News spreads faster in the Uchiha Clan Compound than the Great Fireball Technique.
Yuya walked down a single street carrying a bucket and heard at least four versions of the “confession incident.” Version 1: Uchiha Yuya had a mental breakdown, yelled at Captain Itachi in front of the shrine, and was subdued on the spot.
Version 2: Uchiha Yuya had been secretly in love with Captain Itachi for years, finally gathered the courage to confess, and was left weeping bitterly after being heartlessly rejected.
Version 3: Uchiha Yuya attempted to use the Sexy Technique to get close to Captain Itachi, suspected of being instigated by external forces.
Version 4: The most outrageous one—someone said that Yuya is actually Itachi’s secret lover, and the two have been having an affair for a long time; the confession was just a show put on for the clan members.
While Yuya was drawing water at the well, the whispers of three aunties behind him were clearly audible.
“Let me tell you, that kid definitely has issues.
Someone like Captain Itachi, how could he possibly have any involvement with him?” “You can’t say that.
Think about it, who does Itachi usually get close to?
No one, right?
So now that this Yuya has suddenly popped up, doesn’t that suggest…” “Don’t make things up!
If Captain Itachi liked men, I’d swallow my bucket!” Yuya turned the winch with a blank expression, but inside, he was rolling on the floor laughing.
Good grief, the lethality of Version 4 was truly explosive.
If this reached Itachi’s ears, that living Yama would probably have to work overtime all night writing a clarification report.
Once the bucket was full, he walked back with his head down.
When passing the training grounds, the movements of a few young clansmen practicing shuriken clearly paused for a beat.
No one came up to talk, but the feeling of being scrutinized like a “rare animal” was more than ten times stronger than yesterday.
Yuya hunched his shoulders and quickened his pace, carrying out the persona of a “socially anxious loser” to the end.
Returning to his courtyard and closing the door, he finally allowed his lips to curl up.
Interesting.
For the same event, different people saw completely different things.
The ordinary people in the clan treated it as a joke and a scandal, but those who were quick-witted had already started guessing in the direction of “whether there is a secret connection between Itachi and Yuya.” And outside the clan compound, how would those eyes staring at the Uchiha Clan interpret it?
The answer came that very afternoon.
——— Konoha Anbu Intelligence Processing Room.
A file labeled “Uchiha Clan Compound Daily Monitoring · Supplementary Record” was placed on the duty captain’s desk.
The content was short: [Event ID: U-56-0714-B] [Overview: Low-ranking Uchiha member “Uchiha Yuya” (Genin not yet graduated, no combat record) engaged in a public display of affection toward Uchiha Itachi in front of Naka Shrine.
Based on preliminary assessment, the member’s mental state has been unstable recently, suspected to be a stress reaction caused by the high-pressure atmosphere within the clan.] [Recommendation: Place on the observation list, do not intervene for now.
Avoid stimulating the emotions of the Uchiha Clan Compound due to overreaction.] [Remarks: This member has no intelligence value, no external contact records, and no abnormal financial transactions.
Judged as a noise event.] The duty captain glanced at it, stamped “Read” in the corner of the file, and tossed it into the filing box.
To the Anbu, the Uchiha Clan Compound was currently a powder keg that could explode at any moment.
The mental breakdown of a useless Genin couldn’t even capture one percent of their attention.
——— At the same time, beneath Konoha.
Root.
A report with completely different wording was spread out in front of Danzo.
The author was a Root member lurking on the periphery of the Uchiha Clan Compound; the writing style was cold and rigid, with every word carrying the scent of conspiracy theory.
[… The time, location, and target person chosen by the subject “Uchiha Yuya” are all highly sensitive.
The public declaration of love toward Uchiha Itachi objectively created a large amount of onlookers and discussion, causing the attention within the clan compound to be briefly diverted.] [The following possibilities cannot be ruled out: One, the subject is being utilized by a third-party force, using “mental abnormality” as a cover to transmit some kind of signal to Itachi; Two, the subject is themselves a pawn of some party, testing Itachi’s tolerance threshold for abnormal behavior within the clan.] [Recommendation: Raise the monitoring level, consider secret contact when necessary, and confirm whether there is an instigator behind them.] Danzo put down the report, his single eye half-closed.
A loser who couldn’t even pass the Genin exam, what value could he have?
But the problem was, this loser happened to run into Uchiha Itachi.
And Uchiha Itachi was a key pawn that he and Hiruzen had been positioning for many years.
Any variable that might interfere with Itachi’s judgment was worth a second look.
“Keep watching him.” Danzo only said three words, and the Root member retreated silently.
——— Three reports, three conclusions.
The clansmen thought it was a joke, the Anbu thought it was noise, and the Root thought it was a conspiracy.
And the culprit who created all this was currently squatting in his own courtyard, drawing circles on the ground with a charcoal pencil.
Yuya hadn’t seen those three reports, but he could smell the scent from the reactions of the people around him.
When he went out to draw water today, the patrolling people didn’t deliberately avoid him, but they didn’t completely ignore him like usual either.
Someone was recording his movement trajectory, and someone was observing who he contacted.
This feeling was very subtle.
Before, he was air; now, he was a grain of sand—not big, but already stuck in the gap of the gears.
Good news: He was no longer the transparent cannon fodder on the clan extermination list that could be “cleaned up while they were at it.” When a person is recorded by three parties simultaneously, the cost of dealing with him is no longer zero.
Bad news: The sand is stuck too deep, and the owner of the gears will choose to pick it out and crush it.
Yuya wiped the charcoal marks on the ground with his foot and went back into the room to sit down.
In his mind, the system forum interface lit up again.
The locked status of the previous task had been lifted, and the posting function returned to normal.
A line of prompts appeared at the top of the interface: [Cooldown ended.
Host can post a new request for help.
Note: Once a highly-upvoted suggestion is accepted, the task bar will be locked again.
Please confirm the current environment and time limit before making a decision.] Yuya stared at the input box, tapping his fingers on his knees.
The night of the clan extermination was, at most, less than two days away.
That wave of confession had upgraded him from a “transparent NPC” to a “subject to be observed.” But that wasn’t enough.
“Subject to be observed” meant—Itachi would take one extra look at him when he made his move, but he would still cut him down when it was time.
He needed a harder amulet.
A reason that would make Itachi have to hesitate when swinging his blade.
Not in terms of strength—even if he played the Three Body Technique to perfection right now, it would still just be one strike in front of a Mangekyo.
It had to be in terms of identity, relationship, or information level.
Make the cost of killing him greater than the cost of sparing him.
Yuya typed a line of text in the input box in his mind: [How can I make Uchiha Itachi not dare to cut me down as an ordinary person on the night of the clan extermination?] Send.
The forum refreshed faster than last time.
Probably because the live effect of the first episode “Confessing to Lord Itachi” was too explosive, the goofy netizens were already following this post like a TV series.
Replies flooded the screen instantly.
“1st Floor: I suggest the OP write a will in advance, designating Itachi as the sole heir.
That way, if he kills you, it’s equivalent to killing his own property; a huge loss!” “3rd Floor: Go find Sasuke and tell him you are his future sister-in-law.
No matter how ruthless Itachi is, he can’t cut his sister-in-law in front of his younger brother, right?” “7th Floor: Just go set up a tent and live at Itachi’s doorstep, 24-hour close tracking.
He can’t start a massacre at his own doorstep; it’s too unseemly.” “15th Floor: Fake a pregnancy!
Announce to the outside world that you are pregnant with Itachi’s child!
Although it’s physiologically impossible, it’s mentally very reasonable!” Yuya felt his temples throbbing.
These netizens really didn’t value other people’s lives.
Fake a pregnancy?
He was a man!
Even if the Naruto world was outrageous, the concept of a man getting pregnant was too advanced!
He continued to scroll down.
“23rd Floor: A serious analysis.
The OP’s current problem is that their ‘identity isn’t solid enough.’ You need to create some kind of official binding relationship between yourself and Itachi, so that killing you wouldn’t just be killing a person, but something that would leave a trace.” This one was interesting.
Yuya stopped to look closely.
Immediately after, the likes on a new reply started to skyrocket, even faster than the “Confessing to Lord Itachi” one.
[Top Comment (ID: Archive God of War): Brother, listen to me!
Go to the Uchiha Police Force right now and officially file a ‘Major Life Decision Declaration’—write that you have unilaterally decided to list Uchiha Itachi as your lifelong partner, emergency contact, and heir!
Get both your names written on the official records of all of Konoha!
That way, if Itachi kills you, post-incident checks will reveal the deceased had an ‘official relationship’ with him, and he won’t be able to explain it at all!] [System Prompt: High-popularity suggestion detected.] Yuya stared at the screen, motionless for a long time.
Go to the Uchiha Police Force…
file…
bind his and Itachi’s names on official documents…
These netizens, they really dare to think of anything.