CHAPTER 29
"I will never let you become Hokage."
A sneering voice echoed through the dimly lit office of the Hokage.
Shimura Danzō stood with his arms crossed, his lone, piercing eye locked onto Hiruzen Sarutobi. His tone was laced with scorn, as if amused by the very idea.
Hiruzen, often regarded as the benevolent "Professor," felt his expression darken. The warmth he was known for faded as the weight of leadership pressed down on him. The Sandaime Hokage's grip tightened around the pipe in his hand, the embers momentarily flaring.
---
Meanwhile, at the Uchiha Clan's Naka Shrine…
Uchiha Itachi stood motionless before the ancient stone tablet, his gaze fixed on the enigmatic inscriptions left behind by the Sage of Six Paths. His scarlet Sharingan spun, the three tomoe seamlessly merging and twisting into the intricate pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan—a sight only a select few in history had ever possessed.
With the power of his newfound eyes, the once-indecipherable script transformed. The hidden message, tampered with by Black Zetsu, burned itself into his mind. Itachi's expression remained unreadable, but his thoughts swirled with unease.
"Infinite Tsukuyomi…" he murmured.
The words resonated with him in an unsettling way. His own Mangekyō granted him Tsukuyomi, a genjutsu so potent that a mere glance could ensnare an enemy in a world of his design. Time, reality, and perception—everything was at his command within its confines. He had used it to break minds, shatter wills, and inflict agonizing psychological torment.
But he could also create paradise. In Tsukuyomi, he could grant someone an eternity of bliss.
If its scale were expanded infinitely… could it truly bring peace?
No.
Illusions, no matter how perfect, were still falsehoods. That was what Uchiha Shisui had always believed. A fabricated world was nothing but a fragile dream waiting to be shattered.
Itachi exhaled slowly, his hand subconsciously brushing against the Uchiha crest on his back.
He had no time for doubts.
Just as his thoughts settled, the air behind him rippled. A spiraling distortion warped space, and from within the void, a masked figure emerged.
His face remained obscured by an orange spiral-patterned mask, but his single, exposed eye gleamed with a sinister light. The black cloak draped over his frame bore the unmistakable red clouds of the Akatsuki.
Itachi did not turn.
"Itachi," the masked man's voice carried a mixture of amusement and fervor. "You've awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan. You've read the stone tablet. Then you must understand by now…"
His eye burned with conviction.
"This world is beyond saving. War, suffering, endless conflict—this reality is broken."
A pause. Then, in a voice brimming with fanatical determination:
"The only way to end it all is through the Infinite Tsukuyomi."
Itachi remained silent.
"Join us," the man continued. "Together, we can bring about a world without pain or war. A world of true peace."
Finally, Itachi turned.
His dark eyes studied the man before him—this self-proclaimed "Madara Uchiha."
His mind raced through the fragmented pieces of his life: the growing tensions within the Uchiha, the distrust of the village, the warnings from Shisui, the burden placed upon him by Sarutobi Hiruzen, and most of all… Sasuke.
Itachi closed his eyes for a brief moment. When they opened again, his decision had already been made.
"I'll join."
His voice betrayed no emotion, offering no hint of his true intent.
A satisfied chuckle.
"Wise choice," Obito said, his tone triumphant.
One could almost sense the elation beneath his mask, as if his concealed face carried a victorious smirk.
"Itachi Uchiha, you truly are a remarkable individual."
"Everything we are doing now is for true peace, the responsibility of the Uchiha clan!"
Uchiha Itachi remained silent, his expression unchanged.
He simply stood there, listening.
As Uchiha Obito finished his rhetoric, a mass of dark tendrils slithered up from the ground.
From the earth emerged a peculiar being—its body split into two distinct halves, one pitch black, the other stark white. Adorned in a black cloak with red clouds, the strange entity revealed itself fully.
It was none other than Zetsu.
"The Konoha side is prepared," Black Zetsu reported with an air of deference, his voice carrying an eerie composure.
Upon hearing Zetsu's report, Uchiha Itachi's crimson Sharingan flickered with the faintest trace of emotion.
The wheels had been set in motion. There was no turning back now.
It seemed he could only proceed according to the plan.
Shisui… I hope everything unfolds as you envisioned.
And that this Kazuki… is truly trustworthy…
"Hahaha! I've even convinced Uchiha Itachi! Everything is progressing smoothly!"
Obito's laughter echoed in the dimly lit room. Turning to Itachi, he declared,
"Itachi, tonight's events will go exactly as planned."
"I understand." Itachi nodded.
Without further delay, Uchiha Obito activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. A swirling distortion in space formed, and he vanished into the Kamui dimension.
Zetsu, too, melded into the ground, disappearing without a trace.
…
Two weeks later,
The Ninja Academy resumed classes.
Kazuki, Tenten, and Rock Lee officially entered their second year.
Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki, Sasuke Uchiha, and the other future Konoha prodigies enrolled as first-year students.
Naturally, Naruto still failed to extract chakra during the entrance exam.
The lingering interference of the Nine-Tails' chakra rendered his efforts futile, even with the chakra refinement scroll that Kazuki had given him.
Nevertheless, the examiners allowed him to pass under the justification that he possessed "the potential to become a ninja."
…
Midnight.
The full moon hung high in the sky, casting an ethereal glow over the village.
At this moment, Kazuki sat idly in his home, absently toying with a silver mask he had crafted earlier.
[Hidden Mask]
Rank: Three-Star Weapon
Attribute: Space Manipulation
Abilities:
1. Mimicry: Completely transform into another person's appearance for 3 minutes.
2. Invisibility: Conceal all presence and become undetectable for 10 minutes.
Binding: No
The mask allowed for perfect concealment, albeit for a short duration.
Still, its effectiveness was undeniable.
Kazuki had already tested it within the village. When he donned the Hidden Mask, not even the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi—a ninja of Kage-level prowess—could detect his presence.
Of course, Kazuki had been careful not to arouse suspicion.
He had merely taken a leisurely stroll through Hiruzen's office, casually flipping through classified documents before departing unnoticed.
That was how he had learned—
Tonight was the night of the Uchiha Massacre.
Just as in the original timeline, the event was unfolding as fate had dictated.
"Even with my presence, the world still follows its predetermined course," Kazuki mused.
"The Uchiha clan was never truly meant to be a part of Konoha. The tensions and conflicts rooted in the Warring States era were never resolved—only postponed. Time alone cannot erase them."
"I wonder if Shisui is still alive… If he is, he would undoubtedly take action."
As these thoughts swirled in his mind, a sudden notification from the system interrupted him.
[New Mission Issued: Collect at least one Sharingan.]
Reward: Forging Blueprint – Eye of Three Tomoe.
Eye of Three Tomoe?
The name bore a striking resemblance to the Sharingan.
Was there a connection?
And why did the system assign a mission specifically related to the Sharingan?
Kazuki had never anticipated that the system's forging blueprints would include something like this.
Could the Eye of Three Tomoe possess abilities akin to the Sharingan?
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