Obito did not retreat immediately after sinking underground.
After escaping Rinjin's encirclement, he resurfaced from beneath the earth and slipped toward the Uchiha clan compound.
This operation had yielded absolutely nothing—not even a single eyelash.
Not only had he come for nothing, but his intelligence had somehow been leaked as well.
No matter how he thought about it, Obito couldn't swallow this humiliation. And if he left now, it would be far more difficult to come back and reap benefits from the Uchiha in the future.
So he decided to see if he could find any isolated Uchiha clan members.
No matter what, he had to dig out a few eyes to make this trip worthwhile.
—
After arranging Itachi's departure, Yu Feng headed toward the Police Force headquarters.
On the way, he opened the Bond Star panel.
Uchiha Itachi's name was already there.
And the bond value had directly hatched three stars.
Yu Feng didn't hesitate and tapped them one by one.
The first star—just as expected—granted part of Itachi's combat experience.
The second star granted part of Itachi's ocular power.
When he reached the third star, Yu Feng couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement.
As the third star unlocked, his heart skipped a beat.
"Ding! Uchiha Itachi, Level 3 Bond unlocked."
"Congratulations to the host for obtaining: Dōjutsu — Amaterasu."
Amaterasu?!
It could even unlock a dōjutsu?!
Yu Feng forcefully suppressed his excitement.
His own Mangekyō ability wasn't an offensive-type dōjutsu—it couldn't deal effective damage to Obito.
But now that he had Amaterasu, there might finally be a chance to kill Obito outright.
—
By the time Yu Feng reached the Police Force headquarters, Obito was already fighting Rinjin and the others.
Rinjin's group cooperated extremely well, leaving Obito with no opportunity to attack.
But conversely, as long as Obito remained intangible, Yu Feng couldn't find an opening either.
After Obito withdrew, Rinjin and the others did not pursue.
Yu Feng, however, went to lie in ambush along the road between the Police Force headquarters and the clan compound.
In truth, fewer than half of the Uchiha knew what was going to happen that night.
When the signal flares rose from the Police Force building, any nearby clan members began moving toward it.
Without knowing Obito's abilities, those people were actually the most vulnerable.
The Great Elder, Fugaku, and Itachi were already taken care of.
With some time on his hands, Yu Feng decided to wait and see whether Obito would attack these scattered clan members.
Yu Feng crouched atop a treetop, his entire body blending into the shadows, his presence faint to the point of near invisibility.
He saw several clan members heading toward the Police Force after spotting the signal flares.
But from the moment they appeared to the moment they ran off, Obito never showed himself.
Yu Feng shrugged.
Looks like he'd guessed wrong.
Suddenly, he turned his head to the right.
Faint sounds of combat came from that direction.
A slender figure was running toward the Police Force.
It was Uchiha Izumi.
Her face was filled with anxiety and confusion.
Izumi had come to the Police Force to look for Yu Feng or Itachi.
She wanted to know why—why Itachi had betrayed the Uchiha clan.
As she moved forward, a sudden chill ran down her spine.
She halted abruptly and flipped backward.
The spot she had just occupied was instantly pinned down by two kunai.
Izumi pulled shuriken from her ninja pouch and hurled them midair.
Her target was the tiger-masked man who had just appeared.
Obito allowed the shuriken to pass straight through his body.
Unhurried, he clapped his hands lightly.
"Not bad eyes."
His praise wasn't unfounded.
Uchiha Izumi was only twelve or thirteen years old, yet she already possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
At such an age, even among the Uchiha, her potential was immense.
Perfect—another pair of Sharingan to harvest.
Seeing that the man clearly wasn't from Konoha, Izumi immediately guessed his identity.
"You're the helper Itachi brought?!"
Obito caught the tone in her voice and found it interesting.
"Oh? Sounds like you're connected to Itachi?"
Izumi pressed her lips together and said nothing.
But her heart ached unbearably.
So Itachi really had betrayed the clan.
Izumi suddenly threw the kunai in her hand and turned to flee!
But how could she possibly escape Obito?
Obito whipped out his usual chain and flung it.
Izumi couldn't dodge in time and was instantly bound.
With a hard yank, she was slammed heavily to the ground.
Pain wracked Izumi's body, and the thought that this was Itachi's accomplice filled her with even deeper despair.
"Save me! Itachi!"
Hearing Izumi's cry, Obito finally felt some of the frustration in his chest dissipate.
"Heh… Itachi won't be saving you."
He yanked again, dragging Izumi violently toward him.
At that moment—
Amaterasu!
Boom!
Black flames slammed directly onto Obito's head!
"AAAGH—!"
Obito let out a hoarse scream, his real voice slipping out.
Yu Feng didn't stop there—Amaterasu instantly spread across Obito's entire body!
Terrified out of his wits, Obito realized the truth—
There was a Mangekyō Sharingan user within the Uchiha clan!
Enduring the searing pain, the other three-tomoe Sharingan in his eye socket flared with blinding red light.
Izanagi!
Like a wisp of smoke, Obito vanished from the spot.
Yu Feng landed on the ground, continuing to search for Obito's position.
So he'd actually forced Obito to use Izanagi.
How long had Obito set its duration for?
At that moment, a fluctuation of ocular power suddenly appeared behind a tree.
Yu Feng leapt instantly, but when he turned, he only saw the corner of a garment disappearing.
"Hmph."
Yu Feng snorted coldly.
Fast runner.
Between him and Obito was a deep, irreconcilable hatred.
Xi Yue's disability had been caused by the Nine-Tails incident back then.
Setting aside everything else—just that alone meant Obito had to die.
Yu Feng had arrived the moment Obito made his move.
When Obito dragged Izumi, he had been in a tangible state.
In that situation, the fastest attack—Amaterasu—was the best possible choice.
Yu Feng's ocular power was extremely abundant. Even now, his eyes only felt slight discomfort.
"Yu Feng… senior…"
Izumi had been slammed so hard that her head was spinning.
She had truly thought she was about to die.
She never expected to be saved by Yu Feng.
Yu Feng had been Shisui's close friend, so Izumi naturally knew him well.
If not for the fact that Yu Feng had needed to take on endless missions after the Nine-Tails incident to support his family, their relationship would have been even closer.
"You don't need to go to the Police Force. Itachi isn't there."
Yu Feng's voice was flat and cold, carrying a sense of distance.
Izumi assumed Yu Feng was venting his anger over Itachi's betrayal onto her and didn't dare say anything.
But in truth, Yu Feng felt no such resentment.
Even toward Itachi, he felt no anger at all.
Because Yu Feng had always believed in one thing—
Winners write history. Losers bear the consequences.
All processes were merely means.
As long as the goal was achieved, nothing else mattered.
His cold tone was only because—
He was staring at the Bond Star panel.
This thing was his cheat, the foundation of his rise.
Yet it didn't even come with a manual.
He had no idea how bonds were actually increased.
Itachi had already unlocked the third Bond Star.
But now, the progress bar had barely moved at all.
Yu Feng was thinking about how to increase it next.
He slowly looked Izumi up and down, his gaze utterly indifferent.
~~---------------------
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