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32
"Itachi-san, about what happened just now..."
After fleeing dozens of miles, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki finally came to a stop.
"That little Uchiha brat… he seemed to know everything about us."
Meanwhile, they knew absolutely nothing about him.
It was frustrating. And after losing Samehada, Kisame—who was rarely shaken—was clearly unsettled.
He even started to wonder… was this another one of Itachi's elaborate plays?
"Hm."
Itachi gave a faint nod, his complexion pale from overusing his Mangekyō Sharingan.
"This was an unforeseen development."
Was that boy really an Uchiha?
There was something about his mysterious aura—it reminded Itachi of the masked man who once claimed to be Uchiha Madara.
"Unforeseen? Itachi-san, don't tell me this whole thing wasn't your—"
Not even Kisame could believe that the Mangekyō Sharingan had no effect on that kid.
He was starting to lean toward the theory that Itachi had set all this up himself.
"Pointless suspicion. Where's 'Tobi' now?"
Itachi cut him off and asked something Kisame didn't expect.
"Tobi? Why are you asking about him?"
Kisame's heart skipped, but his face remained calm.
"Without Samehada, you can't monitor me anymore."
Itachi, ever cold and calculating, directly tore through Kisame's cover.
"So tell me—where is Tobi? I have something to discuss with him."
He suspected the boy might have a connection with that masked man, or worse… that he *was* a puppet left behind in Konoha.
"Hah… as expected of you, Itachi-san. You even saw through my surveillance mission."
Kisame smiled bitterly. He couldn't keep pretending anymore.
It was a bit of a shame though—he actually liked working with Itachi.
"Tobi should be—"
*Whoosh.*
Before he could finish, a spatial vortex spun open in the woods behind them.
From it emerged a man in a swirling orange mask, a single Sharingan glowing from within.
"Itachi, your Mangekyō couldn't even handle a brat without Sharingan? That's... disappointing."
His voice was low and aged—just like the Uchiha Madara he claimed to be.
At the same time, his eye spun—revealing the Mangekyō pattern.
Nowadays, if you didn't have Mangekyō, you barely qualified as Uchiha.
"Uchiha Kage… That kid—he really has nothing to do with you?"
Ignoring the taunt, Itachi stared at him seriously.
"Regrettably, no. I don't know him. Likely just some gifted little punk."
The man was Uchiha Obito—currently masquerading as "Tobi", the self-proclaimed Madara of the Akatsuki.
He'd already heard from Zetsu that Itachi and Kisame had been humiliated by a single boy.
Even Obito had trouble completely nullifying Itachi's genjutsu… but that kid?
In truth, just like Kisame, he was starting to think Itachi had staged the whole thing.
"If that's the case… then this Uchiha Kage will eventually become a serious threat to our plans."
Tobi's voice seemed genuine, making Itachi's expression even more grave.
"You're not wrong."
Obito responded, but inwardly, he still didn't buy it.
Sure, the boy resisted genjutsu, but his overall strength?
Maybe Chūnin level, at best Jōnin. Nothing worth worrying about—for now.
"That's why I intend to return to Konoha… as a spy."
Itachi's calm statement stunned both of them.
"What…? Ahem—Itachi, do you even know what you're saying?"
Even Obito nearly broke character.
"You're a rogue ninja from Konoha. Why would they ever let you back in?"
You slaughtered your clan—and now you wanna *go back*?
Obito didn't know what this man was thinking. Was he planning to betray Akatsuki?
"The Uchiha Massacre was a result of internal village politics. You and I both know that."
For Itachi, what mattered most was still his brother… and Konoha's peace.
He'd also recently received a letter from the Third Hokage.
"So, I'll return under a false identity… as a nameless Anbu operative."
"Hmph. So you're still in contact with Konoha, huh?"
Obito's voice turned cold.
He knew Itachi wouldn't say such things lightly—he must've gotten permission from someone in power.
"You really think I'll just let you go back?"
*Crack.*
Dozens of White Zetsu burst from the ground around them.
Kisame silently formed hand signs.
From behind a tree… stepped a figure with rippling Rinnegan eyes.
"The leader himself? Even Pain came out?"
Itachi's eternally calm face finally showed some change.
"Tobi said you might betray the organization."
Pain nodded at Tobi, then stepped forward.
"I'm not betraying you. I simply want to go undercover."
"But you're from Konoha. Why should we trust you?"
Pain made it clear—if anyone dared betray Akatsuki, he'd kill them on the spot.
"I have a way to prove my loyalty."
Itachi knew he had to act fast. Against Tobi and Kisame, he had options.
But against Pain—with the Rinnegan—he wasn't confident even his full-powered Susanoo would be enough.
And with his deteriorating health, pushing his eyes meant pushing himself to death.
"How do you plan to prove it?"
Tobi narrowed his gaze.
From his sleeve, Itachi pulled out a crow—its eyes glowing red.
"This is…"
Tobi instantly recognized it—the Mangekyō pattern.
"Yes. Uchiha Shisui's Mangekyō. Containing his strongest technique—Kotoamatsukami."
Itachi's voice was calm—but the weight of his words was not.
"The mind-control genjutsu that can rewrite someone's will?"
Even Pain looked surprised.
This was no ordinary offering. That jutsu was legendary.
"Yes. Even I would fall for it if caught unprepared."
The crow flew to Pain's shoulder.
"Very well. With that… your loyalty is proven."
Pain didn't mind. This body was just a puppet—it couldn't be mind-controlled anyway.
But the sheer trust Itachi placed in giving him this eye made him reconsider the man entirely.
The one who looked most uncomfortable, though… was Tobi.
He'd been staring at that eye since it appeared.
"Fine. We'll believe you—for now."
Tobi waved away the Zetsu around them.
He was already spinning theories in his head.
Giving the eye to Pain… was Itachi trying to turn Pain against *him*?
Or maybe he just didn't trust *anyone*.
But even Tobi had to admit—if Itachi was willing to part with that eye, he was probably serious.
"Then I'll go make preparations."
The eye was real, but that didn't mean Itachi hadn't left a backdoor in it.
Shisui entrusted him with it—for the sake of Konoha. He'd never use it against the village.
"And I'll help Kisame retrieve Samehada as well."
Though he was returning to Konoha, Itachi didn't plan to sever all ties with Akatsuki.
"I'll leave that to you, then."
Tobi gave him a long look.
"Kisame will handle all further communication."
"Understood."
Itachi accepted, already thinking about how he might meet Sasuke again back in the village.
---
"Did you give him the ointment?"
"Mm..."
Hinata lowered her head shyly, poking her fingers together.
Delivering the medicine herself had made her day.
"And did you say what I told you to?"
"Y-Yes…"
Even if Kurenai-sensei hadn't asked her to pass along the message, she would've done it anyway.
Telling Kage to be careful—it came from her heart.
"Hmph. Who knows what kind of Anbu mission he's on..."
Kurenai still hadn't forgiven him for keeping her in the dark.
But deep down, she just worried for his safety.
Anbu missions were never safe.
"Sensei, these three Cloud shinobi—turns out they're still alive. Should we bring them back to the village?"
In the ruins, Shino had found the half-burnt but breathing bodies of the three Cloud ninja they'd trapped earlier.
"They survived? Alright, bring them along. They're part of our success too."
With Samehada and these prisoners, Team 8 definitely hadn't failed this mission.
---
"Must be nice… getting pampered by your little girlfriend before a mission."
Hayate chuckled as he watched Uchiha Kage spacing out while staring at his bandaged hand.
"Senpai doesn't have a girlfriend?"
Kage wasn't looking at the bandage—he was looking at a small ninja tool shard.
A shard he'd picked up from the ruins… either Kurenai's or Shino's.
Too bad he didn't get anything from Itachi—he really wanted *Amaterasu*.
Setting people on fire with just a glare? That was *cool*.
"I..."
Hayate glanced at Yugao, who was checking the map up ahead.
When would the two of them finally leave the shadows of Anbu… and walk together in the open?
Right now, he found himself envying a junior.
"Stop chatting. The Hokage wants us to scout the Uzushio ruins. Let's go."
Yugao had no time for romance. Her eyes were on the mission.
"Yes, ma'am."
Kage nodded. He knew this was inevitable.
If a war broke out between Konoha and Kirigakure, the Land of Waves and Uzushio would be key battlefields.
---
"What did you say!? They were captured by Konoha and thrown in jail!?"
Back in Kumogakure, a certain female jonin was shocked by the sudden report.
She'd been waiting for her students to return—only to get *this* news?
"Yes. Lord Raikage has already sent envoys to Konoha for negotiations."
Her assistant tried to calm her down—but couldn't help sighing.
Attacking Konoha nin *inside* Fire Country?
Hard to argue the
ir way out of that one.
"I understand… I'll take responsibility. Please tell Raikage-sama not to worry about this minor issue."
The jonin sighed.
Maybe she'd been too lenient with her students.
Still… she never imagined they'd be bold enough to *chase Konoha ninja into enemy territory*.
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