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Uchiha Clan Compound
After Akira left, Itachi headed out to find his father, Fugaku Uchiha.
He needed to report what had happened and prepare for the worst. The Third Hokage might be planning a counterattack.
A sharp whistle cut through the air.
Whoosh!
A kunai shot straight at him.
Itachi tilted his head and let it skim past, eyes snapping toward the direction it came from.
"Izumi!"
His pupils widened as he stared up at the rooftop.
"And you too… Danzo!"
Standing there were two Root shinobi holding Izumi hostage. Beside them, leaning on his cane, was Danzo Shimura, his gaze cold and merciless as he looked down at Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi. If you don't want this girl to die, gouge out your eyes and hand them over."
A kunai appeared in Danzo's hand, its tip pressing against Izumi's throat.
Akira had barely left, and this was already happening. Itachi understood immediately. Danzo's target was him.
"You lured my ancestor away. I'm the one you want. Why drag Izumi into this?"
He narrowed his eyes, stalling for time while his mind raced.
Genjutsu wouldn't work. Danzo had come prepared. A direct rescue attempt had almost no chance of success.
In this short window, there was only one option he could think of.
But if he did that… Izumi would be caught in it.
Izumi hung limp between the two Root shinobi, unmoving, silent. She was unconscious.
"My patience is limited," Danzo said flatly.
The kunai pushed forward. Its sharp tip pierced skin. A thin line of red trickled down her neck.
"Three seconds. Hand over your eyes, or say goodbye."
The blade pressed in further.
"One."
"Fine! I'll give you my eyes. Let her go!"
Seeing the kunai sink deeper, Itachi roared through clenched teeth. His hands rose to his face, fingers poised as if to dig his own eyes out.
Danzo let out a low scoff. "How foolish. For a woman."
His lips curled with anticipation as he watched.
A pair of Mangekyo Sharingan, handed over just like that.
If he had known it would be this easy, he would have used this method long ago.
Still, acquiring them now was more than enough.
Slowly, Itachi lowered his hands from his face.
But what Danzo saw was not empty, bleeding sockets.
Instead, two scarlet eyes stared back at him, intricate patterns spinning within.
"You dare toy with me!"
Danzo's fury erupted. He thrust the kunai forward, aiming to drive it through Izumi's throat.
Suddenly—
Black flames burst to life around his arm.
Amaterasu.
Itachi's gaze was ice-cold. His Mangekyo roared with power, blood streaming from the corners of his eyes.
In an instant, pitch-black fire engulfed Danzo, the two Root shinobi, and even Izumi.
"Impossible—!"
Danzo's body dissolved into white smoke. A shadow clone.
The two Root agents screamed as the flames consumed them, releasing Izumi in their panic.
Itachi vanished in a Body Flicker and reappeared atop the roof. One hand snatched Izumi out of the black flames. The other flashed with a kunai, slicing across two throats in one clean motion.
Silence fell.
He looked down at the black fire still clinging to Izumi's body. His Mangekyo spun again.
This time, not to cast Amaterasu, but to withdraw it.
More blood-tears flowed as the flames slowly receded.
"Izumi… are you okay?"
He held her close, calling her name softly.
After a careful check, he exhaled in relief. Aside from some scorched fabric, she wasn't hurt. The flames had targeted Danzo and the others. She'd only been caught in the edge of it, and he'd acted in time.
Noticing the torn fabric and exposed skin, Itachi flushed faintly. He quickly removed his cloak and draped it over her.
Swish!
A kunai shot straight at his throat.
Itachi raised his hand and blocked it.
His eyes locked onto the attacker.
Izumi.
"…Of course it wouldn't be that simple," he murmured. "So this was your real move, Danzo."
Her gaze was unfocused, empty. She was clearly under some kind of genjutsu.
Fortunately, Itachi had stayed wary. Danzo's appearance had been too abrupt. The rescue had been too easy.
He had expected a trap.
His Mangekyo met her blank eyes.
"Genjutsu: Release!"
The illusion shattered.
But Izumi's eyes did not return to normal. Instead, they turned completely crimson.
A guttural snarl tore from her throat, more beast than human.
Sharp fangs protruded from her mouth. Saliva dripped down her chin. The aura around her twisted into something savage and violent.
"What…?"
Itachi's heart skipped. Alarm bells rang in his head as he tried to pull away.
But they were too close.
The sudden transformation stunned him just long enough.
By the time he reacted, she had already wrapped her arms around him in an iron grip.
She opened her mouth and sank her fangs into his neck.
"Ugh—!"
Pain shot through him.
He tried to break free, but her strength was overwhelming. And he couldn't bring himself to seriously injure her.
Then he felt it.
His chakra.
It was draining.
"What is this…? My chakra… it's being siphoned away!"
Shock coursed through him. His energy was pouring into her body at an alarming rate.
He had no idea what Danzo had done to her, how she'd gained the ability to devour someone else's chakra.
But there was no time to think.
If this continued, he would die.
"I'm sorry, Izumi," he whispered.
Chakra surged inside him. His ocular power flared.
He was going to activate Susanoo.
It might hurt her, but there was no choice. The Danzo who had appeared earlier was only a shadow clone. The real one was surely watching from the shadows.
If he didn't escape now, both of them would be doomed.
Crimson chakra materialized around him, solidifying into a skeletal frame.
Crack. Crack. Crack.
Bones formed from pure energy, wrapping around his body—
Rip!
The sound of flesh tearing split the air.
Itachi's face drained of color. His arms fell limp.
His pupils faded back to black.
The half-formed skeleton shattered into nothing.
"Puh—!"
He coughed up blood.
Behind Izumi, something white writhed in the air.
A tail.
He stared at it in disbelief.
"What… is that?"
At that moment, the tail pierced straight through his chest from behind.
A gaping hole tore open in his torso. The blow was devastating.
Life drained from him in a steady rush. In his current state, Itachi couldn't even dream of summoning Susanoo. He could barely manage to breathe, let alone struggle.
"So… this is the end?"
The face before him—so familiar, yet so distant—blurred more and more.
I tried to kill you before. Dying by your hand now… maybe that's just karma catching up.
With that final thought, darkness swallowed his consciousness. The light faded from Itachi's eyes as he slowly closed them.
"ROAR!!!"
Having absorbed the chakra, Izumi flung Itachi's body aside and threw her head back in a furious howl.
The sealing formula carved into her back glowed a furious red. A savage, violent aura erupted outward.
Her body began to swell, growing larger and larger, twisting into something monstrous—an abomination with the face of an ape, the body of a tanuki, the limbs of a tiger, and the tail of a serpent.
Having perfectly absorbed Kage-level chakra, the creature's size ballooned to fifty meters tall.
Rumble—
The instant Nue appeared, the houses beneath its feet collapsed under its weight, crumbling into rubble.
With a single sweep of its tail, the surrounding buildings were flattened.
"ROAR!!!"
Through the swirling dust, Nue's crimson eyes burned as it let out another earth-shaking howl.
"Ahhh! Help!"
"Someone, please! Save my child!"
"What the hell is that thing?! Why is there a monster in our clan grounds?!"
"Hurry! Stop it! We can't let it keep destroying everything!"
"Hold it off! How dare it rampage in Uchiha territory! Once the Ancestor arrives, that beast is dead!"
Screams, shouts, and cries of despair merged into chaos.
The Uchiha civilians fled in terror, scrambling to escape the nightmare that had appeared out of nowhere.
The shinobi moved instantly. Some rushed to evacuate civilians. Others charged straight at Nue.
From a distant rooftop, watching the pandemonium unfold, Danzo Shimura allowed himself a satisfied smile.
"The plan is proceeding smoothly. My efforts were not wasted."
Earlier, threatening Itachi with Izumi, forcing him to gouge out his own eyes, placing Izumi under genjutsu to ambush him—those had all been smoke and mirrors.
The true objective had always been to bring Izumi close enough for Nue to devour Itachi's chakra.
Now, watching the fifty-meter-tall monster trample the Uchiha clan grounds, Danzo spread his arms wide. His twisted face contorted with savage delight as he burst into laughter.
"HAHAHA! Uchiha… your end has come!"
…
"Where did this monster come from?! Stop right there!"
A furious roar cut through the chaos.
Fugaku Uchiha's eyes blazed with rage as his Mangekyō flared to life.
Crack—crack—crack—
Chakra solidified into form. A towering black Susanoo rose from the ground.
Clad in jet-black tengu armor and wielding a massive chakra blade, it had clearly reached its third form.
"It's the Clan Head!"
"That's Susanoo! I didn't know Lord Fugaku had awakened the Mangekyō!"
"Yes! That monster's finished now!"
Cheers erupted from both shinobi and civilians alike.
"ROAR!"
Nue spotted the charging black giant and showed no fear. It bellowed and lunged forward on all fours to meet it head-on.
"Die!"
Killing intent burst from Fugaku's eyes. The sight of Itachi's chest torn open in the distance only fueled his fury. He drove Susanoo's greatsword down toward Nue's skull.
Nue twisted its neck and opened its massive jaws, clamping down on the blade mid-swing.
Fugaku tried to pull it free—only to realize the creature's strength was terrifyingly immense. The sword wouldn't budge.
"Let go, you beast!"
Susanoo's other hand clenched into a fist and smashed into Nue's head.
Boom!
The punch landed cleanly. A shockwave rippled outward.
Nue growled in pain—but refused to release its bite.
"I'll smash your head in!"
Fugaku moved to draw back his fist for another blow—
But froze.
Susanoo's entire arm had been wrapped tightly by a massive white tail.
They were evenly matched in strength. He couldn't break free.
Then he felt it.
Maintaining Susanoo was suddenly draining far more chakra than before. His reserves were vanishing at an alarming rate.
"This… it's absorbing my chakra?!"
His face changed instantly.
Only now did he understand. Nue had bitten down on the sword and endured the punch on purpose.
It was feeding.
Worse still, he noticed something horrifying—
On the creature's tail was a mouth. A fanged, grotesque mouth.
The tail coiled around Susanoo's arm, and the mouth at its tip bit deep into it, greedily devouring chakra.
Less than ten seconds passed.
A third of his chakra was already gone.
At this rate, he wouldn't last even a minute.
And as it fed, Nue's body continued to grow. It had started roughly the same height as Susanoo. Now it towered a full head taller.
"Damn it!"
Fugaku forced Susanoo to struggle violently—but it accomplished little.
Frustration gnawed at him. If only he had reached the fourth stage of Susanoo and grown legs, he wouldn't be this helpless.
Across from him, Nue grew irritated.
This prey was far too restless. Why couldn't it just stay still and be devoured?
"ROAR!"
The tail wrapped around Susanoo's arm suddenly split apart into countless smaller tendrils.
Like a web, they spread over the black giant in an instant.
Each tiny tail bore its own mouth.
They bit down and began feeding.
The rate of chakra loss skyrocketed.
Fugaku's heart pounded in panic. At this pace, he wouldn't last thirty seconds.
And he couldn't dispel Susanoo either. Without it, his human body would be nothing more than a speck before this monster. One step, and he'd be crushed into paste.
"Ancestor! Where are you?! Save me!"
With death looming, Fugaku no longer cared about maintaining the dignity of a clan head. He shouted desperately for Akira.
Akira did not appear.
Instead, the Uchiha shinobi who had been watching from below finally reacted.
"The Clan Head is in danger! Move!"
At an elite jonin's command, the Uchiha launched a barrage of attacks.
Shuriken. Kunai. Ninjutsu. A storm of techniques rained down upon Nue.
It did absolutely nothing.
The attacks were like scratching an itch on a colossal beast.
Annoyed by the insects below, Nue split off numerous smaller tails and lashed downward.
In the blink of an eye, aside from a few powerful Uchiha, the rest were drained dry.
They collapsed onto the ground, faces pale and lifeless, looking utterly spent.
Not only had they failed to help—they had fed the monster even more chakra.
Still, Akira did not appear.
Despair crept deeper into Fugaku's heart…
"..."
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