Chapter 44: The Enraged Third Hokage
Before long, Uchiha Itachi arrived. After a period of filial father-son banter, Fugaku willingly embraced death under the Filial Son's tear-filled blade.
Qianye watched from the side the entire time. After Fugaku's death, he used Mirror Flower Water Moon to transform a crow, which had been prepared outside, into his own likeness. "Itachi, Danzo has already agreed to spare Izumi. Why did you kill her?"
Upon hearing this, Uchiha Itachi froze, then suddenly vanished from the room, reappearing outside.
Without any intention of hiding his strength, he knew that ordinary Sharingan genjutsu was ineffective against Qianye. He directly used the Mangekyo genjutsu 'Tsukuyomi', which harms a thousand to self-inflict eight hundred, pulling 'Qianye' into the genjutsu space. Then, seizing the moment of the latter's mental collapse, he swung his blade and killed him.
The real Qianye seized this opportunity to collect Uchiha Fugaku's corpse.
"Ding! Detecting a special bloodline and Mangekyo Sharingan. Would you like to extract them?"
"Extract," Qianye said decisively.
"Ding! Extraction complete. Would you like to devour them?"
"Not yet," he replied. The Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan requires a pair to maximize its power, and it's uncertain whether Kotoamatsukami can be retained after devouring.
Anyway, with his current strength, the presence or absence of the Mangekyo doesn't significantly affect him.
He plans to devour them after using Kotoamatsukami or acquiring another Kotoamatsukami.
This way, by possessing two Uchiha bloodlines simultaneously, a connection will be formed between the two Mangekyo, making them even closer than biological brothers, surely allowing for the fusion of the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.
He placed Fugaku's corpse back in its original spot. Under the influence of Mirror Flower Water Moon, it still appeared as though its eyes had not been lost.
All of this, Uchiha Itachi, under the hypnosis of Mirror Flower Water Moon, remained completely unaware of.
After killing 'Qianye', he clutched his left eye, which was throbbing with Pain from using Tsukuyomi, and returned to the room, quietly awaiting Sasuke's arrival.
Outside the house, not far away, White Zetsu, Black Zetsu, and Obito were extremely surprised to see 'Qianye's' corpse.
"Whoa, whoa… Is this real or fake? Qianye actually died?" White Zetsu exclaimed.
It had witnessed Qianye's massacre of the Sarutobi Clan. Aside from Pain's Rinnegan, it wasn't an exaggeration to say he rarely met an opponent in the Ninja World.
"It seems we were still a step too late, but to be able to kill an opponent of Qianye's caliber, Itachi must have used the ocular jutsu granted by his Mangekyo," Black Zetsu said with some regret. He had originally planned to use Qianye to accelerate his mother's resurrection.
Compared to the astonishment of the first two, Obito, who hadn't yet seen the footage of Qianye's clan annihilation, was much calmer, feeling even more proud of the Uchiha Clan's power.
Just as he was about to say something, a slightly mocking voice suddenly echoed in his ear:
"Who did you just say died?"
Immediately after, a hand unexpectedly rested on his shoulder.
Obito suddenly jolted, quickly phased his body, and leaped backward, instantly putting distance between himself and Qianye.
Zetsu instinctively retracted his pitcher plant and burrowed into the ground.
"Hey, hey, I said we'll be companions from now on, do you really need to react so strongly? Come on, give me a little trust, please."
Qianye spread his hands helplessly, revealing a troubled expression.
Hearing this, Zetsu finally emerged from the ground, and White Zetsu exclaimed, "Qianye... didn't you die?"
"Who told you I died?" Qianye asked, feigning ignorance.
"Then what's with that corpse?" Black Zetsu controlled his pitcher plant to look at 'Qianye's' corpse. "Not only the appearance but even the Chakra... this has already exceeded the realm of realism."
"Intelligence is the most important thing for a Ninja. Just as I haven't explored your intelligence, I can't tell you this secret," Qianye said with a faint smile, his gaze shifting to Obito. "So, is everything handled over there?"
"Everything is ready. If there's nothing else, just come with us. Itachi still needs to arrange a few things. We'll wait for him outside Konoha Village." Obito glanced at the 'Qianye' corpse below from the corner of his eye, and his gaze towards Qianye became even more wary.
Not only does he possess Sage Mode, a substitution jutsu that is virtually indistinguishable from the real thing, but he can also evade his and Zetsu's perception. The danger level of this guy has already severely surpassed Uchiha Itachi, who possesses the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Then you go first. Coincidentally, I also have some things to arrange." Qianye turned to leave, but then heard Uchiha Obito say, "What are you planning to do?"
"After killing so many people from the Sarutobi Clan and Shimura Clan tonight, I have to give them an explanation, don't I? I'm really looking forward to seeing the Third Hokage and Danzo furious. Oh, and don't take that 'corpse' with you. If you like it, I'll give each of you one later, it's free anyway."
Leaving that remark, Qianye put on his Anbu mask and vanished from Obito, White Zetsu, and Black Zetsu's sight.
Looking at the spot where Qianye disappeared, Black Zetsu said to Obito in a hoarse voice, "Madara, what are you going to do?"
"Let's go." Obito's face beneath his mask was terrifyingly grim. Only after hearing Black Zetsu call him Madara did it slightly ease. The right eye-hole on his mask began to distort, sucking his body in, and he vanished.
Black Zetsu controlled his pitcher plant, merging into the ground, following closely behind.
Meanwhile, Hiruzen Sarutobi was sitting in the Hokage Building, quietly awaiting a report from his son, Shinnosuke.
He was preparing to go to the Anbu base behind the Hokage Building with Danzo to lead a team to the Uchiha Clan Territory to issue a lockdown order and a warrant for Uchiha Itachi's arrest.
Not long after, an Anbu Ninja arrived, but it wasn't his son.
Nor was it his daughter-in-law, nor his clan members.
It was another Anbu squad leader.
He knelt on one knee before Hiruzen Sarutobi, calling out in a terrified tone, "Ho-Hokage-sama, Shinnosuke-sama, he..."
"What happened to Shinnosuke?" Hiruzen Sarutobi suddenly stood up.
"Shinnosuke-sama's squad was completely wiped out. Including Lady Shizuka, three were beheaded, one had his chest pierced, and Shinnosuke-sama suffered a slash to his chest and died on the spot."
Boom!!!
Hiruzen Sarutobi was struck by lightning, instantly collapsing into his office chair, almost fainting.
Less than fifteen minutes later, Hiruzen Sarutobi had already arrived at the entrance of the Uchiha Clan Territory with the Anbu.
As for Danzo, he cunningly went to the Konoha Military Police Force headquarters, his slightly bulging belly indicating his painful yet joyful task of collecting Sharingan.
The bodies of his five confidants, including his son and daughter-in-law.
Furthermore, his daughter-in-law and two clan members had been decapitated.
His son was no better; a long, narrow gash across his chest had almost split his body in two, with only his spine and some back skin tissue still connected.
His pupils were wide open, as if he had witnessed something terrifying before his death, almost bulging out, unable to rest in peace.
PS: Third update