly powerless.

Whether sharp wind blades or scorching flames, they passed easily through his opponent's body, unable to cause any real harm.

"Useless. The Uchiha's flames will eventually burn themselves to ashes."

Obito's voice came through the mask, carrying the teasing amusement of a cat playing with a mouse.

He admired the fighting spirit gradually burning out in his opponent's eyes.

Uchiha Akabane gritted his teeth as sweat mixed with blood slid down from his brow.

He had exhausted every method he had, yet he couldn't even truly touch the corner of his opponent's clothes. The profound helplessness nearly suffocated him.

"Is this all the fire the Uchiha have left?"

Obito's voice came through the mask, filled with lofty amusement.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. I've had enough fun."

Just as his body flickered between solid and intangible, preparing to deliver the killing blow—

A figure cut into the battlefield at incredible speed!

It was Shien Uchiha!

Obito didn't care in the slightest. He was even somewhat annoyed by these moths rushing one after another to their deaths.

He maintained his intangibility, ready to watch the other's attack miss.

Yet the instant Shien drew near, Obito instinctively tried to use his ocular power to launch a swift Genjutsu attack.

It was his most efficient method for dealing with fodder.

But at the exact instant his ocular power touched the other man, he saw those eyes clearly!

Against a scarlet backdrop was a pattern far more intricate and profound than the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, radiating ominous power!

Mangekyō Sharingan?!

Behind the mask, Obito's pupil abruptly contracted!

Besides Itachi and perhaps Fugaku, there was actually a third pair of Mangekyō Sharingan hidden within the clan?

"Buzz..."

Their ocular powers collided, and Obito involuntarily staggered back a step.

His mind buzzed.

He had to devote part of his attention to maintaining long-term control over Karatachi Yagura, the Three-Tails Jinchuriki. With his ocular power far from its peak, his Genjutsu was effortlessly neutralized when facing a Mangekyō Sharingan in perfect condition!

Shien... it was him?!

Obito's expression darkened as fragments of sealed memories flashed through his mind.

Back at the Ninja Academy, he had been that famous genius from another class.

Who would've thought he'd become a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder!

Anger and humiliation filled Obito's expression as he coldly stared in the direction Shien's long blade stabbed toward.

Even without Genjutsu, his Kamui was still invincible!

"Be careful, he can turn intangible! You can't hit him!" Chi Yan hurriedly warned Shien from nearby.

At that moment, Shien's body and Obito's crossed paths.

As expected, Shien's blade missed and passed right through him.

Obito sneered and reached back to grab Shien. Just as he had imprisoned Karatachi Yagura, he would lock Shien away in the Kamui Dimension forever!

But at the instant he grabbed Shien and his own body became solid.

Shien's Mangekyō Sharingan spun rapidly, and a faint afterimage appeared around his body, like footage rewinding.

His body returned to where it had been a fraction of a second earlier.

Squelch!

The blade sliced through flesh, and a sharp pain instantly tore through Obito's ribs!