"This is impossible!", Uchiha Itachi clenched his fists, his expression furious.
"Hehe, this is reality, Uchiha Itachi, this is the reality of the ninja world."
Uchiha Obito's voice was full of mockery and ridicule, "Ninjas will kill their friends for missions, the higher-ups will frame heroes for profit, and you—will kill your clan for the sake of the village."
"I won't let the village and the clan come to that step," Uchiha Itachi tightened his fists.
"This is not up to you, Uchiha Itachi. Between the village and the clan, you must make a choice," Seeing this, Uchiha Obito didn't show any anger. He had only come to guide the other party a bit.
As for the remaining task, someone else would complete it for him.
He didn't plan to stay any longer.
A black vortex suddenly appeared, causing Uchiha Itachi to become alert again.
But Uchiha Obito's body had already started to slowly disappear in front of his eyes.
"Uchiha Itachi, you are not desperate enough yet. When you truly reach a dead end, I will appear again and give you a hand then."
Uchiha Obito completely disappeared, but Uchiha Itachi's gaze became even deeper.
'Two minutes and forty-eight seconds!'
He silently recited this time in his heart. This was the duration Uchiha Obito maintained that phasing state just now.
'But it is he who actively ended it. The actual duration might be longer.'
'However, it probably can't be too long. Maybe about twice as much.'
As someone who also possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan, he knew well the limitations of these eyes.
Now, the opportunity to become a hero was already laid out in front of him, but he still wasn't clear on the village's attitude.
'Especially with that guy Shimura Danzo. That guy will absolutely not let my plan go smoothly...'
'But this is the only way!'
On the path of Uchiha becoming heroes, someone also has to bear the darkness.
———
[Night]
The rain that had lasted a whole day and night finally stopped.
Inside the Hokage Building, lights were still brightly lit.
Sarutobi Hiruzen was leaning over his desk, handling all sorts of mission documents.
Outside the window, a flock of crows flew by, but one of them actually avoided everyone's line of sight and flew into the Hokage Building through the window.
"Itachi, coming in this form. What's the matter?"
Sarutobi Hiruzen put down the document in his hand, his expression somewhat grave.
There was a barrier around the Hokage Building, identical to the one on the outskirts of Konoha. Anyone who passed through it would be sensed by him.
The crow transformed by Uchiha Itachi had already been detected by him outside.
He couldn't understand why Uchiha Itachi came to see him without using the main entrance, and it even seemed to be a clone.
The crow landed in front of Sarutobi Hiruzen and transformed into Uchiha Itachi kneeling on one knee.
"Lord Third, today a masked man came to see me."
"Masked man?"
"He called himself Uchiha Madara!"
Sarutobi Hiruzen was stunned when he heard this name, his brows furrowing tightly, "Is he a real person?"
"Very likely. He has the Mangekyo Sharingan, and he also seems to have some method of surveilling Konoha. So I could only come and report like this as soon as possible."
Uchiha Itachi tried to describe the situation as severely as possible. Only this way could he better persuade the hokage to carry out the plan he had in mind.
"Mangekyo...", Sarutobi Hiruzen's expression was more serious than ever. He had already been shocked once by Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan.
'Now there is another one. And this time, it is an enemy.'
"Then what did he want from you?"
Uchiha Itachi's expression became a bit sorrowful, "He seems to value me a lot. Since what happened to Shisui just occurred yesterday, he came to see if I had awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan. But my eyes are still just three tomoe..."
"Shisui...", Sarutobi Hiruzen also felt guilty inside, because he had betrayed a child who trusted him.
But he didn't have time to dwell on this matter now, he suddenly thought of another thing.
Mangekyo + mask—it has already triggered the keyword.
"What kind of mask did that Uchiha Madara wear?"
"An orange and black tiger-striped mask, but only his right eye was exposed," Uchiha Itachi answered truthfully.
"What did you say?", Sarutobi Hiruzen trembled all over upon hearing this, his fists clenched, and the expression on his face uncontrollably turned ferocious.
Sarutobi Hiruzen's unusual reaction naturally caught Uchiha Itachi's attention. It was the first time he had seen the always kind and gentle Sarutobi Hiruzen show such an expression.
"Lord Third?", Sarutobi Hiruzen's face darkened as he revealed a truth.
"On the night of the Nine-Tails attack, before Minato died, he told me. The one behind controlling the Nine-Tails was a man wearing a tiger-striped mask."
"What?", Uchiha Itachi also hadn't expected this, but after the shock came surprise.
.
.
.
.
Time passed in a flash.
In the blink of an eye, two months had gone by.
During these two months, no special events occurred in the village.
Or perhaps they did, but ordinary people didn't know about them.
Everything seemed to have returned to how it was before.
At this time, today, was also the first day of school at the Ninja Academy.
———
[Morning]
[Inside Tsunade's Bedroom]
A cool breeze blew out from the air conditioner.
The temperature in the room was extremely cool, forming a stark contrast with the heat outside.
Aoba slowly opened his eyes from sleep.
First, in a daze, he pushed away the heavy object in his arms, practicing a bit of Tai Chi.
Then he finally woke up completely from his grogginess.
What entered his sight was a stretch of snowy white.
He was startled, wanting to get up, but found himself tightly hugged, unable to move.
"Sensei, wake up!", Helplessly, he had no choice but to pat the snowy-white peak in front of him again. [T/N: I am not jealous. You are!]
"Mmm~ let me sleep a little longer~", The hug became even tighter.
"We can't sleep anymore!", Aoba patted twice harder.
"Ah!"
As if in slight pain, Tsunade let out a cry and woke up.
Then she looked blankly at Aoba in her arms, who was nearly suffocating and had started rolling his eyes.
She quickly let go of him.
Aoba also began gasping for fresh air.
He had almost become the first transmigrator to be smothered to death by bo0bs.
"Brat, why are you on my bed?"
Once he caught his breath, he saw Tsunade's not-so-friendly expression.
Aoba was a bit speechless, "You did it yourself, and then forgot?"
"Me?", Tsunade raised her hand and pointed at herself, looking confused and a bit cute.
"Healing!", Aoba couldn't help but give a reminder.
"Ah? Oh!"
Tsunade had a look of sudden realization. She remembered how scared she was yesterday, and then clung tightly to him.
And ended up falling asleep just like that.
A flush of red involuntarily appeared on her cheeks, and she suddenly felt a bit annoyed.
Such an embarrassing side of her had been seen by this brat.
Thud!
"Ouch!"
Tsunade kicked Aoba off the bed, then showed a heartless expression, "Brat, you're no longer useful."
"..."
A certain famous writer once said: 'Don't argue with fools, or you won't know who the fool is.'
Aoba didn't argue with Tsunade, directly heading outside. But when he reached the doorway, he suddenly turned back.
His expression serious, staring straight at Tsunade. Scaring her a little.
"Wh…what's wrong?"
"Sensei, today is my first day of school, you haven't forgotten, right?"
Tsunade froze for a moment, then waved her hand, "Don't worry, you have a speech later, right? I'll come watch."
"But you're not allowed to give that 'My Teacher is Tsunade' speech, got it?"
"Got it!"
A happy expression appeared on Aoba's face as he opened the door.
Then he froze in place.
"Yugao-nee, why are you here?" [T/N: 💀]
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