Under Yu Feng's gaze, Izumi felt a little uneasy.
Others might not know her relationship with Itachi, but Yu Feng certainly did.
She had no idea what Yu Feng was planning to do.
Still, there were some questions she simply couldn't keep bottled up. If she didn't ask them, her heart wouldn't be at peace.
"Senior Yu Feng… did Itachi really betray the clan?"
Yu Feng had already decided to use Izumi as a test case, so he merely sighed helplessly and said:
"Don't blame him. Itachi didn't have a choice."
"Konoha made a deal with him—if he helped the village wipe out the Uchiha, they would spare you and Sasuke."
Izumi was shocked.
"M-me and Sasuke?!"
Yu Feng spoke in a deliberately heavy tone:
"Among the people in the clan, aside from Fugaku and Mikoto, the ones he cared about most were you and Sasuke."
"Konoha would never spare Fugaku and Mikoto."
"So Itachi could only shoulder the infamy himself, in exchange for your lives."
Izumi was still very young, and too many things had happened that night.
She was easily misled by Yu Feng's words.
All the resentment she had felt toward Itachi vanished in an instant, replaced by overwhelming emotion. She now wished she could fly straight to Itachi's side.
Having lived two lives, Yu Feng could easily tell that Izumi was already deeply moved.
That was enough—there was no need to push it further.
Yu Feng had real business to attend to.
With a serious expression, he said:
"However, after my persuasion, Itachi has decided to resist Konoha together with the entire clan."
"But the current situation is complicated. I still need to go support Itachi."
"You follow me for now. We'll talk on the way."
"Yes! Senior Yu Feng!"
Although Izumi had just narrowly escaped death, the thought of being able to help the person she loved made her immediately follow behind Yu Feng.
As Yu Feng led Izumi toward the clan compound, he quickly explained:
"Many people in the clan have reached their breaking point against Konoha, but a violent coup would very likely fail."
"So tonight, we won't attack Konoha. On the contrary, none of us will admit that the Uchiha ever planned a coup."
"On Konoha's side, there are three factions involved in this matter."
"The Third Hokage and his ANBU."
"Danzō's Root organization."
"And a joint force formed by the other ninja clans."
"Tonight, I'll decide how to respond based on which enemies appear."
"You say nothing. You ask nothing."
"Don't dwell on what happened earlier. Our clan needs to unite and survive tonight."
"You'll understand everything later."
As Yu Feng spoke, he watched the bond between himself and Izumi rise rapidly.
Only when Izumi's Bond Star reached its maximum of two stars did he stop explaining.
Izumi thought Yu Feng was confiding in her because he trusted her.
She had no idea that Yu Feng was doing all this purely for the bond value.
…
At the same time.
Danzō, leading more than seventy Root members, had already reached the outskirts of the Uchiha clan compound.
However, the traps set up by Jihiko inflicted heavy losses on the Root forces.
Spike traps. Explosive tag traps. Arrow traps…
Traps of every kind emerged one after another.
This was a battle of extermination—the Uchiha had spared no expense.
The explosive tags alone were high-grade items worth tens of thousands of ryō each.
Other traps might leave survivors.
But once someone triggered an explosive tag trap, they were usually blown to pieces.
With constant explosions and screams echoing through the night, Danzō's advance was severely slowed.
Danzō's face was dark as thunder.
The people he had brought were all elites. Losing even one made his heart ache.
These were the foundation of his future plans.
Left with no choice, Danzō slowed down and ordered a careful sweep for traps.
At that moment, a subordinate rushed over to report:
"Lord Danzō, Uchiha Itachi requests an audience. He says he has the latest intelligence from within the clan."
Danzō was slightly taken aback.
Earlier, he had assumed that Itachi had defected.
But now that Itachi was returning alone with intelligence, that clearly wasn't the case.
"Let him in."
Danzō waved his hand.
He had more than ten elite guards at his side, and he still held Kotoamatsukami.
One Uchiha Itachi wasn't enough to stir up trouble.
Itachi soon appeared and, just like before, respectfully reported to Danzō.
"Lord Danzō, due to Yu Feng's sudden return, the Uchiha clan has become highly alert."
"There has been a dispute between Fugaku and the Great Elder."
"The clan is now fighting over authority. Internal strife has already begun!"
A sharp gleam flashed in Danzō's eyes.
"Internal conflict! Excellent!"
"Itachi, you—"
Just as Danzō was about to assign Itachi a task, their eyes met.
In that instant, Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan transformed into the Mangekyō state.
Tsukuyomi!
In that split second, Itachi dragged Danzō's consciousness into the Tsukuyomi world.
In reality, the moment Tsukuyomi activated—before Danzō could even scream—Itachi moved.
With one hand, he ripped away the bandages on Danzō's arm.
With the other, he directly gouged out Shisui's eye!
Spinning around, Itachi kicked Danzō away and immediately shot backward, retreating at full speed.
If Yu Feng hadn't explicitly instructed him not to kill Danzō at this moment, Itachi would have finished him off without hesitation.
"AAAGH—!"
Only then did Danzō let out a scream and collapse to the ground.
"Bastard!"
"Lord Danzō!"
"How dare you harm Lord Danzō!"
"Kill him!"
Danzō wasn't without guards nearby.
But no one had expected Itachi to openly attack Danzō in the middle of a circle of more than ten elites.
Itachi's Tsukuyomi had heavily injured Danzō in an instant!
In this state, there was no way Danzō could activate Kotoamatsukami.
Still, reclaiming Shisui's eye had cost Itachi a couple of seconds.
As he flew backward, four Root members nearby slashed at him with their blades.
Those a bit farther away hurled kunai.
Although Itachi was still young and not yet at the peak he would reach years later, his ocular power had barely been used until now.
The divine power of the Uchiha was revealed to the world for the first time!
Susanoo!
Massive ocular power and chakra erupted instantly.
An orange-red skeletal form manifested, knocking away all incoming attacks.
A massive arm swept sideways, smashing two Root members in half and sending them flying.
Itachi did not linger in battle.
After blocking the first wave of attacks, he slammed a smoke bomb into the ground.
Caw—caw—caw—
The cries of crows filled the air.
A swarm of crows burst out of the smoke, completely disrupting Root's vision.
In the next moment, Itachi's figure reappeared far in the distance.
Root was a highly centralized organization, with all authority concentrated in Danzō alone.
Once Danzō fell, there was no one left to command.
Naturally, even fewer people went after Itachi.
He escaped the encirclement with ease.
The Third Hokage and Danzō shared an unspoken understanding.
Both had planted spies among each other's ranks.
After Itachi took Danzō's eye and escaped,
one of those spies slipped away in the chaos—
heading straight for the Third Hokage.
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