Early the next morning, Tianti walked toward the training ground, heavy with thoughts.
The oppression and despair of last night had not dissipated; instead, they seemed even more vivid in the clear morning light.
While he appeared to be walking, he was actually repeatedly deducing various possibilities in his mind, searching for that glimmer of survival.
Just then, rapid footsteps and whispers suppressed with anger came from ahead.
He looked up and saw three Uchiha clansmen walking quickly toward the Clan Head’s residence.
He knew all three of them; they were all Three-Tomoe users within the clan, and their strength was not to be underestimated.
The one leading them was his cousin from his own branch, Uchiha Yanhuo.
All three had clear expressions of grief, indignation, and anxiety on their faces.
“A suicide note? Something fishy?”
Tianti’s heart stirred, and he immediately guessed a few things.
This was the very fuse in his memory that triggered the final direct conflict between Itachi and the clan!
He made a decision in an instant.
“Cousin Yanhuo!”
Tianti stepped forward quickly and blocked their path.
The three stopped.
When Uchiha Yanhuo saw it was Tianti, his expression softened slightly, and he nodded.
“Oh, it’s you, Tianti. I heard you unlocked the Three Tomoe. Congratulations.”
His tone was a bit hurried.
“We have urgent business right now.”
“Where are you all going?”
Tianti feigned ignorance, his gaze sweeping over the three.
“Looking at your expressions… what happened?”
Yanhuo exchanged a glance with the other two and lowered his voice, his fists clenched tight.
“We found Shisui’s suicide note! But this matter… is very suspicious! The content of the note and the way it appeared are all wrong! We are on our way to find Itachi and get to the bottom of this!”
His voice carried irrepressible anger and sorrow.
“Shisui… he was the number one genius of our clan! How could he possibly…”
Tianti displayed a look of shock and grief at the opportune moment.
“Shisui… is he really dead?! What on earth is going on?”
His reaction was genuine, containing both sorrow for Shisui’s passing and suspicion about the strange circumstances.
Yanhuo thought of Tianti’s newly unlocked Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and seemed to feel he was qualified to know and participate in this matter.
He said in a deep voice:
“It’s not convenient to go into details, but we must ask Itachi in person! He was the last person to have contact with Shisui, and he is also… Hmph!”
Tianti immediately said:
“I’ll go with you! Shisui also showed me kindness; if there are truly hidden circumstances behind his death, I cannot just sit idly by!”
His tone was resolute, while inwardly he thought:
An opportunity!
This might be the best time to observe Itachi’s current state and strength up close, and also verify some speculations.
Yanhuo hesitated slightly, looked at Tianti’s determined eyes and those authentic Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and nodded.
“Fine! Another person means more strength! But remember, listen to me, and don’t be impulsive.”
The four said no more and quickly headed toward the Clan Head’s residence.
Tianti followed behind the three, his heart beating faster involuntarily.
He knew that a highly unequal test was about to begin.
They arrived outside the Clan Head’s residence and happened to run into Uchiha Itachi, who was just leaving.
Itachi was still wearing his Anbu uniform; his face was pale and his eyes were hollow, as if he were preparing to head to the Anbu.
Seeing the four men approaching aggressively, especially the undisguised anger in their eyes, Itachi’s footsteps paused slightly, but there was no change in his expression.
“Itachi!”
Yanhuo stepped forward, suppressing his anger, and held up a piece of paper.
“We found Shisui’s suicide note! There are some things you need to explain!”
The three asked about various details in a routine manner, as well as the scene where Itachi last saw Shisui.
Itachi recounted the story he had already prepared.
But everyone didn’t believe for a second that Shisui had committed suicide…
The intention to suspect that Itachi had a direct connection to Shisui’s death was glaringly obvious!
Itachi’s gaze swept over the suicide note indifferently, then passed over Yanhuo and the others, finally resting on Tianti for less than half a second.
That gaze was as cold as if he were looking at a stone by the roadside.
“If you have something to say, just say it! Are you suspecting that I killed Shisui?!”
This almost indifferent and perfunctory attitude instantly ignited the anger of Yanhuo and the others.
“You bastard! What kind of attitude is that?!”
Another clansman shouted angrily:
“Shisui was your best friend! You treat his death so lightly?! The suicide note clearly—”
“Enough.”
Yanhuo raised his hand.
“You’re right… we are indeed suspecting you, you brat!”
The three, Yanhuo and the others, stepped forward almost simultaneously, and three pairs of Three-Tomoe Sharingan flared to life.
The scarlet light appeared eerie and full of oppressive pressure under the morning sun.
Powerful Chakra and ocular power fluctuations instantly permeated the area, and the surrounding air seemed to solidify.
The test begins!
Facing the pressure from multiple Three-Tomoe Uchiha with maxed-out anger, Itachi finally made a move.
He slowly raised his head.
The moment he raised his head—
Tianti only felt an indescribable, massive ocular power surging toward him like a tsunami!
That was not simple Chakra pressure; that was a gaze from a higher level of existence!
Itachi’s eyes changed in an instant, also activating the Three Tomoe!
“Not good!”
Alarm bells rang in Tianti’s mind.
Almost instinctively, he concentrated his Chakra on defense, while simultaneously exploding with his fastest speed to retreat backward!
However, Yanhuo and the others were not so lucky.
From their perspective, they saw Itachi’s figure flicker, approaching at an unimaginably fast speed, and then an irresistible taijutsu attack landed on them.
“Bang!”
“Bang!”
“Ah!”
Muffled thuds and short exclamations rang out almost simultaneously.
The three, Uchiha Yanhuo and his companions, couldn’t even mount a decent counterattack.
It was as if they had been struck by an invisible giant hammer; their bodies flew backward like kites with severed strings, crashing heavily outside the gate!
For a moment, they couldn’t even struggle to get up, only expressions of disbelief, shock, and pain remaining on their faces.
One-shot!
A true, helpless, one-shot defeat!
Although Tianti had managed to avoid the direct impact by relying on his foreknowledge and defensive retreat.
But merely the aftermath and that fleeting gaze made his eyes sting and his brain dizzy.
His back was instantly soaked in cold sweat, and he stumbled several steps before barely managing to stand steady, his face deathly pale.
How could he be this strong?!
Tianti roared inwardly, his Three Tomoe spinning wildly, resisting the residual ocular power impact and the raging waves in his heart.
No!
That’s not right!
Even if both are Three Tomoe, and even if Itachi’s talent is unparalleled, it is absolutely impossible for him to subdue all three of them in one blow so effortlessly while they were on full alert!
This defies logic!
Unless…
An ice-cold, bone-chilling conjecture slithered into Tianti’s mind like a viper.