[Outside the Uchiha Clan Compound]
There were several towers here, built by Konoha for monitoring the Uchiha.
Itachi did not walk toward the village gates, but instead walked toward these three towers.
Atop the towers were the Third Hokage's direct ANBU forces. Seeing Itachi walking in this direction, their hearts began to grow uneasy.
"Isn't that Itachi? What is he planning to do?"
A cold light flashed in Itachi's eyes. Before approaching the tower, he had already finished forming hand seals.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Just as several massive fireballs shot out, a few bottles smashed against the wooden tower.
BOOM!
With the aid of oil, huge flames instantly ignited.
The nine ANBU stationed on the three towers jumped down like dumplings being dropped into water.
With a wave of his hand, Itachi sent a large number of shuriken flying toward these airborne targets.
"Itachi! What are you doing?"
"Damn it!"
"AHHH!"
Although Itachi's attack was sudden, the ANBU were still somewhat on guard.
All nine ANBU drew weapons to defend. Only two were struck in vital points and died instantly.
The four who had just spoken and glared at Itachi suddenly blacked out and lost consciousness.
As ninja, falling from dozens of meters normally wouldn't be an issue, but in a state of unconsciousness...
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four muffled thuds sounded, and the four were smashed into meat patties on the ground.
The remaining three were all terrified, "Itachi! Are you trying to defect from the village?"
These ANBU were merely surveillance personnel, and their strength wasn't particularly high.
Itachi leapt up and killed two of them with two swift strikes.
Then he pinned the last ANBU to the ground with a single blow.
"Puh!", The ANBU spat a mouthful of blood onto his mask.
With an indifferent face, Itachi stomped on his chest and took out a kunai from his pouch.
"Go tell Sarutobi Hiruzen, he doesn't need to bother thinking up some foolproof plan."
"I, UCHIHA ITACHI, HAVE DEFECTED FROM THE VILLAGE!", As he spoke, he slashed his forehead protector with the kunai.
SHIING!
"Itachi, you…"
The ANBU's eyes were filled with shock.
Itachi had defected just like that, openly and directly. Just two days ago, he was still an ANBU captain.
He also held many Konoha secrets.
Patrol routes and rotation schedules, barrier frequencies, and more.
He was the first person since Orochimaru to blatantly defect from Konoha.
Itachi then pulled out the weapon embedded in the ANBU's body.
After wiping off the blood on his body, he left the scene.
The only surviving ANBU was seriously wounded, and could only lie on the ground watching the three towers collapse in flames.
Soon, several ANBU landed nearby, "Number Seven, what happened?"
Number Seven gasped, "Uchiha Itachi attacked us and has defected from the village!"
"What?"
———
[Konoha Hospital]
Kakashi, whose eyes had been dug out, had already regained consciousness.
"No! My eyes!!"
"Where are my eyes?"
Kakashi was extremely terrified. This was a gift from Obito, and now it was gone.
Everyone he loved in this world was already dead, and now even this last remembrance was gone.
Kakashi nearly broke down.
The medical-nin and nearby ANBU quickly restrained him.
Once Kakashi calmed down, they began explaining what had happened yesterday.
Kakashi didn't expect so much to have happened while he was unconscious.
In other words, the Uchiha and Konoha were now in a state of rupture, and it was very likely that a battle would break out.
Even though Obito had given him the Sharingan, the Uchiha clan still had the right to take it back.
Because the eye first belonged to the Uchiha, then to Obito, and only then to Kakashi.
Danzo's Root had clashed violently with the Uchiha.
If Kakashi wanted to retrieve Obito's eye, it was simply impossible.
Precisely because of this, he was even more on the verge of collapse.
———
[Hokage Office]
"Itachi killed eight people and then defected from the village?", The Third Hokage exclaimed in disbelief.
An ANBU replied, "Yes, sir. Itachi said you don't need to think of a foolproof plan, he's already defected."
Hearing this, the Third Hokage's expression darkened.
So Itachi had finally awoken from his brainwashing.
It was only natural that his political indoctrination would eventually fail, but Itachi had snapped out of it overnight.
It left him with a complete loss. That final sentence was clearly a jab at him.
The Third Hokage paused, "What about the rest of the Uchiha clan?"
"Reporting, Hokage-sama, the Uchiha civilians are still going about their daily routines."
"Some combat personnel have left the village, but their numbers and destinations are unknown."
Because those who left with Itachi were elites who had hidden themselves, the ANBU couldn't clearly verify the details.
At that moment, a knock came at the door, and another ANBU entered.
"Third Hokage-sama, Kakashi has awakened. He wishes to see you."
The Third Hokage, while puffing on his pipe in thought, nodded slightly upon hearing this, "Tell him to rest first. I'll visit him later."
"Yes, sir!"
"You are all dismissed."
"Yes, sir!"
After the ANBU left the office, the Third spoke into the empty room: "Bring the others in."
A voice answered, "Clan head, too many people will be difficult to hide."
The Third slowly exhaled a puff of smoke, "Jiraiya will be back soon. We can't fight yet. Let the clansmen come in batches."
"Will fifty be enough?", A silhouette emerged faintly from the bookshelf beside the office.
After all, too many people would be hard to conceal. Unless absolutely necessary, Sarutobi Hiruzen didn't want other ninja clans in Konoha to know about this force.
Though Sarutobi wanted to keep hiding his strength, he also understood that a conflict between the Uchiha and the village could break out at any moment.
In a situation where the other ninja clans stood by and did nothing, fifty Sarutobi clansmen alone wouldn't be able to suppress them.
"Bring them all in," Sarutobi said with a troubled expression.
The strength he had hidden all these years was about to be exposed. It made him feel quite passive.
The shadow also understood the crisis Konoha was facing. There was no other choice now.
"Clan head, should we call Asuma back?"
The Third Hokage slowly took another puff of his pipe. The smoke covered his face, obscuring his expression.
"After his brother died, Asuma became rather unruly."
"His thinking is too naive. Let him temper himself a bit at the Daimyo's residence."
"He won't be of help here. As for the mission in the Land of Lightning, don't bother with it for now. Let him stay in Konoha."
"I understand. I'll make the arrangements."
———
[Konoha Hospital]
"How is your recovery, Kakashi?"
The Third Hokage had his hands behind his back, appearing calm and composed as if the conflict with the Uchiha yesterday had never happened.
"Third Hokage-sama, I'm fine now, but my Sharingan…"
The Third Hokage waved his hand, signaling Kakashi not to continue.
"The crux of this matter lies with Danzo, but Danzo was severely injured by Itachi's genjutsu, and whether he can wake up is still unknown."
"Just now, ANBU reported that Itachi has openly defected from the village."
"As for the matter of the Sharingan, you need to be mentally prepared."
Kakashi's expression was a little dazed, 'So that means Obito's eye might truly be gone.'
The Third Hokage knew very well how much Kakashi valued that eye.
He shifted the topic slightly, "The Uchiha bear great resentment toward me. But that Sharingan was a gift from Obito to you."
"If there's a chance to meet the Uchiha again, observe their attitude."
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