The forest section of Training Ground Three was noisy from morning. The area around the young man looked like a battlefield. One tree felled, several targets in various spots stuck with at least a few shuriken and one kunai each in the center.
Breathing heavily, he gripped his left wrist with his right hand, steadying the tremor. His palm was slightly burned, steam pouring from it. Before him loomed a large rock taller than him, with a deep hole punched through and cracks spiderwebbing out. Smoke rose from the hole too.
"Still not enough..." he thought, tugging his black t-shirt collar to air out.
Besides the damaged rock, burned grass patches dotted around, air still garlicky.
He removed weights, tested stances and squats to feel muscles lighten post-unload.
Movement easier; likely last strike faster. But checking endurance, second use of final technique would leave him drained, unable to fight effectively.
Eyeing the small electric burn on his left palm, he clenched fist, winced.
"My chakra's still insufficient... Damn it!" He wanted to continue, but after hours on the polygon, knew his limit. More strain harmful; same for riskier, less costly moves.
His left fist trembled treacherously, as if giving him even more reason to believe that he was too weak to use this technique more than twice in a row.
"Kakashi said he could use this strike no more than four times a day, and in active combat, no more than three. The third time means big problems for him, since if the threat remains after that, his chakra reserves are depleted. That's why this technique is his trump card, which he tries to keep in reserve. However, three times is still pretty good, but two times followed by defeat is extremely little, especially if the opponent has means of defense or the ability to evade such a penetrating attack," The guy thought, additionally stretching his muscles after removing the weights.
"So, I need to become much more enduring! Like him, for example..." Before his eyes appeared again the summoning of the gigantic toad, and this after an already quite intense battle, before which he had defeated his opponent in the exam.
"Damn Naruto... Did he really adapt the Nine-Tails' power to his needs? Where does he get so much power from?! I dread to think how much chakra it takes to summon a beast like that! Can Kakashi summon something like that? I strongly doubt it... And who gave him the right to summon those toads? Inheritance from the Fourth? Quite possible, but then it could only have been someone like the Third Hokage. Did the old man finally decide to tell Naruto the truth? Although... Kakashi is the Fourth's student, could he have passed on the ability for such a summon to Naruto? Nonsense... Kakashi's summons are dogs, not toads," The guy reasoned and walked over to a distant tree where a half-empty bottle of water stood. Looking at his equipment, he decided that was enough for today; maybe it wouldn't hurt to go out for an evening training session and dedicate it to physical endurance.
Tilting his head back and drinking the water, he noticed the messenger bird in the sky a couple of seconds before it started to cry out.
Now that Kakashi hadn't left the Kage building for several days, actively clearing up the mess that had arisen, this was one way to transmit information from the team to the mentor and vice versa. He also reported the next duty roster and received their reports.
However, Team Seven currently had the day off...
"What the hell does he want?" Flashed through his head as he screwed on the cap. "An urgent mission? There go all my training plans. Probably only Naruto would be happy. Extra work means earning money, and he was the only one happy to receive the reward delayed by a week and a half for pursuing Gaara, as an A-rank mission. What an idiot... Sometimes it seems like nothing interests him except money. I don't get it—if he needs it that badly, why hasn't he ever asked me? He definitely knows I have it and I wouldn't need it back..."
Gathering his gear, he headed toward the village.
Kakashi hadn't sent any note via the bird, just sending it to fetch Sasuke.
Fortunately, he had already studied his way of thinking and logic quite well, though it openly annoyed him. If Kakashi hadn't specified a meeting place, it meant go where you last saw him, and yesterday the team had parted with him at the teahouse, right next to the government quarter. As for food, Kakashi either didn't care at all what exactly to eat, or he meticulously masked his preferences, since he could eat dry rations with the team, Naruto's cooking, sweets from the same teahouse, or even ramen.
It was about fifteen minutes on foot to the teahouse, if you knew the shortcut.
"The Third is dead. No more Hokage from the previous generation. So the fifth will be chosen... It would be funny if it was Kakashi." Sasuke pondered the current situation. "Though, it could well happen that no one stronger is found among the jonin or even clan heads, and then it would be him. Hm... In that conversation with Orochimaru, he mentioned three legendary ninja. I heard about them from my father, and something similar was in the history textbooks, but I can't remember their names for the life of me... So this Orochimaru is one of them? He's from Konoha, but then who are the other two? Or better to phrase it differently... Are they even still alive? Maybe talk to Kakashi about it? No way... Even that month we only talked business with him, and he's not exactly the talkative type anyway. If he doesn't want to talk about something, you can't pull a word out of him with tongs. Then it's our know-it-all Naruto or Sakura, who probably remembers more history than I do. Maybe she's heard more about these people. Although... No, Sakura's not an option, I don't want to talk to her first, especially after what happened before the second stage. Maybe I went too far, but in the end, she really got on my nerves... Oh, there's Kakashi... Something's definitely died in the woods, since he came not just on time, but first." Sasuke reasoned in his thoughts as he walked to the teahouse. "Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei? What do these two want? I hope they have business with Kakashi... I wouldn't want to go on an urgent mission with two jonin from other squads. Combined with Kakashi arriving first... Very bad omen. Worse only when Naruto starts coming up with a plan..."
"Good morning, Kakashi." Asuma greeted, approaching the teahouse next to which Kakashi stood reading his favorite book. At the greeting, he had to turn around.
Unfortunately, the only table in the teahouse was occupied by two tourists in large cloaks with a blood cloud pattern and large straw hats with bells.
"Good morning, Asuma, Kurenai. You two always walking together now? Be careful, people might get the wrong idea." Kakashi said, smiling through his mask and closing the book.
"Go to hell." Asuma replied rudely. Kurenai just blushed slightly. "We just happened to meet on the way here and decided to come say hi. What are you doing here loafing around?"
"Oh, nothing... Actually, I wanted to steal Kurenai from you, I need to pick out flowers for a gift, and you know I'm no good at that..." Kakashi looked intently with one eye first into Asuma's eyes, then Kurenai's, then shifted his gaze to the two tourists.
"A gift? Something died in the woods, and you found a worthy woman, or is this for Obito?" Asuma squinted at him. He rarely interacted with Kakashi, and understanding his hints and train of thought still came hard to him. That's why Asuma phrased his question that way, to confirm if he understood correctly.
"The second." Kakashi replied.
"Tch..." Asuma clicked his tongue and took the cigarette out of his mouth, which he had just been about to light. Looks like he wouldn't get to smoke now.
"Good morning." Sasuke greeted, approaching them. "Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-sensei." He acknowledged the greeting with a short nod. "Kakashi, you didn't have to order for me here." The guy said, seeing on the table behind Kakashi's back two untouched cups of tea and colorful cheese balls strung on a long toothpick. "I don't like sweets..." The two tourists who had been there just seconds ago, of which Kakashi was absolutely sure, simply vanished, and he hadn't even noticed. So they were definitely shinobi, and things were starting to smell like trouble.
"Riiiight?" Kakashi drawled and looked into Asuma's eyes. He nodded, and he and Kurenai vanished simultaneously using the Body Flicker Technique.
"Huh?" Sasuke didn't understand.
"Don't mind them. If you don't want tea, let's go, I have a job for you..."
"Just for me or for the team?"
"This time, you'll do. Sorry to bother you on your day off, but it's the best opportunity for what I have in mind..."
***
"Ready... Here's your large portion with extra meat and egg, Naruto." The old man said and handed me this big bowl over the counter, from which steam rose from the freshly cooked food and a pleasant aroma wafted.
"Yay! Thanks a lot... Itadakimas!" I said, as usual, and with chopsticks took a bit of noodles to try. Ow! Hot... Still, I hurried.
"Good morning." Came from a new customer. "Can I get the same portion as this guy." A familiar voice said, drawing attention.
"Of course! Ten minutes..." The cook said.
"Hm? Oh, Pervy Sage! You finally showed up!" I said. "Where's my money?!" Such an address made the cook turn around again and open his eyes wide, looking more closely at the second customer and seeing who exactly had entered.
"Good morning to you too, Naruto. Heh..." He exhaled, sitting down next to me. "Still on about that..."
"Our bet won, and don't make excuses that the exam wasn't finished. If the fight ended and the winner was determined, we won, and the house has to pay out. If not during the emergency, then now for sure!" I insisted... Not for nothing had I looked into possible circumstances and how bookies work.
"Yes, yes..." The Perv confirmed my words. "The bet won, of course. You're right about that. You don't think I'd carry that kind of money on me? What if I get robbed..." He added with a smile.
"Robbed? One of the three legendary ninja? I'd love to see that form of suicide... Anyway, don't change the subject, what about the money?"
"Oh, everything's fine, don't nag... Here, for starters..." He pulled from inside his robe a fairly hefty cutlet that barely fit in his hand and, licking it in front of the astonished cooks, gave me a bit more than half. "That's fifty thousand ryo. You can count it, you little extortionist!"
"I will! Money loves counting..." I said, smiling and taking the money. "And how much total..."
"Heh... I bet three hundred thousand on your fight with Neji and another two hundred fifty on Kankuro vs. Shino. And to avoid suspicion, I had to bet a hundred thousand on Sasuke. Just on your win, I made nine hundred thousand!" At that, the old cook's daughter—I think her name was Ayame—even dropped an egg.
"Oops... Sorry..." She bowed in apology and continued cooking. The old man, slicing meat, nearly chopped off his fingers too.
"On Shino's win, I also made another five hundred thousand. Well, I mean including the bet itself, so I put in three hundred, took nine hundred, put in two hundred fifty, took five hundred. So that makes..."
"Six hundred plus two hundred fifty is eight hundred fifty thousand ryo. By agreement, half the winnings to me, so you owe me four hundred twenty-five thousand."
"Ahem-ahem..." Came from the astonished cook. Damn... Looks like I already know what rumors will spread about me now, oh well. "Sorry..."
"Minus fifty, that's three hundred seventy-five thousand ryo left." I calculated.
"Naruto, that's a huge pile of money, especially for you... What are you planning to do with it?"
"Nothing special..." I shrugged and picked up the chopsticks again to eat. A bit of noodles... Just right, cooled a little, and chase it with meat. This portion also came with two sweet buns and a glass of juice. "Let it sit quietly in the Konoha Bank. By the way, they announced a charity drive for village restoration, so I'll donate some. Think a hundred thousand, pay off a debt..."
"What debt?"
"Doesn't matter..."
"Here's your large portion with extra meat and egg, Jiraiya-sama." The cook said.
"Oh, you recognized me after all..."
"Please forgive me for not greeting you properly right away. Such honored guests are rare here..."
"Ah, come on... I'm not that honored a guest..." He said modestly. "Itadakimas!"
"So, what about the rest of the money?"
"What, you won't let up... Eat first, I'll tell you, I didn't find you for nothing. There's business..." He started eating, and here you're not supposed to discuss important things while eating, but I'm a total slacker about that. Anyway, I had to finish my ramen and wait for what the Perv would say, though... I perfectly understood what his business was.
"Anyway... As you understand, I told you the total by my estimates. But I didn't just bet here, but in a bunch of other shops around the country. Bookies rarely deal with that kind of sum, and if I brought three hundred thousand to bet on one fight in one place, it would raise suspicions and the odds would suffer, not to mention they might just tell me to get lost. Now that things have settled in the village, I think I'll go collect the money from a couple of towns where I placed bets. Also, I have an important assignment from the council of elders. If you want, you can come with me..."
"Assignment?"
"Yeah, I have to find one woman..."
"I see, sorry, but I can't help you work. Who'd let me out of the village now? I only have today off."
"Don't worry about that... I'll arrange it and notify Kakashi. It'll count as an A-rank mission."
"Whoa! An A-rank mission? Sounds like finding this woman will be dangerous?"
"I don't think so... It's more about the importance and urgency of the search. And you're no weakling anyway, what do you have to fear?"
"Weakling or not, if they assigned it to one of the three legendary..."
"Pay will be full for a mission of that rank." He interrupted me.
"Agreed." I said immediately. "Where do we meet?" At that, his eyebrow twitched.
"I can't tell if you're messing with me or you're really that greedy..."
"Of course messing, but money's never extra..." I replied with a smile.
"Heh..." He exhaled. "Then here's the deal... I need another two hours, then meet me at the gates. I won't wait long, if you're late, your problem."
"Got it." I said, standing from the stool. "I'll go pack."
I headed home; if I remember right, the search for Tsunade could drag on for a month, but I also had other plans. Somehow flash the rasengan in front of the Perv and try to get him to teach me another technique, and most importantly, what I wanted to achieve was to keep Tsunade from becoming the Fifth Hokage...
***
The two in large cloaks with hats on their heads were walking unhurriedly along the embankment when suddenly Asuma and Kurenai appeared before them using instant movement.
"Good morning, gentlemen tourists, care to show your travel permits." Asuma said with a smile. "I have a feeling you specifically don't have one..."
"Heh..." Exhaled the shorter of the two tourists. "Good morning, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san."
"If you know us, you were a shinobi of this village. Name yourself..." Asuma demanded, hands going to his waist to quickly draw his brass knuckles. In response, the stranger slowly removed his straw hat and, with his other hand from inside the cloak, unbuttoned part of the top buttons.
"No way..." Asuma said.
"You?" Kurenai said in surprise.
The stranger just adjusted his hair, dropping the hat to the ground, and looked at them with his changed eyes, in which the Sharingan burned. Three comma pupils rotated around the center in each eye and, fixing on Asuma and Kurenai, abruptly stopped. Asuma had never seen anything like it. In his life, he had seen such a Sharingan only in one of Kakashi's eyes, but now, seeing this pattern in both eyes of a true Uchiha, chills ran down his spine. The power he felt in those eyes was incomparable to what emanated from Kakashi.
His face looked relatively young, but he was very thin, cheekbones almost protruding, and around his eyes were wrinkles typical of people who sleep very little. Under his bangs was now visible the Konoha shinobi forehead protector, crossed out in the middle.
"Uchiha Itachi. After what you did, you're now one of the most wanted S-rank criminals. Slaughtering your entire clan, you dare return to the village?!" Asuma said. Kurenai also tensed and was already concentrating chakra for her technique.
"How cute..." His hulking partner said mockingly, removing his hat. "Itachi, your friends? Mind if I get acquainted too?"
"Looks like we won't leave without a fight, but don't use large-scale techniques or half the village will swarm here." Itachi said without taking his eyes off the opponents.
"And you... I've seen you on the most wanted list... If I'm not mistaken, you're Hoshigaki Kisame. Also an S-rank renegade. And what do you two want here?" Asuma drew his brass knuckles and concentrated chakra into them.
"None of your business..." Itachi replied. "I wouldn't want to kill you, but if you don't back off, don't expect mercy."
"Strange to hear that from someone like you, a maniac who killed his own parents. Better surrender yourselves or do you seriously think you'll leave here alive?! You've already been spotted in a shinobi village!"
"You talk too much!" Kisame said and in an instant slashed from the shoulder, drawing from behind his back what he had been carrying there all this time.
Reaction didn't fail Asuma, and he blocked the strike, crossing his brass knuckles, while Kurenai, forming several seals, seemed to dissolve into thin air. Asuma hadn't expected such a strong and heavy blow and barely held the block.
"Tch... Strong... Damn." Kisame continued slowly increasing the pressure every second, smiling wider and wider.
"That technique..." Itachi said without taking his gaze from where Kurenai had stood a second ago.
"What's wrong with this freak? He's overpowering me with one hand, and what's that weapon, a war hammer? More like a rock on a stick he's using to crush me." Asuma thought, holding the block with his last strength.
When his bandaged weapon touched Asuma's hands, he abruptly pulled it toward himself with an even wider smirk. Sparks flew from the contact point with Asuma's brass knuckles, like metal scraping hard stone. Where it touched Asuma's hand from that motion, a ragged wound formed. The skin was literally torn, twisting and ripping off a piece of flesh.
"Aaargh..."
"Heh-heh... My sword, Samehada, doesn't cut the opponent—it tears!"
"Damn..." Asuma jumped back, clutching his wounded hand to staunch the bleeding.
"So that's how it is..." Itachi said when, suddenly, tree roots bursting from under the asphalt began entwining his feet, waist, torso, and then his whole body up to his head, and behind him a small tree grew, from whose trunk Kurenai sprouted like a branch with a kunai in hand and tried to attack, but suddenly found herself pinned to the tree, and the kunai was already in Itachi's hand. "Genjutsu of that level won't work on me..." Itachi said calmly.
"Illusion reflection?! He's a genjutsu master too?" Flashed through Kurenai's head, and an instant before he would have slit her throat with a swing, she bit her lip, freeing herself from the illusory hold with pain.
Barely dodging, she lost some of her hair to Itachi's thrust, which fell to the ground, but undeterred, she continued the fight and attempted a high-speed circular sweep, but the opponent jumped back faster. Itachi demonstrated the difference in their speeds more clearly when he instantly and silently appeared between her and the wounded Asuma and struck her face with a kick. Kurenai barely managed to block with both arms. But even so... His brute strength was on another level. He only looked skinny. The kick threw the adult woman fifteen meters into the river. Thanks to the concentrated chakra in her body, she didn't sink but landed, slamming into the water's surface, and quickly got to her feet.
"Kurenai, careful!" Asuma shouted.
"Worry about yourself..." Kisame said, starting to form seals. "Water element..."
"Unfortunately... This is the end." Itachi's voice came from behind her.
"Incredible! Shadow clone substitution at that speed..." Flashed in Kurenai's head; she understood this was the end for her and she could do nothing.
"Yes, the end for you..." A familiar voice came from behind Itachi, and a kunai appeared at his throat, as if the opponent behind him was transparent.
"...Shark Bomb Technique!"
"...Shark Bomb Technique!" Came from Kisame and from Kakashi who suddenly appeared before Asuma. They both used the water impact technique, equal in power in every way, simply annihilating each other over the battlefield and causing only a small rain from excess water.
Kakashi had already bared his Sharingan, and apparently was now demonstrating instant technique copying.
"Phew... Thanks." Asuma exhaled. "Don't think I'm not glad to see you, but didn't you leave with Sasuke?"
"I asked you to stall them, but seems the situation got out of control, so I'm here."
"Ha! That damn eye... So you're the Copy Ninja Kakashi. Surprised... Didn't think I'd meet you." Kisame said.
"Imagine my surprise... I thought it was just a couple of unwanted spies, but I found Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. You two, in one place, working together—what an incredible coincidence..." Kakashi drawled.
"Tch..." Asuma clicked his tongue, still clutching his wounded hand. From what he could tell of Kakashi, if he hadn't known who they were, he at least suspected. But how the hell did he know?
"They say you killed Zabuza?" Kisame asked.
"Yes." Kakashi replied shortly, looking him in the eyes.
"Ha!" Kisame grinned wide. "I'll gladly fight you and tear you to pieces!"
"No!" Came from Itachi. "If you fight Kakashi, it won't benefit us. Too many opponents will come running at the noise, and we definitely won't escape. Besides... This fight doesn't advance our goal."
"Oh..." Kakashi said, who was standing behind Itachi holding a kunai to his throat and giving Kurenai a chance to step back a couple paces. The Kakashi between Asuma and Kisame had been a shadow clone and vanished when the latter lowered his sword. "So what's your goal?" At those words, Itachi turned half toward Kakashi.
"We're looking for something, and it's here..."
"And? What exactly?" Kakashi pressed, fearlessly meeting his opponent's eyes.
"I can handle it more efficiently than Kisame..." Itachi's hand twitched at Body Flicker speed. Literally a fraction of a second and a slight tremble of his cloak sleeve, and he already had several shuriken in hand.
"Damn..." Kakashi jumped back sharply. "Water: Water Wall" He used a defensive technique on the fly, forming several seals.
"What speed..." Kakashi thought. "Lured me into defense and distracted at the same time."
"You're good at this fighting style, Kakashi-san. You ALMOST predicted my attack." Itachi said as the water wall dissipated, and on the word "almost," a kunai stabbed into Kakashi's kidney from behind. Water began flowing from his wound. The water clone dispersed into the river. Itachi's Sharingan instantly spotted Kakashi swimming under him and his signal to Kurenai in the form of a kunai.
Unfortunately, she misunderstood and hurried to take the weapon from him, preparing to attack the two Itachis. Kakashi had to neglect defense and surface from under the water to cover Kurenai from what happened next. Itachi also used a water clone and detonated it, covering Kakashi and Kurenai in a wave of water.
"Kakashi, Kurenai!" Asuma jumped to them, ignoring Kisame who decided to just watch his partner's actions and, after Itachi's remark, showed no desire to help him.
When the mass of water fell back down, the soaked to the skin and stunned Kakashi and Kurenai accepted Asuma's help to get to their feet.
"Damn... Don't underestimate him, he became ANBU squad captain at thirteen." Kakashi said.
"Yeah... We got that he's strong." Asuma replied.
"You haven't seen half of it..." Kakashi replied.
"You've mastered your Sharingan excellently. Its previous owner should be proud that his Sharingan in a foreign body could stand against mine, but... Not for long." Itachi said, closing his eyes.
"Damn... Close your eyes! Now!" Asuma and Kurenai managed just before Itachi raised his eyelids. Kakashi also closed his right eye and concentrated chakra in his left to resist the genjutsu. He was quite skilled at illusion reflection and defense and was confident he could stand against even a Uchiha clan opponent.
"So that's it... You can do that too, but it's not even that you'll spend far more chakra resisting than anyone in our clan. It's that a borrowed Sharingan like yours can never stand against a true Sharingan... Mangekyo Sharingan."
The pupils in Itachi's eyes merged into one large pattern like a three-bladed shuriken. In that instant, Kakashi's defense broke...
***
In the basement room with two bronze braziers, Sasuke stood as if at an altar. Even if the fires hadn't lit from the presence of someone with Uchiha blood, he could still see every detail in this dark room without issue. He stood with his Sharingan active, looking at the apparently blank stone tablet. Only a Sharingan bearer could see what was written on it. He had almost forgotten about it... Now he clenched his fists until his knuckles whitened. A small part of the inscription revealed itself to him...
"So you were right after all..." He said aloud, knowing for sure no one else was in the room. "Itachi..."
"Alright, still need to drop by Kakashi's house and give him the damn reports from the armory warehouse, forge, and chief customs. Sudden inspection is good, but he could handle it himself instead of sending me on my day off..."
The former Uchiha clan quarter was still unsettled. Though almost completely cleared, all that remained was this temple, from which they had only removed the crests and generally planned to repurpose for some other temple's needs. On one hand, part of the land for development was quite expensive and attractive, but on the other... No one was eager to invest in construction on a site where something like that had happened relatively recently. Everyone who could afford it waited for the village to repurpose the roads and build some dorms here. But the village leadership wasn't rushing the development either. Simply, there were no extra funds for it now, and no one wanted to lower the price. Selling land was never quick, especially in a hidden village. Everyone knew that with patience, you could even raise the price—land doesn't eat, and a buyer will come eventually.
Leaving the temple and heading along the road to Kakashi's house, he almost forgot that he still hadn't deactivated his Sharingan.
Finally calming down, he checked the time passing a clock shop a couple blocks from where Kakashi lived. A bit more than two hours had passed while he collected reports for Kakashi.
It coincided that, by Kakashi's words, he also had the day off. Sasuke had managed to get answers to some questions. For example, Team Seven's composition was now in big question since they had contended for chunin rank, and maybe one or even all of them would get it. Then their work with Kakashi could end early, which he would be glad about, and he said so without much reserve.
"Damn... He's still not the most social type, and Asuma and Kurenai were right then." Sasuke pondered as he approached his house. "Anyway, whatever happens, the new Hokage will decide the exam participants' fates, and though Kakashi didn't say who exactly it would be, he reassured that it definitely wouldn't be him. Enough thinking about what I can't influence anyway. I'll hand over the reports and drag Naruto to training even by the scruff... We haven't practiced together in a while, and he's probably loafing right now."
Climbing the stairs, Sasuke slowed and carefully cracked open the door, entering the apartment corridor. The door being open was clearly not good...
"Quiet... We're not alone!" He heard familiar voices from his bedroom.
"G-good morning..." He said, entering the bedroom. "Teacher asked me to bring him these reports, but why is he..." Sasuke pointed to the pale Kakashi lying under the blanket. "In that... State? What's going on here?"
"Heh..." Gai began. "You see, the thing is..."
Suddenly another man burst into the room in sunglasses and standard Konoha gear, interrupting Gai...
"There you all are! Is it true Uchiha Itachi returned to Konoha?!" At that, Sasuke's hand trembled, and he dropped the folder of reports to the floor. But the man didn't notice the teen nearby and decided to finish him off... "And that he came for Uzumaki Naruto?!" Sasuke turned to face the man, who realizing what he'd said jerked back and paled, while Gai slapped his face with a loud smack.
"Damn..." Came from Gai. Sasuke, without thinking long, shoved the nearest jonin aside and bolted out of the apartment at full speed.
Run, run, run...
Faster...
It was crowded and noisy around, but he heard almost nothing except the pounding of his heart. His legs carried him on their own... Screw bumping someone with his shoulder or pushing off someone's cart with his feet to jump onto a roof. Right now, everything around suddenly lost all meaning.
"Naruto... Again Naruto! He came for Naruto! Damn it!" Spun in Sasuke's head. "Damn, damn, damn! DAMN! Be cursed, Itachi! You want to take my best friend too?! You want me to get stronger?! I won't allow it! Not like this! No! Be cursed!"
A little over a minute later, he already saw Naruto's house.
"Faster, faster, faster! No matter how strong he is, if he clashes with Itachi, it's definitely over for him!"
Not even winded with the weights on, he reached his house and in a rush cleared several flights. Not noticing the single person starting to descend, he naturally collided with her full force.
"Ow... Damn..." Came from Sakura, and her box of treats for Naruto flew down over the railing, while she fell onto the steps, barely keeping from hitting her head on them. "Watch it, you mothe... Huh? Sasuke?!" She exclaimed in surprise when she realized who was quickly getting up in front of her, rubbing his forehead. "What are you doing here... Sasuke, what happened?" She asked, seeing his expression. Right now, he looked possessed.
"Where's Naruto?" He replied with a question.
"I don't know... I wanted to thank him and give him the treat, but he's not home. Maybe at the training ground or Ichiraku?" Sakura said questioningly. "Right after that, Sasuke used instant teleportation from the spot without answering anything at all." "Huh? What the hell is going on?!"
"He probably isn't at the training ground right now..." Sasuke reasoned to himself. "I'll check Ichiraku. If he's not there, I'll search the training grounds and fields! Damn! Could he already have..."
In ten minutes, Sasuke reached Ichiraku Ramen and already began feeling the weight of the ankle weights.
"Old man, has Naruto come by today?!" Sasuke asked without catching his breath.
"N-Naruto, yes, he came by, he had breakfast, ordering a big portion with the gentleman..."
"Doesn't matter! Where is he?! Where did he go?! Did he say anything?!" Sasuke bombarded the cook with questions.
"Well, it seems... Like they went off looking for some woman on a mission..."
"They? Mission?! What?!"
"Don't rush so much... The gentleman Jiraiya himself came for him and invited him along on a mission, that's for sure. Seems like he went to pack his things, but they were supposed to meet up and head to the nearest city-outpost not far from the village."
"Jiraiya?" Sasuke questioned.
"He's one of the three legendary ninja! Hero of the last great war and student of the Third Hokage himself, peace to his ashes... They say he's going to become the fifth..."
"How do I find him?! What does he even look like?!" Sasuke hurried the cook.
"Uh... Well... Look for a tall, broad-shouldered old man with long snow-white hair—you won't miss him."
"Tall... White hair..." Sasuke muttered to himself and ran toward the eastern gates without even thanking him.
"What a punk... Could've at least ordered some noodles... Where are they rushing off to like that?"
"Dad, was it really okay to just tell him where Naruto went? You heard about the money involved. What if it's connected somehow? What if we end up in trouble later?" Ayame tugged at his sleeve.
"Nah... Why would we?" The elderly man shrugged. "It's Sasuke—they're friends with Naruto, sort of. And he's with the gentleman Jiraiya himself!" He raised his index finger admonishingly. "What could possibly go wrong?!"
Shedding the ankle weights on the run toward the eastern gates, Sasuke activated his Sharingan and barely overheard the outrage from someone in the customs squad as he rocketed through the open gates without permission or pass. The only person who could authorize it right now was lying unconscious, and finding whoever was in charge would take too long. While he hesitated, his friend might already be fighting for his life.
"Hang on until I get there, Naruto—I'm coming!"
"Hah!" Kisame said, standing on a high-voltage power line pole running a block from where Naruto and Jiraiya were right now. "After what we ran into in Konoha, I expected anything... But this... Itachi, where did you screw up so bad that we're this unlucky?"
"Me?" He looked at his partner in bewilderment.
"Well, not me, right? You can blame Kakashi and that green idiot on me. This level of bad luck is definitely yours."
"Heh..." Itachi exhaled. "I'll agree on the bad luck. But..."
"There's always a but... The damn Jiraiya himself... One of the legendary Sannin. All the glory of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist means nothing compared to even one of them. Maybe you're a Uchiha clan genius and can counter him somehow. I'm out—I don't wanna die that stupidly. Better to wait out the storm."
"No... You're not far off from me here... This guy's just pretending to be a total degenerate, but if he gets serious, even both of us at best can just die with him. Who would've thought such an obstacle would appear on the horizon." Itachi said and squatted down. "Still... No mission is impossible, and the most impregnable fortresses can be taken with cunning..." He continued, eyeing a tall, stately brunette in a stylish dress passing by.
When that brunette approached us in the hotel lobby and asked for directions to some restaurant or teahouse since she wasn't local... It hit me like a bolt of lightning, and I remembered that moment from the anime. The old perv fell for it, but I grabbed his elbow just before he followed her out and whispered a warning...
"Be careful, old man—something's off here, I can feel it in my gut..." He gave me a suspicious look, of course, but nodded, closing his eyes. He can be serious when he needs to be.
I'd completely forgotten what was supposed to happen before we went looking for Tsunade. Heh... Time takes its toll, and my memory's starting to fail. Forgetting such a key detail—yeah, that's a fail... When I get back, I need to go through my journal again—or better, make a new one now if possible. Yeah, before Itachi knocked on my door, I'll get to it.
Didn't have to wait long—about half an hour after I checked in, dumped my stuff, and got all the important service info, since we'd be here until tomorrow morning. Until the Pervert decides on our exact route. He's betting on this place too and wants to collect part of the winnings.
*knock-knock-knock*
Hm... What if I play dumb?
"Nobody's home, Itachi!" I wish I could say that... But better to stay quiet as a mouse.
Silently, I slung the sword on my back again and put on my boots.
*Knock-knock-knock*
Hm... Persistent...
"Sir, my name is Aya, I'm from hotel staff—we have an emergency, are you in there?!" A pleasant female voice said.
No no no... Not falling for that crap, Itachi. Screw off... Keep playing log.
Just in case, I slowly backed toward the window, facing the door the whole time. That'd be a riot if he could see through walls with Sharingan this whole time and I'm here performing... He couldn't, right? Not even through a thin door?
Damn... Starting to have vague doubts...
"And where are we off to?" On the windowsill sat a huge guy with gray-blue skin, actual gills on his face, damn it...
I turned and swallowed a grin.
"Yeah..." Was all I could say. My heart pounded like mad. Right now, I'm no match for him... Only option is stall until the Pervert shows.
*Knock-knock-knock*
Someone knocked again...
"Seems you have visitors, kid? Why don't you get the door?" He grinned, gripping his massive sword's hilt on his shoulder.
No choice—I trudged over to open it...
Behind it were two red eyes with multiple pupils and a smirking, much thinner Itachi after all these years.
"Long time no see, Naruto-kun..."
***
Read the story months ahead of the public release — early chapters are available on my Patreon: patreon.com/Granulan