laning
The first few Hyuga members activated their Byakugan, scanning the area and discovering several intricate hidden passages filled with snakes. Clearly, sending anyone inside to investigate was not advisable. To be on the safe side, they decided to have the Byakugan users and Anbu members work together in a mixed group to track down and confirm the location of the hideout.
Fugaku was torn between his choices, worrying about his younger son while also thinking of his eldest. He took a deep breath and couldn't help but ask, "Third Hokage, is Itachi on a mission?"
The Third Hokage knew that Itachi was probably with Danzo, but he couldn't say it.
"Itachi's off work." The reply came from a silver-haired man with a broom-like hairstyle; his Sharingan beneath his mask was somewhat dark. Thinking of Orochimaru reminded him of the greed in Orochimaru's Sharingan, and his expression darkened.
[Obito...]
"What?" This devastating news overwhelmed Fugaku, who collapsed under a wave of dizziness.
"Clan leader, please pull yourself together! Itachi, Sasuke, and Koizumi are all waiting for you to save them!" Uchiha Inahashi supported the clan leader, who was on the verge of fainting. At middle age, the loss of his two sons was indeed a difficult thing to bear.
Rumble!
A sudden, loud hum shook the area, and a charred mushroom cloud exploded behind them, leaving everyone momentarily silent.
Fugaku seemed to be jolted awake. Realizing his two sons might be threatened by Orochimaru, he immediately rushed out. Everyone understood, and each clan leader sent men, while the Anbu also dispatched squads to help.
He needs to be mentally prepared to face Orochimaru.
"Third Hokage... Orochimaru is here." Hiashi Hyuga looked closely and saw a powerful chakra inside the snake's belly.
"Ah, I know." The Third Hokage told them to back off. Now that Orochimaru had come, he couldn't just let him go.
Everyone watched in disbelief as the white phosphorus serpent was slain. Its abdomen was torn open, and out emerged a figure that did not resemble a normal human. He slumped over, his long hair swaying, and emitted a low, hoarse, chilling laugh that made one's teeth ache.
"Hehehe~ Sarutobi-sensei, long time no see." Orochimaru was actually a little hesitant. This wasn't his and Danzo's plan. His teacher shouldn't be here right now!
However, with Hinata's arrival, he had nowhere to run.
The third generation's cloudy eyes were still sharp, and his thin body simply stood there, looking at his former favorite disciple with extremely complicated emotions.
"Orochimaru..."
Orochimaru's voice rang out, hoarse yet magnetic, each word carrying a chilling barb: "Sensei... you've really gotten old."
He slowly raised his right hand, forming a simple hand seal. Various snakes emerged from all around, rapidly surging towards the crowd.
Orochimaru's neck stretched out incredibly, and his head shot towards the Third Hokage like an arrow! His mouth opened to a size that no human could possibly reach, and a cold light flashed from within as he spat out a Kusanagi sword imbued with deadly chakra!
The Third Hokage was taken aback when Orochimaru used a deadly move right from the start. His eyes widened in shock, and his years of combat instincts kicked in, causing him to dodge instantly. The blade of the Kusanagi sword whistled through the air, grazing his Hokage hat and sending it flying.
Seeing the surging, rebounding serpent's lair, the others could only dodge away. No one could guarantee they were immune to all poisons, and right now... Lady Tsunade wasn't in the village.
>>>>
Shortly before the explosion, Itachi was still facing off against the masked man when the man turned around in astonishment, letting out a low, hoarse chuckle, a mocking laugh with an ambiguous meaning.
"What an naive little girl!" How laughable, does she think that sending away the Uchiha's fresh troops tonight will stop Konoha from taking action against the Uchiha?
She only has one Uchiha clan member; can he possibly stand up to Danzo and the Third Hokage? And with me here, the Uchiha clan is doomed today!
"What did she do?" Itachi asked quickly. Did he mean Koizumi as "little girl"?
"Go see for yourself." The masked man began to disappear, then seemed to pause for a moment, turning his head to mock Itachi's naivety: "And your brother, he's been at Root for most of the day."
"What?" Itachi's mind went blank for a moment. Without saying a word, he went to find Danzo. He absolutely couldn't let anything happen to his younger brother. He felt that no matter what the Uchiha clan was like, their young brother shouldn't be implicated.
In order to rescue his younger brother, Itachi secretly sneaked into Danzo's stronghold. He also understood why Danzo forced him to make a decision today, because he had already prepared a backup plan.
Itachi carefully avoided the falling snow and sneaked into the underground structure. The deeper he went, the more stagnant the air became. He activated his kaleidoscope and used illusion magic, constantly passing by the gatekeepers. Finally, he saw Koizumi, who was tied to a stone pillar, and his younger brother in the dungeon.
A chilling rage spread fiercely, breaching a corner of Itachi's defenses, his crimson undertones seemingly about to bleed. His young brother lay on the cold ground, causing his heart to clench with pain; words seemed utterly inadequate at that moment.
Sasuke.
"Uchiha Itachi, you've trespassed into the Root's territory. Do you intend to break your promise?" Danzo's voice was dry and calm as he stated a fact.
"I'm here to fulfill my promise. But I have one condition: you must return Sasuke to me." Itachi had thought it through. If he did as Danzo said, the Uchiha clan could still maintain its reputation.
Upon hearing this, Luna raised her head, her eyes sharp and her sweet voice turning cold as she slowly asked a seemingly pointless question: "Are you really going to make this choice?"
This wasn't what Luna wanted to ask; she wasn't interested in these things and just wanted to end it all quickly. But the words came out, filled with resentment, anger, and a deep sense of sorrow and despair. She suddenly realized that this was the original owner's question, the cry of the Uchiha clan.
"Do you really think Danzo and the Third Hokage would keep any promises?" The Uchiha clan is no longer destined to die.
"I am a Konoha ninja," Itachi replied indifferently. He naturally trusted the Third Hokage more than this person.
"What a silly little brat." Luna chuckled, her gentle eyes sparkling with unrestrained arrogance. To be honest, playing Uchiha Izumi was really suppressing her. In the magical world, she was a happy-go-lucky dog, mischievous and playful every day, a stark contrast to her sickly self in her first life.
Itachi ignored such remarks, somewhat surprised that Danzo remained silent. He then saw Danzo slam his cane into the ground, and four masked Root members appeared, attacking him from several directions. Their coordination was flawless, like a sophisticated killing machine.
One of them engaged Itachi in close combat, aiming straight for his vitals. Another leaped to the flank, his hands moving rapidly, unleashing a roaring Fire Release technique. Nearby, another held Itachi in place, watching as Itachi was struck directly. The last one disappeared into the shadows, waiting for an opportunity to deliver a fatal blow with a binding or assassination technique.
Luna lowered her eyes again, remaining silent. Of course, she hadn't been captured for nothing. Given her status, she absolutely couldn't approach Danzo on her own initiative; she had no choice but to let Danzo come to her.
It was quite interesting to use my kaleidoscope on a living person for the first time.
In Itachi's vision, even this near-perfect teamwork had flaws. Every movement was broken down and anticipated. Like a ghost dancing on a blade's edge, he dodged a straight kunai by the slightest difference in angle, leaning back as another short sword, slicing past his abdomen, only severed a few strands of his black hair. Facing the roaring fire dragon, he did not retreat, but instead formed hand seals with astonishing speed.
Substitution Technique!
Itachi was confused about Danzo's intentions, but he didn't have time to think about it; he had to rescue Sasuke immediately. He broke open the prison bars, only having time to check if the man was his brother, before fleeing.
The air was thick with the smell of gunpowder. Itachi's pupils constricted sharply as he saw explosions erupting all around him, each followed by a deafening roar. The first explosion ignited in the empty underground space, and more and more horrific explosions followed.
Itachi unleashed an astonishing burst of chakra, and crimson bones instantly appeared, surrounding his body—the initial form of Susanoo suddenly materialized!
Itachi felt his ears were deafened, yet he still protected his younger brother's eardrums. Holding his young brother, he glared angrily at the girl standing unharmed in the explosion—she was going to kill Sasuke!
What exactly do you want to do?
"You've been watching me for so long, can't you see it? If Danzo doesn't die, the Uchiha won't survive; if the Third Hokage doesn't retire, the Uchiha can't be reborn."
"This is treason!" Itachi stared directly into her Σ-shaped, butterfly-wing-like blood-red eyes, and tightened his grip on his younger brother.
"You need to understand, it was Danzo who wanted to kill the Third Hokage, and you're trying to pin the blame on the Uchiha. I didn't help your father become Hokage, so how is that treason?" Even though she was being so gentle, this weasel still had something to say.
Itachi frowned slightly. Now that no one else was around, he seized the opportunity to interrogate him. His crimson kaleidoscope appeared, and he immediately unleashed his strongest genjutsu: Tsukuyomi.
In the black and white space, the girl on the cross was very young, but the space turned colorful the next second. The girl had long, light purple hair that fell down, and a face different from Koizumi's, with her Sharingan eyes that looked like butterfly wings.
The world transformed into a patchwork of color and black and white, and Itachi was shocked to discover that he himself was bound to the cross: "Who are you? Where is Koizumi?"
This reaction made Luna's brow twitch. Influenced by the original owner's memories, she had always been very restrained whenever she saw Itachi. Now, Itachi's expression, as if she had killed the original owner, was truly disgusting.
Snap!
Luna couldn't hold back any longer and slapped him across the face: "She's dead! You killed her! I just don't understand, how come she didn't hate you even in death?"
A wave of sorrowful memories washed over him. Itachi saw another person make a similar choice, and he felt a mix of emotions. He raised his sword and killed everyone except his brother, including Koizumi.
But with a formidable enemy at hand, he had no time to think things through. He lowered his eyes and digested the information for a moment, but then became even more wary: "You're not an Uchiha, so you don't understand the Uchiha's situation. What you're doing isn't saving the Uchiha; it's instigating internal strife in Konoha and igniting a war. You shouldn't be making everyone fight for those illusory things; that's why you're being feared."
"Oh~ Kneeling feels so comfortable." Luna couldn't help but laugh. What nonsense! So, the Uchiha have to obediently go to jail, be monitored, be confined, and be isolated to be considered obedient?
"The Uchiha have no chance against Konoha." Itachi took a deep breath. What kind of person did Koizumi recruit? He's utterly rebellious.
"If you can't win, then don't fight and choose to die? You're ridiculous! Why should someone who's completely innocent die?"
"There are still people lurking in the shadows, plotting against the Hokage and the higher-ups. You're tantamount to putting Konoha to death. Are you going to make everyone die for the Uchiha clan?" Itachi didn't think he was wrong. At least if he acted now, some Uchiha members could still survive.
Luna is going to be moved to tears by her saintly father. To avoid a power shift, he chose to let his clansmen die—how noble! Why can't he bear to part with his brother? Is only his brother innocent, but aren't the other Uchiha innocent?
There was no point in saying a word when they couldn't see eye to eye. She immediately used genjutsu, grabbed Sasuke while Itachi was distracted, and held a kunai to his neck: "Go kill Danzo, or I'll kill your brother."
"Sasuke!" Itachi's face was grim as he stared intently at his younger brother's neck.
Luna hooked her arm around Sasuke, tilted her head back and looked at him with the whites of her eyes, exuding arrogance and mockery: "Anyway, in your eyes, only your brother is human, and the other Uchiha are insignificant."
Itachi sensed the fluctuation behind him and turned around to see Danzo remove his right arm, revealing the Wood Release arm covered in Sharingan eyes. Itachi's pupils contracted sharply.
Was this Danzo's reason for killing the Uchiha?
Luna carried Sasuke and ran. The hint she had given Danzo earlier had disappeared after he came back to life. With her current strength, she couldn't kill Danzo; that old man had too many lives left, and there was no need for her to waste them.
We should also thank Danzo for capturing Sasuke to threaten him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
