Chapter 923

"I need to see the 'Key' immediately. As soon as the 'Coordinates' are in place, I'll summon Young Yuanzi back right away!"

The guardian clan of the seal has already fallen into decline, and judging from Haori's attitude, the answer was deliberately vague.

Even though he clearly knew that he would liberate Kaguya together with Young Yuanzi, he had no intention of stepping in to stop it—he simply pulled Otsutsuki Toneri out and introduced himself.

Wait—the Tenseigan.

I see. In other words, once the situation spirals out of control, Otsutsuki Toneri will activate the Tenseigan and destroy the world.

"Brother, teach me more advanced Li Li Jian training today!" Uchiha Sanai solemnly blocked her brother Uchiha Itachi's path, though inwardly she was extremely nervous.

After all, from the very start she had assumed her brother would never agree to this request.

17　Uchiha Itachi, who had just returned, froze for a moment, looking at his sister gazing up at him with a face full of expectation.

"I already know—you took first place in your class for this Li Li Jian exam. But I have to remind you: although being eager to learn and improve is worthy of praise, don't take steps that are too big. Do you understand? Everything must be done step by step; being too impatient will only backfire."

"Brother. I-I know, I understand… you're always so busy."

The Li Li Jian exam was held just today, and brother already knows?

Could it be that even when she couldn't see him, brother had actually been watching over her from the shadows all along?

A small joy welled up inside her. Naturally, she didn't catch a single word of Itachi's instructions—she only knew to agree to everything. Face flushed red, she scrambled off toward her own room in a panic.

Watching Sanai flee past him at top speed, Uchiha Itachi couldn't help but curse himself for being an idiot. After finally finishing a day's work and getting the chance to say a couple of words with his sister, his overly strict teaching had scared her off.

Sighing, he hurriedly called out to his sister, "Sanai, no matter what happens, I will definitely protect you!"

What am I even saying?

Does this have anything to do with Li Li Jian training?

Sanai's body seemed to tremble almost imperceptibly, and then she hurried upstairs.

Ugh, my small-talk skills really are terrible enough. My little sister took the initiative to ask me for guidance on her training, and I actually turned her down!

And now she's stormed upstairs without even saying a word!

What do I do? How can I repair the relationship with my sister?!

Urgent, urgent, urgent—need answers online right now!

After Sanai went upstairs and slammed her door shut with a "bang," the expression on Uchiha Itachi's face became extraordinarily rich. He collapsed in the entryway, rolling around on the floor in total breakdown.

"Hm? Itachi, what are you doing?" Uchiha Fugaku opened the front door and, at first glance, saw Uchiha Itachi serving as a mop on the floor. Itachi, who now stood taller than his father when he rose, stopped his meaningless movements and instantly resumed the posture a normal person should have. In a calm tone he replied, "I stubbed my toe when I was changing my shoes just now."

Fugaku had always been extremely satisfied with his son. Uchiha Itachi had never disappointed him in any respect, and certainly would never do anything unbefitting his station, so he immediately believed that clumsy excuse.

"I've told the Equipment and Logistics Department ages ago to improve the shinobi footwear—it's been so long and still no improvement plan in sight!"

"I-Is that so? Ahem, well, I'll head back to my room first, Father." Uchiha Itachi had returned to his usual demeanor. He went upstairs and stopped before the door of the room opposite Sanai's. The fact that the excuse he'd made up on the spot had been so readily accepted by his father was far beyond his expectations.

Uchiha Itachi felt deeply troubled, because he was a sister-complex brother.

The reason he recognized this fact was because of the Nine-Tails incident more than ten years ago.

At the time, the surroundings had fallen into utter chaos. Back then, he had clutched his sister—who was still in swaddling clothes—and dodged the panicked, directionless crowd and the collapsing buildings, stumbling step by step toward the shelter. It was a very difficult journey for him.

More than ten years ago—the Nine-Tails' Rampage.

A terrifying roar echoed through Konoha. The sky was cloudless for ten thousand li, with only a blood-red moon hanging high. The Nine-Tails, which had suddenly appeared in the village, turned what had been an ordinary night into something no longer ordinary.

"Ha, huff! It's okay, Sanai. Huff, your brother will definitely protect you, I promise you." Uchiha Itachi held the crying, fussing Sanai tightly. Even though the Uchiha compound was not at the center of the village, the wind pressure generated by the monster's movements sent the tiles on the roof of the Uchiha residence clattering down.

"Thud, thud, thud!"

A monster—that was a monster.

With every step the Nine-Tails took, the ground trembled along with it, and the koi in the garden pond had all flipped belly-up at once.