"ANBU? That was fast."
Uchiha Ki frowned.
He had barely gotten Uchiha Kei into Fugaku's house before he began gathering forces in secret, and it was only now that he truly made his move. But what was going on with the ANBU?
Why were they so fast too?
"Sir, they've rebelled! They're trying to take my child! Fugaku's side is under siege too. Please, help him!"
Mikoto pleaded in a panic.
However...
In the next instant, she saw the shadow before her vanish. By the time she realized what had happened, the ANBU ninja in front of her had disappeared.
And when she turned around—
Itachi?!
Her mind went blank. She had no idea what had just happened. Why had Itachi suddenly vanished? Just moments ago, he had been right behind her.
"Please report to the Police Force. I'll handle things here."
Another ANBU ninja appeared.
"Heh... I admire your courage, but since I've already achieved my goal, there's no need to waste time with you."
Uchiha Ki said calmly.
Mukai appeared behind him, his fingers striking at the chakra points on Ki's back.
Gentle Fist—Eight Trigrams Thirty-Two Palms!
But—
A strange fleshy layer surfaced on Uchiha Ki's skin, completely blocking Mukai's strikes. Then, slowly, Ki sank into the earth and vanished before their eyes.
"Stop!"
Mikoto stabbed with her kunai, but it was useless. Her kunai couldn't even scratch him.
Mukai froze.
He didn't know what had happened either. Just now, a layer of chakra not belonging to Ki had suddenly appeared on his skin—and it was that chakra that blocked his Gentle Fist strikes.
"Apologies. I'll do my best to track him."
Mukai said and quickly gave chase.
There was no time to waste. He wanted to pursue Kyoichi, but even his Byakugan couldn't see where Kanda Kyoichi or Uchiha Itachi had gone.
Too fast!
It made sense that Kyoichi would be this fast—but what was up with Uchiha Itachi?
Something about all of this was wrong.
He understood now why Kyoichi had suddenly charged out earlier.
Just now...
Kyoichi-sama must've sensed something even his Byakugan couldn't detect!
---
Outside Konohagakure.
Beneath the ground, Uchiha Itachi was being manipulated by Black Zetsu, rapidly tunneling through the earth with Earth Release. Above him, Kyoichi pursued with relentless speed. The two were evenly matched—neither gaining the upper hand.
However—
Black Zetsu knew: Kyoichi could still go faster. He wasn't trying to catch Itachi right now—he was just tracking him, following his chakra trail all the way back to their base.
Damn it!
He hadn't expected this guy to show up, let alone be this vigilant. It was too late to adjust plans now.
What now...?
He was stuck.
He definitely couldn't take Itachi back to Madara. That would be leading the wolf straight to the door. In his current state, Madara couldn't possibly win against Kyoichi.
Abandon Itachi?
As he hesitated, he suddenly sensed Uchiha Ki speeding in from behind.
Kyoichi frowned.
That jumbled chakra signature... Just as he thought—Uchiha Ki had been implanted with White Zetsu tissue, and his eyes had likely been forcefully infused with ocular power.
"Awakening through humiliation," huh?
Like hell.
If that old bastard really had potential, would he have endured this long? He would've risen decades ago.
Troublesome.
Kyoichi didn't want to waste time with him. Black Zetsu's speed was too high, and he was nearly impossible to sense—Kyoichi could only track him by locking onto Itachi.
If the distance grew too wide, he might lose the trail for good.
So...
"I don't have time to play with trash like you."
"Get lost!"
Kyoichi formed a hand seal. Just as Uchiha Ki caught up and prepared to unleash a Fire Release—
A giant of stone burst from the earth.
Earth Release: Gōriki-style Technique.
BOOM!
With one palm, the ground beneath Uchiha Ki erupted into a massive crater.
The stone giant roared, shattering mountains and rending earth, blasting Uchiha Ki from his hiding place.
Kyoichi's true body kept going.
This technique had been modified by him. The one controlling the giant now was a Shadow Clone situated in its core, releasing chakra from the center to manipulate the entire body.
With Earth-natured chakra...
Not only could the giant's body be reinforced, but its destructive power was enhanced too. The only downside was that Kyoichi hadn't yet mastered Added-Weight Rock Technique or Light-Weight Rock Technique, and this jutsu consumed a tremendous amount of chakra.
So...
For now, it remained incomplete.
But—
Against the Uchiha? It was working like a charm.
Inside the stone statue, he used sensory abilities to pinpoint targets—once he knew their location, it was a simple matter of smashing them.
Eyes?
Not needed—yet!
Uchiha Ki scowled and tried to move around, but—
WHAM!
The ground shattered.
Not even Earth Release could get him out now.
Looks like he'd have to break his way through.
Lightning Release...
A bit tricky.
Yes, Lightning Release counters Earth Release—but scale matters. Against a jutsu of this magnitude, unless he had an extremely powerful lightning technique, it wouldn't work instantly.
So...
Even with a type advantage, it wasn't enough to destroy it in one go.
At that moment...
Madara, watching the scene via sealing charms, fell silent.
Facing this rock giant, he finally understood what others must've felt when they saw Susano'o.
Annoying. No way around it.
And the worst part...
This technique looked like it was made specifically to counter Uchiha.
Created by Tobirama?
No...
That guy's Earth Release wasn't this good.
In a sense—
This jutsu was like a budget version of the Wood Golem Technique, capable of holding its own against weaker forms of Susano'o—and doing a pretty good job, too.
And the worst part...
This probably wasn't even its final form.
Madara took a deep breath.
His blood pressure was definitely rising. This jutsu brought back unpleasant memories.
But more importantly—
Could Black Zetsu still escape with Itachi?
If not...
Then abandoning Itachi might be the only option.
Uchiha Itachi was not the key.
He could be replaced. And besides, they hadn't just taken Itachi this time—he was simply the one Madara valued most.
Compared to Itachi—
Black Zetsu and White Zetsu absolutely could not fall.
If either of them was lost, the entire operation would be exposed. Worse, if Uchiha Ki were captured—
Konoha's interrogation and memory-extraction techniques could dig out dangerous clues from his mind.
At that thought—
He made his decision:
Scrap the plan.
However...
It was no longer up to Black Zetsu to choose whether to abandon the plan.
He had no choice now.
This bastard was chasing too hard!
And the worst part...
Why is Earth Release this fast too?
It was honestly a bit absurd.
Black Zetsu was starting to panic. While he was confident he wouldn't be caught, once his trail was discovered, it wouldn't be so easy to scout freely anymore.
Especially when the pursuer was a ninja skilled in research and analysis.
Without hesitation, he dumped Itachi.
And he even deliberately dropped him in a spot that would be difficult to reach, forcing Kyoichi to pause and waste precious time.
A silent battle underground—an unseen struggle.
Truth be told...
Black Zetsu really wanted to dig up Senju Tobirama's corpse just to flog it again.
He'd finally figured it out:
Flying Thunder God.
That instant-space-time technique.
In Madara's memories, Tobirama had only used it a few times, and each time it was for short-range teleportation—but that didn't mean the technique couldn't cover long distances.
What a miscalculation!
Black Zetsu was beside himself with regret.
He'd been completely duped this time.
That little bastard...
Young as he was, his schemes ran deep. Even more troublesome than Senju Tobirama.
He didn't just set a trap for the Uchiha to walk into—he dug the pit and ended up stepping into it himself.
And yet...
What Black Zetsu didn't know was that the trap hadn't even been set for him—it was actually aimed at Danzō.
He was just the one who got too impatient... and blundered into it first.
---
After rescuing Itachi, Kyoichi felt a tinge of regret. He'd managed to save the boy, but in doing so, he'd let Black Zetsu slip away.
"Oh well, saving you isn't a bad outcome either."
Kyoichi sighed.
As for Black Zetsu...
Being a creation of Yin-Yang Release, he couldn't be sensed by conventional means. Jet-black, and able to tunnel through the ground, he was indeed a difficult one to catch.
But—
Uchiha Ki might still be salvageable.
Kyoichi, carrying the unconscious Itachi, began making his way back.
Meanwhile, Uchiha Ki was fleeing for his life. As he ran, he gathered several trusted followers who had joined him in rebellion.
Honestly, now that he thought back on it, the whole defection felt incredibly strange. It was as if the entire thing had only happened so they could take Uchiha Itachi with them.
But...
Why?
He didn't understand.
It's not like Uchiha Itachi was his grandson. Why was he in such a damn rush to get him out?
Uchiha Ki's confusion didn't last long.
Within moments, the sealing jutsu on his heart and the genjutsu linked to his eyes reactivated, throwing him back under control—because Madara had sensed it...
That guy was chasing this way again!
He must not be caught.
If he were, then—
With a personality descended from the same mold as Senju Tobirama, Kyoichi would dissect this body down to the cellular level, and he wouldn't let any residual memory in the brain slip past either.
But to be honest...
Trying to remotely control this waste of a body from such a distance and escape perfectly?
Even Madara couldn't pull that off.
Thankfully...
He had a backup plan.
Just as Kyoichi was about to catch up, "Uchiha Ki" formed hand seals and turned back.
A blazing sea of fire surged forward—
Fire Release: Majestic Destroyer Flame!
Kyoichi pulled out a scroll and instantly activated a sealing technique, absorbing the flames into it. But then—
BOOM!
An earth-shattering explosion followed.
Even unconscious, Itachi twitched and trembled from the blast—but he didn't wake up.
Kyoichi looked ahead.
A strange jutsu formula had appeared, surrounding the entire area. Flaming Explosive Tags roared to life, engulfing Uchiha Ki in the center—and at the very end, he even managed to cast another Fire Release technique.
His followers were dumbfounded.
What kind of move was that?
Self-destruction?
Their minds went blank.
They'd followed Uchiha Ki because he was "on the verge" of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan. They thought that if they stuck with him, there might be a better future.
But who would've guessed...
Faced with Konoha's ANBU, he'd choose to burn himself alive.
That ANBU...
Who the hell was he?!
The group froze in confusion—then turned and ran.
But...
If even Uchiha Ki couldn't get away, how could they, who weren't even on his level?
It didn't take long.
Kyoichi easily caught up and knocked every last one of them unconscious.
He hadn't intended to kill them all...
But he did briefly consider whether he should harvest a pair of eyes for research.
The Sharingan...
This thing really was kind of handy.
However...
After a quick sensory check, Kyoichi gave up on the idea.
One was a mere three-tomoe—not enough to achieve any real transformation or offer meaningful insights. And besides...
"Sir..."
"Mukai, take these guys back."
"Sir, should we...?"
Kyoichi had dismissed the thought, but Mukai was still eyeing the spoils.
That's loyalty for you—always thinking like a teammate.
"At a time like this, no need to lose sight of the bigger picture. Our goal isn't just the Uchiha."
The reason Kyoichi hadn't reached for those eyes—
Was so he'd have more than enough justification to beat Danzō to death.
***************************
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