Naruto: I'm in Konoha, my name is Uzumaki Menma

Chapter 167 Suspicious Target, Uchiha Itachi
News of Uchiha Shisui's disappearance quickly spread throughout the village.

The Uchiha clan and the Anbu simultaneously stirred up a storm.

Chief Fugaku mobilized the clan's most skilled trackers to investigate Shisui's recent activities, repeatedly searching the areas where Shisui might have been active.

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, also dispatched ANBU ninjas to traverse the forests outside the village, abandoned training grounds, and even the ruins of Kikyo Castle.

Shisui is one of the few rational people in the Uchiha clan, and he is also a descendant of Uchiha Kagami. Both for public and private reasons, Hiruzen Sarutobi must take him seriously.

However, after several days of searching, Uchiha Shisui and his Mangekyou Sharingan were completely wiped out as if by an invisible hand, leaving no clues.

Shisui, along with his legendary eyes, seemed as if he had never existed in this world.

The atmosphere in the Hokage's office was so heavy it could drip water.

The pipe between Hiruzen Sarutobi's fingers had long since been extinguished, the wisps of smoke dissipated, leaving only cold ash.

His wrinkled face looked unusually tired in the dim light, and his gaze was fixed heavily on the shadowy corner.

There, Danzo Shimura, leaning on his cane, stood like a coiled venomous snake, his single eye devoid of any emotion, only a bottomless, sinister aura.

“Danzo…” Hiruzen Sarutobi’s voice was hoarse, carrying the weight of interrogation.

"Is Shisui's disappearance truly unrelated to you or Root?" His sharp gaze seemed to pierce through layers of bandages, looking directly into the depths of Danzo's heart.

Danzo's lips curled down almost imperceptibly, his dry voice like sandpaper scraping: "Hiruzen, are you questioning my loyalty to Konoha? Or are you more willing to believe the baseless accusations of those Uchiha lunatics?"

"I admit that I was wary of Uchiha Shisui's abilities, but wariness is not the same as taking action. Every action taken by Root is for the stability of Konoha. I have a clear conscience."

He slightly raised his chin, his single eye beneath the bandage meeting Hiruzen Sarutobi's gaze with a frankness bordering on provocation.

That flawless calmness was all the more chilling.

Danzo's Root members had completely cleared away all traces of the battle in the temple, as well as the trail left by Shisui after he was injured while escaping. Naturally, the Anbu and Uchiha search teams could not find a single clue.

Although Danzo was also puzzled as to where Shisui had gone, he absolutely could not admit it!

Hiruzen Sarutobi took a deep breath. The smoke dissipated, leaving only the icy air that pierced his lungs, eventually turning into a heavy sigh that dissipated into the stagnant air.

In the courtyard of the Uchiha clan's ancestral home, maple leaves fluttered down, carpeting the ground in gold.

Uchiha Itachi stood quietly under the corridor, watching the fallen leaves swirl and drift.

He was tall and straight, already looking like a young man, wearing a dark blue family uniform, his face calm to the point of being indifferent.

However, only he himself knew that the string deep inside him was so taut it was about to snap.

The news of my close friend's disappearance was like a devastating blow.

Several days have passed since the search began, but not a single trace has been found.

Masters like Shisui seem to have vanished into thin air.

Shock, bewilderment, and a feeling of utter exhaustion, as if his foundation had been suddenly emptied, overwhelmed Uchiha Itachi.

Shisui, the only one in the clan who could understand him, always had a gentle smile, bright eyes, and guided him like an older brother, sharing his thoughts on peace and the future of the village... has disappeared?

How can it be?

They had arranged to meet at the secret training ground last night; he had so many questions about his family and his future that he needed to confide in Shisui… How could this be…

What kind of powerful individual could silently attack Shisui in Konoha without making a sound?
"Itachi!" A deep voice filled with suppressed anger broke the deathly silence of the courtyard.

Uchiha Hachiro, Uchiha Tetsuka, and Uchiha Inahisa strode into the courtyard like three blocks of ice radiating coldness.

They wore dark clan robes, their faces were gloomy, and their scarlet Sharingan were openly activated, their cold gazes like tangible blades, all fixed on Itachi.

The air was thick with undisguised hostility and suspicion.

"Shisui has disappeared!" Uchiha Yatsuhoshi spoke first, his voice like suppressed thunder. He was tall and had a resolute face, his brows furrowed at the moment.

This Uchiha elite Jonin, who usually had squinty eyes, now had his crimson Sharingan activated, his pupils seemingly burning with rage.

“Just a few days ago! Right around the village! The clan’s search team conducted a wide search inside and outside Konoha, but to no avail! The Anbu are keeping it a secret! You—” He raised his finger and pointed at Itachi, his fingertip carrying an aggressive aura.

"As a member of the Anbu and Shisui's most trusted friend! Don't tell us you know nothing about this?!"

The clansmen's cold questioning was like a poisoned needle, piercing Itachi Uchiha's heart.

He suddenly looked up, his dark pupils instantly contracting!
Shisui's disappearance caused him more pain than anyone else!
But the naked suspicion behind this questioning is like a red-hot branding iron, burning the wound that has just been pierced by the loss of a close friend!

"Yashiro-senpai..." Itachi's voice tried his best to remain calm, but there was a slight, almost imperceptible tremor at the end.

“I was just as shocked and heartbroken by Shisui’s disappearance. I want to know the truth more than anyone else. But I… I really don’t know anything.” He met Yashiro’s distrustful, crimson eyes with a frank and firm expression.

"Unaware?" Uchiha Tetsuka, standing nearby, let out a harsh sneer. He had a gaunt face and sharp, eagle-like eyes.

"You joined the Dark Side, hanging out with those people all day, who knows what you were doing! Now that Shisui is gone, you think you can just brush it off with a flimsy 'I didn't know'?"

"Itachi, did you already know something?"

"Is it possible that the Anbu... or someone higher up, is going to make a move against Shisui?! And you chose to remain silent? Or even... got involved?!" Uchiha Tekka's words were like knives piercing the heart!
A surge of burning anger suddenly welled up from the bottom of my heart!

Itachi's body tensed instantly, his hands hanging at his sides clenched into fists, his nails digging deep into his palms!
participate?

Their bond with Shisui, their unwavering loyalty to Itachi Uchiha, was so easily twisted into betrayal?!

"Itachi!" Uchiha Inaho's voice was even colder, but her eyes were the most ruthless.

"Stop pretending to be detached! Don't forget that you have the blood of the Uchiha clan flowing through your veins! You'd better really know nothing about Shisui's matter. Otherwise..." He took a step forward, the three tomoe in his Sharingan spinning wildly, making no attempt to hide his threat.

"The Uchiha clan will never let any traitor go unpunished! No matter whose son he is!"

traitor!
These three words echoed and amplified wildly in Itachi's mind like a curse!
His pain, confusion, and heartache over the disappearance of his best friend over the past few days were instantly ignited into a furious rage that consumed all reason!

How dare they tarnish his friendship with Zhishui with such malicious suspicion?
How dare you so contemptuously question his complex feelings toward his family?
And who is truly pushing the Uchiha clan into the abyss?!

"I said—I! Don't! Know!"

A suppressed growl, like that of a wounded beast, burst forth from deep within the ferret's throat!

The anger, pain, and utter rage contained in that voice caused the three of them to involuntarily take a half step back!
At that very moment when emotions overwhelmed them!

Uchiha Itachi's figure suddenly disappeared from the spot!

"So fast!" The Eighth Generation's pupils contracted sharply as his Sharingan caught a blurry afterimage!

It was faster than his visual limits could see!
It wasn't a flashy movement using the Body Flicker Technique, but rather a ghostly dash driven purely by explosive physical power!
Filled with terrifying killing intent after being thoroughly enraged!
(End of this chapter)