Hidden Altar – The Deepest Chamber Yet
Tianming stood alone in a stone sanctum, deeper than the others.There was no torchlight. Just silence and the distant sound of dripping water.
On the altar, he placed:
• A vial of Ancient Vermilion Blood (squeezed from the heart of a traitor he executed yesterday).
• A Moonstone Mirror, the last relic of his mother, used to veil spirit signatures.
• And finally, 10 years of his lifespan. He didn't flinch.
He placed his hand on the cold slab.
"I don't need soldiers," he murmured. "I need silence. Eyes that see what I can't. A blade that moves before the throne is touched."
[Offer accepted: Rare Blood + Treasure + 10 Years Lifespan]
[Initiating Gold Tier Summon]
"Well, well. Trading your future for shadows? Now you're thinking like a ruler."
Summoning: Itachi Uchiha – Gold Tier
⸻
The Arrival of the Crow-Eyed Stranger
Black smoke spiraled in slow, hypnotic swirls. A flock of spectral crows exploded into the chamber—then vanished.
A figure emerged from the smoke.
Cloak of black and red. Calm, sharp eyes glowing with quiet power.
Sharingan.
He didn't speak. Not yet.
Tianming stepped forward, slowly. "You're just as I imagined."
Itachi's voice was low. Steady. "Imagination is often the mask of truth. But you speak like someone who has seen war from behind a silk curtain."
Tianming gave a faint smile. "I grew up surrounded by backstabbers dressed as uncles. It teaches you the art of patience."
Itachi watched him quietly. "You summoned me for more than strength."
"I need eyes," Tianming replied. "The palace is filled with spies. I want every corridor, every scroll, every whisper mapped and fed back to me."
"You don't trust anyone," Itachi observed.
"No," Tianming admitted. "Not because I'm paranoid. Because I've read the war logs. Everyone who trusted too easily is already dead."
Itachi walked in a slow circle, gaze sharp. "And what will you do with the secrets I gather? Blackmail? Kill? Manipulate?"
"Yes," Tianming said simply. "Whatever it takes."
A long silence.
Then Itachi nodded, just once.
"I've lived under judgment. Killed friends, family, wore betrayal like armor to protect a future no one understood. I recognize the weight in your eyes."
Tianming met his gaze. "You're not a tool, Uchiha. You're a storm I intend to ride. But I'll never bind your wings."
Itachi's Sharingan flickered.
"Then I will build your web of shadows. But understand—if you become what you claim to fight…"
He paused.
"I'll be the first to cut you down."
Tianming didn't flinch. "I'd expect nothing less."
⸻
System Notification
Summon Complete: Itachi Uchiha – Gold Tier
Role: Intelligence Commander – Shadow Web Founder
Loyalty: High (Conditional – Maintain strategic alignment and integrity)
"Congratulations. You now have a genius spy master who might assassinate you. Leadership: nailed it."
⸻
Later That Night — Rooftop of the Palace
Crows circled silently above the capital. Itachi stood on the edge of a rooftop, arms folded, eyes scanning every flicker of movement in the city.
Tianming stood beside him, cloak flapping in the wind.
"No one will trust me once they realize I have you," Tianming said.
Itachi's voice was distant. "Good. Trust makes people lazy."