"No. Not yet." Naruto refused flatly.
He still had use for Kisame's corpse.
Itachi let out a quiet sigh at his words.
After discussing the cover story for Itachi's return to the Akatsuki, Naruto pulled out a Flying Thunder God kunai and tossed it to him.
Itachi caught it in midair, his expression tightening the moment he laid eyes on it.
He recognized it—this was the same type of kunai the Fourth Hokage had used.
After giving a few more precautionary instructions, Naruto parted ways with Itachi.
This trip had yielded quite a haul.
The Totsuka Blade, the Yata Mirror, and even the complete Kotoamatsukami Mangekyō Sharingan.
With Itachi serving as his mole inside the Akatsuki, he would gain a steady flow of valuable intel.
He climbed back onto the giant shark's body and, followed by several thousand sharks, returned to Uzushio Island.
After settling the sharks there, he made his way back to the Leaf.
To Naruto, the village looked completely different now.
As he casually strolled down the village streets, the peaceful atmosphere among the villagers instantly fell silent.
Even a crying child begging for three-colored dango stopped bawling the moment he saw Naruto.
Seeing this, Naruto wasn't sure whether to laugh or feel helpless.
He never thought the day would come when he would become the kind of figure that made children go quiet.
Still, compared to the hatred and insults from before, this kind of fearful gaze was far more tolerable.
'Good. Be afraid of me.'
It wasn't until Naruto had left the area that the food street regained its liveliness. One by one, the villagers wiped cold sweat from their brows, feeling like they'd narrowly escaped death.
Before leaving the Leaf, there were still a few preparations to make.
Time flew by, and a week quickly passed.
Over that week, Naruto had devoted himself entirely to training in Wood Release.
He had already obtained the scrolls of Wood Release techniques back when he stole the Scroll of Seals.
Back then, however, he didn't possess the Wood Release bloodline. And ever since he acquired the Wood Release Sage Body, he hadn't had the time to train.
But now that he was about to leave the village, mastering such a powerful nature transformation was crucial.
After a week, the Forest of Death was filled with trees grown from Naruto's Wood Release techniques.
Wood Clone, Deep Forest Emergence, Flowering Forest Bloom, Wood Dragon Jutsu, Wood Golem Jutsu, and even True Several Thousand Hands—
He had pushed nearly every Wood Release technique to its peak.
One more trump card added to his arsenal.
Once his training was complete, Naruto headed toward a certain residence.
Outside the house, he knocked on the door.
Soon, a disheveled and slightly dazed Kakashi Hatake opened the door.
When he saw Naruto, a trace of clarity returned to Kakashi's otherwise weary eyes.
"It's you, Naruto. Need something?"
Kakashi was already well aware of Naruto's recent exploits.
As a teacher, he wasn't in a position to judge whether those actions were right or wrong.
Naruto nodded, his gaze landing on the eye Kakashi kept hidden under his forehead protector.
"Kakashi-sensei, there's something I need to take from you."
Kakashi raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Oh? What is it? If it's my Make-Out Paradise collection, forget it. That's not for kids your age."
Naruto rolled his eyes. Out of curiosity, he had already skimmed a few pages of Make-Out Paradise.
Honestly, it barely rated two and a half stars in "spice."
It was only so popular because of the lack of entertainment in the shinobi world.
For someone like Naruto, who had seen far more, it felt rather bland.
"What I want… is your Sharingan."
Naruto didn't bother beating around the bush.
This wasn't just an ordinary Sharingan—it was a Mangekyō, and the technique it held was the overpowered Kamui.
Knowing he would eventually confront Obito, who possessed the intangibility ability, Naruto couldn't afford to underestimate him.
But with Kakashi's Kamui in hand, Obito would become far easier to deal with.
It would also prevent Obito from trying to forcibly reclaim the eye and achieve dual Kamui.
Back in his previous life, Naruto had read several fanfics where Obito started off with both Kamui eyes… and they were terrifying.
Better to eliminate the risk now.
Kakashi stared into Naruto's eyes. When he realized Naruto was serious, his expression darkened.
To him, that eye held profound significance.
It was a parting gift from the person he considered his best friend.
Now, his student wanted to take it?
Of course he was upset.
"Naruto… you're already strong enough. That eye doesn't matter to you anymore. And I'm still your teacher. How could you even think this way?"
"Is it really just about power and benefits to you? Do feelings mean nothing?"
There was unmistakable disappointment in Kakashi's voice.
His sunny and warmhearted teacher Minato had given birth to a son who was now cold and detached.
Naruto noticed the disappointment in Kakashi's eyes, but didn't waver. His tone was resolute.
"Sorry, Kakashi-sensei. But I have to take the eye."
Kakashi knew there was no changing the outcome.
Even though he understood he likely wasn't a match for his student—
This eye represented his bond with Obito.
There was no way he could simply hand it over.
The fight broke out.
Nicknamed "Copy Ninja Kakashi," famed for holding his own against even the strongest opponents—
He lasted less than thirty seconds against Naruto.
Kakashi lay sprawled in the courtyard, panting heavily, blood flowing from his left eye socket.
The three-tomoe Sharingan that once resided there was now in Naruto's hand.
Naruto glanced at the bloodied eye, then placed it inside a container pre-filled with green nutrient fluid.
Having lost the eye that had been with him for over a decade, Kakashi felt a strange emptiness, like something vital had been torn away.
Naruto looked down at him.
"I still have other three-tomoe Sharingan. I can transplant one now if you'd like."
They were leftovers from when he devoured Danzo's Hashirama cells.
But at the mention of replacement eyes, Kakashi immediately refused.
"No need. This is fine."
Naruto didn't push it.
Kakashi without a Sharingan wasn't necessarily weaker.
"Naruto… I don't know why you need that eye so badly, but I hope you'll take good care of it."
"And I hope you'll truly think about the path you're walking. Don't wait until you've lost something precious before falling into endless regret."
Naruto could tell: Kakashi was speaking from experience, offering this advice as a warning.
Naruto crouched down and used Mystical Palm Technique to heal the injury to Kakashi's eye, then quietly departed.