In the evening, Neji sat cross-legged in his laboratory, his Kenbunshoku Haki spread out.
Lately, after sensing an unusual atmosphere in Konoha, he would do this every day.
After all, there was no precise time or landmark event before the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
But today, his Kenbunshoku Haki finally detected something different: Uchiha Sasuke's routine, which was suddenly abnormal.
He usually went home early, but today he was uncharacteristically entangled in various matters outside, lingering for a long time, and Neji sensed that something was amiss.
He also recalled that this morning, Hiashi had uncharacteristically instructed him to go home early today and not to go out at night if there was nothing important.
He immediately reacted, understanding that the Night of the Massacre was approaching.
Originally, he hadn't paid much attention, but now it seemed that Hiashi might also know some things, though perhaps not precisely what would happen.
However, he had definitely been warned or hinted at by the Third Hokage, which was very much in line with the style of that old "Ninja Hero."
Watching the sky gradually darken outside, Neji began to organize the items he had prepared.
A set of Anbu clothes, an animal mask, and a human-face mask.
Special solvent bottles for preserving Sharingan were displayed in the inventory.
Neji put on the Anbu uniform, donned the animal mask, and performed the Transformation Jutsu, one of the Three Basic Jutsu.
Neji had prepared these items long ago, and his inventory was filled with necessities.
Accompanied by a puff of smoke, a normal-height, unremarkable Anbu appeared in the laboratory.
Then, he changed his hand seals again, transforming into several disguised Neji, nodding to each other.
His Chakra Clone Jutsu, which combined his Clone skills, produced physical Clones.
These physical Clones would only disappear after taking a certain amount of damage.
There were two drawbacks: Firstly, these physical Clones had no independent consciousness and could only be controlled by him personally. This was manageable with his Byakugan and Kenbunshoku Haki.
With a 360-degree view and hearing in all directions, controlling them from a god's-eye perspective was not a problem.
Secondly, the injuries or even sensations of these Clones would not be relayed back to him.
This was actually both an advantage and a disadvantage, but it couldn't be used for training like a Shadow Clone.
However, it proved useful for dealing with this Uchiha Clan Massacre.
His main goal this time was to secretly pick up "scraps" behind Itachi and Obito, collecting as many Three-Tomoe Sharingan as possible before Danzo's Root cleaned up.
He triple-checked for any forgotten items or parts that might expose him, finally confirming everything.
"Tonight, I absolutely cannot act on impulse, nor can I save anyone."
"The principle is to pick up scraps behind two lunatics, but I cannot let them discover me. If discovered, they can only believe I am a Root member."
"Collect Three-Tomoe Sharingan. At least five pairs of eyes. Retreat as soon as I have ten pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan, no hesitation!"
Neji warned himself that he absolutely could not act impulsively like in the Pirate World again. One mishap was enough; he absolutely could not make another mistake this time.
As the secret door opened, several physical Clones instantly used Shunpo to dart out, silently.
They merged into the dark night, heading towards the Uchiha Clan... At this moment, within the Uchiha Clan, with a muffled sound, a body fell to the ground.
A pair of crimson eyes mercilessly slaughtered everything, expressionless, without the slightest hesitation.
It was the double agent, the hope of the Uchiha Clan, Uchiha Itachi.
For the peace of the Village, he had made a choice between the Village and his Family.
He personally slaughtered the most unstable element within Konoha, which was his own Uchiha Clan.
On the other side, a one-eyed Uzumaki masked man was also massacring people extensively within the Police Force.
His untouchable space made him invincible, allowing him to kill with ease.
And several black figures quietly followed behind the two, picking up "parts."
There were many Uchiha with Three-Tomoe Sharingan. Neji had subtly ascertained this information beforehand, to avoid not knowing which ones possessed Three-Tomoe Sharingan once he arrived.
"Tsk tsk! It truly is tragic."
Neji controlled his physical psychic Clones, looking at the trail of bodies. Almost all were killed with a single blow, without any sloppiness.
"I need to hurry. Before Danzo sends people, I need to collect as many as ten pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan as possible. I'll also collect a few Two-Tomoe and One-Tomoe Sharingan."
"After all, that guy Obito is also collecting eyeballs. If a portion is missing, he'll take the blame. No worries!"
In this world of scapegoating and Russian dolls, as long as one acts secretly, others will naturally speculate, and others will step up to take the blame. He couldn't help but sigh, so many scapegoats!
Neji's Clone expertly pried open eyes with one hand and dug with the other, smoothly, as he had personally dug out his own eyes before.
Each Sharingan was placed into a small bottle and stored in his inventory.
Like diligent bees, they checked each one. Those that met the criteria were collected directly; those that didn't were ignored.
He continued deeper step by step, until he reached the Police Force, where his progress was almost catching up to Obito's.
"Who's there!"
A sound of air being cut rang out, and a kunai was dodged by Neji's psychic Clone.
Neji frowned, almost thinking he had been discovered, even though Obito and Itachi should both be massacring over there.
He looked at the person who had just ambushed him.
A pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan, a beautiful face, wearing a Ninja headband, yet very young.
Uchiha Izumi?
Itachi's little fangirl, why would she be here?
Neji glanced around. Not far behind him was the Police Force, from which the sounds of slaughter faintly emanated.
It seemed this path followed the anime route, not the manga or novel route.
Neji placed a pair of Sharingan into a container and stored them in his inventory, looking at Izumi, who was on guard.
Izumi's heart was in turmoil at this moment, looking at the man in front of her who seemed to be an Anbu.
And the bodies of Uchiha Clan members on the ground. She couldn't understand what was happening today.
Was this guy truly an Anbu? Why was he taking the Sharingan?
Had someone invaded Konoha, or had he killed her clan members?
Uchiha Izumi's crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan observed her surroundings, gathering intelligence.
Neji did not speak, but silently vanished into the night. Uchiha Izumi did not attack.
She could mostly deduce that the other party's black clothes and mask were spotless, without any signs of combat.
And the clan members' injuries were severe, making it unlikely that he was the one who did it.
Especially since the other party, upon being attacked, did not retaliate immediately but retreated.
So, if it wasn't the Anbu, then someone else was slaughtering the Uchiha Clan members!
Uchiha Izumi's heart jolted, and her gaze turned towards the Police Force. She had to inform everyone immediately.
Neji watched Izumi head towards the Police Force, sighing softly, "Don't blame me."
"I don't have the ability to save you now. I hope the little time I delayed might allow you to escape harm."
However, it was probably impossible. As long as she still wanted to enter the clan to warn the Uchiha people, death was inevitable.
If she had chosen to notify Konoha for help first, she probably wouldn't have died.
Neji remained silent, quietly heading towards the Police Force, waiting for the slaughter to end.
Young Miss Izumi is quite cute. Indeed, one's worldview follows one's facial features.