"Who are you?" Uchiha Akira asked as he looked at the figure before him.
Even though he already knew Tobi's true identity, Uchiha Akira pretended not to know.
The current confrontation was only due to the Uchiha Massacre Night. Once this was over, they would each return to their own business, and there wouldn't be much contact for a long time.
But if he showed that he had already figured out Tobi's identity, Tobi would inevitably focus more attention on him.
Since he didn't yet have the power to crush Tobi, why not save himself some trouble?
The Eight Gates technique was strong, no doubt, but it was a trump card for critical moments, not something to be used as a regular power.
Even if he could successfully exploit the loophole, the excruciating pain that came with opening the Seventh Gate—the feeling of his flesh tearing apart—was enough to make him shudder.
The pain from opening the Eighth Gate would surely be even more terrifying.
"Me? I'm Uchiha Madara," Tobi said, slowly pulling down the hood of his cloak. Behind the mask, his right eye revealed a Sharingan with three tomoe.
He deliberately lowered his voice as he spoke to Uchiha Akira.
"Star-Lord, is that you?" Uchiha Akira suddenly blurted out.
He recalled how, in a past life, in a certain movie, Star-Lord, normally a goofy character, had imitated Thor's deep voice when they first met.
This moment was eerily similar to that scene.
Come to think of it, Uchiha Tobi also had a somewhat goofy personality.
But here he was, intentionally lowering his voice, pretending to be Uchiha Madara!
"???"
Luckily for Tobi, his face was hidden behind the mask, so his expression couldn't be seen.
At this moment, the expression behind the mask was probably one of utter confusion.
He had just declared himself as Uchiha Madara! Akira should have either been shocked, skeptical, or, at the very least, sarcastic.
But instead, he suddenly mentioned Star-Lord—what kind of nonsense was that?
Who was Star-Lord? Had he mistaken him for someone else?
"My bad, just mixed things up!" Uchiha Akira waved his hand dismissively as Tobi remained silent, seemingly thrown off by the remark.
"Is this guy a clown or something?" Tobi thought to himself, internally sighing after this brief exchange.
"This evening, no one within the Uchiha district will be allowed to leave!" Tobi declared in a low, menacing voice, ignoring whether or not Akira was just a fool.
"Oh? And what if I say I'm determined to leave?" Uchiha Akira responded with a calm challenge.
"You can try," Tobi said confidently, his posture unyielding.
"Try, then," Akira replied with a grin.
Forming hand seals, he created a dozen shadow clones.
The clones scattered in different directions, moving away from the Uchiha district.
Tobi's Kamui technique was indeed formidable, blending the intangible and tangible, making it hard to counter.
But the Body Flicker Technique developed by Shisui had a similar effect, making it difficult to distinguish between real and illusionary clones.
Tobi was strong, but blocking Akira's path wouldn't be easy.
As Akira split into a dozen clones and dispersed, Tobi moved with incredible speed, attacking all the clones simultaneously.
His speed was undoubtedly that of a Kage-level ninja.
However, the insight of his three-tomoe Sharingan was sharp, and with each attack, Tobi's strikes simply passed through Akira's body.
The clones made no effort to defend or dodge, allowing his attacks to phase through them.
In just a few seconds, Tobi had struck all the clones.
Yet, Akira's true body had already switched positions twice, avoiding every strike.
In those few seconds of stalling, the clones had spread far and wide, quickly disappearing into the night.
"So this is the legendary Body Flicker Technique of Shisui? What an annoying ability…" Tobi muttered to himself as he watched Akira's distant figure.
He had always relied on his Kamui to easily evade attacks, shifting between tangible and intangible states at will. Apart from the Fourth Hokage, who had once given him trouble, this ability had always been a headache for his opponents.
But now, for the first time, he found himself up against a similar technique.
A dozen shadow clones, with bodies that also seemed to shift between tangible and intangible—he had just experienced his own ability used against him.
"The hunter has become the hunted," Tobi thought with a wry smile, shaking his head.
He decided to let it go. His focus was on the Uchiha clan as a whole.
Though Akira had managed to escape, it wasn't a critical loss in the grand scheme of things.
Once the Uchiha clan was wiped out tonight, he could deal with Akira later.
Shifting his attention back to the Uchiha district, Tobi dismissed Akira's escape as a minor setback, not worth his concern.
"Shisui-sensei's technique really lives up to its reputation. The more focused the fight, the better it performs," Uchiha Akira mused, feeling a surge of gratitude toward his teacher's skill.
Using the Body Flicker Technique alone, without resorting to the Eight Gates, he had managed to slip past Tobi's guard, leaving him with a sense of accomplishment.
The ability to switch between real and illusionary clones, confusing even Tobi, must have been particularly frustrating for him.
"It's no wonder the Murong clan from Heavenly Dragon is so famous for their 'using your own methods against you' technique. It's hard to deal with your own signature move used against you," Akira thought.
There was a certain satisfaction in using Tobi's own tactics against him.
Shaking off these thoughts, Uchiha Akira refocused on his mission.
The Uchiha Massacre had already begun. Fugaku, the clan leader, and the others were buying him time by holding off their enemies. He couldn't afford to be distracted.
His primary objective now was the decapitation strategy: eliminating the Third Hokage.
Konoha's leadership had become thoroughly corrupt, and it was time for Akira to take matters into his own hands, to purge the rot from within.
If not for Konoha's deep roots, the village would have already crumbled under the current leadership's mismanagement.
With Tobi unable to stop him, Akira had little difficulty leaving the Uchiha district.
Once free, Akira moved like a ghost, swiftly making his way toward the Third Hokage's residence.
However, as he was speeding through the village using the Body Flicker Technique, he suddenly paused.
Passing by the Ninja Academy, he noticed that students were still sparring on the training grounds.
What's going on? On a normal day, the Academy would have ended classes long ago.
Why were they still here so late?
Thinking back, Akira remembered that in the original story, Sasuke had also returned home late from the Academy, only to encounter Itachi standing atop a power pole.
"So they deliberately kept the Academy students late to prevent Sasuke from witnessing the massacre firsthand?" Akira mused.
He glanced at the Academy, where Sasuke was sparring with his classmates, though he seemed somewhat distracted.
It looked like even Sasuke's instincts were picking up on the strange atmosphere.
For Akira, this was just a brief moment of reflection as he passed by the Academy.
Without further delay, he resumed his journey, heading straight for the Sarutobi clan's territory.
Crossing Konoha's bustling streets, Akira soon arrived at the Sarutobi clan's grounds.
As the Third Hokage and leader of the Sarutobi clan, Hiruzen Sarutobi naturally lived within the clan's compound.
"Who's there!?" Two voices called out as Akira approached.
Two Sarutobi clan Jonin appeared, blocking his path.
Without a word, Akira sent two shadow clones to engage them.
The Jonin quickly drew their swords in response.
But as their blades slashed toward Akira, they passed right through the clones.
"What? Are these just basic clones?" The two Jonin were puzzled.
Using such a basic ninjutsu as clones against Jonin-level opponents?
However, the clones that had been phased through counterattacked immediately.
With solid, tangible hits, Akira's clones sent the two Jonin flying with a cry of pain.
Though only seven years old, Akira's chakra reserves were at the peak Jonin level, nearly touching the threshold of Kage level. Naturally, two ordinary Jonin were no match for him.
After swiftly dispatching the Jonin, Akira made his way to the Third Hokage's residence.
Instead of sneaking in, he kicked the front door with all his might, sending it flying.
Then, step by step, Uchiha Akira walked into the Third Hokage's home.
His eyes shone crimson, and the three tomoe of his Sharingan spun menacingly…
P/S: If you are interested, you can read up to chapter 120 at patreon.com/Emik01.
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