The tragic situation of Obito proved one thing—no matter the era or the world, effective information is vital and can easily change a person's fate.
If it hadn't been for a black-feathered and black-hearted crow who knew everything about the Kamui space—and had a random guess about time-space ninjutsu—he would've been turned into old crow soup.
No wonder the ninja of the Five Great Nations would rather die than give up information... Even without systematic training, Itachi understood how important it was.
So he snuck out to gather some.
As for finding him—it was simple. Since the Nine-Tails Rebellion, Beiyuan had secretly placed a Flying Thunder God mark on Itachi.
Flying Thunder God Technique!
Beiyuan instantly locked onto his position via the seal. But the destination… The crow suddenly appeared above Itachi's head and stared down silently at his cub.
"…Gah…"
"Beiyuan!"
Itachi looked up in surprise at his little friend—behind him stood a crowd of kids with radish-heads. Beiyuan was stunned. Why does this cub… keep picking up children?
In Konoha he was always hugging his little brother—that could barely be tolerated. But now that he's out, is this his true nature revealed? In the middle of the night, he gathers a bunch of kids. Is he planning to open an orphanage?
"Gah!"
Crow narrowed his eyes. Explain.
They were in a dark corridor. The glow from Beiyuan's Sharingan reflected in the candlelight, making it even scarier. A few of the braver children were already crying.
Itachi quickly stepped forward to comfort them, like a little girl coaxing a doll: "…Don't cry, don't cry. He's my friend. He's here to save us…"
Beiyuan: "…"
Skilled at handling kids!
Tonight was entirely an accident. Itachi had secretly asked the innkeeper about the town and learned there had been cases of child abductions, so he staked out the roof of the hotel.
He figured—if a six-year-old wandered into town, the people behind this wouldn't let him go. Then he remembered—he was a six-year-old.
That night, after Jiraiya went out, two shady men snuck into his hotel room… only to find it empty.
Itachi quietly followed them and found this underground spot. Looked like it was newly built, and the little boy snuck in easily—rescuing a bunch of children along the way.
There wasn't much solid info...
"…Gah?"
Beiyuan glanced deeper into the corridor. What was this place? Besides those two kidnappers, was there anyone else? This didn't look like a setup average people could make.
"I checked everything. No one else inside," Itachi shook his head, frowning. "But a lot of stuff's been used recently."
"Gah!"
Beiyuan wanted to check—
Itachi quickly grabbed his wing: "I packed everything into the sealing scroll. Aside from a few weird items, there was just money…"
"…Gah?" The crow paused. Found treasure? What could be weirder than you?
The little boy patted his bulging ninja pouch, pulled out a sealing scroll, and muttered:
"Seal: Release!"
Clatter! Clang! Crack!
A pile of metal tubes and glass items spilled out. Judging by the shape, they looked like modern biology lab equipment—definitely not a hospital setup.
This had to be a bio-experimental base…
Beiyuan's nerves instantly tightened. He suddenly remembered why he was here. If the old man hadn't gotten drunk and lingered in Sake Town, he might've already found Orochimaru's trail!
This was one of Orochimaru's labs!
Beiyuan slowly lowered his head and stared at Itachi. "Gah!"
"Yeah… It's one of Orochimaru's," Itachi said as if it were no surprise. He pulled another item from his pouch.
It was a photo frame. A young Sannin group shot—Orochimaru, a youthful Tsunade, and Jiraiya, getting smacked by Hiruzen.
"…"
Beiyuan was emotionally unstable. Orochimaru defected from Konoha and this is what you take as a souvenir?
"There's something behind the frame…" Itachi pointed to the seal. The paint on the back had already chipped away from being opened often.
Click!
Itachi pulled out a slim notebook from the frame…
"Gah!"
If these were Orochimaru's experimental notes—even from this period—it'd be a major find!
What would it be… cloning tech? Cell transplantation? Edo Tensei development? Genetic modification? Even if it was no use to Itachi or Beiyuan, this kind of intel was worth its weight in gold.
Beiyuan chirped at him: "Gah!"
Read it!
The little boy nodded and opened the notebook:
"Two more teammates joined—Tsunade, direct descendant of the First Hokage, top of her class in combat, extremely strong, skilled in medical ninjutsu…"
"Jiraiya, dead last at the academy. This team must be about balance. I can't fully trust him. I'll need to protect him constantly…"
"Jiraiya plays around too much. High battlefield death risk…"
"Borrowed 12,000 ryō from Tsunade. Women spend a lot…"
"Borrowed 5,000 more to cover mission damages…"
"Jiraiya tried to save Tsunade heroically and got injured. Bandages didn't help. Preliminary diagnosis: three fractures…"
Beiyuan drooped. This was a diary. An incredibly cute, useless diary.
Itachi quickly flipped to the final page:
"Death always comes too fast. Any emotional bonds crumble easily. I can't accept death. One must pursue immortality—only with eternal life can the things we experience have meaning."
"Gah?"
That's it? Beiyuan looked disappointed… Even though he'd learned a bunch of embarrassing things about the young Sannin, none of it was useful!
Still, it made sense. This place was clearly new—Orochimaru hadn't transferred his core data here yet.
And in this world, whether it was advanced ninjutsu or biotech, it was always kept close. Orochimaru wouldn't risk storing it here.
"Gah…"
Beiyuan flopped on top of Itachi's head, looking defeated. Aside from some mission money, this trip felt like a bust...
"…Beiyuan, actually… I'm lost…"
The little boy blushed, scratched the back of his head, and looked down, embarrassed.