The Kumogakure's Shinobi's single eye met a pair of burning crimson Two Tomoe Sharingan!
The tomoe swirled eerily in the night, casting Makoto's face in half-light, half-shadow.
Within his still-childish features was a fierceness utterly incongruous with his age, like a young beast that had long sharpened its claws and fangs, the sense of contrast was extremely strong.
His head had only turned halfway when he saw the kunai in Makoto's hand, steady as a rock, without the slightest hesitation.
Its tip, carrying a sharp whistle that tore through the air, stabbed straight for his carotid artery.
Thud…
The sound of the specially made kunai entering flesh was as dull as cutting tofu. The moment blood surged up along the grooves, Makoto used the Flying Thunder God Technique again.
In a desolate forest extremely far away from the Hyuga Clan's compound, a specially made kunai hidden in the shadows suddenly vibrated.
The Succubus Mark on its handle, like a blood-red eye opening, flashed red.
Three figures, along with the blood-stained kunai, instantly vanished from outside the Hyuga Clan's compound. The spurting blood didn't even have time to fully erupt, vanishing so fast it was as if they had never been there.
The wind under the old banyan tree still blew, swirling a few dead leaves.
The faint scent of blood lingering in the air was swept away by the wind, dissipating into the night in an instant, as if the life-and-death moment just now was merely an illusion caused by the night wind brushing the grass.
Bang, bang, bang…
The five Makoto's shadow clones around the Hyuga Clan's compound simultaneously turned into white smoke. Blown by the wind, they left no trace.
…
In the deserted small forest, moonlight filtered through the gaps in the leaves, casting mottled, broken shadows on the ground.
Makoto, along with the Kumogakure's Shinobi and Hinata, instantly appeared beside the specially made kunai.
The Kumogakure's Shinobi's head, only half-turned, hung limply. His single eye was wide open, his throat making gurgling sounds. Blood sprayed out like from a punctured wineskin.
His throat gurgled, unable to form a clear word for a long time.
Makoto didn't care what he was trying to say. His hands barely wrapped around the man's waist, using the force of their descent to exert strength violently.
Thump!
A clean, decisive Uchiha Takedown.
The Kumogakure's Shinobi was slammed into the dirt like a sack of rags. The back of his head hit a sharp stone with a dull thud, the impact making the small stones on the ground jump.
Hinata, still clutched in the Kumogakure's Shinobi's hand, suffered along with him. Her small head knocked against a lump of hard earth.
The effect of the drug had almost worn off, and her long eyelashes had begun to tremble. This knock directly produced a large, red bump on her head.
Her brows furrowed into small knots. She let out a light moan and fell back into infant-like sleep.
Smelling the pungent scent of blood, Makoto subconsciously frowned, but his expression didn't change much, as he was already accustomed to it.
With an old fogey at home missing a screw, he was long used to such scenes.
Fugaku had taken the four-year-old Itachi to the Third Shinobi World War. For the more talented Uchiha Makoto, the 'nurturing' was even more intense...
Bang…
Makoto raised his hand and summoned two shadow clones, ordering them to quickly clean up the bloodstains here.
Looking at the Kumogakure's Shinobi at his feet, his body twitching incessantly, consciousness completely lost, the corner of Makoto's mouth lifted slightly.
This grenade was firmly in his grasp now. But into whose hands should he deliver it to make the biggest, most spectacular explosion?
Makoto had pondered this before. Actually, he most wanted to deliver it to the Sarutobi Clan or Danzo's Root.
But that would most likely prevent the grenade from exploding… since they were the ones in power in Konoha now, they had plenty of room to maneuver, easily finding a scapegoat to forcibly suppress the matter.
Only when he was in power in the future could he manufacture such incidents against these clans and factions.
As he pondered, Makoto glanced in the direction of the Uchiha Clan's compound, his gaze thoughtful.
He decided to still deliver this grenade to the Hyuga Clan, and specifically to the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's Great Elder.
Through earlier observation, he found this old fogey was of the same mold as the Uchiha Clan's Third Elder.
Spouting clan's great righteousness and self-sacrifice better than anyone, but actually full of filth inside. If a knife were really put to his neck, he'd probably resist more fiercely than anyone.
The Hyuga Clan's Main Family's Great Elder's status was not low. He'll let the Hyuga Clan and the Konoha's leadership fight it out properly.
Redirect the trouble, shift the focus of Konoha's Four Civil War Heavenly Kings onto the Hyuga Clan, saving them from constantly watching the Uchiha Clan.
Otherwise, after he slipped out of Konoha for a while and returned, his home might be gone... If the Uchiha Clan were exterminated, wouldn't he, the future Clan Head, become a joke?
This was another win-win… Makoto wins twice.
It could both transfer the conflict between the Uchiha Clan and the village, and stir up trouble, making it easier for him to slip out of Konoha.
But, delivering these two back to the Hyuga Clan's compound alone, especially into the Main Family's area, was difficult, not much different from somersaulting on knife blades… the risk was too high.
The Hyuga Clan's Byakugan was no decoration. The slightest misstep could lead to disaster.
'Seems I still need help,' Makoto mused inwardly.
The thought barely formed when Makoto immediately closed his eyes, sensing the kunai that Itachi always carried with him, the one Makoto had first imprinted with a Flying Thunder God's imprint.
In the Flying Thunder God's perception, Itachi was currently at Shisui's house.
He felt pleased, 'Good, that saved me from having to make a third teleport with Itachi to Shisui's house later.'
He also had Flying Thunder God's marks near Shisui's house.
With Makoto's current total Chakra, using Flying Thunder God Technique over short distances by himself was quite easy. But carrying two people for multiple jumps would probably drain his Chakra dry.
Chakra exhaustion was no small matter. In the original work, the unit of Chakra measurement, Hatake Kakashi, died once due to Chakra exhaustion.
Makoto grabbed the two people. The Flying Thunder God's mark near Shisui's house flickered slightly. In an instant, the three figures vanished from the spot.
The shadow clones, having thoroughly cleaned up the traces, glanced at each other.
Without any extra tasks, they simultaneously turned into white smoke and dissipated.
The deserted small forest returned to silence, only the rustling of wind through leaves remaining, as if nothing had happened.
In the shadows near Shisui's house, the moment Makoto landed with the two, he immediately created one shadow clone, which raced off towards the direction of Shisui's courtyard.
…
In Shisui's courtyard at that moment, Shisui and Itachi were sitting on the corridor, both frowning as they discussed how to ease the relationship between Konoha and their clan.
"Makoto finally came up with the plan to push Orochimaru-sama for Godaime Hokage... Pity it ended almost as soon as it began," Shisui's tone was full of unconcealable helplessness.
Itachi was just about to respond when footsteps suddenly sounded at the courtyard gate… not too loud or soft, but carrying an indescribable casualness.
Shisui's eyes sharpened, his hand unconsciously moving towards the kunai at his waist, 'Who would come here at this hour?'
But the corners of Itachi's mouth lifted slightly first. Even from afar, he recognized those footsteps.
With a creak, the courtyard gate was pushed open.
Makoto's shadow clone stood at the entrance, glanced around, and then said directly to the two:
"Follow me!"
After speaking, he turned and walked towards the distant shadows, his steps so fast they stirred a breeze.
Itachi and Shisui exchanged a glance, didn't ask further, and immediately followed.
They hadn't taken more than a few steps when Itachi's face suddenly darkened, as a faint scent of blood lingered at the tip of his nose. Very faint, but it couldn't escape his sense of smell.
A moment later.
The moonlight just so happened to fall on Makoto's face in the shadows. Those Two Tomoe Sharingan hadn't been concealed yet. And at his feet lay two motionless figures, one large, one small.
The moment Itachi and Shisui's gazes swept over the taller figure, their pupils constricted sharply, their brows instantly knitting into knots.
Cold sweat even broke out involuntarily.
They had both seen this person this morning. In fact, most Shinobi in Konoha today had seen him.
This was the leader of Kumogakure's envoys who came to Konoha to sign the ceasefire agreement.
But now, he was breathing more out than in, clearly on the verge of death...
This was absolutely an earth-shattering matter. It could easily reignite the war between Konoha and Kumogakure!
Itachi's frown deepened. His mind rapidly calculated various possibilities. His gaze swept over the bloodstains on Makoto's sleeve.
After a moment, his brows relaxed, as if he had made a decision. He stepped forward and said gravely:
"Makoto, you go home first. Leave this person to me."
The usually steady Itachi now had anxiety in his tone that he couldn't hide. His hand was already on Makoto's shoulder, pushing him towards home.
Makoto, looking at the sweating Itachi, said in an exceptionally calm tone:
"I've thought of a way to resolve the conflict between the village and our clan."
Hearing this, Shisui's eyes beside him lit up instantly. He inquired: "How?"
"Redirect the trouble, shift the target!" Makoto spat out six words, clean and decisive, without the slightest hesitation.
Itachi, looking at the Kumogakure's leader on the ground, instantly understood Makoto's meaning.
His lips pressed into a thin line. He didn't speak, only his eyes flickered slightly, who knows what was going through his mind.
Shisui leaned forward and pressed: "How exactly do we operate?"
"Throw this person into the Hyuga Clan's Main Family's Great Elder's room. Make the Konoha's leadership focus entirely on the Hyuga Clan. Then who would have time to keep an eye on our Uchiha Clan?"
"This might not completely resolve the conflict between the Uchiha and the village, but it can at least buy us some time to think of another solution."
After listening, a hint of interest flickered in Shisui's eyes, but he quickly shook his head, his frown tightening further.
"But... the Hyuga Clan is also a clan of Konoha..."
"No!" Makoto suddenly raised his voice, glaring at Shisui with a disappointed look, making Shisui subconsciously touch his garlic-bulb nose.
"The Hyuga Clan has already betrayed the Will of Fire!" Makoto paused, then continued.
"Today, Kumogakure and Konoha signed the ceasefire agreement. Such a crucial matter… which clan in Konoha, big or small, didn't turn out in full force?"