Chapter 165: Uchiha Itachi
"Hmph... this is interesting." Obito subtly reached out and swept away the ceaselessly screaming Black Zetsu. The Kamui ability instantly activated, and Black Zetsu was sucked directly into the Kamui dimension.
The shriek that had begun to unnerve Obito was finally silenced.
He looked down at the Uchiha Itachi before him, his gaze cold.
"Youngster... it seems you and that other kid don't get along. And it seems you don't even get along with the Uchiha, even though you are one yourself. You've even come up with the idea of colluding with others to move against the Uchiha."
The single Mangekyo Sharingan that Obito had revealed narrowed slightly, his voice raspy. "Do you not know who I am? Do you think I would move against the Uchiha clan? In terms of seniority... I am your ancestor."
Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath, lifting his head slightly to meet the man's gaze.
He said expressionlessly, "I don't need to tell you my reasons. I'm just here to ask if you want to cooperate. Regardless of whether you have an intention to kill the Uchiha clan, you definitely hold a murderous intent towards Uchiha Ikeizumi."
"Because he tormented your subordinate to this state. If that's the case, then we have a common enemy. As for the matter of the Uchiha clan, that was just to test your opinion."
"Heh... hehehe!" Obito let out a laugh that was uniquely Uchiha.
"An interesting youngster."
He reined in his smile, and the laughter stopped. "What will you do after all this? If you collude with outsiders and kill your fellow villagers, all of Konoha and even the entire Land of Fire will turn against you!"
Uchiha Itachi replied, "That's why I'm here in front of you."
"You are from the Akatsuki, aren't you? If Konoha can't tolerate me, then it's likely only you can."
A grin appeared on Obito's face. "It seems the youngsters of the Uchiha clan are not without ambition. Youngster, wait for my contact."
After hearing these words from the man who called himself his "Uchiha ancestor," Itachi secretly let out a sigh of relief.
'I'm sorry, Father. More and more people in Konoha are starting to follow Uchiha Ikeizumi. One day, his power will completely sideline the Hokage's authority.'
'This is something I cannot allow, and it's something the Hokage would surely not want to see. Even if the Hokage hasn't said it, his worries are plain to see.'
'Furthermore, within the Uchiha clan, whether it's the extremist faction led by Uchiha Setsuna or your moderate faction, Father, most of them harbor certain strange ideas about Uchiha Ikeizumi.'
'The power of Absolute Justice is gradually sidelining the entire Uchiha clan. It will spill over until it sidelines all of Konoha. They are even more dangerous than the extremist faction led by Uchiha Setsuna.'
He watched the self-proclaimed "Uchiha ancestor" and the strange Spiral-masked creature depart.
One thought after another flashed through Uchiha Itachi's mind.
He could already sense that the "conflict" in the village had reached its peak.
At this peak, one side had to retreat, or the conflict would escalate into open war. He felt that the one who chose to retreat absolutely could not be the Hokage. If that happened, would Konoha still be the Hokage's Konoha?
At that point, Konoha would become Uchiha Ikeizumi's Konoha!
"Since you have already made the wrong choice,"
"Then you must pay the price for your choice."
The faces of his clan members flashed through Uchiha Itachi's mind.
Some were familiar, others were strangers. Some had once been close to him, while others were hostile. Some were elite Konoha ninja, and some were ordinary civilians. Some were children no older than twelve, and some were elderly people with one foot in the grave.
He opened his eyes, which had been closed for a moment.
With a firm resolve, he turned and prepared to head back to Konoha.
Back in Konoha, Hiruzen Sarutobi didn't expect that right after he left the Hokage's office, a child from the Hyuga clan would rush to him and report a matter.
Crouching on the child's shoulder was a green-skinned, purple-haired toad.
Hiruzen recognized the toad. It was a toad sage from Mount Myoboku, and also one of Jiraiya's "teachers."
"Lord Hokage..."
Neji Hyuga told Hiruzen everything he had seen and heard, causing Hiruzen's brow to furrow.
"A Wood Golem?"
Hiruzen suddenly remembered something.
"It was most likely Wood Release." Shima, the toad sage, spoke. "My son-in-law's father and little Jiraiya have both rushed over. We will know who the opponent is very soon."
Upon hearing this, Hiruzen instinctively glanced at an ANBU guard by his side.
This....was the child with the Wood Release bloodline limit whom he had forcefully taken from Danzo. He was the successful experiment from that year.
In Hiruzen's mind, perhaps only "Yamato" in the entire ninja world possessed the Wood Release bloodline limit.
But now it seemed...another ninja with Wood Release had appeared, and they were fighting someone not far from Konoha's outskirts.
Was he a Konoha ninja?
Or a ninja from another village?
"I understand." Hiruzen said, his voice grave. "ANBU, mobilize immediately! Tenzo, you will lead the mission! Take two ANBU squads with you to support Jiraiya!"
"Yes, Lord Hokage!"
The ANBU codenamed "Tenzo," also known as Yamato, immediately nodded.
Soon.
ANBU ninja after ANBU ninja dashed toward the outskirts of Konoha.
"Hoo... when it rains, it pours." Hiruzen rubbed his temples with a headache, watching the departing ANBU, and murmured, "I can't even catch a break."
This period of time was the most exhausting he had ever felt as Konoha's Hokage. Even during the Third Great Ninja War, he had never felt this tired.
Then, Hiruzen looked down at Neji Hyuga.
He recognized Neji; after all, he was currently the top genius at the Ninja Academy, so he naturally paid him close attention.
Hiruzen forced a kind smile. "Neji-kun, although you've brought me important information, why were you leaving the village at night?"
Neji lowered his head and said, "Because I heard that Uchiha Ikeizumi had left the village, and I wanted to follow him to see what he was up to. On my way, I was stopped by Lord Jiraiya."
Hiruzen was taken aback. "Ikeizumi?"
"Because I feel that the Will of Fire cannot give my father justice." Before Hiruzen could even ask, Neji said it himself. "Only his Absolute Justice can avenge my father and judge the people of the Main House."
Hiruzen: "..."
The matter with Hizashi... this child had still not let it go!
Hiruzen was silent. Ultimately, this was also his fault as the Third Hokage. If Konoha had been more firm at the time and he had openly rejected Cloud Village's outrageous demand, then Hizashi Hyuga would not have become a scapegoat.
However, at that time, he had believed that Konoha was not in a state to restart a war with Cloud Village. Another war would only invite other villages to take advantage of the situation.
And so.
He had implied to the Hyuga clan that they should make a sacrifice to appease Cloud Village's anger.
This led to a series of tragedies.
And it also led to this child's hatred.
Thinking that this burden truly rested on his shoulders, Hiruzen couldn't bring himself to lecture Neji.
He felt a hint of guilt.
'I'm sorry, Neji-kun. I did it for the sake of Konoha at the time. I was forced to sacrifice the interests of the Hyuga clan.'
Hiruzen sighed softly to himself.
A moment later, Neji returned to the Hyuga compound alone.
Shima, the toad sage, jumped down from his shoulder.
She didn't follow him inside.
"It seems this child is not the savior little Jiraiya is looking for," the small toad muttered to herself, squatting at the entrance to the Hyuga compound.
"His heart is filled with malice and hatred. This kind of child is probably very similar to 'Nagato,' whom little Jiraiya first found."
"If little Jiraiya were to take him as a student, he might only raise a second Nagato, not a savior who can bring about positive change to the ninja world."
"The true Child of Prophecy, at the very least, should have a warm and bright potential, like Minato Namikaze."
Shima shook her head.
"What's more... this child is about to embrace something called Absolute Justice. This kind of justice is too extreme; it will only lead him from one extreme to another."
However, since it was confirmed that the possibility of Neji being the Child of Prophecy was not high, Shima didn't bother to warn him.
It wasn't her obligation.
She only cared about the Child of Prophecy.
Meanwhile, outside the village.
Jiraiya had already learned the identity of the "enemy" from Uchiha Ikeizumi.
"Uchiha Obito..."
"Akatsuki..."
He finally understood why Uchiha Ikeizumi had said the enemy was his grand-disciple.
Because Uchiha Obito's supervising jonin was Minato Namikaze, and Minato Namikaze was his disciple.
Perched on his shoulder.
Fukasaku, the toad sage, had not taken his eyes off Uchiha Ikeizumi. He could faintly sense that there was an incredibly massive amount of chakra within Uchiha Ikeizumi's body. This was not a normal amount of chakra for a human.
This amount of chakra was probably comparable to that of a Tailed Beast.
His attention was more focused on Uchiha Ikeizumi's pair of Mangekyo Sharingan.
Just as Uchiha Ikeizumi was about to leave, Fukasaku suddenly coughed.
"Ahem!"
Standing on Jiraiya's shoulder, he said to Uchiha Ikeizumi, "Uchiha Ikeizumi. The Great Elder... that is, the Great Toad Sage of Mount Myoboku, once said that you have a special pair of eyes that can foresee the future. And that the future you see is even more accurate than the future the Great Elder foresees in his dreams."
Fukasaku's tone carried a hint of doubt. To be honest, he didn't really believe that Uchiha Ikeizumi's prophetic ability could be greater than that of the Great Toad Sage.
He asked hesitantly, "Do you truly know the identity of the Child of Prophecy?"
"I do."
Uchiha Ikeizumi responded indifferently.
Before Fukasaku could say another word, Ikeizumi continued. "But there's no need to tell you. If the toads of Mount Myoboku can honestly stay on Mount Myoboku and be a group of carefree toad sages, and not meddle in the affairs of the ninja world, then maybe I would tell you who the Child of Prophecy is."
"But the moment you had the idea of manipulating the future of the ninja world, it was destined that we were not on the same path. Especially the Great Toad Sage's belief, which he has upheld for thousands of years, has a fundamental conflict with the concept of Absolute Justice."
He slowly turned, his gaze falling on Fukasaku.
Fukasaku was unsure why, but as he was stared at by those crimson Sharingan, he felt a shiver run down his spine.
He uncomfortably shifted his gaze.
He avoided making eye contact with Uchiha Ikeizumi.
Uchiha Ikeizumi continued, "Let me give you toads of Mount Myoboku a piece of advice: do not stand in the path of Absolute Justice. Because those who block Absolute Justice, even if they have done no evil, are still enemies of Absolute Justice. The heinous villain is certainly abhorrent, but the incorrigible fool is also very detestable."
With that, Uchiha Ikeizumi didn't even give Fukasaku a chance to speak and simply left.
Fukasaku was dumbfounded.
He believed that having lived for over eight hundred years, his heart should be as calm as still water. But Uchiha Ikeizumi's words still made a flicker of an unidentifiable annoyance well up inside him.
"What a rude little rascal!"
Fukasaku huffed coldly. "Wasn't he just openly calling the Great Elder an incorrigible fool?"
Jiraiya was drenched in sweat.
"Ikeizumi always says what's on his mind. His choice of words might just be a little off. Ahaha, there's no need for Sage Fukasaku to hold a grudge against a youngster who's only eighteen, right? Just pretend he said nothing. After all, young people are sometimes a bit blunt!"
"Besides, he probably doesn't know much about Mount Myoboku. Maybe he's heard some bad things from somewhere and developed some misunderstandings about Mount Myoboku and the Great Toad Sage."
"Ignorance is bliss, right?"
After all, Uchiha Ikeizumi was from Konoha.
Even if Jiraiya didn't agree with Absolute Justice, he was still inclined to favor Ikeizumi due to his identity.
"I'm not that petty!" Fukasaku said, huffing.
But your whiskers are about to stand on end from anger.
This thought flashed through Jiraiya's mind.
"Hmph!"
Fukasaku suppressed his annoyance. He looked toward Uchiha Ikeizumi's back and said, "Little Jiraiya, this Uchiha ninja from your Konoha village might truly have a more precise prophetic ability than the Great Elder. His confidence is something that cannot be hidden. Or rather... he has no intention of hiding it."
Jiraiya: "!!!"
Fukasaku continued, "It's just that since he has seen the future, he isn't following the future's intended path. Instead, he wants to use his own ninja way to change a destiny that has already been decided. This will bring about an unpredictable outcome for the future of the ninja world."
"His ideology..."
"Is dangerous."
"And extreme."
Jiraiya was silent for a moment before asking, "Is his Absolute Justice a good thing for Konoha, or a bad thing?"
Fukasaku thought about it. "Absolute Justice is too black-and-white. It will inevitably cause more conflict, and it does not align with peace."
"If Konoha doesn't advocate for peace, then it suits Konoha well. If Konoha advocates for peace, then it doesn't suit Konoha."
"Little Jiraiya, you'll have to make that judgment yourself."
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