When Itachi turned back around, Minato had already disappeared together with his parents' bodies.
Only the unconscious Sasuke remained lying on the floor.
Itachi still lingered upon Minato's earlier words.
So what if they care?
Why should he care what they thought?
Slowly lowering himself, Itachi gently touched Sasuke's forehead.
Forgive , Sasuke.
"Let's go."
Minato's voice suddenly sounded again as his figure abruptly reappeared inside the room alone.
"There's no ti. We need to move quickly."
No longer hesitating, Itachi picked up the unconscious Sasuke and swiftly departed alongside Minato.
The two moved at astonishing speed.
Not a single unnecessary word was exchanged throughout the operation.
Every surviving Uchiha they found—
Whether hidden away or trapped under genjutsu—
Could not escape either Itachi's Sharingan or Minato's sensory abilities.
The mont they located soone, Itachi imdiately subdued any conscious survivors attempting to resist or hide.
Then, without explanation, Minato placed a hand upon them—
And both figures vanished instantly.
They would then reappear monts later.
Gradually, however, Itachi sharply noticed sothing.
After transporting around ten people, every subsequent return visibly added another layer of exhaustion to Minato's face.
The Fourth Hokage's chakra reserves are still enormous…
Then why is he…
Itachi's heart tightened painfully.
Watching Minato grow increasingly exhausted while still silently transporting every single survivor they discovered—
Itachi finally realized just how laughable both his and Shisui's previous ideals had truly been.
Thinking he possessed "the mindset of a Hokage."
Thinking he had found his own path after understanding reality.
In truth—
He, Uchiha Itachi, was rely a clown who believed himself capable of seeing through darkness while still accomplishing absolutely nothing.
No one had ever truly taught him what was right.
They rely told him his choices were "not wrong."
But in reality?
None of them actually understood how to make the future better.
They only knew how to search for light—
Without understanding how to beco the spark illuminating darkness itself.
Itachi Uchiha—
A child who had never once experienced being guided by true light, only living and acting within shadows—
For the very first ti…
Witnessed soone truly embodying what it ant to carry the na Hokage.
This—
Was the fire worthy of being pursued for an entire lifeti.
And from this mont onward—
That figure would forever remain engraved within his eyes.
At the sa ti—
Itachi silently made a decision deep within his heart.
anwhile, while Minato and Itachi raced desperately against ti—
The battle elsewhere had also nearly reached its conclusion.
Boom!
Like a cannon shell blasting forward, the Shadow Clone controlled by Kurama slamd violently into the water.
The impact nearly dispersed the clone entirely.
But this ti, it wasn't because Kurama intentionally continued circling Obito.
He simply had nowhere left to run.
Because he had already been cornered within the water by two opponents.
That's right.
Two.
Obito Uchiha, wearing his mask, pursued relentlessly across the water surface.
anwhile, another figure stood atop the nearby building, black cloth wrapped around his eyes while continuously locking down every possible escape route.
Akatsuki robes?
Who is this guy?
And how did he arrive without this old man noticing his presence at all?
Kurama frowned deeply.
His ability to sense malice detected absolutely no hostility from this person.
Yet the man undeniably assisted Obito Uchiha.
And it was precisely because of this sudden appearance blocking escape routes that the "Kakashi" Shadow Clone now found itself trapped in a dead end.
"You have nowhere left to run!"
Obito roared furiously.
This ti he directly solidified his body.
Because at last—
His hand finally touched the enemy.
No matter who you are, once I drag you into Kamui's dinsion, you'll be completely at my rcy.
Then let's see your true face.
Yet suddenly—
The fake Kakashi before him stopped moving entirely.
Then slowly turned around.
That face displayed utterly undisguised ridicule and mockery.
And sohow—
Seeing such an expression on Kakashi's face made Obito's ntality explode even harder.
"That's enough for today, little Uchiha brat."
Fake Kakashi sneered contemptuously.
"Go tell Madara Uchiha this—"
"Our hunt will surely co."
Bang!
A familiar yet distorted sound rang out beneath the water.
Watching the body before him disperse instantly into smoke alongside the current—
The Sharingan beneath Obito's mask widened violently.
His eyes turned bloodshot from fury and rising terror.
At this point, Obito genuinely felt like his eyes would start bleeding even without activating Mangekyō abilities.
A Shadow Clone.
A Shadow Clone?!
That was only a Shadow Clone?!
He had been toyed around by a re Shadow Clone this entire ti?!
And those final words…
What did "hunt" an?
Who was "we"?
Were they another organization?
What relationship did they have with Madara Uchiha?
Who exactly was that person?!
Obito's rationality desperately tried warning him not to overthink things—
But unfortunately, every ounce of reason inside him had already been completely overwheld and thrown out by endless emotion.
Fury mixed together with infinite questions.
At this point, Obito no longer cared about Konoha or the Uchiha clan at all.
If possible—
He wanted nothing more than to tear apart the entire Hidden Leaf Village and search every inch until he found that person.
anwhile, atop the building—
Shisui Uchiha quietly sensed the disappearance of the chakra signature beneath the water.
A trace of surprise flashed through his heart.
After waiting for a short while—
Obito finally rose back out from the water.
Or rather…
Floated back up.
Shisui glanced thoughtfully at the still-wet water stains covering Obito's clothes.
"Since you succeeded, we should regroup with Itachi Uchiha now."
Shisui's voice remained calm and emotionless.
Even internally, he was still trying to guess who exactly had "fallen" into Obito's hands.
Yet unexpectedly—
The masked "Madara Uchiha" no longer responded as before.
Instead, he coldly tossed out a single sentence.
"Handle things yourself."
Then vanished instantly.
What?
Shisui froze.
Then suddenly—
An unbelievable thought flashed through his mind.
Despite urgently summoning his other body back from monitoring Danzō…
Despite abandoning the original plan…
Despite nearly exposing his abilities…
The legendary Madara Uchiha…
Still failed?
"My lord…"
An Itachi Shadow Clone carefully carried over an unconscious child discovered hidden among the corpses before gently placing the boy in front of the blond-haired Naruto currently sitting motionless upon the ground.
Then the clone vanished.
Minato said nothing.
Having already begun overdrawing his own chakra source, his consciousness blurred while his vision dimd.
Yet he still reached out and placed a hand upon the child Itachi brought him.
Flying Thunder God activated.
Minato and the child vanished once again.
Nearby, the real Itachi remained watching over Sasuke.
And after witnessing everything—
The respect in his eyes toward Minato had already evolved into sothing far beyond simple admiration.
Even though Itachi could still sense considerable chakra remaining inside Minato's body—
The Fourth Hokage's current condition clearly couldn't lie.
Perhaps Flying Thunder God consud ntal energy as well…
Whatever the reason—
Itachi was deeply shaken.
"... Alright."
Minato once again appeared while still seated upon the ground in Naruto's body.
Then weakly turned toward Sasuke lying unconscious nearby.
"What about Sasuke too?"
"Will we bring him along?"
He had already transferred nearly fifty people.
Toward the end, he lacked even the strength to walk around personally and could only remain seated while Itachi located survivors and brought them over for transportation.
The once-mighty great clan of Konoha—
After one single night—
Only this few remained.
And among them, barely any still possessed aningful combat ability.
Because the shinobi capable of fighting had all been targeted and eliminated first.
"No."
Itachi imdiately shook his head.
"Sasuke will remain here."
"The Third Hokage promised personally that he would protect Sasuke."
"And…"
A faint softness finally appeared in Itachi's eyes.
"He'll also be able to grow stronger alongside Naruto-kun."
"As for the rest…"
"It's enough."
"You…"
But before Itachi could finish—
Minato interrupted him once more.
"No."
"There's still one more person."
"One more…?"
Itachi froze briefly.
Then, after looking toward Naruto's face controlled by Minato—
He suddenly seed to realize sothing.
"Create a Shadow Clone."
"And give your hand."
Minato's weakened voice remained calm.
Itachi imdiately obeyed.
At this point, even if Minato ordered him to gouge out his own eyes, Itachi probably wouldn't hesitate.
A chakra-filled Shadow Clone appeared instantly beside him.
At the sa ti, Itachi quietly implanted a certain technique into the clone.
Minato imdiately noticed.
Understanding that Itachi had already grasped his intentions, Minato said nothing further.
He grabbed the clone's arm.
Then both figures vanished instantly.
As Minato disappeared—
The current Uchiha clan district truly contained only two surviving clan mbers now.
Uchiha Itachi.
And Uchiha Sasuke.
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