"Asuma is dead... and it's Yu again!"
Itachi's pupils dilated slightly. He glanced at Sarutobi Hiruzen, who lay on the ground with a lifeless face, unsure if he was still alive.
The atmosphere in the office was suffocating.
Cries of alarm and urgent treatment filled the room.
Standing beside the desk, Itachi appeared unusually calm. He sank into deep thought, as if cut off from the world around him.
His expression was grim. After a quick review of the intelligence scroll, he immediately deduced the reason the Konoha higher-ups had summoned him so urgently.
At the northwestern border of the Land of Fire, Sarutobi Asuma had taken a squad without authorization to pursue the Uchiha unit.
The result? A five-man jonin team—three dead, one captured.
Asuma and Jiriku were missing.
There was almost no chance of their survival.
The reinforcements from the Fire Temple—aside from Jiriku—had all been killed by some strange method.
For Konoha, it was a devastating loss. For the Hokage, it meant the death of his last remaining son.
A somber shadow passed over Itachi's face. He had a strong suspicion that his so-called ally had participated in that battle.
Under such conditions—
Could Uchiha Yu really have escaped safely with nine other Uchiha members?
Suddenly, a hoarse voice broke the tension in the Hokage's office.
"Itachi... come here…"
The voice was frail and weak—no longer carrying the authority it once did.
Itachi's eyes trembled slightly as he turned to look. Hiruzen's aged face had regained a hint of color.
Itachi walked over and knelt beside him.
"I didn't let you pursue them before… because the village needed internal restructuring. The Root division, which had become hollow in name and function, needed your hand to restore it."
Hiruzen's cloudy old eyes fixed on Itachi. In a trembling voice, he asked: "After this week of adjustment... how is the progress?"
Itachi replied calmly, "Lord Hokage, Root has been completely reorganized. Within a year, it will once again nourish the great tree that is Konoha."
"Good... even faster than I expected."
Hiruzen's expression dimmed. He reached out and took Itachi's hand, his old, callused palm gently patting the back of Itachi's.
"Then go. Go and retrieve your mother. Eliminate Uchiha Yu for the sake of Konoha. If possible… bring him back alive!"
Itachi's expression shifted slightly, but he didn't ask for more details. He simply nodded.
Hiruzen continued gently patting his hand, then said in a hoarse voice:
"Sasuke is a smart, incredibly gifted child. Now that the conflict between Konoha and the Uchiha is over, it's time to turn the page.
We've decided—once Sasuke graduates from the Academy, Kakashi will be appointed as his jonin instructor.
You know Kakashi. He's Minato's student. Reliable, capable. We trust him.
Konoha will have an Uchiha Hokage.
We'll do everything we can to cultivate Sasuke—
If he proves worthy."
With that, Hiruzen released Itachi's hands and said no more.
Itachi's gaze grew sharp. He rose silently and left the office, accompanied by his Root subordinates waiting in the hallway.
But aside from those promises—
Itachi had already suspected it:
His mother's defection...
May have had something to do with Yu.
Now, after hearing the Third Hokage's words, the doubts in his heart were finally resolved.
It confirmed that even Hiruzen's informants had been tracking the Uchiha defector unit.
At that moment, Itachi knew:
He had to travel personally to the northwestern border of the Land of Fire—
He only hoped he wasn't too late.
Even if he'd already acted before receiving permission from the Konoha leadership—
After a long while, Sarutobi Hiruzen, who had been helped back into his chair by Koharu Utatane and Homura Mitokado, let out a heavy sigh.
"Hiruzen, do you really feel that way about Sasuke?" Koharu squinted slightly, asking seriously.
Hiruzen shook his head, leaned back against the chair, and looked out the window at the view of Konoha. His fists clenched tightly, veins bulging from his aged hands.
In that moment, all signs of frailty and weakness brought on by grief seemed to vanish. His entire presence exuded pressure and fury.
Yu had attacked Asuma.
Destroyed the Fire Temple.
Asuma was Hiruzen Sarutobi's last remaining son!
"As expected of the inherently evil Uchiha!!
Now Asuma, the Fire Temple…
From this day forward—
No matter the cost, dead or alive, we will hunt down and wipe out this rogue Uchiha squad from the Shinobi World!!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was consumed with rage. As he finished speaking, he slammed a fist down on his desk.
With a loud crash, the office desk collapsed, splinters flying.
Although the ANBU bodyguards hadn't appeared earlier, sensing the Third Hokage's fury, they now appeared in a flash, kneeling respectfully in front of his chair.
Hiruzen's eyes burned with fire, his aged face twisted with fury. The composed calm he'd cultivated through over ten years in power shattered in an instant.
He wanted nothing more than to kill Uchiha Yu with his own hands.
Koharu and Homura said nothing, heads bowed. They remembered: back when Orochimaru defected from the village, this Hokage had only fallen silent for a few days.
But now, Yu had killed Sarutobi Hiruzen's last remaining son!
The grief of losing a child…
The two advisors knew all too well:
The Uchiha defector squad would now face the Third Hokage's unrelenting wrath—
And the rage of all of Konoha.
At the base of Mount Katsuragi, deep in the towering mountain ranges, a bright campfire burned on a stretch of open plain.
Various wild game roasted over the fire. The flickering light illuminated the weary faces of the Uchiha squad members.
After this stretch of fleeing and hiding—
They hadn't encountered any more pursuit squads.
The tension straining everyone's nerves had finally eased. With Tamao nearly fully recovered, the team's mood began to lift.
"Captain, those white monsters… what exactly were they?" Izumi took out her water flask, uncapped it, and held it out with both hands to Yu.
Izumi's large, dark, beautiful eyes widened with curiosity. Her round, delicate face, accented by a teardrop mole, looked both cute and lovely.
Upon hearing her question—
All the Uchiha turned to look at Yu.
From the day they fled Konoha—
This Uchiha squad had accepted Yu as their central leader.
Now, there was only one captain in the group.
They too were curious: what exactly were those monsters that had emerged from the monks that night?
But the constant fleeing had left them no time to think—
No time to even mourn the massacre of their clan.
Now, having escaped the Land of Fire, far from the Hidden Leaf, having dodged the first wave of pursuit and entered the deep mountains, they could finally breathe, finally feel a hint of safety.
Everyone began to reflect.
Those monsters had looked human, but weren't.
Their bodies were like wood.
Their movements were strange, difficult to deal with, and their vitality was overwhelming. If it hadn't been for Yu's black flames that night, it would've been nearly impossible to wipe them out.
"Those were White Zetsu."
Yu took the water flask, lifted his head and drank, eyes locked on the flickering flames. The firelight danced in his clear pupils.
The sweet taste touched his lips and tongue.
He glanced down at the flask.
Izumi, seated beside him, rested her cheeks on her knees with both hands. Seeing that Yu hadn't minded her girly water bottle—had even used the same mouthpiece—
Her mind instantly wandered from the question. Her heart thumped wildly, cheeks flushed, a small joy blooming inside.
Her little secret was clearly noticed by Kurenai Yuhi, who sat nearby. The corner of Kurenai's lips curved into a knowing smile. Right in front of Izumi, she reached out and asked Yu for the flask, eyes narrowing with a teasing grin:
"Sorry—I'm a little thirsty too."
Her voice was rich, sultry, full of mature allure.
Yu showed no reaction.
Izumi's eyes widened as she stared daggers at the shameless Kurenai.
Kurenai tilted her head back and took a bold sip from the flask, red lips slightly parted.
She deliberately let the water trickle from the corner of her mouth, slide down her flawless cheek, flow over her smooth neck, and disappear beneath the snowy skin of her collarbone, hidden under her mesh armor.
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