A Precise Kick to the Nuts!

Uchiha Itachi's face was expressionless.

His cool, aloof face was like carved ice, betraying no emotion. Only his eyes changed, turning crimson without a sound.

Three tomoe slowly revolved.

His beloved younger brother was behind him. At this moment, he did not want to start a fight.

But—

If the Uchiha madman before him showed the slightest sign of losing control, if even a trace of killing intent turned toward Sasuke, Itachi would strike without hesitation.

A fellow clansman?

Compared to his brother's safety, that meant nothing!

Yongye stood there with that infuriating grin on his face, cursing inwardly.

Fuck, that didn't work!

No wonder he'll be ruthless enough to kill the women and children of his own clan someday. His mental defenses are strong!

Anyone else would have flown into a rage after being mocked to his face like that.

No matter.

I've got an even nastier move!

Yongye looked past Itachi's shoulder at the little brat whose eyes were still red, then turned his gaze back and stared straight into Itachi's eyes.

His voice was light, deliberately dripping with sarcasm:

"Your father is the clan leader, yet he's a fence-sitter who bends whichever way the wind blows. He's offended the clan's peace faction, its hardliners, and the Konoha High Command!"

Uchiha Itachi's expression still did not change.

His three tomoe revolved slowly as he watched Yongye coldly.

Yongye leaned forward slightly, looking past Itachi to fix his gaze on Sasuke. He pointed at the child and, in the gentle tone of an elder giving advice, spoke with calculated cruelty:

"Uchiha Itachi, you'd better keep a close eye on that precious little brother of yours."

"Your father has offended everyone. Who wouldn't want revenge?"

"And your little brother, that helpless little chick..."

He tilted his head and grinned smugly. "He's the perfect target!"

"You...!"

Sasuke's small face went white.

He instinctively took half a step back, his little body bumping into Itachi's leg.

He had never thought about anything like this.

He was just a child who spent his days following his big brother around. Could he really be a target for so many people's revenge?

Was Father really a fence-sitter? Did everyone hate him?

"Shut up!"

Itachi's voice was low, like a blade forced back into its sheath.

He raised a hand and drew Sasuke farther behind him.

His crimson Sharingan remained locked on Yongye, but the knuckles of the hand gripping his kunai had begun to stand out.

Just then.

Two cold system notifications sounded one after the other in Yongye's mind.

[Ding—Target Sasuke Uchiha has suffered a moderate mental blow.]

[Heartbreak points exceed the requirement. Reward: one intermediate mystery box. Open it now?]

[Ding—Target Uchiha Itachi has suffered a minor mental blow.]

[Heartbreak points meet the requirement. Reward: one basic mystery box. Open it now?]

There it is!

Yongye was overjoyed. His grin grew wider, wilder.

"Open them all! Use everything!"

[Ding—Basic mystery box opened!]

[Congratulations, host. Reward obtained: physique doubled!]

A warm current surged from his lower abdomen. Like molten lava, it poured through every muscle and bone in his body.

He could clearly feel the density of his bones and sinews soaring. An invisible force tore his muscle fibers apart, rebuilt them, then tore them apart and rebuilt them again.

It was as though an invisible pair of hands had reforged his organs. Every heartbeat was steadier and stronger than before, and every breath seemed capable of drawing in all the air around him.

A fine layer of gray impurities seeped from his skin, traces of his body being thoroughly cleansed in an instant.

It took longer to describe than to happen. In less than the blink of an eye, his physique had doubled!

Ordinary punches and kicks could not even make him take half a step back.

[Ding—Intermediate mystery box opened!]

[Congratulations, host. Reward obtained: total chakra doubled!]

The next instant, immense power exploded inside him!

His chakra pathways expanded wildly. Channels that had once held only trickling streams were forced wide into surging rivers.

Chakra poured from every cell, gathered, compressed, then gathered again. Like a deep pool fed by an endless flow of water, its level rose steadily.

One and a half times. One and three quarters. Twice as much.

In just a few breaths, the total chakra in his body had climbed to a full twice its former level.

That surging power raced endlessly through his chakra pathways and faintly radiated beyond his skin, making the air around him distort for an instant.

Itachi's pupils contracted sharply.

He had felt it.

That chakra fluctuation—dense, surging—far exceeded what he remembered Uchiha Yongye was capable of.

How was that possible?

He had been familiar with the affairs of his clan since childhood and knew Uchiha Yongye's background all too well.

The man was merely an ordinary ninja of mediocre talent. His chakra reserves, ninjutsu, and taijutsu were all unremarkable. There was nothing about him worth noting.

Yet now, that chakra fluctuation... it surpassed that of most Konoha Ninja!

What had changed him so drastically?

Had extreme hatred awakened his body's hidden potential?

Or—

Itachi's heart tightened.

Or had he taken a desperate gamble and used some monstrous forbidden technique, burning through his own life to gain power?

Remembering Yongye's blatant threat against Sasuke, Itachi hesitated no longer.

Whether it was an awakening born of hatred or the backlash of a forbidden technique did not matter.

Threaten Sasuke—

And you die!

Sharingan. Genjutsu.

Activate!

Invisible mental power struck at Yongye's consciousness like a shadowless venomous snake.

With Itachi's mastery of genjutsu, using it against an ordinary ninja was overkill.

But—

Under the perception granted by Clear Sword Heart, that invisible mental attack was as clear as a torch in the dark.

Yongye saw through it all!

He saw the path of that thread of genjutsu chakra, saw how it meant to coil around his consciousness, and saw where it was weakest.

He could have severed it with a single sword stroke.

But he did not.

He deliberately relaxed his mind and let the genjutsu envelop him.

Then—

His eyes abruptly lost focus, and his body froze like a puppet with its strings cut.

Got him!

Uchiha Itachi caught sight of Sasuke from the corner of his eye and hesitated.

Should he kill this Uchiha right in front of Sasuke, or wait until later...?

In the thousandth of a second that Uchiha Itachi hesitated—

The "puppet" that should have been helpless under his genjutsu suddenly moved.

Clarity returned to Yongye's eyes in an instant, and his lips curled into a mocking smile.

He had seen Uchiha Itachi hesitate.

And he knew whom Itachi had hesitated for.

Then he kicked.

Fast. Precise!

His target—between Itachi's legs.

A precise kick to the nuts!

"AAARGH!!!"

A shriek like a pig being slaughtered rang through the entire street!

Uchiha Itachi, the Uchiha Clan's youngest genius and wielder of the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, immediately folded like a cat that had just been castrated and pitched face-first to the ground!

His usually icy face turned a dark, mottled red. Veins bulged across his forehead, and cold sweat poured down!

The pain was excruciating!

But the moment Uchiha Itachi hit the ground, he endured the agony that nearly made him faint, slammed both hands against the ground, and sprang into the air.

He couldn't stay down. Stay down, and he'd die!