Saving the Uchiha clan starts with becoming the clan leader.

but,

He was certain,

Previously, the space beneath the Nanga Shrine wasn't this large; at least when his father was still the clan head, the Nanga Shrine didn't have so many intricacies beneath it.

"Itachi, ask whatever you want! You are now qualified to access some of the clan's secrets."

Zongxian, who was walking in front, suddenly spoke up.

"Clan leader, when are we going to rescue Sasuke?" Itachi Uchiha didn't stand on ceremony, only changing his address from "Hokage-sama" to "Clan leader".

However, the question he raised made Zongxian shake his head speechlessly. As expected of a good older brother who would abandon his family for his younger brother, "Let's do it in a week!"

"A week?"

Itachi Uchiha frowned deeply.

Why a week later?

"Because if you're lucky, you won't have to worry about going blind after a week, and you can fully use the new power you gained today." Zongxian said, stopping in front of a room and knocking. "Chihaya, we're coming in!"

"Zong Xian?"

Uchiha Chihaya sat on the hospital bed, holding a manga book in her hands. "Elder Fugaku, and Itachi?" She was a little confused when she saw the group of people who suddenly rushed into the room, but... the next second she immediately fixed her gaze on Uchiha Itachi.

As Zongxian's confidant

Before she awakened her Mangekyou Sharingan, she already knew about the existence of this research base. However, Uchiha Itachi was not one of Sogen's former trusted confidants. Even though he was the most outstanding genius in the clan after Sogen and Shisui, there were some things he was not qualified to access.

And how did Itachi Uchiha end up here?

There should only be one reason.

“Genius…” Uchiha Chihaya didn’t say much. If she hadn’t awakened her Sharingan, she would probably have been jealous of Uchiha Itachi’s talent. But now that she had awakened her Sharingan, her mindset was naturally different. She muttered to herself and then asked, “Itachi, you’ve awakened your Sharingan too?”

"also?"

The word "also"

Itachi Uchiha immediately realized why Chihaya-senpai was here: "All the clan members who have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan come here?"

That's how it is right now.

Zongxian nodded. "Shisui has been here, Elder Fugaku has been here, Chihaya is here, and now you're here too... If nothing unexpected happens, all the clan members who have awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan will come here in the future."

"Although you've only been awakening your eyes for a short time... with your talent, Itachi, you should have already sensed the instability of the power in your eyes, right?" Zongxian casually picked up a pear from the fruit basket on the table next to him, wiped it with his sleeve, took a big bite, and the sweet juice moistened his throat.

"So, there's a way to resolve this future problem?"

Uchiha Itachi raised an eyebrow slightly. "Moreover, it would take at least a week for this method to eliminate this potential problem?"

Talking to smart people is so easy and effortless.

Without needing Sogen's detailed explanation, Itachi Uchiha pieced together the information he had gathered on his own.

“That’s right. If you’re lucky, you can use the power of the Mangekyou Sharingan without any worries in a week. At that time, there will be me, Shisui, Chihaya, Elder Fugaku, and you. Of course, there may be other people involved, but I don’t intend to place my hopes on outsiders. The mission of saving Naruto and Sasuke cannot be won by simply having more people. Orochimaru’s Akatsuki organization is not so easy to deal with.”

This is not Zongxian making things up.

Even after awakening the Rinnegan, Zongxian did not believe that he was truly invincible.

Don't say anything else,

If Black Zetsu and Obito Uchiha had resurrected Madara Uchiha beforehand and restored him to his peak condition, then, to be honest, Sogen wouldn't have been entirely confident of defeating this ancestor. After all, they both possessed the Rinnegan, and compared to Sogen, who hadn't awakened it for very long, Madara Uchiha probably had a much deeper understanding of the Rinnegan's power.

Therefore,

Let's play it safe.

Either refrain from taking action and endure it for the time being, waiting for another day.

If we really have to take action, we should gather our strongest forces and strike at the heart of the enemy, not giving Obito Uchiha and Black Zetsu the chance to pull out their 'trump card'.

"But a week later, Sasuke..."

"If Sasuke hadn't been killed by Orochimaru immediately, he probably could have held out for a while. Orochimaru is indeed crazy, but he never does anything meaningless. It's one thing to kidnap Naruto, but to take Sasuke with him is another. I think he may have forgotten my warning and has finally set his sights on my clan."

As he spoke, Zongxian gave Uchiha Itachi a deep look.

Immediately,

Their gaze fell upon Fugaku Uchiha.

"Elder Fugaku, I need you to keep an eye on Itachi for the next week and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid in a moment of impulsiveness."

"I'll keep an eye on Itachi."

Fugaku Uchiha answered solemnly.

Zongxian nodded, omitting any unnecessary remarks like "If anything goes wrong, you'll be held responsible," and instead looked at Uchiha Itachi again, speaking softly, "Also, Itachi, don't forget your sister is waiting for you at home! Favoring one over the other isn't the behavior of a good older brother!"

[Chapter 358. Naruto and the Beauty]

Walking home along the path paved with bluish-gray stone bricks, Fugaku Uchiha opened the sliding door and found a small, adorable figure sitting on the wooden floor of the entryway. Hearing the door open, the figure immediately looked up, and upon seeing Fugaku enter, exclaimed joyfully, "Daddy! Welcome home!"

The little girl jumped up and down, standing on tiptoe and stretching out her chubby, white arms for a hug.

His adorable appearance almost melted Fugaku Uchiha's heart.

really,

Daughters are cuter than sons!

"Shoko, were you a good girl at home today?"

The frost and majesty on Fugaku Uchiha's face vanished, replaced by a doting smile. He opened his arms and embraced his youngest daughter, holding her as if she were a fragile, priceless treasure. This former clan leader's preference for daughters over sons was on full display.

This was a treatment that Itachi and Sasuke Uchiha had never received before.

"Where's Itachi-nii?"

The little girl nestled in Fugaku Uchiha's arms, peeking out to look around.

I did not see that familiar figure.

"Itachi... has gone on a mission." Fugaku Uchiha noticed the clattering of dishes in the kitchen and said softly, "Itachi and Sasuke have both gone on missions and won't be back for a while."

Five-year-old Uchiha Shoko did not notice anything unusual in her father's words.

She simply hugged her father's neck tightly and said with great longing, "Shoko wants to become a ninja as excellent as Itachi and Sasuke when she grows up."

"Really? Then Shoko should study hard at the Ninja Academy!"

Fugaku Uchiha stroked his youngest daughter's hair.

The claim of carrying out a mission is obviously a lie.

Uchiha Itachi has received the injection of the 'long-named drug' and is currently under observation and recuperating at the research base below the Naga Shrine. Although he bears the heavy responsibility of keeping an eye on his grown son, Sogen still asked Uchiha Fugaku to go home first and comfort his wife and daughter before coming over.

If we don't let Uchiha Fugaku go back...

It's highly likely that clan head Zongxian will have to personally go and explain the situation, so it's better to let Uchiha Fugaku go back and explain it himself rather than make the trip himself.

After dinner,

Shoko was invited out to play by her friends.

After the clan's living conditions improved, a baby boom broke out in the clan, with many having second or third children. Uchiha Shoko is a typical example. Now, in the Uchiha clan's territory, you can not only see many elderly people taking walks and playing chess, but also hear the noise and commotion of children.

Leaving aside the students at the ninja academy,

Uchiha Shoko alone has many friends within her clan.

"Fugaku, what happened to Itachi?"

Wait until my daughter leaves.

After quickly cleaning the kitchen, Uchiha Mikoto came to her husband and inquired about their eldest son.

"Itachi is alright! To be precise, he encountered something good, although... I don't really want him to encounter such good things." Uchiha Fugaku sat cross-legged on the tatami and let out a helpless sigh. Because of his youngest son's disappearance, his eldest son had awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan.

Such a thing.

How can we make people happy?

"Itachi... he's awakened his Sharingan too?" Although Mikoto Uchiha had always been a contented housewife, that didn't mean she was oblivious to what was happening around her. Fugaku Uchiha didn't hide many things from his wife about the clan, and she was well aware of the Mangekyou Sharingan as well.

So she instantly understood Fugaku Uchiha's sigh.

"This is not a bad thing."

Fugaku Uchiha comforted his wife, "No matter what, the stronger the clan is right now, the greater the chance of bringing Sasuke home safely. The village is already formulating a rescue plan. Not only Naruto, but Sasuke has not been forgotten either."

"······Um."

Mikoto Uchiha's face was somewhat pale.

Her youngest son, whose fate and whereabouts are unknown, is her biggest nightmare right now. When she heard that Sasuke had been captured by the rogue ninja Orochimaru, she fainted on the spot. Fortunately, after examination, it was confirmed that there was nothing seriously wrong with him. The reason she fainted was that she was so angry that she lost her mind.

"Sasuke... will he really come back?"

"I will definitely come back."

Fugaku Uchiha answered decisively.

"Itachi and I will definitely bring Sasuke back. Anyone who dares to block our way, I will kill them."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

"Where...is this place?"

Naruto, whose consciousness was still hazy as he awoke from the darkness, stared blankly at the dark gray ceiling. It took him quite a while to finally break free from this dazed and blank state. His brain cells, which had been warming up, became active once again.

"I remember my right hand..."

He recalled the immense pain that overwhelmed him like a tidal wave, and he instinctively wanted to raise his right hand.

It's a bit strenuous.

An unpleasant sensation, such as soreness and dull pain, was felt throughout my body.

and also,

Suddenly, the chakra within his body seemed to have turned from clear water into mercury, becoming heavy and difficult to use.

He exerted tremendous effort, beads of sweat forming on his forehead, before finally bringing his right hand into view.