Chapter 21 – A New Reward
"A new option?!"
As Uchiha Itachi spoke, a flicker of shock crossed Izaya's face. He hadn't expected the system to issue a unique selection task at this moment… And this time, the option provided by the system was unusually serious—it didn't push him towards becoming a rogue ninja again. Moreover… the task reward this time also surprised Izaya.
The Two Tomoe Sharingan!
In all honesty, this was definitely an unexpected reward for Izaya. From his first contact with the system, he had realized its tricky nature. For it to offer such a good reward… it naturally wouldn't be that simple!
Thinking this, Izaya felt a weight of pressure in his heart. Yet… he couldn't refuse this task. After all, for the current Izaya, aside from the Blaze Fruit, the most important asset he had was the Sharingan. As one of the most powerful "plug-ins" in the original Naruto, how could Izaya let such a powerful ability slip away? Although evolving from the One Tomoe Sharingan to the Two Tomoe Sharingan wouldn't drastically boost his combat effectiveness, Izaya couldn't simply ignore this task reward…
And the more crucial point was that Izaya himself wanted to change Uchiha Itachi's fate. No matter what, Izaya had to accept this task.
"The system is being uncharacteristically generous for once!" After silently complaining about the system, Izaya made his choice. Instantly, a bloody light erupted within his system space. As the glow dissipated, the phantom of a pair of Two Tomoe Sharingan eyes materialized…
Looking at the eyes brimming with dark power in the system space, Izaya felt an inexplicable excitement!
Seeing the fluctuating emotions on Izaya's face, Uchiha Itachi immediately asked, "Izaya, what's wrong?"
"It's nothing. I'm just… a little excited that you trust me." Izaya naturally couldn't reveal the fact that he had obtained the Sharingan in front of Uchiha Itachi, so he quickly found an excuse. Changing the subject, Izaya stopped focusing on the Sharingan in his system space and went straight to Uchiha Itachi, speaking in a solemn tone, "This time, we will definitely not fail…"
"I hope so…" Compared to Izaya's confidence, Uchiha Itachi's expression was much more conflicted. In his view, the chances of success in this matter were far too slim. On their side, there were only Izaya and himself. Although Izaya was immensely talented… in terms of pure combat power, they were at an absolute disadvantage. Izaya could barely be considered a jōnin-level fighter, and Uchiha Itachi himself was only at the early Kage-level stage.
Meanwhile, Danzō and the Konoha leadership not only had vast numbers but also held the initiative and intelligence advantage. As for the powerful members of the Uchiha clan, they were not to be underestimated either. Given the current situation, Uchiha Itachi honestly didn't have much confidence in his heart.
"We still have time, don't we?" Seeing the sorrowful look on Uchiha Itachi's face, Izaya smiled. Based on the timeline from the original story, Izaya and Uchiha Itachi had at least one week to prepare. Although they were at an absolute disadvantage now, for Izaya, this disadvantage wasn't without opportunities to overturn!
First, the Blaze Fruit power within Izaya's body had only been initially stimulated. Even under such circumstances, Izaya's strength had seen explosive growth. He was confident he could further develop the Blaze Fruit's power within the next week. And… the reason the Uchiha massacre happened so swiftly in the original story was largely due to Uchiha Itachi's decisiveness. If… Uchiha Itachi was willing to bide his time a little longer, the timing of this event could definitely be delayed!
"Itachi, since we've decided to give it a try, let's start preparing." Thinking this, Izaya hesitated no longer and began discussing plans with Uchiha Itachi directly. Then, before Uchiha Itachi could speak, Izaya continued, "Right now, two things are most important to us. The first is time."
"And the second point?" Hearing Izaya's words, Uchiha Itachi was somewhat surprised. He could understand the first point—time—since Izaya desperately needed it to improve his strength. But the second point Izaya mentioned… left Uchiha Itachi puzzled.
"The second point is allies!" Seeing Uchiha Itachi's confusion, Izaya didn't beat around the bush and told him directly.
"Allies?!" Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi was stunned, momentarily at a loss for words… The term "ally" was an extremely unfamiliar concept for Uchiha Itachi. Since Uchiha Shisui's death, Uchiha Itachi had almost no trusted friends left in Konoha, let alone anyone who could become an ally… That's why he was so shocked and doubtful upon hearing Izaya's words.
"Of course we have allies." At this moment, Izaya smiled. He walked to an open area, picked up a wooden stick, found a relatively flat patch of ground, and drew a large circle. Then, he said to Uchiha Itachi, "Any place definitely has more than one faction. Where there are people, there will be factions. For us, the enemy of our enemy is our friend…"
As soon as he finished speaking, Izaya had already drawn several smaller circles inside the large one, marking their relationships with simple arrows…
"I can understand that saying, but where do we find these so-called allies?" This time, Uchiha Itachi was once again astonished by Izaya. He hadn't expected Izaya to think of this, but now he was even more curious about who exactly Izaya considered potential allies!
"There are plenty of potential allies we can unite with. It just depends on whether we're willing to seek them out…" Gazing at the distant Konoha village under the pale blue sky, Izaya changed the subject.
Within Konoha, this hidden village never lacked various factions. Whether it was the Senju clan, who founded Konoha but later declined, or the Sarutobi clan of the current Hokage, followed by the Nara, Yamanaka, and Akimichi clans… these were all top-tier powers within Konoha. These clans might appear harmonious on the surface, but… that wasn't really the case. Beneath the facade of harmony surged undercurrents of conflict!