With a flash of the Flying Thunder God Technique, Uchiha Itachi vanished from the village gates and reappeared beside Uchiha Izumi.
Izumi was already asleep, lying in bed with her brow furrowed, her expression tinged with sorrow and exhaustion—so delicate and pitiable that it tugged at one's heart.
Itachi gently pulled the blanket over her and kissed her lightly on the forehead. Only then did her tightly knit brows finally ease.
Uchiha Naori, being in her Edo Tensei form and thus not requiring rest, sat nearby, calmly jotting down training insights she planned to teach Izumi the next day.
"Tell me what happened at the Daimyō's residence," Itachi said to the physical clone hidden in the shadows, as well as to Uchiha Naori.
"See for yourself," the clone replied before dispersing with a puff of smoke.
Itachi shuddered slightly as a stream of memories began flooding into his mind.
Naori then began to recount what had happened in the Daimyō's residence.
Half a day earlier—
Once the Daimyō and his wife learned that the Lightning Release Four Ninja and Chiriku were affiliated with the Hokage's faction, they summoned the five of them, and then requested to see Uchiha Izumi.
Uchiha Naori was surprised to find the Lightning Release Four Ninja and Chiriku standing guard outside the chamber.
How bold was the Daimyō to entrust gatekeeping duties to these five snakes at such a critical moment?
"Uchiha?" Chiriku frowned as he noticed Izumi's forehead protector and the iconic Uchiha fan on her back—round like a ping pong paddle.
Izumi had always served the Daimyō's wife alone. Why did she suddenly have a bodyguard?
A maid having her own bodyguard? That was practically unheard of.
"Izumi," the Daimyō's wife said with a smile, clapping her hands. "During the selection trials for the Twelve Guardian Ninja, we captured a spy. Under interrogation, he claimed to be the Third Hokage's son—Asuma. Take a look and see if it's him."
At her signal, a man sealed inside a transparent jar was brought in.
The moment Izumi laid eyes on the container, her face went pale. The man's body was smeared in a syrupy honey glaze, and swarming with ants and rats that gnawed and climbed over him relentlessly. She turned white and immediately threw up.
Back when she worked in the Uchiha Police Force, she'd heard horror stories from her colleagues—disgusting rumors about scum who kidnapped children, severed their limbs, destroyed their vocal cords, stuffed them in jars, and fed them just enough milk to keep them alive… then used them to make money by displaying them.
She'd always thought those were just sick urban legends.
Never did she imagine she'd one day see a "jar man" with her own eyes.
"I—!"
Hurk!
She doubled over and retched again. The sheer number of crawling insects and rodents inside the jar was enough to make anyone's skin crawl.
The Daimyō's wife, completely unfazed by the grotesque scene, said calmly, "Here, Izumi. Have a cup of tea to calm your nerves."
"Don't worry if you can't recognize him right away. Take your time," she added with a smile.
But that smile was anything but kind—it looked like the grin of a demon wearing a mask of civility. Cold. Poisonous. Cruel.
A maid stepped forward and handed her a cup of tea.
Izumi shook her head, refusing the drink. She suspected it was poisoned.
"Izumi, that's not very polite of you," the Daimyō's wife said with a dark chuckle. "We captured this spy at your request. Surely you can show some appreciation?"
When Izumi still didn't drink, a glint of malice flashed in the woman's eyes. She slammed her palm onto the table and snapped, "Either drink the tea and follow orders from now on—or let us brand you with a binding seal and turn you into our tool. Choose one."
The room had already been sealed with a soundproof barrier. No one outside could hear what was happening within.
As the Daimyō's wife struck the table, her hand triggered a hidden switch. Outside, the wind chime attached to the door gave a series of sharp rings.
Ding ding ding ding.
The Lightning Release Four ninja exchanged glances at the signal and immediately surrounded Uchiha naori.
"Lightning Release: Four Pillar Binding Technique!"
Four pillars erupted from the ground, forming an electrified barrier that instantly imprisoned Naori.
She narrowed her eyes at the surge of lightning around her. Was this… a trap meant to kill her?
"What are you doing?" she asked, drawing the katana at her waist, her voice calm and steady.
"We're sorry," Chiriku said apologetically. "Please wait a moment. Once everything's been verified, we'll let you go."
"Verified?" Naori's expression darkened. She had promised Itachi that she would protect Izumi. Even if it meant dying again—body and soul—she would not let anything happen to that girl.
"The Daimyō's residence has apprehended a spy. Izumi's input is needed for confirmation," Doton explained. "Please don't worry—she won't be harmed."
"Hmph. That's not up to you to say."
Izumi clenched her fists tightly, biting her lip.
So the Daimyō's residence still didn't trust her or Itachi, after all.
"Izumi," the Daimyō's wife said, "we're doing this for your own good. If you don't drink this tea, how can we trust Itachi to become Hokage? What if he turns on us one day?
"Don't worry—this tea is good for your eyes and mind. It clears heat and detoxifies. One cup will make you look ten years younger."
Clear heat? Detoxify? You mean poison, right? Izumi thought grimly. Make me look ten years younger? I'm only thirteen—are you trying to send me straight to my next life?
The words were a thinly veiled threat. Refuse, and they'd have no problem killing her.
"You have ten seconds to decide." The Daimyō's wife snapped her fingers. A projector activated in the room, displaying a live feed of Naori trapped inside the electrified barrier outside.
Izumi immediately understood the message: refuse, and both she and Naori would die.
Even if the Uchiha came seeking justice afterward, the Daimyō's residence would simply issue a statement filled with regret.
"We are deeply saddened by this tragic incident. Who would have thought such a brazen act of assassination could occur in the Land of Fire in broad daylight?"
"The deceased have passed. The living must carry on. We extend our condolences to the Uchiha clan."
Then they'd announce a joint anti-crime operation with Konoha for the next six months… and that would be the end of it.
As for whether anyone would believe it?
Who cared?
The Uchiha were too weak now to push back anyway. And if they made trouble?
Simple. Back another clan instead.
As for Asuma?
Even easier. The Daimyō's side would play dumb and deny knowing he was a member of the Twelve Guardian Ninja.
If he died, so be it. No body, no evidence.
"…Fine. I accept." After piecing everything together, Izumi steeled her heart. For Itachi's future as Hokage—for the future of the Uchiha clan—she was ready to sacrifice herself.
She knew that the moment she drank this tea—or allowed the seal to be branded—her life would no longer be her own.
She'd become a puppet of the Daimyō's court.
She might even be forced to betray the Uchiha, or betray Konoha.
But if Itachi became Hokage, then her sacrifice would be worth it.
Izumi had made up her mind: if they ever ordered her to do something that would harm Itachi, she would take her own life before complying. No hesitation.
Just as she reached for the teacup, she noticed something on the projection screen—Uchiha Naori was walking toward the barrier.
"Stop! Step back!"
"You'll die if you go any closer!"
The Lightning Release Four Ninja were visibly panicked.
Izumi froze. So did the Daimyō's wife.
"Heh… this bodyguard of yours—what, is she bluffing?" the woman sneered. "She's gambling that I won't dare kill her?"
She slammed the table again, killing intent radiating off her. "Trying to force my hand? Not a chance!
"She wants to die? Then let her die!"
The Lightning Release Four Ninja hesitated as the wind chime sounded again, the order clear.
The Daimyō's wife wasn't bluffing. She really meant it: If she wants to die—let her!
"Step back now! This isn't a joke!"
"Hmph. I don't believe you," Naori said coolly, her voice steady and fearless. She stepped forward.
Crackling—!
The thunderous current of the Four Pillar Binding Technique surged, and in an instant, Uchiha Naori's body was incinerated—reduced to a smoldering husk.
"She… she really stepped in? She really wasn't afraid to die?" The Lightning Release Four stared at the charred remains in shock, unable to believe what they'd just witnessed.
"She actually dared to do it? Idiot. Did she think we'd really take the barrier down?
Laughable.
Heaven's wrath is forgivable. But self-inflicted sin? That's a death sentence. She got what she deserved."
"Na-Naori-senpai…?" Izumi stared at her bodyguard's charred corpse. The teacup slipped from her hand and shattered on the floor.
At that moment, the three tomoe in her eyes spun together, forming a new, unique pattern—
Her Mangekyō Sharingan had awakened.
"You…" Her voice trembled, cold with fury. "You're all going to die."
"I'll bury you with Naori-senpai!"
The Daimyō's wife felt a sudden chill in her heart.