I want to work with you

He had only just awakened his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and his fighting ability barely brushed the threshold of a jonin. Facing Itachi now would be walking straight to his death, never mind Obito and that scheming old bastard Danzo. This was practically hell difficulty.

He quickly calmed down. Fortunately, he had prepared a fallback. Now he could only use his backup plan, but he had to find out when they intended to act before Itachi submitted his report on the coup to the Konoha High Command.

It seemed he would have to sneak over and investigate in person.

That night, the Uchiha meeting hall was packed with the clan's leaders and strongest fighters.

A dark figure slipped into a corner outside the hall. It was Uchiha Yi, risking his neck to discover the timing of the coup.

As soon as he approached, he heard an uproar inside that sounded like a bustling market. He hurriedly suppressed every trace of his presence. He couldn't forget that Fugaku, the clan leader, had awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan. If he was discovered, he was dead.

The shouting inside nearly blasted his ears off. "Clan leader, stop dragging this out! Let's make our move!"

"Exactly! Let's overthrow Konoha!"

"That's right! It's time for us Uchiha to take charge!"

Listening outside, Yi shook his head. Did these idiots get their heads caught in a door? They still want a coup under these circumstances?

Even setting aside the loss of Shisui, their strongest fighter, could they have won if Shisui were still around and Itachi helped them too? Guy, Kakashi, Asuma-which of Konoha's fighters was a pushover?

The Anbu alone would give them more than enough trouble, and there was still Root. Konoha had countless hidden forces, far beyond anything they could contend with.

The idea that this bunch of Uchiha could overthrow Konoha on their own was pure fantasy. Fugaku understood that perfectly well, but looking at his clansmen shouting themselves red in the face, he knew his words as clan leader were now worth less than a fart. He couldn't stop them.

Sure enough, several elders had already gathered to finalize the coup's specific steps. Yi crouched in the corner and listened for a while, getting a rough idea of the plan. He looked around but saw no sign of Itachi. He figured the clan didn't trust Itachi at all and had excluded him. That was fine, though. It only confirmed that today's meeting was where they would make the final decision to act.

Yi had just retreated to the mouth of an alley outside the meeting hall when his expression abruptly changed. He jerked his head up and spotted a dark figure. The man was dressed entirely in black, with even his head tightly wrapped. More importantly, Yi could sense an indescribable danger emanating from him.

"Not going to speak?" The instant the black-clad man finished speaking, he charged. In a flash, he appeared before Yi, drew two short blades from somewhere, and sliced Yi in two.

With a pop, Yi turned into a cloud of white smoke, leaving only two pieces of wood on the ground. Substitution Technique! Yi reappeared a short distance away and ran for his life.

It's him! It's Itachi! That brief exchange was enough for Yi to be certain: this man was definitely Uchiha Itachi. Screw fighting. Run! Yi knew perfectly well that Itachi, who had awakened his Mangekyō two years earlier, now possessed genuine Kage-level strength. He wasn't someone Yi could take on. Yi was fast, but Itachi was faster! After missing his first strike, Itachi pursued without a moment's hesitation.

Yi hurriedly formed hand seals and turned around. "Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Several fireballs shot toward Itachi. This was the Fire Release he had slotted into his Limit Sharingan at level 2. Unlike the Eight Gates, it required no proficiency training. As long as he had enough chakra, he could use any Fire Release jutsu, with greater power than normal. Unfortunately, it was useless! With a swish, Itachi slashed every fireball apart with his short blades and instantly closed in on Yi.

Then Itachi abruptly widened his eyes, revealing a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan to Yi. Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique.

Realizing Yi wasn't easy to deal with, he had gone straight for genjutsu. To Itachi's surprise, however, Yi showed no reaction at all. The genjutsu didn't work? Itachi was puzzled. He could clearly sense that Yi hadn't broken his genjutsu-it simply had no effect on him.

"Who are you? How can you be immune to my genjutsu?" Itachi asked coldly. Yi didn't answer immediately. Instead, an idea suddenly occurred to him: Maybe this is an opportunity. After a pause, Yi pulled the mask off his face, revealing his Sharingan.

Sharingan? Itachi froze for a moment at the sight of Yi's eyes.

So this man was an Uchiha, yet he was immune to Itachi's genjutsu. That made things interesting.

"Who I am doesn't matter. All I can tell you is that I'm different from that Madara you mentioned and the Konoha High Command. I mean no harm to you or the Uchiha Clan."

He knows about Madara? Itachi's pupils abruptly contracted. Yi inwardly sighed with relief. Obito really had been dealing with Itachi quite a bit. This would make things easier. Yi smiled. "Uchiha Itachi, I want to work with you. My condition concerns Sasuke."

Itachi attacked in a flash. He truly was the ultimate overprotective older brother-one mention of Sasuke was enough to set him off. Slashing with his short blade, Itachi immediately activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. But Yi merely smiled, leaving a few words behind as he vanished. "Once you've thought it over, meet me here at this time in seven days!"

The moment his words ended, Itachi's Amaterasu blazed up. But by the time the flames spread, Yi had vanished without a trace.

When Itachi slashed apart the final fireball, there was nothing but empty air before him. Residual chakra still clung to his fingertips as a name abruptly sprang into his mind, making his pupils contract. Could that have been the Flying Thunder God Technique?

Using his marked kunai, Yi teleported back into his entrance hall and landed on the floor with a thud. Clutching his chest, he gasped for breath and muttered, "Holy crap, I nearly died out there!" Although he had barely exchanged blows with Itachi, Yi knew perfectly well that if his level 3 Limit Sharingan hadn't withstood the genjutsu, he would have fallen to Itachi's short blade today.

His Limit Sharingan had only just reached level 3. Whatever else it could do, he was now essentially immune to ordinary genjutsu. The complete failure of Itachi's Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique was the best proof.

He still couldn't withstand anything on Tsukuyomi's level, but Itachi had clearly held back earlier rather than immediately using Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu. Otherwise, Yi would have had to play his final trump card.

This time, his luck with the system had been incredible: its random selection had given him the super-S-rank Flying Thunder God Technique. It was only level 0 for now, so he could establish teleportation points only on marked kunai.

For this technique, he had specially made several custom kunai and hidden one marked kunai in a secluded corner of his home, all to ensure nothing went wrong at a critical moment.

Previously, however, he hadn't had enough chakra. A single use of Flying Thunder God would drain him completely and inflict backlash, nearly ruining him.

Things were different now. Unless he had absolutely no other choice, he would never reveal this technique. Flying Thunder God was far too famous. If the Konoha High Command set their sights on him, the trouble would be much worse than Itachi.

Remembering how Itachi had bristled at the mention of Sasuke, Yi felt he needed to build up his strength quickly. Otherwise, how could he dare negotiate with him? He stared at his Eight Gates interface and gritted his teeth. "Looks like I'll have to rely on this to grind levels!" With that, he began training immediately, skipping sleep altogether. He didn't head to school until dawn, where he promptly put his head down and fell asleep.

For the next five days, Yi spun like a top. He caught up on sleep at his desk during class, then headed straight to the training ground after school and trained until night, all to max out his Eight Gates proficiency. On the evening of the fifth day, the system chimed. Yi's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly selected the upgrade.

The system's notification rang out immediately afterward: "Congratulations! The host's Eight Gates has reached level 3. Gate of Opening permanently opened. Chakra amplified twentyfold!" Yi felt warmth rush through his body, and his chakra multiplied several times over, leaving him with more than an ordinary jonin.

He tried Flying Thunder God and found that he could use it ten times in succession without difficulty. Even Flying Thunder God itself rose by one level. Although it was only level 1 now, its power was already enough to let him swagger through Konoha.

Yi stared at the system panel, tapping the virtual screen with his fingertips, his grin nearly stretching from ear to ear.

Flying Thunder God had finally risen from level 0 to level 1. Before, he could place only one mark on a kunai; now, he could put down ten. That payoff was even more outrageous than robbing the Hokage's treasury. Although a single use had previously almost drained him into a dried-out corpse, the upgrade instantly filled him with confidence.

Rubbing his chin, he considered his next move. He had to meet Itachi in two days; this couldn't wait. With Itachi's hair-trigger temper, a little more delay might mean he would follow the High Command's script. Though Yi felt nervous, he had to take this gamble for Sasuke.

The two days passed quickly. Yi prepared his transformation in advance, took out a kunai, and placed a mark in a hidden corner. Only then did he feel safe enough to sneak out. The instant he landed, he sensed the familiar trace of Sharingan chakra lingering in the air. Sure enough, Itachi was waiting.

The two stared at each other for a full half minute without speaking. Yi was still considering how to start the conversation when Itachi broke the silence first. The Uchiha Clan had decided to stage a coup, and the Konoha High Command was already waiting with its knives drawn to collect the bodies.

Yi's heart sank. So the night of the massacre was about to be set in motion. He didn't beat around the bush, looking Itachi straight in the eyes as he asked, "So, have you decided to work with me?"

Itachi frowned. He knew that scheming old bastard Danzo's methods perfectly well. Previously, he could only follow the High Command's script, but now a clansman who knew Flying Thunder God had appeared. Wasn't this an escape route dropped straight into his lap? Although it seemed promising, Sasuke's life was at stake. He couldn't gamble carelessly.

"We can work together, but first I need to see how strong you are." The moment he finished speaking, Itachi attacked. He couldn't entrust Sasuke to someone without sufficient strength. That was his bottom line.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Claw Crimson!" Several shuriken wrapped in scorching chakra whistled toward Yi's face. Gritting his teeth, Yi pulled out a kunai and hurled it at Itachi. Stepping onto a mark, he instantly flashed behind him.

Itachi immediately retreated at the sight and asked quietly, "Flying Thunder God Technique?" Yi nodded without wasting words. Itachi said nothing more, but his Sharingan instantly turned blood-red, the Mangekyō pattern swirling within his eyes.

Yi tensed, knowing Tsukuyomi was coming. Although he had prepared for it long ago, he still clenched his fists when he actually saw that blood-red space unfold. His Three-Tomoe Sharingan worked at full power, the six tomoe within his eyes rotating as his chakra was consumed at a frantic rate.

With a crack, the blood-red space shattered. Yi wiped away his sweat and breathed a sigh of relief. Though it had consumed a terrifying amount of chakra, he had finally broken Tsukuyomi. Itachi stood where he was, inwardly cursing. What the hell is with his Sharingan? Three tomoe, and he can break my Tsukuyomi?

If he could break even Tsukuyomi this easily, his strength was more dependable than Itachi had anticipated. Although Itachi hadn't used his full power, this alone was enough to shock him. With Flying Thunder God and immunity to genjutsu, Yi was practically the ideal person to protect Sasuke.

That left only one question. Itachi's gaze settled on Yi. "I acknowledge your strength, but I still don't know who you are." He didn't finish the thought, but Yi understood.

He couldn't entrust Sasuke to someone whose identity was unknown. That was his bottom line. Without hesitation, Yi released his Transformation Technique, revealing his true appearance.