Clang!
In an instant, Yuahara was in front of Uchiha Itachi, his blade slashing straight for Itachi's throat. The strike was ruthless, showing no mercy, but Itachi's reaction was just as swift—his own blade intercepted the blow at the last moment.
Yuahara hadn't used his full strength, nor had he used Voidstep.
He needed to stay on guard against a sneak attack from Obito, and he also wanted to see what choice Fugaku would make in the end.
Thankfully, Fugaku only gave Itachi a cold glance before focusing all his attention on Obito, fully alert. That alone spoke volumes—and so Yuahara began to go all in.
With a twist of his blade, he launched another sharp strike at Itachi from an unexpected angle.
Itachi quickly used the Substitution Jutsu, vanishing into a puff of smoke as two chunks of wood hit the ground. He reappeared beside a nearby house, face tense.
Everything was a mess in his mind. He'd thought Shisui was the only one in the clan with Mangekyō Sharingan. He'd never imagined that his own father—and the once equally famed Yuahara—both had it too.
And now Yuahara was the new clan head, who had just declared him exiled from the clan!
Seeing the cold, unfamiliar stares from Shisui and his father made Itachi feel like he couldn't breathe.
How did it all come to this? Why had things spiraled so far?
"Clan Head."
Fugaku took a step forward and bowed slightly to Yuahara, then looked at Itachi with quiet resolve.
"Please, allow me to deal with this sinner myself. I must atone for the consequences of my failure."
He didn't even call Itachi by name—and Yuahara could clearly see Fugaku's icy determination.
But after a moment's thought, Yuahara shook his head and said calmly:
"Fugaku, I appreciate it. But neither you nor Shisui should have to fight him.
"It's not about trust—it's that your ties to him run too deep. It would be cruel to force you to do this.
"But there is someone more deserving of your blade—the one who brought ruin to Konoha and dragged the Uchiha down with him stands before us now.
"Shisui. Fugaku. I task you both with killing him—for the Uchiha's redemption."
With that, Yuahara once again walked toward Itachi, blade in hand.
Fugaku sighed softly, but turned with Shisui to face Obito. Their eyes burned with killing intent.
Yuahara's removal of Fugaku as clan head wasn't the problem—Fugaku blamed himself for his own failings. And now, the one who had caused the Uchiha to fall into this chaos stood right there in front of him. How could he possibly hold back?
"I don't know who you are. I don't care who you are. But eight years ago, you released the Nine-Tails. You killed the Fourth Hokage and his wife."
Fugaku gritted his teeth, chakra radiating with chilling fury.
"You're the reason the Uchiha were driven into a corner. And now it's time we settled this debt, you filthy, sewer-dwelling rat!"
With that, Fugaku charged, and Shisui followed with blade drawn. They both despised Obito with everything they had.
If not for this man, would the Uchiha have ended up like this?
Shisui had completely written Itachi off the moment Yuahara exposed Obito's identity. If Itachi had chosen to side with someone like that and bring destruction upon the Uchiha, then he didn't deserve the name Uchiha at all.
From the moment Yuahara cast him out, Itachi had become nothing more than an enemy.
Fugaku and Shisui attacked Obito while Yuahara again faced Itachi.
Yuahara remained extremely cautious. Though he was strong—with his Mangekyō and the system's power-ups giving him confidence even against Shisui—he couldn't afford to be careless.
Especially since he still didn't know what abilities Itachi's Mangekyō held.
Clang!
A flash of blue blade light shot forth as Itachi swiftly blocked again with his own short sword. But Yuahara's follow-up strikes gave him no breathing room.
With every swing, blades of Wind Release chakra whipped around like slicing winds, keeping Itachi completely on the defensive.
His swordsmanship simply couldn't compare. All he could do was retreat and dodge, over and over.
The clash of metal rang out again and again, and Itachi grew more and more strained. He'd never expected Yuahara to be this strong.
More than anything, he didn't understand—how had Yuahara awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan? When did it happen?
But he knew Yuahara wouldn't tell him—just like he hadn't explained how he'd become clan head.
Clang!
Another fierce clash. This time, Itachi quickly used the Body Flicker Jutsu to widen the distance, then began rapidly weaving hand signs as his chakra surged.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"Pathetic."
Yuahara snorted, charging forward without hesitation.
But just then, he suddenly felt a strong danger—instinctively, he dodged to the side.
A sharp, whistling projectile grazed his sleeve. He didn't even have to look to know it was Itachi's doing.
"Oh? A fireball to block vision, then a sneak attack. Clever."
Yuahara's eyes scanned quickly. In an instant, he locked onto Itachi's position and lunged.
Then he saw it—blood-tears running from Itachi's eyes. A strange chakra began spreading through the air.
Heat rippled outward as black flames suddenly erupted in Yuahara's vision.
The moment they appeared, he understood—one of Itachi's Mangekyō abilities was Amaterasu.
Which meant the other one was likely Tsukuyomi.
Yuahara was genuinely curious how Itachi had awakened his eyes and obtained these powers, but it didn't matter.
Because Sharingan had tiers. Mangekyō had tiers, too.
Yuahara was going to make Itachi understand the difference—before he died.
(End of Chapter)