"Hokage-sama… I know—"
Seeing the situation sliding toward something unknown, the future Yamato gritted his teeth and chose to speak first.
Worst case, I die alone.
So he told what he knew—more or less.
But because of his angle and limited understanding, all he could report was this:
Ren was frighteningly strong, and he used an eerie, crimson chakra.
"Crimson, abnormal chakra? Great strength? Violent?"
The moment those words were put together, the Third Hokage's attention snapped into place.
He exchanged a look with Danzo—and with the two advisors.
Four elderly leaders whose combined ages were nearly two hundred and fifty… and in that instant, all four pairs of eyes flashed with the same sharp light.
Nine-Tails chakra.
Only the Nine-Tails could fit that description.
Which meant—
Had the Uchiha… stolen the Nine-Tails' power again?!
Especially Danzo.
He slammed his cane down with force, voice full of disgust.
"I told you, Hiruzen! That evil Uchiha brat has finally put his hands on the Nine-Tails!"
"Hiruzen, you can't hesitate anymore!" Koharu Homura immediately piled on.
She'd never liked the Uchiha—especially not when something as absolute as the Nine-Tails was involved.
Only Homura Mitokado hesitated, conflicted for a moment.
But seeing the other two press forward, he could only nod as well.
"I think so too."
For a brief moment, "righteousness" seemed to stand on Danzo's side.
Danzo released his cane, stepping forward like the loyal guard he used to be under an old sunset years ago—face earnest, voice pleading.
"Hiruzen, believe me! Only by cutting down that Uchiha brat can the village finally have peace!"
"Have you forgotten our bond?!"
All three advisors turned their eyes to Hiruzen.
Tap. Tap.
Ash fell, piling thickly on the floor.
In the haze of smoke, the Third Hokage finally knocked his pipe and murmured:
"Summon the clan heads. Council meeting."
"Nine-Tails power cannot leak—especially not to the Uchiha."
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh!
ANBU blurred out one after another.
In the dead of night, the great clans of Konoha were destined not to sleep.
"Hm? This is… the Third Hokage's summons?"
Uchiha compound.
Itachi—who had just returned—read the message once, then turned into a flock of crows and vanished.
He didn't understand, but the habits of the Will of Fire made his body move before his doubts could.
Crack.
But the moment he reached the edge of the Uchiha district, he saw that masked man again.
The man looked… damp.
Itachi's gaze slid over the man's crimson Sharingan and he spoke softly:
"Hm? Finished with your Water Style?"
Obito: …
The corner of his remaining eye twitched so hard it looked like he might leap up and start cursing.
But reason won.
"Itachi. Have you thought about defecting?"
"I can help you… eliminate certain people. For example—an Uchiha girl."
"You're spying on me?"
Fwoosh.
Before the sentence even fully fell, black flames suddenly bloomed along Obito's clothes.
Obito paused a fraction of a second—then his right eye spun.
Kamui.
Intangibility.
Tap.
The black flames vanished. His clothes were unharmed.
Obito exhaled in relief.
This kid was a problem.
He opens with Amaterasu.
One mistake and he really would've suffered an embarrassing death.
"So it's space-time ninjutsu…"
Itachi was shaken too.
That ability was far beyond what he'd expected.
That absurd amount of water—stored and dumped like nothing—
And now the ability to slip out of the current space entirely…
Power this unnatural didn't feel like an Uchiha at all.
"Who are you? What do you want?"
Obito flicked at his sleeve like he hadn't just almost been burned alive.
"Let me introduce myself properly."
"I am—Uchiha Madara."
"Uchiha Madara…? The ancestor who fought the God of Shinobi?"
Four plain words—yet they crashed into Itachi's mind like a tidal wave.
He couldn't believe it.
He wouldn't believe it.
Madara was a name every Uchiha knew.
"Impossible. He's long dead. You can't be him!"
His Mangekyo flared.
If this man was lying, he'd prove it instantly.
Tsukuyomi—unleashed.
But the illusion didn't even ripple.
Itachi's brow tightened as his thoughts accelerated.
"He avoided it again…"
"Is his ability… unlimited spatial escape?"
"No—intangible. My attacks are passing through."
A terrifying opponent.
If this man struck the village without warning, with no intel…
Konoha would drown in chaos.
Realizing that, Itachi's eyes shifted again.
The Mangekyo spun faster and faster.
Thin blood vessels surfaced around the eye.
His vision blurred at the edges.
He was already overusing his power.
"Itachi," Obito said, almost calmly, "we'll be comrades."
He turned away.
"Don't worry. When you act, I'll help you hold the others back."
"Including that girl… and your little brother."
With that, he vanished.
Leaving Itachi alone at the border of his clan's district, swallowed by night.
He froze—not because of "that girl," but because of the last two words.
Little brother.
"Sasuke is still in the Academy… so… you mean Ren?"
For reasons he didn't want to examine, his heart trembled at Ren's name.
"No… no."
"At the very least… I have to protect Ren and Sasuke."
"…Maybe it's time to negotiate with the Third Hokage."
With that decision, he stepped fully into the darkness.
His destination was clear:
The Hokage Tower.
Not long after Itachi left, a small figure emerged from beneath a tree.
Ren watched the direction Itachi had gone and slowly shook his head.
"Foolish big brother… I didn't think you could have such… a foolish idea."
"A gun—only matters if you hold it."
"Relying on the Third…"
"Did you forget what happened to the Fourth's orphan?"
When Itachi received the summons, Ren had already followed.
He didn't reveal himself—just quietly moved in under his Weak Presence.
With sharpened senses, he'd heard everything.
Even the fleeting, almost invisible softness in Itachi's eyes.
That softness—
Was for Uchiha Izumi.
"What a shame," Ren muttered. "Looks like I'll never get to eat Izumi-nee's three-colored dango."
He turned back toward the compound.
"The old man's made up his mind."
"But good. Now I can finally sleep properly."
Ren's voice was light—almost casual.
"As for the next time I wake up…"
"It'll probably be the night of the massacre."
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