The morning was well underway.
The thick fog had cleared, and the sun quietly peeked out from behind the clouds, brightening the sky.
On a path leading out of Konoha, two figures in red-clouded black robes were on their way.
Remembering something, Kisame glanced at Itachi Uchiha, who had maintained a cold expression since leaving the village.
"Itachi, are we really leaving? Aren't we going to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki?"
Kisame was a little confused.
When the leader had announced these missions, Itachi Uchiha had eagerly taken them on.
Now, with the mission unfinished, why were they leaving?
The target, Naruto Uzumaki, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, was right in the village, wasn't he?
Although their journey in Konoha had been a bit bumpy, that little difficulty shouldn't have been a reason to cancel the plan.
"There are too many Konoha shinobi in the village, and too few opportunities. Naruto Uzumaki will be leaving the village for a mission at noon, and that will be our chance," Itachi Uchiha said slowly.
Hearing this, Kisame's small eyes widened in surprise for a moment.
"Oh."
Kisame nodded slightly.
He knew that this information must have been obtained by Itachi from a Konoha shinobi during the genjutsu.
At noon?
Kisame looked up at the sun, which was already in the eastern sky. It was soon.
But for some reason, the image of the guy in a uniform and a strange mask, laughing loudly in front of him, flashed through his mind again.
That strange outfit was most likely from the Anbu or a similar department in Konoha.
But why was his laugh so rampant?
Was he mocking their overconfidence?
Although the newspapers said that Naruto Uzumaki was very strong, claiming he was the 'God of Shinobi!' and 'one-on-one with the First and Second Hokage,' and so on...
In reality...
Kisame felt that Naruto Uzumaki was still lacking.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, as if sensing something, Kisame turned back in confusion.
He saw a figure rapidly approaching from a short distance behind them.
Itachi Uchiha, beside him, also stopped.
He, too, had sensed a chakra that felt a little familiar.
That's right!
It was him!
"Stop!!"
The figure finally caught up, stopping behind the two with an imposing aura.
"It's been a while, Sasuke."
Itachi Uchiha didn't even turn his head. His voice was as cold as ever, as if he were greeting a stranger.
Kisame, meanwhile, turned to get a good look at the newcomer.
But that build, that face, and most importantly, that pair of eyes...
They were a pair of three-tomoe Sharingan?
In an instant, an interesting and strange expression appeared on Kisame's face. "Oh? He has the Sharingan, and he looks a lot like you. Who is he, exactly?"
And more importantly, where did he get those eyes? Kisame was extremely curious.
"My younger brother!" Itachi Uchiha replied coldly.
Brother?
This title made Kisame even more curious. "I heard the entire Uchiha clan was wiped out?"
To confirm, Kisame emphasized again, "Wiped out by you!"
Itachi Uchiha remained silent.
At this moment, Sasuke, who had been running non-stop, finally saw his sworn enemy and couldn't hold back anymore. "Itachi Uchiha, I'm going to kill you!"
Sasuke's voice trembled with rare anger.
Hearing this, Itachi Uchiha finally turned around to face Sasuke.
He raised his cold eyes.
This was the first time Itachi Uchiha had seen Sasuke since that night.
By now, Sasuke was twelve years old.
He looked healthy, and the most important part was his eyes.
"Has it reached three tomoe already?"
Itachi Uchiha thought to himself. So young, and already at three tomoe?
He felt a mix of slight surprise and sadness.
How did the Sharingan evolve?
As someone who had gone through it, Itachi Uchiha knew very well.
Each evolution of a Sharingan's tomoe was a painful upgrade, often accompanied by a loss.
Although Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan wasn't as advanced as his own was at that age, he wondered what Sasuke had gone through over the years to evolve it to three tomoe.
Since his defection, Itachi Uchiha had always kept up with Konoha's intelligence and had never heard of any wars or major incidents happening in the village.
Moreover, given Sasuke's age, he wouldn't have had the opportunity to personally face war and truly experience the feeling of loss.
So how did these three-tomoe Sharingan evolve?
Itachi Uchiha fell into thought.
After a moment, he came to a conclusion.
It must have been because of that night, right?
Itachi Uchiha clearly remembered that at the time, Sasuke had only awakened one tomoe before he fainted.
Now, looking at it, the events of that night must have had a lasting impact.
Perhaps after Sasuke woke up, his eyes evolved again?
As he thought about it, he realized that the impact of that night's events on Sasuke was far more profound than what he had witnessed.
Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan flickered with the flames of hatred, staring intently at Itachi Uchiha. A monstrous anger brewed in his chest.
He had finally seen this man again.
Over the years, whenever he thought of this man, he was reminded of that night, the night his beloved parents died in front of him.
It was that night that everything changed!
His beloved brother, his family, his clan, all vanished overnight.
And the culprit was the man in front of him—Itachi Uchiha!
Now, finally... finally, he would have his revenge!
A sparse chakra, driven by his emotions, uncontrollably burst forth from his body, swirling around him.
"I have followed your words. I hated you and resented you. All to kill you..."
Zzzzzzt...
Sasuke activated Chidori. Lightning flashed around his right hand, and the sound of crackling electricity rang out.
"Chidori?"
Itachi Uchiha recognized the jutsu. It was Kakashi-sensei's Chidori.
This ninjutsu was not easy to learn. It seemed Sasuke had grown quite well over the years.
But...
Thinking back to his own choices and circumstances back then, Itachi Uchiha felt a sense of sadness.
Not enough. It's not enough!
Far from enough!!!
On the other side, the anger in Sasuke's heart grew even stronger!
The scenes from that night flashed before his eyes again. Sasuke couldn't suppress the anger in his heart any longer. "I've lived until now for this!
"I'm going to... kill you!"
With his final shout, Sasuke lowered his body and charged forward.
Seeing him charge, Kisame's hand reached for Samehada.
"No!"
Itachi Uchiha stopped Kisame, who was about to step forward. "I'll handle this myself!"
He stared intently at the charging Sasuke, intending to test him.
Itachi Uchiha remembered that Sasuke was around the same age as he was when he defected from Konoha.
At that time, his own strength, not counting his Mangekyō, was already at Kage level.
But that was after going through various kinds of training and even war!
What about Sasuke?
Itachi Uchiha wanted to see for himself.
How strong was Sasuke, who hadn't experienced war?
He was very curious!
Sasuke was already in front of him.
He was naturally fast.
His full speed during the Chunin Exams against Rock Lee was proof of that.
In fact, with his newfound anger, Sasuke's speed had surpassed his normal limits.
Sasuke was as fast as a bolt of lightning, and in the blink of an eye, he was in front of Itachi Uchiha.
Zzzzzzt...
"Die!!"
With a furious roar from Sasuke, the Chidori, now brimming with electricity and destructive power, was thrust toward Itachi Uchiha with an unstoppable force.
If this hit, even a physically strong person would be severely injured.
However, just like Sasuke,
Itachi Uchiha also possessed the three-tomoe Sharingan.
All of Sasuke's movements were in slow motion in front of him.
Then came a 'smack'
At the precise moment, Itachi Uchiha used his height advantage to lift his knee, bringing Sasuke's charge to a sudden halt. Then, he grabbed Sasuke's jutsu with his right hand, effortlessly stopping his ultimate move.
This...
It was broken so easily?
Sasuke looked up in shock, meeting Itachi Uchiha's cold, emotionless eyes.
Seeing that gaze again triggered Sasuke's PTSD.
A montage of images flashed through his mind...
Time seemed to rewind to that night, the night he witnessed his parents' death, and the person in front of him was their killer.
Back then, that man's eyes were exactly the same as they were now!
Exactly the same!!!
"Ahhh!!!"
Sasuke Uchiha roared in anger. A moment later, a flash of madness appeared in his eyes, and a successful smirk formed on the corner of his lips.
"You fell for it!" he said.
"Hmm?" Itachi Uchiha was suddenly shocked.
Before he could react, the lightning from the Chidori suddenly condensed into a sphere, and in the next moment, a flashing light sword rapidly extended.
"Lightning Style: Light Sword!!"
This incredibly solid sword, condensed from lightning, had terrifying destructive power. It could effortlessly cut through even a hundred-forged steel ingot like a hot knife through butter.
Of course, that was Naruto's Light Sword.
But Sasuke's wasn't bad, either!
Especially when he was only facing a human body!
Itachi Uchiha, completely unaware, was pierced right through.
"A jutsu with great power!"
Kisame, who was watching from a close distance, couldn't help but exclaim.
After speaking, he took a long, hard look at this little runt, no, Itachi's brother.
He never thought the Uchiha clan would produce so many geniuses.
Wait...
The Uchiha could hardly be called a clan anymore.
Because at this moment, there were only two of them left—Itachi and his brother.
Wait, no!
Thinking of Izuna Uchiha, whom he had met a few days ago, Kisame added the number to three.
No, still not right!
He also remembered 'Madara Uchiha,' who had tricked him into creating a 'world without falsehoods,' but who was later exposed as a fake and an identity thief—Obito Uchiha.
Kisame silently increased the number to four.
He didn't know if it was his imagination,
But why did it feel like there were more and more Uchiha in the shinobi world?
Kisame sighed in relief.
Fortunately, Itachi had already wiped out the Uchiha clan. So, there shouldn't be any more Uchiha appearing in the future, right?
In a flash, Kisame looked at Sasuke in front of him again.
Speaking of which, the Uchiha really were full of geniuses. Even Itachi's brother, who looked only twelve or thirteen, had already mastered such a powerful ninjutsu.
But...
Kisame cracked a cruel smile.
He was already ugly, but when he smiled, he looked even more like a monster—a shark-like ghoul.
This appearance was definitely enough to make a baby stop crying at night.
"Itachi-san is not so easily defeated!" Kisame said with a hint of dark humor.
"Hmm?"
Sasuke looked at him in surprise, then quickly turned his head to look at Itachi Uchiha, who had been pierced by the light sword.
Indeed, as soon as Kisame's words fell, the situation changed abruptly.
Caw, caw, caw...
The solid form of Itachi Uchiha suddenly transformed into a flock of crows, which scattered and flew away.
Looking again, where was the shadow of Itachi Uchiha?
What?
Sasuke couldn't believe it. The person he had just defeated was just a crow clone?
When?
Sasuke asked himself. He clearly hadn't seen Itachi Uchiha make any moves just now.
How... how did he use a clone?
"It seems you've grown a little, Sasuke," the man's voice sounded from behind him.
But Sasuke showed no gratitude for Itachi Uchiha's concern.
This praise just made him feel disgusted!
Whoosh!
Without hesitation, a light sword suddenly appeared in Sasuke's hand, and he thrust it backward.
But Itachi Uchiha easily dodged it!
Seeing that he had failed, Sasuke increased his chakra input again.
The light sword, which was originally a little over a meter long, suddenly extended, becoming five or six meters long.
This was Sasuke's ultimate move!
But it still missed!
Sasuke's sudden attack was still useless and was easily dodged by Itachi Uchiha, who also had the three-tomoe Sharingan.
This... this...
Seeing that his strongest trump card was completely useless, the light in Sasuke's eyes dimmed.
This was one of his ultimate moves. How could it be useless?
The feeling of loss only lasted for a moment before Sasuke's fighting spirit returned.
He turned and looked into the man's eyes.
At this moment, Sasuke suddenly understood.
That man had the same three-tomoe Sharingan as he did, and naturally the same dynamic vision. So, this kind of move would naturally be ineffective against someone who was prepared.
In other words, since they were taught by the same master, the move couldn't be broken!
On the other side,
Itachi Uchiha was also silently observing Sasuke.
He recognized the Chidori jutsu.
He never thought that in just a few years, Kakashi-sensei would develop an even stronger jutsu based on the Chidori.
As for the possibility that Sasuke developed this jutsu, Itachi didn't even consider it.
That Sasuke could even use this kind of jutsu was enough to please Itachi.
He recalled the feeling transmitted by the crow clone...
Itachi felt that the fact that Sasuke could master a ninjutsu that involved chakra shape and nature transformation was enough to prove Sasuke's strength.
But, this alone was not enough!
With that in mind, Itachi Uchiha's three-tomoe Sharingan quietly spun, and his invisible dōjutsu began to take effect.
Genjutsu, activate!
Although there was a faint hint of praise in his heart, Itachi Uchiha's expression remained merciless.
"I have no interest in you now!"
Itachi Uchiha said in a cold, low voice. His eyes were as icy as a block of ice, and anyone who looked at them for too long would shiver from the cold.
How to enrage Sasuke?
On this point, even Naruto had to concede to Itachi Uchiha.
"What are you talking about?!"
Sasuke Uchiha was enraged!
This man... all his years of hard work, his years of seeking revenge, he finally thought he had enough strength to stand in front of him...
But the result was this kind of evaluation?
Sasuke, who was about to calm down, was instantly consumed by rage.
Zzzzzzt...
The sharp sound of the Chidori rang out again. Sasuke's left hand condensed with electricity, and he charged toward Itachi Uchiha again.
"Die!!"