At this moment, Uchiha Izumi was rushing towards the Anbu, her heart in utter turmoil.
A figure appeared!
This startled her, and she leaped back, her eyes transforming into Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
With a flick of her waist, several kunai were swiftly thrown out.
Swish!
Several dull thuds sounded as the kunai pierced through the figure and landed on the pillars behind it.
This made the Masked Man look over, drawn by the pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Oh, nice eyes!" The man wearing a mask turned his head to look at Uchiha Izumi, who held a kunai in her hand, and praised her slightly.
Uchiha Izumi's eyes narrowed, and she brandished her kunai, seemingly repeating the previous experience as they once again passed through.
Only then did she fully see, and she said in disbelief, "How is that possible!"
Could this be the same person who killed the Clan members before? This is bad!
Swish!
The sound of chains rang out, binding her directly. With a gentle tug from the Masked Man, Uchiha Izumi fell before him.
Izumi felt the intense Killing Intent, utterly powerless to resist, revealing a hint of despair, her eyes slightly tearful.
"Help, Itachi!"
However, at this moment, Itachi was facing his father, who had also activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
He was completely unaware of the situation here, while the Masked Man had already raised the scythe in his hand high.
Puff!
A sharp blade was stained crimson, piercing through Izumi's body, and the Life Qi in her beautiful Three-Tomoe Sharingan gradually faded.
The Masked Man reached out and, with a swipe, a pair of Three-Tomoe Sharingan fell into his hand.
He casually discarded the now worthless corpse, his single eye turning slightly to look in the direction Izumi had come from.
"Hmph! I didn't expect those guys to be so diligent in coming. I need to speed things up."
The single eye emitted an invisible gravitational pull that transformed into a vortex, directly swallowing him.
A moment later, a black figure emerged.
"Why bother?"
Neji looked at Izumi with some regret, preparing to leave when...
"Itachi..."
A faint, almost inaudible sound entered Neji's ears, causing him to freeze.
"Sigh!"
Sure enough, despite repeatedly admonishing himself, he still succumbed to the heart of a pervert, turning back to Izumi's side.
After a quick check, she still had a faint breath. The main issue was the penetrating wound in her chest; blood had blocked her trachea, causing a temporary suspended animation.
His hand glowed green. Ah! This righteous light, at this moment, was imbued with a different meaning.
He simply stopped the bleeding, also noticing the eyes that had been dug out.
After treating her, he placed a pair of artificial eyes from his inventory into her sockets.
Byakugan!
Chakra flowed into her eyes, and a 360-degree, unobstructed field of vision appeared.
There was no one in this area, neither Anbu nor Root, who seemed to be waiting in the distance.
This made Neji's lips twitch slightly. Dirty politics. They were still too weak, which is why they needed to resort to such measures.
Otherwise, why would they fear a mere Uchiha Clan? They could just suppress them with a backhand.
After scoffing at the Konoha higher-ups, Neji checked his inventory. He still needed one more pair to complete ten pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
He wasn't going to collect any more. It was time to retreat. Once Uchiha Fugaku was killed, and Itachi reported to the Third Hokage,
this place would become an airtight encirclement, unlike how it was now.
After all, they were afraid of alarming the Uchiha Clan, which is why they dared not approach.
Neji picked up Uchiha Izumi, tore off a piece of cloth from her, along with the Konoha Ninja headband she wore, which had a faint burn mark.
He scattered a handful of black ash, and the cloth drifted down beside them, along with a few slightly singed strands of long hair. He then blended into the night, vanishing without a trace.
On his way back to the capital, Neji also noticed Erzhuzi, who was completely oblivious and heading home.
He sighed inwardly, the protagonist was about to make his appearance. Within the Uchiha Clan, the actors had already set the stage, and the show was about to begin... The next day, the news of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation instantly spread throughout Konoha.
Everyone was shocked by this event. The Uchiha Clan, one of Konoha's top noble families,
had been wiped out overnight!
This was like a nuclear explosion, shaking all of Konoha, with almost everyone discussing it heatedly.
As Konoha issued an S-rank bounty,
Uchiha Itachi, the Genius of the former Uchiha Clan and the Clan Chief's son, became a rogue Ninja, charged with annihilating the Uchiha Clan.
What a mocking and laughable bounty!
Anyone with a bit of sense, after a little thought, would understand what was really going on.
Unfortunately, those who understood wouldn't speak, while the half-witted, under the manipulated public opinion, spread various speculations about why Uchiha Itachi would annihilate his Family.
This solidified the accusation that Uchiha Itachi had annihilated the Uchiha Clan.
Words can melt metal. When the majority believes something to be true, then it becomes true, even if it isn't.
It could be said that Danzo played this hand perfectly, but unfortunately, he still couldn't outplay the Third Hokage.
Neji didn't react much; he maintained his usual aloof persona.
After spending a normal day at the Ninja Academy, he parted ways with Hinata and returned to his personal laboratory.
In the basement, a young girl lay on a bed, bandages visible around her neck and shoulders.
"It seems you're awake, but I advise you not to move around too much, or your wounds will reopen."
Neji said casually, not bothering to disguise his voice.
"Who are you? Why did you save me? What happened to the Uchiha Clan?"
Izumi had woken up much earlier, but she couldn't move due to her weakness.
It was completely dark, and she felt the pain in her chest, guessing that she must have been saved.
She had clearly been killed, but now she was alive, so the person who saved her likely didn't have malicious intentions.
Therefore, she wasn't overly surprised. After all, she was a trained Ninja, and a Genius with the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"No need to guess. The Uchiha Clan is gone. The culprit is Uchiha Itachi, and the only survivor is his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke."
"Impossible, Itachi! How could Itachi do such a thing?!"
Watching Uchiha Izumi's somewhat violent reaction, Neji let out a cold laugh.
"You should understand why!"
Izumi immediately fell silent. She had long realized that Itachi had a very important secret he couldn't share.
She had always wanted to guide him, believing that one day, she could make him open up.
But now, it was clear there was no longer any opportunity.
After a long silence, Izumi slowly spoke, "Were my eyes taken by that Masked Man?"
"Yes!"
"Why did you save me?"
"I need you!"
Silence fell once more. Neji didn't explain what he needed, and Izumi didn't ask again.
As for what both of them were thinking, perhaps only they themselves understood.
"So... am I considered dead now?"
"Yes!"
After a long silence, Izumi didn't speak again, and Neji resumed his work.
"Is there anything else you want to ask? Don't keep it to yourself, just ask!"
For this excellent test subject, Uchiha Izumi, who could even be trained as an assistant, Neji didn't mind telling her a few things.
He didn't even need to impose any restrictions, because smart people understood their own situation.
"Who are you?"
"Hyuga Neji!"
"That Hyuga Neji who dug out his own eyes?!"
Izumi, whose tone had been lifeless except for the mention of Itachi, finally showed some reaction this time.
"What do you want from me?"
"Everything!"
Grandis: "Warrior, I've been waiting for you."