Eiya narrowed his eyes and didn't answer directly.
He gave a noncommittal grunt, then tossed out a question that had lingered in his mind. "In your eyes, what is the Uchiha, exactly?"
"Think it through before you answer. Your reply decides how I deal with you from here on… and it decides your future."
Itachi answered without hesitation. "A deformed vessel."
"It's filled with blind, foolish, irrational ideas. The same fanaticism infects and sweeps people along until no one can break free. In the end, our clansmen become nothing but a rabble."
Eiya's brows cinched tight. His gaze went cold.
"So you think you've seen through people. Seen through this world?"
Itachi lifted his eyes slightly and replied calmly. "Put simply, everyone acts according to their own knowledge and perception, yet is shackled by those very things—and calls those shackles 'reality.'"
He paused as if to let Eiya digest the words, then continued. "But knowledge and perception are ambiguous. That so-called reality may be nothing more than an illusion."
"Humans live inside their obsessions."
Eiya listened in silence. Ice sealed over his eyes.
In that instant he was almost certain of one thing.
One day, the person before him would swing a blade against the Uchiha.
The code was written at the factory. It wouldn't change.
Which meant… strike first now and erase this ticking bomb?
A chill flashed through Eiya's gaze, killing intent surging in his chest.
His fingers moved subtly through signs. In the same breath he activated Kagura's Mind's Eye.
Invisible sense rippled outward like rings on water.
In his mind, it was as if a third eye snapped open.
His perception skimmed over the black forest, the quiet streets, rows of houses—blanketing dozens of kilometers around him in moments.
Soon he "saw" a fast-moving chakra signature thirty kilometers out, heading straight for their position.
At that speed, it would arrive in minutes.
Eiya frowned, thoughts racing.
If he killed Itachi here, he'd have to eliminate the incoming "witness" as well, and scrub the scene perfectly to leave no trace.
But with both the Police Force and ANBU watching, even with all his craft he could not kill two Konoha shinobi in quick succession without leaving marks.
Once exposed, he would no longer be Konoha's "Uchiha Eiya." He would be branded an S-rank missing-nin.
At that point, the only place left would be Akatsuki.
And everything he had laid out these last few days would be wasted.
Not even guaranteed to trigger an indulgence reward.
Paying that price just to remove a stubborn kid was bad business.
Weighing it up, Eiya's eyes cooled, the arrogance returning.
"I don't care how you see the Uchiha. But remember this: if I ever find you laying a hand on our clansmen—"
"I will kill you on the spot."
"Now get lost."
His words cut the cold night like a blade, the killing intent within them making the air prickle.
Across from him, Itachi's pupils tightened. The tension in his body eased a fraction.
He let out a breath he'd been holding, but the wariness in his gaze did not diminish.
After a moment's stare in the dark, Itachi said nothing more.
He stepped back twice, then blurred and vanished.
Eiya watched until Itachi's shadow melted into the trees, then withdrew his gaze and strolled on toward the training grounds.
He hadn't gone far before he stopped at a bend in the path.
A kunoichi approached—the very chakra he had sensed earlier.
She wore the green vest of Konoha's Police Force. Her long black hair fell to her waist like a waterfall.
A small beauty mark rested beneath her right eye, lending a distinctive charm to her clear features.
She walked while scanning the surroundings with wary eyes, as if searching for signs.
Eiya stood in the middle of the road, silent, watching.
Suddenly Izumi seemed to sense something and looked up.
Her gaze collided with Eiya's in midair without warning.
For an instant, Uchiha Izumi's petite body jolted. Her heart seemed to skip a beat and even her breath caught.
She couldn't have said why.
The man before her had done nothing, only stood there in silence. Yet the pressure rolling off him made it hard to breathe.
It was as if the air itself had thickened under his presence, turning heavy and sticky.
Izumi froze, mind blank.
She stammered out, almost reflexively, "H-hello… did you happen to see—"
"What are you doing?" Eiya cut her off.
The girl pulled herself together at once, spine straightening, and reported as if to a superior. "I'm Police Force officer Izumi—Uchiha Izumi. I'm investigating a civilian missing-persons case in the area."
Eiya didn't answer right away. He looked her over, interested, then gave a faint nod.
Uchiha Izumi, rumored to have awakened the Sharingan, and—
His expression eased a shade. He dipped his chin. "I'm Uchiha Eiya."
"U—Uchiha Eiya?!" Izumi's pupils blew wide, and she unconsciously stepped back half a pace.
Because of the case, she hadn't joined the clan's anti-rumor operation a few days ago, but she had heard his name from countless colleagues since.
In just a few days—
Rumor said this young clansman had taken four Kumogakure jōnin heads, executed a traitorous Konoha jōnin in front of the village leadership, and then, together with ANBU and the Police Force, led an operation that shook the entire village by rounding up rumor-mongers.
His style was crisp and ruthless. His actions, decisive.
Thinking of that, admiration and awe lit Izumi's eyes.
"E-Eiya-senpai… I heard you're with ANBU, could you, um…"
Watching her flustered hopefulness, Eiya had already guessed.
He arched a brow. "You want my help with the investigation?"
Izumi waved her hands quickly, cheeks flushing. "N-no, I wouldn't dare! I only wanted to ask for a bit of guidance…"
Eiya raised a hand to still her babble. "Enough. Speak."
"Ah?" She blinked, not quite following, and stared at him blankly.
Eiya's brow creased a hair. He repeated himself more directly, a command. "Tell me everything about the case. I have no patience for nonsense."
"Yes, Eiya-senpai."
She steadied herself and briskly laid out what she knew.
Three days ago, the Police Force received a missing report.
The caller was a middle-aged man who said his neighbor had been gone for a day and a night and hadn't returned, and he feared something had happened.
The missing man was an ordinary civilian in his early forties.
Honest and steady. No notable hobbies. No known grudges. No financial or romantic disputes.
Aside from occasionally drinking a single, fixed brand of sake, he rarely left home and had no close friends.
"The trail ends there," Izumi said with a helpless note. "His life circle is too simple. There's nothing useful to go on. Cases like this are the most troublesome. With so few leads, all we can do is start from his residence and expand outward with a grid search."
She lowered her eyes and shook her head with a wry smile. "It's clumsy, time-consuming, and exhausting, but there's no other way."
Eiya listened, an odd expression settling on his face. He said nothing for a long moment.
Just as Izumi began to wonder what she'd said wrong, Eiya sighed without a sound and gave her a look that was half exasperation, half amusement.
"Are you an idiot?"