Chapter 482: Departure from the Uchiha Residence

The night wind began to pick up, and the drop in temperature became more palpable.

The strange weather that had lasted nearly an entire day seemed to finally be revealing its true nature.

At the critical moment, Tobi used his Mangekyō Sharingan ability, Kamui, to save Itachi, who had been on the brink of death under Ye Zi's blade.

The Flying Thunder God mark was set on a house 500 meters away from Ye Zi's location. Tobi and Itachi crouched there after teleporting.

"Itachi, are you alright?" Tobi asked immediately after saving him, but then he caught sight of Itachi's eyes and froze.

Mangekyō Sharingan. So Itachi had awakened it too? No surprise, given what happened to the clan leader…

Tobi gritted his teeth tightly, his heart filled with rage toward Ye Zi. If it were possible, he would have torn Ye Zi into pieces.

Itachi didn't respond to Tobi's question. Instead, he lowered his head, bracing his forehead with one hand as his body trembled slightly.

Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan had a design resembling a Fūma Shuriken, similar to Fugaku's Mangekyō shape but with differences in thickness. Itachi's blades were broader and lacked the surrounding black dots.

Suddenly, Itachi stood up.

Tobi reacted quickly, pressing his hand firmly on Itachi's shoulder to force him back down. His voice was stern as he said, "I'm not underestimating you, but Ye Zi is far too powerful. If you go, it will only be a meaningless sacrifice."

"The resolve to sacrifice myself has been there since the moment I became a ninja," Itachi replied, removing Tobi's hand from his shoulder. His gaze, as if piercing through obstacles, locked onto Ye Zi on the street. His tone wavered slightly, yet it was unwaveringly resolute.

Feeling the determination in Itachi's voice, Tobi's expression shifted slightly. He could only watch as Itachi stood up, letting out a sigh of helplessness as he rose alongside him.

"Ye Zi is too dangerous. Even if you've awakened the Mangekyō, don't approach him recklessly," Tobi warned, glancing at Itachi. As soon as he finished speaking, his body disappeared into the distorted air, entering the Kamui dimension to seek an opportunity to attack Ye Zi.

Itachi tried to say something, but Tobi was already gone. Left with no choice, he jumped off the roof and began heading toward Ye Zi's location.

Meanwhile, the Uchiha clan members had gathered around, only to witness a shocking scene.

Fugaku lay lifeless on the street, blood pooling beneath him, while Ye Zi stood nearby.

"Clan leader!"

"How dare you…!"

The enraged Uchiha clan members, including siblings who had interacted with Ye Zi before and Shisui, surrounded him.

Drip.

At that moment, large raindrops began to fall from the clouds. It wasn't a gradual shift from drizzle to downpour. By the time the first drop hit, the next second brought a torrential rain.

The Uchiha clan members, who were preparing to weave hand seals for Fire Release techniques, were forced to stop. The rain came so suddenly and fiercely that it drastically weakened the potential power of any fire jutsu.

As they adjusted their strategy, a towering green figure formed from chakra emerged from the crowd and approached Ye Zi. It was Shisui's Susanoo, now enhanced with layers of muscle and sinew compared to the skeletal form it had been a year ago.

Whoosh!

Minato arrived at the scene and saw Fugaku's lifeless body on the ground, his eyes narrowing slightly.

Surrounded on all sides, Ye Zi stood motionless in the rain, his expression calm. Within his sensory range, a familiar presence approached.

Kushina arrived, shrouded in the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, using its speed to reach the scene. Her eyes locked onto Ye Zi on the street.

Ye Zi turned his head slightly, glancing at Kushina from afar. Beneath his calm gaze lay a faint hint of complexity. Then, his body liquefied and merged into the ground, vanishing from sight.

In just the span of a glance, Ye Zi disappeared once again from Kushina's sight.

The green spiral blade of Shisui's Susanoo struck empty air, shattering the ground beneath it. The Uchiha clan members could only watch helplessly as Ye Zi escaped, leaving behind Fugaku's corpse.

After Ye Zi's departure, White Zetsu used the Hiding in Earth Technique to leave Konoha from a different direction.

"Kushina!" Minato immediately turned to her.

"Eleven o'clock direction, moving very fast!" Kushina understood and provided the answer Minato needed.

Tobi emerged from the Kamui space and heard Kushina's words. He clenched his teeth and disappeared again. Minato, however, was faster.

Kushina followed after them, but even with the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak enhancing her speed, she couldn't match Minato or Tobi's Flying Thunder God technique, let alone keep up with the other Uchiha clan members.

Shisui deactivated his Susanoo as Itachi arrived on the scene.

The increasingly cold night rain seeped silently into the hearts of everyone present.

"Itachi…" Shisui didn't pursue. When he noticed the Mangekyō in Itachi's eyes, he froze momentarily before sighing inwardly.

Ye Zi sped through the earth, quickly escaping Konoha's perimeter and leaving his pursuers far behind.

Even with Minato's Flying Thunder God, he couldn't catch up to Ye Zi due to the technique's limitations. As for Tobi's Kamui, while it allowed for pursuit, the strain on his non-eternal Mangekyō Sharingan prevented him from sustaining such a high level of ability for long.

Thus, the three pursuers could only watch as Ye Zi slipped through their grasp once more, powerless to stop him.

Once Ye Zi was sure no one was following, he headed to the prearranged meeting point with White Zetsu. The lakeside.

Standing in the pouring rain, Ye Zi waited silently on the shore.

After some time, White Zetsu finally arrived.

"Did you collect all the eyes?" Ye Zi asked.

Tonight's operation was fruitful. Ye Zi had acquired a valuable pair of Mangekyō Sharingan. Once back at the base, he could quickly transplant one of them into his left eye.

"Of course," White Zetsu replied, though he felt a twinge of disappointment. He had expected Ye Zi to wreak havoc in Konoha before leaving, but to his surprise, Ye Zi had fled so decisively.

"Back to the base," Ye Zi said with a slight nod as he began heading toward the Land of Waterfalls.

...

Konoha Village

The three pursuers: Minato, Tobi, and Kushina returned empty-handed, their efforts to catch Ye Zi fruitless.

Although Ye Zi's incursion into Konoha hadn't caused any major damage, it was a thorn in Konoha's side, leaving the village uneasy.

The heavy rain showed no sign of letting up anytime soon. Its chilling touch did little to calm the restless anger simmering within the Uchiha clan.

Through further investigation, they discovered over thirty casualties, all of whom had their eyes removed.

This revelation deepened the Uchiha clan's fury.

It was clear now that Ye Zi's invasion had been specifically targeting the Sharingan of the Uchiha.

Itachi, having witnessed his father's death at Ye Zi's hands, couldn't help but harbor resentment despite his maturity far exceeding that of his peers. At the same time, he worried about how his mother and Sasuke would cope once they learned of what had happened.

The events of this night once again reinforced to Itachi the crucial importance of strength.

All the bodies of the fallen Uchiha were gathered in one building. On this tumultuous night, the entire Uchiha clan slowly assembled in grief.

Minato refrained from intruding on the somber mourning of the Uchiha and instead stood silently atop a nearby building, his expression solemn and heavy. He gazed up at the clouds in the sky, lost in thought.

The rain fell heavily on him, forcing him to squint slightly as it poured down.

Kushina, meanwhile, had returned to her room. Curled up on her bed, she buried her head deeply into her knees.

It was, indeed, a restless night.

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