Hiruzen Sarutobi had the Anbu gather the Uchiha clan members willing to accept the cursed seal, then ordered his fully loyal Anbu Commander to apply the cursed seal upon them.
While Hiruzen Sarutobi was waiting, he noticed a crow outside the window, and this particular crow had a triple tomoe Sharingan.
Instantly realizing it was Itachi Uchiha seeking him out, Hiruzen Sarutobi made his way to an isolated rooftop.
"You must have something important to say," he said, motioning around. "I've dismissed everyone else, and I, too, have a few matters to discuss with you."
Itachi Uchiha appeared behind Hiruzen Sarutobi and knelt on one knee, asking, "The Third wishes to inquire about Chinya, correct?"
Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded. "Correct. Chinya has already defected from Konoha. He leads an organization based outside the village. His subordinates were stationed near Konoha's borders, but since the matter with the Uchiha Clan hasn't been resolved yet, I feared another incident might occur, so I abandoned pursuit of Chinya."
Upon hearing that Chinya had defected from Konoha, Itachi Uchiha showed brief surprise before quickly regaining his composure.
In Itachi's view, Chinya defecting from Konoha was only a matter of time.
Itachi replied, "I apologize for causing you concern, Third Hokage. Chinya's forceful involvement in this plan was unexpected. Had we refused him, there was a high possibility he would have attacked other Uchiha clan members.
Initially, I considered reporting this to the Third Hokage, but clearly, Chinya possessed extensive intelligence; otherwise, he wouldn't have known about this plan. I suspect Chinya has been keeping tabs on all of us.
Since this plan had already reached the point of no return, and to prevent unnecessary complications, I had no choice but to allow Chinya to join."
Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed slightly. "That's not what I'm criticizing you for. When Chinya insisted on joining, you truly had no alternative. I understand your predicament, and I should actually be thanking you—this way, civil war was avoided, and the village remains at peace. Still, I feel regret—I couldn't find another solution."
Itachi lowered his head. "I am deeply sorry."
Sarutobi shook his head. "No, the apology should come from me. From now on, Konoha will regard you as a rogue ninja who murdered your entire clan. You and Chinya will both be hunted, and you'll be captured—dead or alive."
"That much was expected."
Itachi considered it natural, for he had already decided to bear the hatred of the entire Uchiha Clan when he chose to do this.
Looking at Itachi, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked, "What are your plans from now on?"
Itachi replied, "Besides Chinya, I have also received aid from an organization known as Akatsuki. I have decided to remain by his side to ensure he doesn't break his oath."
Hiruzen Sarutobi slightly frowned.
So besides Chinya, Itachi had also obtained help from another organization.
Sarutobi continued, "In other words, are you going to join Akatsuki?"
Itachi requested, "Yes. Please also look after my younger brother, Sasuke, and my other clansmen, Third Hokage. After all, they now pose no threat whatsoever to Konoha."
Hiruzen Sarutobi replied, "The Uchiha who have accepted the cursed seal will be relocated to a new area near the heart of Konoha. Your younger brother will go to school like other children and grow up to become a Konoha ninja. I can guarantee their peaceful lives. However, I am powerless against the hatred your clansmen, including your brother, will hold toward you."
Uchiha Itachi responded solemnly, "I am already prepared to bear this hatred."
Hiruzen then said to Uchiha Itachi, "Itachi, there's another request I must ask of you. Investigate Chinya's organization and the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Uzumaki Miyuki. I suspect that Uzumaki Miyuki is within Chinya's organization."
Uchiha Itachi accepted the mission: "Yes, I understand."
After taking one last look at Uchiha Itachi, Hiruzen turned his head. "Go now. The technical formations of the barrier surrounding the village won't be changed. And if you're worried about Sasuke, you're always free to sneak back for a visit."
"Thank you, Third."
Uchiha Itachi vanished from the spot, taking one final glance at Sasuke before leaving Konoha.
...
Hiruzen stood silently in place for a while, without monitoring the Uchiha clan members receiving the cursed seal. Instead, he made his way to Naruto Uzumaki's home.
He didn't enter Naruto Uzumaki's house but instead asked the Anbu guarding him whether anything unusual had occurred.
The Anbu answered, "Nothing unusual has happened. The jinchuriki has been asleep in bed the entire time. We secretly entered and inspected the entire building earlier; there were no signs of anyone entering, so Chinya probably hasn't come looking for the jinchuriki."
Hiruzen nodded. "Very well, withdraw. There's no need for further surveillance. Rejoin the others."
The next day,
Hiruzen officially announced that Chinya and Uchiha Itachi had conspired together and slaughtered part of the Uchiha Clan. He dispatched a ninja force to pursue them.
Chinya and Uchiha Itachi were classified as S-rank rogue ninja, while Uzumaki Sōnagi was labeled a B-rank rogue ninja, with orders to capture or eliminate on sight.
Such a massive development within Konoha caused widespread shock and uproar.
At this point, Chinya had already received ten White Zetsu bodies prepared by Zetsu and was approaching the border of the Land of Fire.
Even if the ninja force managed to catch up, they wouldn't stand a chance against Chinya. Hiruzen understood this clearly.
Therefore, the order given to the pursuit unit was to follow only until the edge of the Land of Fire—if Chinya couldn't be found by then, they were to abandon the search and return to Konoha.
Hiruzen timed the ninja unit's departure carefully, making sure they wouldn't encounter Chinya unless he stayed longer in the Land of Fire.
As expected, no encounter occurred.
The mention of the Akatsuki Organization by Uchiha Itachi caught Hiruzen's attention.
Once Uchiha Itachi gathered enough intelligence on the Akatsuki, Konoha might be able to use them to counter Chinya and his group.
Uchiha Itachi had already met up with Uchiha Obito.
They were now traveling together aboard a small boat.
Obito Uchiha advised Itachi Uchiha, "Within the organization, everyone refers to me as Tobi. I'm not an official member—I'm just kind of like a trainee in Akatsuki with no great abilities, so pay attention to how you address me."
Looking at Obito Uchiha's back while he rowed the boat, Itachi asked, "Why are you hiding your true identity?"
Obito answered, "Because it would be very troublesome if others found out that Madara Uchiha is still alive."
Itachi narrowed his eyes and asked, "You seem to be quite familiar with Chinya."
Obito casually replied, "It's not like we're that familiar with each other. We only worked together once, that's all. Anyway, I'm taking you to meet Akatsuki's leader now."
Rowing the boat, Obito headed toward one of Akatsuki's secret meeting spots.
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