I, Naruto Uzumaki, don't need your approval.

……

Meanwhile, near the Nanga Shrine.

Itachi Uchiha teleported to the top of the Naka Shrine, waiting for the masked man to appear.

This is the place where he and the masked man agreed to meet. He intends to keep his promise and join the mysterious organization the masked man belongs to.

Although the extermination operation failed, allowing Shisui to escape with more than half of his clansmen, the goal of preventing the Uchiha clan from launching a coup was achieved.

The only remaining objective is to gain the masked man's trust and gather information about him for the village.

As for leaving with Shisui, Itachi never had such a thought, nor did he bother to explain his actions.

Since we've chosen to protect the village in the darkness, we must see this path through to the end and stop hoping for light.

Not long after, as ripples spread through the space, a figure appeared on the rooftop. This person was none other than Obito, the masked man Itachi had been waiting for.

Obito glanced around, and after confirming that no one else was nearby, he stared at Itachi and said:

"Itachi, you lied to me and concealed the fact that Shisui is still alive. He's in the security building, and I have no way to deal with the troublesome security forces."

Itachi frowned, then said, "I miscalculated about Shisui, but with your abilities, Shisui shouldn't be a match for you."

"Shisui is certainly no match for me, but dealing with Shisui has exceeded our agreement."

After a light snort, Obito said with a mocking expression, "But now that Shisui is still alive, are you going to stay in Konoha or go and join the Uchiha clan who escaped? They won't welcome you."

"You're not welcome..." That's Obito's polite way of saying it.

Given Itachi's actions, his relationship with the Uchiha clan can be described as irreconcilable, and Konoha Village certainly cannot accept Itachi, who killed his own clansmen. Itachi has become a homeless person.

This is why he risked showing himself even though he knew Shisui might be hiding nearby.

Itachi's face was expressionless. After a sigh, he said, "Shisui and I have broken up. From now on, I plan to join the organization you created and work together to realize the Eye of the Moon Project."

"But can the Eye of the Moon Project really be realized?"

"How will you know if you don't try? Anyway, the world is bad enough."

As he spoke, Obito extended his hand to Itachi and said softly, "Even if there is only a very small chance of realizing the Eye of the Moon Plan, it is worth trying to build a beautiful world without war and pain."

Itachi fell into deep thought, seemingly truly moved by the blueprint Obito had drawn up.

Then, as if remembering something, he asked Obito, "By the way, I still don't know your name or the organization's name. I can't just call you 'Masked Man,' can I?"

"Names don't matter... My name now is Afei."

With his back to Itachi, Obito said with a hint of reminiscence, "But a long time ago, many people called me, Uchiha Madara, the Asura of the Ninja World. As for the organization, the organization we belonged to was called Akatsuki, which means the dawn of a new day."

"Afei, Akatsuki."

Itachi was skeptical; he didn't believe Tobi was Madara Uchiha.

But even suspicious intelligence is still intelligence, better than nothing.

As for the masked man's true identity, it may only be revealed after he meets with other members of the organization.

……

The Great Forest of the Land of Fire.

Under the cover of elite security forces, the Uchiha clan successfully withdrew from Konoha.

In their attempt to shake off the Konoha pursuers, the Uchiha clan paid a heavy price, with several people killed and dozens injured, including a three-tomoe Jonin from within their own clan.

After traveling dozens of kilometers through the forest, Zhishui had no choice but to order his people to stop and set up camp on the spot.

The area is still within the patrol range of Konoha Village, and setting up a camp here is extremely risky. However, if the injured clansmen do not receive effective treatment, they will probably not see the sun rise the next day.

Even if it's just to preserve the clan's fighting strength, Shisui has to take this risk.

Soon, a temporary camp was set up, and the few medical ninjas in the clan began to treat the wounded.

Shisui also wanted to help treat the wounded, but he lacked Yang Release chakra and the skills of a medical ninja.

Worried that he might do more harm than good, he could only brace himself and patrol the area around the camp, on guard against the masked man and Konoha pursuers who might launch a surprise attack at any time.

Sitting on the tree trunk, recalling everything that had happened in the past half day, Zhishui couldn't help but sigh.

He hadn't originally planned to take so many clansmen away from the village, but he encountered a lazy clan leader and successfully seized leadership of the clan, forcibly issuing the order to flee Konoha.

Just when he thought his clan could escape safely, fate played another trick on him.

Itachi, whom he once regarded as his best friend, betrayed his clan, brandished his sword against his own people, and stood on the opposite side of him.

With a sigh, Shisui turned to look at the busy tribespeople in the camp.

For the clan, they escaped the fate of being killed by Itachi, but for themselves, the trials facing the Uchiha clan had only just begun.

He must find a new Uchiha gathering place in a short period of time and avoid being besieged by various forces.

In a sense, the Uchiha clan's situation is not much better than that of the Uzumaki clan back then, and the Uzumaki clan has become a victim of the rivalry between ninja villages.

However, Shisui didn't have a good solution for leading the Uchiha clan through their current predicament.

Although he escaped the influence of Kotoamatsukami and the Uchiha clan escaped the fate of being wiped out, all of this stemmed from the guidance of that mysterious person during his imprisonment.

Without the intervention of the mysterious figure, he would probably have already committed suicide by jumping off a cliff, and the Uchiha clan would have been wiped out of the ninja world.

Choice is more important than effort.

Once again at the crossroads of fate, Shizuku begins to anticipate the mysterious man's reappearance.

Since the other party can save the clan from extermination, they must be able to solve the Uchiha clan's current predicament.

While Shisui was worrying about the future of the Uchiha clan, Naruto had already found him and smiled as he looked at him, saying:

"Isn't this Shisui of the Body Flicker who led the Uchiha on their escape? Why are you hiding in a corner, lost in thought? If your followers saw you like this, they would probably be even more worried about the future of the Uchiha."

Upon hearing the familiar voice, Shisui suddenly raised his head and saw a familiar figure.

Chapter 74 The Remnants of the Vortex

Appearance and physique can be disguised with transformation techniques, but the Sharingan doesn't lie.

After identifying the person through his Sharingan, Shisui felt much more at ease.

Although the other party imprisoned him and stole his Kotoamatsukami Sharingan, they provided a solution that genuinely saved the Uchiha clan and changed their fate of extermination.

From this perspective, the other party is at least much more reliable than the Konoha leadership and clan leader Fugaku.

Thinking of this, Shisui gave a bitter smile: "Let them see it if they want. Leading a clan is much more difficult than I imagined. I can't even guarantee my clansmen that we won't be hunted down by Konoha tomorrow."

Naruto nodded slightly and said with a light laugh, "Choices come at a price. If you had chosen to control the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and launch a coup a few hours ago, you might be the Fifth Hokage by now. But you gave up that choice."

Shisui knew Naruto was joking, but he still shook his head with a serious expression:

"The security forces are no match for the Konoha leadership. Even if the coup succeeds, the Sannin of Konoha will not stand idly by. The Uchiha will not be able to hold the Hokage position. The situation will be even worse than it is now."

Naruto nodded. The lack of high-end combat power was indeed one of the reasons for the failure of the Uchiha coup.

However, if Shisui and Itachi fully support Fugaku Uchiha, there is still hope of success. After all, the Konoha leadership is not monolithic, and there are conflicts of interest among them.

However, the internal divisions within the Uchiha clan were even greater than those within the Konoha leadership, so this coup was a joke from the start.

After a moment of silence, Shisui asked hesitantly, "The Uchiha have already evacuated Konoha, and their new clan location has not yet been determined. Do you have any plans?"

"Arrangements?" Naruto glanced at Shisui, his gaze turning playful.

"You can arrange the new clan territory yourselves. The ninja world is so big, there will always be a place for the Uchiha."

"No, the Uchiha clan cannot do without your help. I would like to hear your opinion." In front of Naruto, Shisui was very humble, completely lacking the domineering manner he displayed at the clan meeting.

On one hand, it was the other party's advice that saved the Uchiha clan, and on the other hand, it was the other party's strength.

He originally thought the mysterious man was just an ordinary Jonin who was after the Sharingan and that's why he attacked him. But judging from the Jinchuriki riot last night, the mysterious man's strength is probably comparable to the Five Kage.

After all, the riots of Jinchūriki cannot be a mere coincidence.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and said bluntly, "Why should I help you? I helped you before because of your Mangekyou Sharingan, but you don't have a second Mangekyou Sharingan now. I'm not very interested in the three-tomoe Sharingan."

Zhi Shui's expression changed slightly; he indeed had no bargaining chips to offer the other party.

After a moment's hesitation, Shisui cautiously said, "Aren't you looking forward to change? You should be very interested in the Uchiha clan, who defected from Konoha, flourishing and prospering. Moreover, you can also gain the loyalty of the Uchiha clan."

Naruto glanced at Shisui. Had Shisui actually taken his casual remark seriously?

However, one of his goals was to keep the Uchiha clan active in the ninja world and divert Konoha's attention; otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to the trouble of traveling over twenty kilometers to find the fleeing Uchiha.

"I cannot bear the responsibility of Uchiha loyalty..."

Just as Naruto was about to continue fooling Shisui, he suddenly sensed a surge of chakra approaching and frowned.

Shisui also noticed the commotion not far away and looked in the direction Naruto was looking.

Not long after, Uchiha Izumi appeared before the two. She looked at Shisui and said anxiously, "Shisui-nii, the camp is short of medical supplies. Should we abandon some of the seriously wounded?"

"Abandon the seriously wounded..."

Shisui's face was shrouded in gloom. He did not want to abandon any of his followers, but the shortage of medical supplies was a reality he had to face. He had to make a decision in a short time, or more people would die.

At that moment, Shisui suddenly remembered that there was an extremely skilled medical ninja in front of him, and asked, "Could you please help the wounded? We will offer appropriate compensation."

"How much?" Naruto asked succinctly; he never did anything that would lose money.

Zhi Shui paused for a moment, then cautiously said, "Two hundred thousand taels for minor injuries, one million taels for serious injuries, what do you think?"

So many… Naruto coughed and then explained, “Lead the way. I’m not greedy, I just can’t bear to see anyone get hurt. I used to be a medical ninja, I’m very professional.”

Zhi Shui was speechless; this mysterious big shot certainly had a straightforward personality.

However, the Uchiha clan is large and powerful, and problems that can be solved with money are not really problems. The most urgent task is to carry out rescue operations for the clan members, as the clan members are the most important.

After agreeing on a price, the three headed towards the Uchiha camp.

Along the way, Izumi Uchiha glanced at Naruto curiously a few times, noticing that Shisui was being a little too respectful towards him.

Senior Shisui dealt a swift and decisive blow to the opposition within his clan, leading his clan to escape from Konoha. Yet, this powerful senior displayed a humble demeanor.

Izumi's subtle movements did not escape Naruto's notice, but he did not pay much attention to the Uchiha girl.

In his memory, this girl was an Uchiha genius who had awakened the three-tomoe Sharingan at a young age. If she grew up smoothly, she would become an elite Jonin-level powerhouse in the future.

However, she secretly loved Itachi Uchiha, but ultimately died with her mother on the night of the clan massacre.

However, his appearance changed the fate of the Uchiha clan's annihilation, and he didn't know how much change this group of Uchiha would bring to the ninja world in the future.