"You still have a good idea..."
The Fourth Elder could not help but roll his eyes. Fifth Elder Uchiha Yo was not usually the smartest person... Everyone thought Ryun was beyond saving, so how could Yo possibly have a good idea...
"Let's hear it," Uchiha First Elder said calmly.
"For someone in Ryun's situation, perhaps only a forbidden technique of our Uchiha Clan can save him."
"Everyone, have you forgotten about 'Izanagi'..."
As soon as Uchiha Yo spoke these words, the room fell completely silent. Everyone widened their eyes in disbelief.
Just hearing the name of this forbidden technique made them instantly understand Yo's idea.
In their view, Yo had indeed come up with an excellent solution, and the only one that could possibly save Ryun from his current desperate situation.
"Brilliant, brilliant, Yo... You actually thought of such a good method!" Uchiha Second Elder could not help but clap and praise.
"It is indeed a good plan!"
First Elder also nodded in agreement at this point.
"Since this idea was mine, let me be the one to approach that child. First Elder, you handle the communication with Sarutobi Hiruzen about this matter. I believe he wouldn't want to see Ryun sacrificed either..." Yo proposed.
"I support Yo's proposal!" Second Elder stood up to voice his opinion.
With things having reached this point, First Elder could only reluctantly nod, approving the proposal.
Although he was somewhat unwilling in his heart, he could not say anything that would undermine unity at such a critical moment. Nor could he display an attitude of 'staying aloof and indifferent,' as others would gossip about him, especially since he was the high-ranking Uchiha First Elder.
"It's settled then!"
First Elder first finalized the decision, then brought up the matter of the forbidden technique:
"Regarding the detailed usage and information about 'Izanagi,' does Fifth Elder know it? If not, you can go to the clan's ancestral shrine to look for the 'Forbidden Technique Scroll,' or make a copy of it."
This was his way of authorizing Yo to access the forbidden technique.
"Of course I know. No one in the Uchiha Clan understands 'Izanagi' better than me..."
Yo calmly spoke these words, which carried a profound meaning.
Third Elder and Fourth Elder glanced at him disdainfully, feeling that this guy was being overly arrogant today. Even First Elder frowned slightly, evidently sharing the same thought.
'You, the weakest and oldest person here, saying such things—isn't that a bit too much? Acting as if you've used 'Izanagi' before, and no one understands it better than you...'
Seeing through it but not voicing it, the four elders did not publicly expose him. Thus, the high-level clan meeting came to an end.
At dusk, inside the confinement room, a figure wearing a strange mask suddenly emerged from the ground.
The person held an envelope in their hand. The moment they appeared, Ryun flashed forward, his hand gripping the other's neck tightly.
Boom!!!
The figure was instantly crushed into smoke—another shadow clone!
This method of using a shadow clone combined with transformation jutsu was almost identical to the one Ryun had previously used to annoy Uchiha Madara...
Now he was experiencing the taste of being 'toyed with' by such a trick himself...
"What happened!"
An elite ninja sensed the anomaly in the confinement room and rushed over to check. However, Ryun ignored him.
The shadow clone that had come from underground was able to evade everyone and reach him, meaning the original's strength was certainly not weak. Unfortunately, the other party was too cautious, and Ryun had no way to capture the real body.
Sitting back down, Ryun paid no attention to the Konoha jonin guarding outside. He opened the envelope that had been delivered.
Inside was a hard, uneven object. The moment Ryun took it out, his heart involuntarily clenched.
Jingle, jingle!
It was an exquisitely crafted golden bell bracelet. Last year, he had originally planned to give it to Kushina, but he never got the chance and left it in his room.
When Asuka was cleaning his room, she immediately took a liking to it, so Ryun simply gave the bracelet to his mother.
Kushina had regretted it for a long time, but since Ryun had given such a precious item to his mother, she did not dare say anything, nor did she dare bring up that night's incident to Asuka... After all, it had been her own fault for being too stubborn at the time...
Seeing this piece of jewelry that Asuka often wore, Ryun's eyes reddened instantly. He knew his mother was truly in the other party's hands.
Carefully placing the golden bracelet into his pocket, Ryun took out a letter from the envelope.
The words on the letter were few, summarizing one simple message: Within two days, only one of you and Asuka will survive.
Only if Ryun's death was confirmed would they release her. If Ryun dared to disregard Konoha, resist, or defect, they would send Asuka's head to his doorstep.
After reading the letter, Ryun trembled with rage, tearing the letter into shreds.
Those people clearly wanted to push him into a corner, but he did not dare to ignore Asuka's safety.
That defenseless woman was far too important to him. In his heart, Ryun truly acknowledged that somewhat fierce yet gentle and considerate young mother.
Though he did not want to admit it, in his heart, Asuka was someone worth protecting with his life.
If it truly came down to only one person surviving, Ryun would choose to let his mother live.
In the ninja world, death did not always mean the end. Back during the war in the Land of Rain, Ryun had already sealed a small piece of his flesh and given it to Orochimaru.
This was to prevent himself from accidentally dying on the unpredictable battlefield. After all, he was not the protagonist, and there was always the risk of following Nawaki's path, ending his life prematurely.
But as long as Orochimaru mastered the 'Edo Tensei' and revived him, coupled with his knowledge of the ninja world and Orochimaru's insane research abilities, 'returning from death' was not an impossibility.
It was a last resort, but Ryun had already planned ahead.
'Danzo... As long as I survive this ordeal, I will exterminate your entire clan!'
Ryun swore silently in his heart. He instinctively believed this letter had been sent by Shimura Danzo.
As the one involved, he currently had no evidence that Uchiha Madara was part of the conspiracy against him. In fact, Madara had not yet shown any signs of involvement, so Danzo remained his primary target of hatred.
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