Blocking the Way

For some reason, the Night of the Clan Massacre that had taken place in the original story to stop the Uchiha rebellion never happened.

The river of fate had already begun to show signs of changing course.

Even so, with Konoha already prepared for the Uchiha Clan's coup, it should not have caused much of a stir. The Uchiha could never contend against the strength of all Konoha. Once the altered fate had been tempered by war, it would still return to its proper course.

The ending would not change simply because the means had changed.

What truly sent fate spiraling into an unpredictable abyss was that the will which had first diverted the river of fate had appeared once again. In the form of a note, it delivered news that Konoha already knew of the Uchiha's impending rebellion into the hands of Fugaku, the clan head who could decide the Uchiha Clan's future.

The original coup had a chance of succeeding so long as the Uchiha ambushed and captured Konoha's upper ranks, such as Sarutobi and Danzo. But now, what awaited them was every Konoha ninja, already assembled and standing ready. This was a force the Uchiha Clan could never defeat.

A clan's mission was to endure, not to destroy itself.

Especially tonight, when Itachi had yet to appear.

Uchiha Fugaku no longer needed to fulfill his duties as a father. All he had to do was carry out his duty as the head of the Uchiha Clan to the very end.

—Thus, releasing the Nine-Tails became his only choice.

Under the manipulation of that great hand behind the scenes, the fates of the Uchiha Clan and Konoha were about to enter a future fraught with uncertainty.

Compared to their counterparts in another time and space,

they were about to bring the pain once confined to the Uchiha Clan upon every person in Konoha.

"You've crossed the line, Ning Qi. Move aside, now!"

"I refuse." Beneath the reflection of those terrifying Sharingan, Ning Qi smiled gently but refused to yield. "The Uchiha Clan's fate should be decided by the Uchiha themselves."

"I'm going to decide the Uchiha Clan's fate." Itachi's expression was utterly cold as he spoke.

He was not the coward Fugaku claimed him to be. He had merely been blocked by this man before he could find help.

Ning Qi shook his head. "You aren't going to decide the Uchiha Clan's fate. You're merely going to carry out Konoha's orders."

The evening breeze rustled through the branches.

Their gazes met in midair.

On one side were misty Byakugan.

On the other were Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

"I always thought you were one of Danzo's men." Itachi slowly drew the standard-issue longsword from his back. "After all, you've done so many bad things."

"That's hardly surprising. Everyone thinks so." Ning Qi drew his short blade. "He's the finest shield for all of Konoha's darkness."

Itachi considered many things at once, his brow tightly furrowed. "Then who do you represent?"

"I represent myself." Ning Qi crooked a finger at Itachi. "Come on. It's been a month since our last fight. Let me see how much you've improved."

Bang!

The sound of short blades clashing rang out.

Two figures flickered through the forest at incredible speed, too fast to make out clearly. Only the sparks constantly bursting from their colliding weapons declared this to be an exceptionally dangerous battle.

Konoha's Twin Prodigies.

Since childhood, they had been friends and rivals alike, sharing no small bond. They understood each other better than anyone and were more familiar with each other's fighting styles than anyone. Every move had a counter, and because of that, the moment Itachi noticed that Ning Qi could still fight him evenly in close quarters, he immediately realized something.

"You fought someone before coming to block me?"

"No, I've been here waiting for you the whole time. I haven't fought anyone. I merely split off half my chakra earlier." Ning Qi's tone was casual.

In close combat, the Byakugan surpassed the Sharingan in dynamic vision, and Ning Qi also surpassed Itachi in swordsmanship. Even after sending out half his chakra, he would not be at a disadvantage against Itachi in close-range combat.

"You're being overconfident."

"More than enough to deal with you." Ning Qi was utterly arrogant.

After another clash of blades, Itachi used the momentum to leap backward into the air. Three kunai shot toward Ning Qi, only to be swept aside by his sword.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

Blazing flames filled the sky, illuminating every corner of the darkness as Ning Qi drew his short blade back.

Water Sword Technique: Flowing Slash!

Azure chakra coated the blade as a single slash split the entire fireball apart.

Amid rising steam, a streak of white light slashed straight down at Ning Qi from above.

The vapor obscured their vision, but it made no difference to either Ning Qi or Itachi.

Ning Qi raised his sword to block, and the fierce, perilous close-quarters battle erupted once more.

"Even if you stop me, they'll still fail tomorrow!" As their weapons locked together, Itachi stared intently at Ning Qi. "Aside from exposing Konoha's internal turmoil and giving the other ninja villages an opportunity, it serves no purpose at all!"

"You're underestimating your clansmen's initiative." Ning Qi chuckled softly.

Would other ninja villages see Konoha's severe internal conflict and possibly start a war?

No.

That price was far too small.

It was not what Ning Qi wanted.

"You gave the information to the Uchiha Clan?!" Itachi's mouth opened slightly, and the longsword in his hand nearly flew from his grasp.

His expression darkened, and his Three-Tomoe Sharingan instantly transformed into the shuriken-shaped Mangekyo Sharingan.

Genjutsu: Tsukuyomi!

Within the genjutsu space, the sky was blood-red, while everything else was black and white. Crosses stood everywhere, each one binding a Ning Qi. He turned his gaze to Itachi's face before him and shook his head.

"You know this won't do much to me."

Itachi drove the long needle in his hand into Ning Qi's body. As expected, Ning Qi did not react at all.

"Genjutsu: Substitute..."

Ning Qi might have been far inferior to Itachi in genjutsu, but he possessed a talent for developing new techniques that even Itachi deeply envied. Genjutsu: Substitute was a genjutsu specifically designed to counter genjutsu.

It was a B-rank genjutsu. Its sole purpose was to help Ning Qi resist mental damage from genjutsu. It was an extremely rare defensive genjutsu and exceptionally practical.

Its inspiration came from the commonly used ninjutsu—the Substitute Technique—and its genjutsu principles were not complicated. It gathered and stored normally dissipating mental energy as a "substitute," which would bear damage directed solely at the mind in place of the user at critical moments.

Ning Qi had created this technique specifically to avoid being instantly defeated by genjutsu like Tsukuyomi, developing it with his Analysis ability.

As one of Konoha's Twin Prodigies alongside Itachi, he could not possibly fail to withstand even one of Itachi's moves, could he?

"How many substitutes do you have?" Itachi took a deep breath.

"And how many times can you use Tsukuyomi?" Ning Qi asked in return.

A substitute required roughly a week to gather dissipating mental energy, and only one could be stored at a time. Each one could only block a single genjutsu.

But for Ning Qi, that was already enough.

Leaving aside whether Itachi could withstand the burden of using Tsukuyomi multiple times, once Ning Qi lost his substitute and became alert, there was no way he would fall for Tsukuyomi again.

Itachi gave up the meaningless act of stabbing Ning Qi with the long needle and instead demanded, "What exactly are you trying to do by stopping me?"

"Didn't you say it yourself?" Ning Qi, unable to move atop the cross, grinned, his lips red and teeth white.

"I want Konoha in chaos."