Konoha: You're letting me build up my bonds, but you're offending the entire ninja world.

"This looks a lot like the legendary Tsunade's superhuman strength technique..."

Uchiha Itachi emerged from the ground. "Unfortunately, all your ninjutsu will be seen through under the gaze of these eyes."

Without turning his head, Shimura Gengetsu swung his sword, and Uchiha Itachi, who was struck, exploded instantly. He himself turned into a stream of water, evaporating a large amount of water vapor.

As the smoke gradually dissipated, the two stood atop a towering tree, gazing at each other.

"Amatilas!!"

Uchiha Itachi's eyes suddenly sharpened, and in the next instant, raging black flames erupted where Shimura Gengetsu stood!

Amaterasu, known as the strongest fire-style attack ninjutsu, is both a ninjutsu and a bloodline limit.

What makes this ninjutsu so troublesome is that it is not only incredibly powerful, known as an inextinguishable black flame, but it is also an instantaneous ninjutsu, making it extremely difficult to detect and dodge.

But Shimura Gengetsu's reaction speed was incredibly fast. In the instant that Uchiha Itachi's pupils contracted, his figure shot out, while his hands formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Dragon Flame Song!"

Several fire dragons roared and flew towards Uchiha Itachi. The huge bodies of the fire dragons blocked the two's view, giving Uchiha Itachi no chance to release Tsukuyomi.

"Water Style, Water Array Wall!"

Left with no other option, Itachi Uchiha could only resort to ninjutsu to resist.

He wasn't the kind of ninja with an abnormally large amount of chakra; it was just that the existence of the Mangekyou Sharingan allowed his chakra to surpass that of ordinary people, but he was nowhere near someone like Shimura Gengetsu who didn't care about chakra consumption at all.

After using a large amount of chakra to completely neutralize the fire dragon, Itachi Uchiha realized that the water temperature was wrong.

If one ninjutsu is this terrifying, what would happen if a few more were used? Wouldn't they drain him dry?!

"Scorching Release: Multiple Layers of Steaming Kill!"

Several fireballs, as bright as the sun, shot out rapidly. Itachi Uchiha retreated rapidly, constantly dodging the attacks of the fireballs, but there were too many of them. The fireballs came from all directions, falling like a meteor shower, constantly squeezing his space to maneuver.

Itachi Uchiha pondered a way to break the deadlock.

Earth Escape?

His Earth Release techniques are not as proficient as his Fire Release and Water Release techniques, and require time to execute. These fireballs will not give him any chance to do so.

Amaterasu?

No, using such a wide-range Amaterasu would play right into Shimura Gengetsu's hands, causing him to lose a large amount of chakra.

Therefore... we cannot fall into Shimura Gengetsu's rhythm; we must decide the outcome with one decisive blow!

Having quickly formulated a plan, Itachi Uchiha no longer hesitated to use his eye power.

One after another, red energy stems emerged from Itachi Uchiha's body, along with a giant skeletal arm.

The skeletal arm swung violently, colliding with several fireballs.

“Isn’t the first stage enough…” Itachi Uchiha frowned slightly as he looked at his burned arm.

In the blink of an eye, his arm was repaired, and his body continued to grow, forming a complete skeleton.

Then, muscles composed of chakra threads covered the bones, followed by a thick layer that firmly enveloped the Susanoo giant. With a clench of its two arms, a shield and a gourd-shaped sword hilt appeared respectively.

With a flick of the gourd-shaped sword hilt, the flowing, liquid-like blade extinguished the remaining fireballs.

Gengetsu Shimura also stopped attacking.

"Cough cough..."

Uchiha Itachi clutched his eyes in agony, feeling as if his brain was about to explode.

The third stage of Susanoo is the limit of the ordinary Mangekyou Sharingan. It places a great burden on the user and is extremely unstable, so it cannot be sustained for very long.

"Is this the legendary third power—the power of God?"

Gengetsu Shimura's gaze fell on the two weapons again.

"The Yata Mirror, hailed as the strongest defense, and the Totsuka Blade, capable of sealing everything..."

Gengetsu Shimura chuckled lightly, "You Uchiha people really know how to pat yourselves on the back. It's just a manifestation of Susanoo's power, yet you always like to give it these intimidating names."

"......"

Itachi Uchiha's heart sank.

Gengetsu Shimura's understanding of the Uchiha clan was completely beyond his expectations. He had never used these two abilities in front of others before, but his secrets were exposed in an instant.

How is this played?

Battles between ninjas are all about intelligence; many tactics and plans can only be implemented because of the unequal distribution of information.

But in front of Shimura Gengetsu, Uchiha Itachi felt that he had no secrets at all.

"Coincidentally, I also possess a ninjutsu that's touted as the strongest attack..."

Shimura Gengetsu floated into the air, spread his hands, and pulled out a cube-shaped semi-transparent barrier.

"Let's test it out and see which one is all talk and no action."

"Dust Release Limit Peeling Technique!"

The cube-shaped Dust Release barrier suddenly expanded, and Itachi Uchiha gritted his teeth and raised the Yata Mirror shield in his hand.

The pure white light completely engulfed the area, and the enormous energy dissipated, causing damage to the entire forest. Countless trees were decomposed into their most primitive state, which was imperceptible to the naked eye.

After an unknown amount of time, the light slowly dissipated, and the once majestic Susanoo had vanished. Uchiha Itachi lay on the ground, and if it weren't for the slight rise and fall of his chest, one might have thought he was dead.

Susanoo was defeated head-on, and he also suffered extremely severe backlash, with his eyes and brain reaching their limits.

Gengetsu Shimura slowly landed on the ground.

"You played well, but you still need to practice. However, I don't like taking on apprentices."

The boy showed no intention of approaching, standing about ten meters away from Uchiha Itachi. "Now you should recognize your place. You'd better speak more softly in front of me."

"From now on, in addition to the Third Hokage, you should also send a copy of the information about joining Akatsuki to Root. Also, you must complete the tasks I assign you, otherwise I will visit Sasuke frequently."

"Shimura Gengetsu, I've already made a deal with the Third Hokage. Are you going to go back on your word?"

Uchiha Itachi buried himself deep in the soil, finally stopping his feigned death and asking angrily.

[The host's bond with Itachi Uchiha has reached the third stage; reward: the Tsukuyomi eye technique.]

Gengetsu Shimura smiled dismissively. "You said it yourself, it's a deal with the Third Hokage, so what does it have to do with me?"

"Whether you agree or not is up to you, just don't regret it later."

"As long as you do your job as a spy, I won't touch Sasuke. After all, I quite like that kid, and I'd love to see you brothers fight each other. Tsk... I can't wait."

Gengetsu Shimura's figure slowly transformed into scattered fallen leaves and vanished, leaving only a final soft laugh.

After lying there for an unknown amount of time, Itachi Uchiha finally regained some strength and struggled to his feet. Like a stray dog, he staggered and disappeared into the darkness.

.....

Gengetsu Shimura arrived at the secret base where Uchiha Shisui was being held.

When they left in the afternoon, it was just the two of them, but when they returned, the place seemed quite crowded.

Just now, because I was in a hurry to stop Uchiha Itachi, I only used the Flying Thunder God Formation to send people over and left, without carefully counting the number of people.

I've only glanced at it briefly now.

"It seems you've saved quite a few people."

Forty-two.

There were 26 children, all under the age of twelve, and the rest of the adults were all women, the oldest of whom looked to be almost sixty.

Uchiha Shisui slowly walked out of a cave and knelt on one knee.

“Lord Xuan Yue, most of these survivors are children of commoners or marginalized members of their clans. They are completely unaware of the rebellion and perfectly meet your requirements.”

Genzuki Shimura gently shook his head. "Words are meaningless. I'll only see how they behave after they wake up."

"Hatred is the most irrational thing. Sometimes it turns into displaced anger that affects the innocent. Besides... neither I nor the village can be considered innocent."

"I hope you can understand why these people survived."

“Because you will need them.” Shisui said, head bowed. “I will make them understand this principle, and let them know who the target of their revenge is.”

"Don't wake these people yet. Although the Uchiha clan has been wiped out, the troubles in the village have not been resolved."

"Once I've finished dealing with this, I'll find a place to settle them."

Uchiha Shisui looked up, his eyes gleaming. "Did you catch up with Uchiha Itachi?"

"Yes, we've exchanged blows."

"Then he is dead?"

The people who most want Itachi Uchiha dead right now, besides the unconscious Uchiha clan members, are probably Uchiha Shisui.

Perhaps his hatred for Itachi was greater than for anyone else, after all... he had entrusted himself to the wrong person, and was blind to have chosen a lunatic.

“No.” Shimura Gengetsu shook his head under Uchiha Shisui’s disappointed gaze.

“He still has a reason to live. Those eyes can’t be wasted. I think you’ve seen the stone tablet at the Nanga Shrine, right?”

Shisui was startled.

"The Mangekyou Sharingan that never goes blind?"