How About That? Pretty Impressive, Huh?

Enduring the excruciating pain in his hands, Orochimaru stared in the direction Yi had vanished, his eyes filled with bitter hatred. Yi had now replaced Uchiha Itachi as his most hated enemy.

After leaving, Uchiha Yi did not return to Konoha. He only sent a Shadow Clone back.

Before long, the Shadow Clone arrived in Konoha. Instead of visiting the Third Hokage, who was receiving treatment, he went to Kakashi.

Kakashi frowned deeply at the Shadow Clone before him. "You're saying you found something unusual in the Land of Snow and can't come back for now?"

"Yes. It's important, so I need to stay a few more days."

"What exactly is it?"

"I can't say. I can only report it to Lord Third!"

Kakashi looked surprised. "Even I can't know?"

Moreover, the Shadow Clone had called him the Third Hokage rather than Grandpa Third. Kakashi knew this was no ordinary matter. Seeing that the clone had no intention of elaborating, he let it go and asked, "How much longer can this Shadow Clone last?"

"Not long. My original needs a lot of chakra. This clone can last another ten minutes at most."

Ten minutes probably would not be enough for the Third Hokage to wake up. His injuries this time had taken a heavy toll on him. Kakashi was torn. He knew Yi would not say something like this lightly. Whatever made him this cautious had to be an enormous matter.

"Do you need backup?"

After weighing things over, Kakashi asked the question.

Although Konoha was in chaos, he would not mind making a trip to the Land of Snow if something truly important was happening.

"No." Uchiha Yi's Shadow Clone shook his head. "Don't send backup, Kakashi-sensei. This has to stay secret. Not a word can get out."

"When the Third Hokage wakes up, you must report to him in private."

"And don't tell anyone you saw me. Keep my return under wraps. Ideally, nobody should know."

Kakashi was shocked, but he still nodded. "Don't worry. I'll remember."

"Then I'll dispel myself and relay the situation to my original."

With that, the Shadow Clone vanished with a poof.

Watching the Shadow Clone disappear, Kakashi's eyes darkened. "Konoha just went through that mess with Orochimaru, and now something else is brewing? Misfortunes really do come in bunches!"

Meanwhile, Uchiha Yi, who had already returned to the Land of Snow, received the Shadow Clone's memories and broke into a broad grin.

"Tsk, tsk. Looks like I'm pretty good at bluffing. Even someone as sharp as Kakashi swallowed it hook, line, and sinker."

Kakashi might usually look lazy and dead-eyed, but someone who could become a candidate for Sixth Hokage was hardly ordinary.

Fooling him took genuine skill.

"Right, I've bluffed the future Sixth Hokage. Next up..."

Uchiha Yi's gaze settled on the massive rock before him, amusement dancing in his eyes.

He had a grand plan-a grand bluffing scheme. The idea had come to him when he stumbled across this massive rock in the Land of Snow a while ago.

"Great Bluff Technique, activate!"

Several days later, Uchiha Yi prepared to return to Konoha.

In truth, it made little difference whether he returned. With the Flying Thunder God Technique, traveling from Konoha to the Land of Snow only took a minute or two.

Kazahana Koyuki was delighted to learn this. When Yi had returned to the Land of Snow after dealing with Orochimaru, she had been both surprised and thrilled.

Knowing Yi could return to the Land of Snow whenever he wanted, she stopped fretting. Now, all she could think about was developing the Chakra Armor.

The armor was useless to Yi, but to others, it was a treasure. If the Land of Snow could sell it commercially, they would rake in a fortune.

Yi thought the idea was sound, too. Still, he had to return to Konoha for his grand bluffing scheme.

This time, he intended to travel back normally. Even at an ordinary pace, he would arrive in just two days.

Yet as he approached the outskirts of Konoha, he unexpectedly ran into an old acquaintance-Uchiha Itachi.

In a stretch of forest, Yi looked at Itachi, who had appeared out of nowhere. His initial surprise quickly faded as he remembered that Itachi had returned to Konoha once after Orochimaru's invasion.

That was classic Uchiha Itachi. The ultimate doting older brother had come back to see his foolish little brother. Even the Third Hokage could not stop that brother obsession.

"Well, if it isn't Big Brother Itachi!" Yi greeted him with a smile.

Itachi glanced at him impassively. "You're finally back."

"Oh, so this brat is why you've been waiting six or seven days, Itachi?" At those words, Yi turned his gaze toward Kisame, standing nearby.

"Hey, brat, that's quite a glare you've got. Keep looking at me like that, and you might find yourself in trouble," Kisame blustered.

"Heh, is that so?" Suddenly, Itachi's pupils contracted. "Kisame, watch out..."

But it was too late. Yi moved faster than Kisame, darting right in front of him and lashing out with a kick.

The kick packed considerable force. Kisame smashed through several large trees before crashing heavily into the far side of the forest.

"Now that the nuisance is out of the way, what did you want with me, Itachi?" Yi asked.

"You've awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan?" A flicker of astonishment crossed Itachi's eyes. Yi's Mangekyo Sharingan was now active.

In fact, Yi had activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan when he kicked Kisame, casually trapping him in Tsukuyomi: Illusion Realm. Kisame was now stuck inside the Illusion Realm, unable to escape. He had not even felt the pain of the kick.

Even Samehada could not break this Tsukuyomi: Illusion Realm.

Yi's Mangekyo Sharingan had been a five-pointed star with a Two-Tomoe Sharingan pattern. After evolving into the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, it had gained a ring in the center, with a Three-Tomoe Sharingan embedded in it.

"The Mangekyo Sharingan? More or less." Yi pursed his lips, muttering inwardly, This is the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, thank you very much.

"More or less?" Itachi frowned.

His brow knotted, but he did not press further. Instead, he addressed Uchiha Yi. "Under our agreement, you were supposed to protect Sasuke. Yet Orochimaru placed a Cursed Seal on him."

As soon as he finished, his gaze sharpened. "You owe me an explanation."

Yi shrugged, glanced at Itachi's expression, then waved a hand with a smile. "Oh, that's nothing. I was actually finding Sasuke a teacher!"

Itachi remained silent. Yi moved half a step closer, his tone confident. "Think about it, Itachi. Would you really feel comfortable leaving Sasuke with Kakashi?"

"You wouldn't, right? Of course not. Kakashi isn't an Uchiha. Sure, he has a Mangekyō Sharingan, but he doesn't even know how to use it properly."

"And I'm guessing you came back to Konoha this time mainly to find Kakashi and give him a hint, didn't you?"

Although Kakashi and Obito had both awakened their Mangekyo Sharingan when Rin died, after all these years, Kakashi still only used his Sharingan's three-tomoe form. He had never tried Kamui at all. He did not even know he possessed that ocular jutsu, much less how to use it.

Only after this incident did he gradually begin to figure out Kamui.

Taking Itachi's silence as confirmation, Yi knew he had guessed correctly. He continued, "So Kakashi is fine as Sasuke's first teacher, but if Sasuke wants to reach greater heights, he simply isn't enough."

Itachi's tone softened a little, though concern remained in his eyes. "So you found him someone as dangerous as Orochimaru? How much do you know about him? He's after our Uchiha Kekkei Genkai."

"Relax!" Yi stepped forward to pat Itachi's shoulder, but Itachi shifted out of reach. Yi scratched his head. "You mean Living Corpse Reincarnation? I know about it. He can only use it once every three years."

"And when Orochimaru fled Konoha recently, I fought him and wrecked his body. He's desperate to switch bodies now."

"As long as Orochimaru has just changed bodies when Sasuke goes to him, Sasuke will be perfectly safe for three years. He'll also get proper training from Orochimaru. With Orochimaru's abilities, three years will be more than enough to completely transform Sasuke. Don't you agree?"

Itachi looked up and studied Uchiha Yi. Just as he was about to speak, Yi cut him off. "I know what you're going to ask. You're still worried, right?"

"Besides, my Mangekyo Sharingan has a Dōjutsu similar to Flying Thunder God. I'll put a mark on Sasuke so I can always tell where he is. If anything happens, I can bring him back immediately."

A Dōjutsu like Flying Thunder God? For the first time, astonishment showed in Itachi's eyes. Yi said nothing. His figure suddenly flickered, and when he reappeared, he was holding Kisame, who was still trapped in Tsukuyomi: Illusion Realm. He tossed him up casually and grinned. "How about that? Pretty impressive, huh?"

Itachi said nothing. His gaze swept toward the direction Kisame had been kicked, while shock churned inside him. That kick sent him at least a thousand meters away. That flicker just now took only a hundredth of a second. He believed him, but still could not put his worries to rest.

Yi rolled his eyes. Seeing that Itachi was still unconvinced, he sighed helplessly. "Oh, forget it. Itachi, do you have the Totsuka Blade?"

Itachi frowned. "That's a kind of Kusanagi Sword, isn't it? Why are you asking?"

Yi felt a surge of delight. It seemed Itachi had not obtained the Totsuka Blade yet. He explained, "That thing carries a Sealing Jutsu. If it pierces someone, it can seal them in a hazy genjutsu and keep them trapped for life. It also has no physical form and specifically targets the mind and soul, so..."

"So even if Orochimaru uses Living Corpse Reincarnation on Sasuke, I could use the Totsuka Blade to extract Orochimaru's consciousness or soul?" Itachi caught on immediately, his keen intelligence on full display.

"Then where exactly is this Totsuka Blade?" Itachi pressed.

"That, I don't know." Yi shook his head. "But according to one theory..."

"The Totsuka Blade is a secret divine weapon of our Uchiha Clan. It's bound to Susanoo and tied to our Kekkei Genkai."

"Supposedly, one of our ancestors who awakened Susanoo once wielded it. I don't know whether that's true. All I know is that my Susanoo doesn't have it."

After saying that, Yi stared straight at Itachi.

A long time passed before Itachi slowly said, "I hope you're telling the truth."

"Don't worry. I have nothing to gain by lying to you."

Although Itachi remained silent, Yi's actions had already shocked him several times.

Yet somehow, he felt that Yi would not harm Sasuke or deliberately make things difficult for him.

His gaze shifted to Kisame, who was still unconscious.

"This guy? Don't worry. I'm just teaching him a lesson so he won't call me a brat next time!"

Yi gave a cold snort.

Itachi ignored him, picked up Kisame, and turned to leave.

Watching Itachi disappear, Yi murmured, "A real brother fanatic! No, an ultra-true, god-tier brother fanatic!"

"And one more thing: Uchiha Itachi, when it comes to brother obsession, I declare you the strongest!"

Damn, this really is addictive.

Still, addictive or not, Yi turned and darted toward Konoha.

A short while later, beside a lake, Kisame finally regained consciousness.

The moment he opened his eyes, Kisame looked around and growled, "Itachi, where's that damned brat?"

Though it was a low growl, Itachi immediately recognized that Kisame was not physically weak. His mind had been severely drained.

A genjutsu Dōjutsu like my Tsukuyomi?