Chapter 124: The Experiment

"Itachi and Shisui are good kids. With them, how could the village not prosper?"

"As for the Uchiha, with Itachi, Shisui, and working alongside Danzo, this time, we can definitely deal them a critical blow—total annihilation is even possible."

"Even if Itachi and Shisui have second thoughts, with Danzo there, it's enough!"

From the moment the Uchiha emerged, they were no longer a problem.

As for Itsuki's strength, so what?

As long as he doesn't reach the level of Hashirama Senju or Madara Uchiha, personal strength can't determine the overall outcome.

"Lord Hokage! Something terrible has happened!"

As the Third Hokage was reflecting, an urgent voice called out.

The Third's face immediately darkened.

"You're the one who has something terrible going on! I've just begun my grand plan, soon to become a legend in the ninja world, and you're here cursing me?"

Once the Sarutobi clan takes the helm of Konoha, he plans to replace this batch of Anbu.

He wanted an Anbu loyal only to the Sarutobi clan!

The current Anbu are loyal to him, yes, but their true loyalty is to the Hokage, to Konoha!

An Anbu member rushed over, knelt on one knee, and said, "Suna, Kumo, and Iwa—all of their ninja armies have been assassinated. They insist Konoha is responsible."

The Third Hokage's voice trembled: "What?"

What the hell?

Danzo, what did you do...? Wait, Danzo went to the Kumo border—it couldn't have been him.

The Third quickly interrupted his own train of thought.

He silently reminded himself that such thoughts were dangerous.

So who could it be?

Uchiha Itsuki?

The Anbu urgently said, "Lord Hokage, according to reliable information, these three ninja villages have decided to declare war on Konoha."

"What exactly is going on?"

The Third Hokage was furious.

The Anbu quickly presented the gathered intelligence to the Hokage.

After reading it, the Third's head started to pound.

"What is all this?"

Fuming, he said, "A ninja claiming to be Uchiha Itsuki, dressed in Anbu uniform, wearing Konoha's headband, went to the three ninja villages to stir up trouble?"

Is this a performance?

With a grim expression, he asked, "Has Uchiha Itsuki left the village?"

"No!" 

The Anbu answered honestly.

"Then why aren't you investigating this right now to figure out what's happening?"

The Third roared.

Lately, his temper had been growing more irritable.

Mostly because his subordinates were incompetent.

Did they really think they could blame everything on Danzo and Uchiha Itsuki?

"Yes!"

The Anbu shuddered in fear and quickly left.

The Third turned to face the empty air, asking, "What is Uchiha Itsuki doing?"

"He's been going back and forth between the crematorium and the Uchiha clan grounds. His house in the clan grounds has been fully repaired, and even the Yuhi family visits less often."

A voice responded from the void.

"So, this isn't Uchiha Itsuki's doing?"

"Not necessarily," the void replied. "Based on the style..."

It's too much like Itsuki's antics.

Wearing a prominent Konoha headband—this kind of style is almost impossible to attribute to anyone else in the entire ninja world besides Itsuki.

The Third Hokage obviously thought of this as well, furrowing his brow.

If it was Itsuki, how did he pull it off?

Appearing simultaneously in Konoha, Iwa, Suna, and Kumo?

Shadow Clone Jutsu?

Ridiculous!

Using shadow clones continuously drains chakra—traveling to all those places from Konoha? His chakra would never hold up.

Unless he's a Jinchuriki!

Is Itsuki a Jinchuriki?

Flying Thunder God Jutsu?

Using it for long-distance travel consumes even more chakra, making it even less feasible.

Unless he has unlimited chakra.

"Sigh!"

The Third sighed deeply and murmured, "This time, avoiding a fight will be difficult. Koharu, Homura, it's up to you now."

Koharu Utatane would lead 5,000 ninjas on the front lines against Suna.

Homura Mitokado would lead 7,000 ninjas against Iwa.

This time, Konoha was putting everything on the line, bringing out all their resources.

They initially thought it would just be a standoff...

...

"How many ninjas does Konoha have?"

"How many ninjas in the Anbu?"

"How large is the Uchiha clan's territory?"

"How big is Konoha's territory?"

"What's the range of the barrier?"

Itsuki bombarded Itachi with questions, leaving him stunned.

"The Uchiha clan's territory is already massive, not to mention Konoha," Itachi replied, bewildered.

Itsuki scowled, "Just find a place outside their surveillance, and I can use Flying Thunder God Jutsu. A barrier? That's only meant to restrict large-scale ninja armies."

"Brother Itsuki, do you have enough chakra for that?" 

Itachi couldn't help but ask.

The Flying Thunder God requires a lot of chakra, especially when teleporting others.

"Don't worry about that!"

Itsuki looked at the people before him and said, "These are the first batch?"

"Yes, nine people in total!"

This was a trial run.

If Itsuki failed...

Then they'd be in trouble and would need another plan.

So far, the best option was still Flying Thunder God!

"Alright!"

Itsuki patted each of them, marking them with his "go wherever you want" mark.

"Let's go!"

With Itsuki activating the Flying Thunder God Jutsu, all ten of them disappeared.

"Wait—"

Itachi tried to stop them, but they were already gone.

"Sigh!"

Itachi felt a headache coming on.

Why use Flying Thunder God within the clan grounds? 

At most, you can only move to the edge of the clan territory, near the barrier. It's impossible to break through the barrier using Flying Thunder God.

Brother Itsuki, do you really have that much chakra to burn?

As it turns out, yes.

At the clan's barrier, Itsuki stopped.

He stroked his chin, looking at the towering barrier, deep in thought.

He was also experimenting.

When moving alone, he could break through the barrier, but the chakra cost was immense, even for him.

At this moment, bringing others with him, he confirmed he couldn't leave.

In the original story, how did the Fourth Hokage do it?

After Minato Namikaze and Naruto joined forces, they teleported the entire ninja army out of the barrier, delivering a huge blow to the Divine Tree.

That barrier was much stronger than any clan or village barrier.

Reanimation Jutsu!

Itsuki thought of this technique.

After being reanimated, chakra becomes unlimited.

Using the Nine-Tails' chakra as a marker to connect everyone, they were able to transport an entire army.

Right now, Itsuki's chakra was powerful.

He glanced at his system panel.

[Chakra: 22 units (6%)]

Recently, his chakra had increased again.

The equivalent of 22 Kakashi-levels!

This wasn't the current Kakashi, but the one from the original story—the Kakashi who was capable of becoming the next Hokage after Tsunade's incident, and leading Konoha.

In other words, Itsuki had 22 times the chakra of an average Hokage.

Even so...

Itsuki stared at the barrier, falling into silence.

With these nine people, he could break through and successfully return to the new village.

But!

The Uchiha clan's population is at least 4,000 people.

Even if the young ninjas left, there were still 3,000 elderly, women, children, and important servants.

At most, he could transport 20 people at a time, factoring in the time it takes to recover his chakra...

Itsuki thought, even his eyes would end up like Nagato's.

Dizzy!

Itsuki turned to look at the group and said, "Let's try leaving the clan's barrier first."

"Yes, sir!"

The nine cooperated.

"I'm guessing..."

Itsuki stared at the barrier, muttering, "I'll need a different plan."

"Monkey, you might have to kneel."

"Are you going to beg for mercy?!"

(End of Chapter)