In the Grove.
Uchiha Sora stood quietly in a clearing.
A figure appeared before him with a swish.
"Itachi, you're here." Uchiha Sora smiled in greeting. The newcomer was Uchiha Itachi.
Not long after returning from Fugaku's place, Uchiha Sora had received an invitation to meet Itachi.
"Yes, I'm here." Uchiha Itachi nodded gently, his eyes fixed on Uchiha Sora.
"What's wrong?"
"Sora, I asked you to come here today because I want to talk about Shisui!" Itachi said quietly.
Uchiha Sora's gaze sharpened. "Itachi, what do you want to know?"
"How exactly did Shisui die?" Itachi asked, enunciating every word.
Sora frowned. "You read his suicide note, didn't you? Just think of it as suicide!"
"No! I want you to tell me what really happened!" Uchiha Itachi said in a low voice. "I don't believe Shisui would take his own life so easily! There must be more to this!"
"All right! I really shouldn't keep this from you." Uchiha Sora shook his head helplessly and explained how Danzo had caused Shisui's death.
After hearing him out, Itachi clenched his fists tightly and gritted his teeth, his eyes turning scarlet. "Just as I thought, Shisui didn't kill himself! It was all their plot!"
Uchiha Sora sighed. "Itachi, Konoha's leaders have long seen our Uchiha Clan as a thorn in their side. The way I see it, your father has no choice but to stage a coup."
"Yes! When will the hatred between the clan and Konoha finally end?" Uchiha Itachi let out a deep sigh as well.
He looked up at the sky and slowly said, "Before I came to see you, the Third Hokage summoned me!"
"He told me you attacked Danzo's Root and stole a great deal of their Ninjutsu research."
"The Third Hokage has declared you a rogue ninja and sent me to assassinate you!"
Hearing this, Uchiha Sora couldn't help expressing his surprise. "He sent you to assassinate me? In that case, Itachi, why are you telling me?"
Uchiha Itachi said softly, "To Konoha High Command, I'm nothing more than a pawn. But they've overlooked the risks of controlling a pawn! I can't stop them from making their decisions, and I can't persuade my father to abandon his."
"But I can choose to leave the clan some hope, and you are that hope!"
"Sora, I think you've already prepared to leave. I only hope that once you leave Konoha, you won't do anything else to harm it! Otherwise, I will stop you!" Uchiha Itachi's voice suddenly turned cold, and his eyes became scarlet.
His Three-Tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, transforming into three-bladed pinwheels!
Mangekyō Sharingan!
"I'll stay! I'll fight for one last chance for the village and the clan!" Uchiha Itachi stared at Sora with unwavering resolve in his Mangekyo. "Sora, this is my choice!"
Uchiha Sora looked into Itachi's eyes for a long time before sighing. "All right. In that case, this is where we part ways!"
With that, he turned and left.
Watching Uchiha Sora's retreating figure, Uchiha Itachi murmured to himself, "Sora, to me, the path you're about to take is my other choice!"
After leaving, Uchiha Sora thought about Itachi's choice and shook his head.
In the end, Uchiha Itachi would still take the path of slaughtering his own clan.
To Sora, this was nothing more than the result of two stubborn people insisting on their principles, neither willing to take a step back.
Uchiha Itachi's heart lay with Konoha. He wanted to prevent war, and he refused to back down.
Uchiha Fugaku was determined to stage a coup and change the clan's circumstances. He was just as unwilling to back down.
Father and son were both stubborn men. It was truly difficult for anyone else to change their minds.
Just as Uchiha Itachi had said after his Impure World Reincarnation in the original story, they were all people who wanted to achieve their goals through their own strength alone.
Strictly speaking, Uchiha Sora was that kind of person too.
He simply wasn't quite so obsessive.
The main reason was that he had never considered Konoha his home! His sense of belonging to the village wasn't particularly strong.
But both Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Fugaku had already been deeply branded as Konoha ninja.
Perhaps the innate nature of the Uchiha Clan also played a part.
The Uchiha Clan was a clan of love. Once they lost that love, they became obsessive and terrifying...
"What a headache!" Uchiha Sora returned to the Island in the mirror space and explained everything to Uchiha Izumi and Hazuki, sighing with feeling.
Uchiha Izumi and her daughter had no solution either. Their strength was limited, so they could only comfort him. "Sora, no matter what you do, we'll always support you!"
"The clan head has his choice, and Itachi has his. Sora, your choice is our choice!" Mother and daughter took Uchiha Sora's hands and gazed at him affectionately.
Uchiha Sora nodded gently. Their wholehearted support warmed his heart.
"Sora, what are you going to do next?" Uchiha Izumi asked as the three of them sat on the Island's beach.
"Next? I'll start by building a faction." Uchiha Sora gave it some thought before answering.
"Building a faction? That must be difficult, right?" Izumi murmured, looking somewhat downcast.
"What's wrong?" Uchiha Sora gently stroked her head.
Beside them, her mother Hazuki smiled. "Sora, Izumi has always wanted to help you. But now that you've said you're building a faction, she knows her strength isn't enough to be of any help."
"Izumi, you're still young, and you have plenty of room to grow. If you want to help me, work hard at your training! I believe you can do it!" Uchiha Sora reassured her with a smile.
"Mm-hmm!" Encouraged by the man she loved, Uchiha Izumi nodded happily.
Uchiha Sora smiled and began considering how to build his faction.
He wasn't building a faction to bolster his own strength or anything like that. Mostly, he just wanted subordinates who could gather intelligence and handle matters for him.
Besides, he had already decided to have some fun with Obito Uchiha, and he certainly hadn't been joking.
Obito had the Akatsuki, so naturally, he wanted an organization of his own to play with.
He would have it target the Akatsuki specifically. Just thinking about it seemed fun!
But before he built his faction, Uchiha Sora had something else to do.
The next day, Uchiha Sora teleported back to Konoha again.
He sensed his surroundings and frowned.
He discovered that many of the Flying Thunder God Kunai markers he had planted throughout Konoha had been removed overnight.
Looks like the Third and Danzo aren't stupid either. They knew to search the whole village and clear out my technique's markers, Uchiha Sora thought.
In a few days, all the Flying Thunder God Kunai markers he had placed inside Konoha would probably be gone.
Only members of the Hyuga Clan were likely capable of doing that.
Konoha was a major ninja village, after all. Though it was currently in severe decline, no matter how far it fell, it wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Still, while Uchiha Sora couldn't yet take on all of Konoha, causing a little trouble was easy enough.
Naturally, he had returned this time for the Ninjutsu research in the Third Hokage's study!
It was daytime, and the Third Hokage was at work, so he wouldn't be home.
Thus, Uchiha Sora strode openly down Konoha's streets, heading straight for the Third Hokage's house.
Although he had already been declared a rogue ninja, most people in Konoha clearly hadn't heard the news yet. The Third Hokage might not even have announced it publicly.
So Uchiha Sora walked down the street as he always had, and no one bothered him.
Upon reaching the Third Hokage's house, Uchiha Sora darted straight into the courtyard.
"Who's there?! This is Lord Hokage's residence! No unauthorized entry!" The moment he entered the courtyard, an ANBU ninja leaped out and blocked his path.
"Oh? Don't you recognize me?" Uchiha Sora looked at the ANBU ninja with a faint, ambiguous smile.
"You... you're Uchiha Sora?!" The ANBU ninja froze briefly, then his tone changed sharply as he shouted to those around him, "Trouble! Hurry and notify Lord Hokage!"
Bam!
But the moment he finished speaking, Uchiha Sora knocked him to the ground with an elbow strike, rendering him unconscious.
With his body constantly training automatically, Uchiha Sora's strength and physique now surpassed those of adult ninja.
His strength was even beginning to develop toward monstrous levels.
That was the benefit of endless automatic training!
As time continued to pass, every one of Uchiha Sora's attributes would reach inhuman levels.
The other ANBU ninja reacted and hurried to surround Uchiha Sora.
"Genjutsu! Binding Technique!"
Uchiha Sora activated his Sharingan and swept his gaze across them. The charging ANBU ninja froze in place, unable to move.
He then strolled leisurely into the secret chamber in the Third Hokage's study and began searching.
The secret chamber in the Third Hokage’s study held a vast collection of Ninjutsu scrolls, secret technique research, and all sorts of strange knowledge.
This time, Uchiha Sora wasn't going to be cautious like before, merely browsing and copying a few Ninjutsu.
He activated the Flying Thunder God Technique, scooped up a pile of Ninjutsu scrolls and research, and teleported them into his mirror space without even looking at them.
A few dozen trips back and forth were enough to empty the entire secret chamber. It took only a short while.
Only then did the Third Hokage finally arrive.
Bam!
With a dull crash, the study door burst open, and the Third Hokage's aged face appeared before Uchiha Sora, contorted with fury.
"Uchiha Sora!" He looked around the study and discovered that the shelves, once packed full, were now completely empty.
Shocked and furious, he glared at Uchiha Sora and roared, "You've gone too far! What exactly are you trying to do?!"
Uchiha Sora laughed first, then his expression hardened as he said coldly, "Third Hokage, who are you to say I've gone too far? Drop the act! Just looking at that face of yours makes me sick!"
PS: Moms and dads, how about sending some free gifts my way!
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