"Clan leader, give the order! While Konoha's defenses are weak, let's launch a coup and seize the Hokage position!"
The clan's senior figures and powerful fighters spoke up one after another, their emotions running high.
Uchiha Fugaku sat upright at the head of the room, his face livid and his fists clenched tight.
He knew very well that, with the Uchiha Clan's current resources, their chances of defeating all of Konoha were minuscule.
Powerless to stop his outraged clansmen, he could only let the elders loudly discuss the details of the coup below.
Uchiha Xin observed from the roof for a while.
His gaze swept every corner of the hall, confirming one fatal piece of information.
Uchiha Itachi had not attended this meeting.
"These fools are still dreaming of seizing power. They have no idea the butcher's blade is already hanging over their necks."
Uchiha Xin understood now.
The coup could no longer be stopped, and the night of the massacre was close at hand.
He had to withdraw immediately and prepare his trump cards.
Uchiha Xin silently slipped down from the eaves and retreated along a dark alley.
He had gone less than a hundred meters when a sense of danger suddenly enveloped him.
Uchiha Xin stopped abruptly and looked up.
At some point, a black-clad figure with his head and face covered had appeared atop a utility pole ahead.
The black-clad man looked down at him from above, his scarlet eyes radiating killing intent in the darkness.
"Who are you?"
The black-clad man spoke coldly.
Alarm bells rang in Uchiha Xin's mind.
With that dangerous presence and those Sharingan, he was most likely Uchiha Itachi.
Uchiha Xin did not answer.
He was currently using the Transformation Technique. Speaking might expose his real age and identity.
When the black-clad man received no answer, his gaze turned cold.
Whoosh!
The black-clad man vanished from the utility pole.
So fast!
Uchiha Xin was startled. All he saw was a cold gleam flashing before his eyes.
Short blade in hand, the black-clad man instantly appeared at Uchiha Xin's waist and slashed down hard.
Crack!
Uchiha Xin's body was cut in half at the waist.
The black-clad man frowned.
The severed body turned into a broken log, without a trace of blood.
The Substitution Technique.
Poof!
Uchiha Xin appeared in an open space over ten meters away, then turned and fled without hesitation.
He was now completely certain of his pursuer's identity.
It was Uchiha Itachi!
Uchiha Xin knew full well that Itachi, who had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan two years ago and reached Kage level, was absolutely beyond his current ability to fight.
I have to run!
"You can't escape."
Itachi's icy voice sounded behind him as he pursued relentlessly.
The two figures raced across the rooftops of the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Seeing his pursuer drawing closer, Uchiha Xin abruptly turned, his hands blurring as he rapidly formed hand seals.
Rat-Tiger-Dog-Ox-Hare-Tiger!
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
This was the new skill he had just slotted into the system.
Several blazing fireballs shot from Uchiha Xin's mouth, arcing through the air and cutting off every avenue of escape for Itachi.
Enhanced by the system, the Phoenix Flower Fire was clearly stronger than ordinary Fire Style, its scorching heat warping the surrounding air.
Facing the oncoming fireballs, Itachi did not even form hand seals.
The short blade in his hand became an impenetrable curtain of cold light.
Swish! Swish! Swish!
Amid the flashing blade, Itachi actually cut the fireballs apart with ease, scattering them into sparks that dissipated in the air.
Immediately afterward, the single tomoe in Itachi's eyes became three, spinning rapidly.
"Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique!"
Itachi fixed his gaze on Uchiha Xin's eyes.
Uchiha Xin felt the scene before him distort as several enormous, invisible wooden stakes emerged from the void and drove viciously toward his limbs.
This was an extremely advanced genjutsu of the Uchiha Clan. Once caught in it, the victim would lose all ability to move.
Itachi put away his short blade, preparing to step forward and capture this suspicious intruder.
The next second, Itachi stopped short.
To his shock, Uchiha Xin had completely ignored the genjutsu's effects and used his momentary pause to widen the distance again.
The genjutsu had no effect on him whatsoever!
"Who exactly are you?"
Itachi's voice finally lost its evenness, and he accelerated again in pursuit.
Uchiha Xin knew he would not get away today without revealing something.
He stopped, tore the disguise mask from his face, and released the Transformation Technique.
A six-year-old boy's face was exposed in the moonlight.
At the same time, Uchiha Xin's black eyes instantly turned scarlet, three black tomoe slowly revolving within them.
Itachi stopped five meters in front of Uchiha Xin, his eyes widening in shock.
A Three-Tomoe Sharingan at six years old!
He had never imagined that the mysterious person who had infiltrated the hall and was immune to his genjutsu was also a member of the Uchiha Clan-and a child at that.
"Are you surprised, Itachi?"
Uchiha Xin spoke calmly.
Itachi's gaze instantly sharpened, and his right hand gripped his sword hilt again.
"Since you know it's me, you should understand that you won't be leaving today."
Uchiha Xin chuckled.
"Whether I leave isn't up to you."
He paused, then dropped a bombshell.
"That masked man, Obito, who calls himself Madara Uchiha, has already approached you, hasn't he?"
Itachi's expression changed drastically, and his grip tightened until his knuckles turned white.
He was the only person in the entire shinobi world who knew this secret. How did this six-year-old child know?
"What exactly do you know!"
Itachi's voice turned utterly cold, and killing intent spread.
"I know far more than you imagine."
Uchiha Xin looked straight into Itachi's eyes.
"I know what you want to do, and I know you have no other choice. I came today to propose working together."
Itachi sneered.
"Why should I work with you?"
Uchiha Xin smiled.
"The prerequisite involves Sasuke."
Boom!
The instant Itachi heard Sasuke's name, the chakra he had been suppressing erupted out of control.
Sasuke was his bottom line. Anyone who dared use Sasuke as a bargaining chip had to die!
The three tomoe in Itachi's eyes instantly joined together, forming an intricate three-bladed shuriken pattern.
Mangekyō Sharingan, activate!
Itachi instantly blurred into an afterimage, his short blade piercing straight toward Uchiha Xin's heart with a shrill whistle.
Faced with this lethal strike, Uchiha Xin merely smiled faintly.
"Meet me here at the same time in seven days."
As soon as he finished speaking, Uchiha Xin vanished into thin air, one millisecond before the blade struck.
There was no smoke, no chakra fluctuation. He had vanished completely.
Itachi's blade pierced empty air. He spun around, his Mangekyō Sharingan frantically scanning his surroundings, but he could sense no presence at all.
It was neither the Substitution Technique nor the Body Flicker Technique.
Itachi stood there, his face filled with shock and doubt, as the name of a legendary ninjutsu surfaced in his mind.
The Flying Thunder God Technique.