"You are... Uchiha..."
Uchiha Itachi stared at Genya, still shocked in his heart, but the words slipped out of his mouth.
If it's confirmed that it's Uchiha Genya, then the explanation for the small stature of the black-robed assassin becomes clear—he's not a dwarf, nor using a ninjutsu or genjutsu. He's just a six-year-old child.
"Shut up. If you dare expose my identity, the first person I'll kill is your little brother!"
Before Itachi could finish his words, Genya's deep voice echoed in his ear.
He couldn't let his identity be exposed yet, so he didn't want Itachi to reveal his name! That was a bottom line!
Itachi was startled and couldn't help but glance at Sasuke.
At that moment, he saw someone standing beside Uchiha Sasuke. It was none other than Uchiha Genya.
Moreover, Genya was now looking at him with a half-smile, and Itachi's heart skipped a beat!
Was that also Genya's clone? No wonder no one suspected him!
At the same time, his heart was filled with astonishment!
Shocked by Genya's clones, there were several of them, and to his surprise, they also possessed the fighting ability to match his own!
A bitter expression appeared on his face.
He had once prided himself as a genius of the Uchiha clan, looking down on everyone in the clan, but Uchiha Genya had long surpassed him. At such a young age, he already possessed such power!
He was not as good... not as good... as Genya.
A sense of hopelessness began to creep into his heart.
Itachi Uchiha also understood that if Genya possessed this kind of strength, he could very well become the next Madara and lead the Uchiha clan to its most glorious heights.
"You shouldn't stop me!" Itachi Uchiha finally softened his emotions a bit and said to Genya, "The Uchiha clan is already heading toward extinction. Even if you try to stop me, there's no way to save the Uchiha clan!"
"That's just your own idea. If there's a chance, people have to fight for it!" Genya Uchiha sneered and looked at Itachi, continuing, "If they dare to harm the Uchiha clan again, I won't hesitate to pay a visit to the Sarutobi clan and the Shimura clan!"
As Genya said this, even Itachi could feel the cold killing intent coming from him!
"If you keep going down this path, you will only weaken Konoha's strength even more!" Itachi Uchiha frowned, seemingly trying to explain the consequences to Genya.
"Heh. What do I care about Konoha when I'm losing my family?" Genya scoffed. Since both sides had already torn their masks, if Konoha dared to strike against the Uchiha clan again, he would really destroy the Sarutobi clan: "Itachi, your clan is just another one of village!"
Itachi Uchiha fell silent. He knew Genya wasn't just talking nonsense.
"Since you've figured me out, I won't waste any more time!" Genya Uchiha said, looking at Itachi. "As long as I'm here, you can't kill anyone. If you kill any Uchiha, I can't guarantee your brother will stay safe!"
The reason he hadn't directly threatened before was because he was worried that Itachi would snap, and also concerned that Itachi might really abandon Sasuke to complete Konoha's mission.
There was also a bit of selfishness in his mind: he wanted to completely ruin the Uchiha clan's reputation in Konoha and have the people fully support the Merchant Association.
Once that happened, with the people's support, the Uchiha Merchant Association would take full control of the Uchiha clan, and his father would become the clan leader!
The Uchiha clan would unite like never before, with no one opposing it.
But now, Itachi Uchiha had already been controlled, his identity exposed, and using Sasuke's life to threaten Itachi seemed reasonable!
Even if Itachi snapped, he could control him now!
"You..." Itachi Uchiha had no words, but he threatened back, "If you dare to kill Sasuke, I will kill people from the Uchiha Merchant Association, especially your father, Uchiha Kinya. I don't believe you'll stay in Konoha forever!"
At this moment, Itachi Uchiha also made a tough statement. Genya knew that Sasuke was Itachi's weakness, and Itachi knew Genya's weakness as well.
"Heh. You can try." Genya sneered, "I wonder if you'll even make it out of Konoha today."
The moment Itachi mentioned harming his father, Genya no longer wanted to let him go.
But the voices of the two were so soft that the people around barely heard them!
Masked Obito continued to watch the battle with great interest.
It seemed like the situation in the battle changed, and the two seemed to have started talking.
Itachi seemed to have recognized the assassin's identity, but... the assassin stopped him. The two appeared to be negotiating.
Masked Obito looked at Genya, puzzled: "Itachi seems to have recognized your identity and looked really shocked!"
"Of course he'd be shocked!" Genya's clone chuckled and then looked at Obito: "You should be shocked too after seeing me!"
"Haha, shocked?" Masked Obito laughed. With his somewhat ridiculous personality, he looked at Genya: "Unless you're still a six or seven-year-old child!"
He believed that nothing in this world could shock him anymore, unless the assassin in front of him was Uchiha Madara himself.
So, with his usual absurdity, he made a comment about Genya's height, almost as if mocking and insulting him by calling him a dwarf!
After all, in his view, someone who knew so many ninjutsu couldn't possibly be a five or six-year-old kid. And even mastering a technique like the Flying Thunder God would take a long time to perfect.
But Genya just smiled and shook his head without answering!
Masked Obito was actually right.
At the Hokage's office, Sarutobi Hiruzen was watching carefully through the crystal ball when suddenly the battle stopped!
He even saw the shock, intensity, and disbelief in Itachi's eyes.
Hiruzen's first thought was that Itachi must have seen the assassin's face, or perhaps guessed their identity!
But through the crystal ball, he couldn't see anything unusual.
It was like the black flames had dissipated for a moment. Could the assassin have used the black flames to cover his eyes because there was something special about them? Did Itachi recognize the assassin's identity by his eyes?
Then, from Itachi's lip movements, it seemed like he had said "Uchiha."
This makes sense now. No wonder the assassin used black flames to cover his eyes—he was afraid of exposing his Sharingan. When the Uchiha clan was in trouble, he was the first to act!
Could it have been some ancient Uchiha?
He thought about it for a moment before shaking his head.
"Itachi won't be able to complete this mission. It's time for this old man to step in." Sarutobi Hiruzen watched the figure in the crystal ball. His aged voice echoed, and slowly, he stood up. "The farce should come to an end."
The crystal ball went still. He took a step forward and walked toward the exit.
Things had escalated so much; it was time for him to clean up the mess. If Itachi and the assassin were both gravely injured, he would step in and finish them off!
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