When Izumi slowly opened her eyes, she felt strange. Her body was sore, her head was spinning, and the light above her was dim.
That was the first time she had used her Mangekyo, and it had completely knocked her out.
"Ah..." She groaned as pain racked her body. For a second, she thought her eyes were blurry, but they sharpened up quickly.
"What happened..."
She blinked a few times and realized she was back in Konoha—inside the Uchiha compound.
But something didn't feel right.
In front of her stood a small figure. A boy, maybe her age—no, younger... he had to be Kiyomi's age.
He wore a full mask, and his presence made her nerves spike. Around him, some of the Uchiha she knew were lying unconscious on the floor.
Izumi's body tensed. She immediately jumped to her feet and got into a defensive stance.
Her body protested, but she powered through, ready to defend herself if she needed to.
"Relax," the masked boy said, lifting his hands in peace. "They're not dead. Just asleep. I needed to talk to you. Alone."
Izumi didn't let her guard down, but that alone made her visibly relax. Still, she wasn't in any condition to fight anyone right now.
"Who are you?"
"Hmmm... Let's just say… I'm not an enemy, nor a friend either.
"I'm the one who saved your people out there in the forest, actually," the boy replied. "You were about to die. I stepped in."
Izumi's eyes narrowed. Recalling what had happened back then, she knew their condition was indeed dire.
The two Uchiha with her were by no means capable enough to handle those enemy shinobi by themselves; Izumi was sure of that.
Meaning, someone had indeed helped them.
"Why?" That was all she asked.
He shrugged. "Let's call it a good deed with benefits. You owe me one now."
She stayed silent, trying to make sense of what he meant.
"Sigh... I have information on Itachi."
Her eyes widened. Now the identity of this person was even more important for her to know. However, that could wait—if he was really telling the truth, then she had to hear him out.
'Itachi...' her hands clenched.
"What do you want..."
"I want to learn Genjutsu—specifically Sharingan Genjutsu. I figure saving your group and bringing you back alive might not be enough, so I'll barter Itachi Uchiha's intel with you. What do you say..."
Her mind still wasn't working at its best capacity to react immediately.
The momentary delay in her response made Sukuna wonder whether she needed more time to think about it.
He honestly just wished to learn Genjutsu from her—it's not like he was asking for her hand in marriage.
At first, when he had helped them out back in the forest against Danzo's goons, he hadn't even been acting to save them, but rather to ruin Danzo's plan.
No matter what the situation was, as long as it involved Danzo, he would interfere; there was a certain degree of satisfaction in it.
However, upon thinking about it, it was only natural that he should be compensated, right?
So, he had simply left the remark about getting something in return for saving them, for future use.
As he thought more about it, he realised this was a great chance to learn Genjutsu.
Due to a lack of teachers and intel, he was limited in what he could do with Genjutsu. Most techniques wouldn't work for him either, since he couldn't use hand signs like others to mould his CE.
However, many of the Uchiha clan's jutsu were completely Sharingan-based. That was what he wished to master.
Seeing the girl still unresponsive, he sighed.
"I won't force anything. Think about it. If you wish to know about Itachi Uchiha, then teach me. Otherwise, next time… maybe I'll just watch you all getting played by others. Uchiha are an endangered species nowadays, after all." He hopped down from the table he had been sitting on all this time.
And with that, he vanished into the night, leaving Izumi standing in the middle of the room—still confused, still guarded, but definitely curious.
Her mind was still reeling at what had just happened.
However, she knew one thing: now she had a lead to reach out to Itachi.
After some time, Izumi sat inside one of the Uchiha rooms, bandages around her arms and shoulder. She had just finished talking to a few older Uchiha, the ones who had returned with her from the failed mission.
They were shocked to hear that the mysterious masked boy who had saved them had actually broken into the Uchiha compound.
This raised many flags for them, but seeing that the man—or boy, whatever he was—wasn't hostile, they decided, for the time being, not to act against him.
Upon learning that he even had intel on Itachi, they were excited—though in return, they had to teach him Genjutsu.
That was odd, to say the least. Why bother coming to them to learn Genjutsu? There were better ways to learn the art, especially for someone strong enough to defeat those enemy shinobi by themselves.
However, ultimately, it didn't matter. Teaching him Genjutsu was a minor thing compared to the intel they sought.
So, for the time being, they decided to wait until he came back—and accept his offer.
Not long after, Kiyomi came rushing in. Her eyes were full of worry. "Izumi!" she called out as she stepped into the room.
Izumi gave her a tired smile. "Kiyomi... don't worry, I'm alright."
Kiyomi sat down next to her, searching her face. "What happened out there? You left to find Itachi, and now two Uchiha didn't even come back."
Izumi looked away for a moment. "We were attacked. That's all I can say."
"Attacked? By who? Was it Itachi..."
"No, no... it's not like that. See, I'm not sure who those enemy shinobi were..." Izumi lied.
While Sukuna never told them about the real identity of the enemy back then, his remarks about the village and Danzo were enough to indicate what was going on.
And since Izumi now held a Mangekyo, others who knew about Root also let her know, since she had the right and the power.
Izumi didn't wish to let Kiyomi or Sasuke know about these messy things.
She wasn't ready to tell her about Danzo's Root or the masked boy breaking into the Uchiha compound earlier. Some things were better left unsaid… for now.
Kiyomi frowned but didn't press further. Instead, she took a deep breath. "Izumi… I want you to teach me Genjutsu."
Izumi raised an eyebrow. "Again? I told you... Kiyomi, I will once you..."
"I know... I know. And I'm ready."
This time, Kiyomi didn't argue. She simply activated her Sharingan.
Izumi's eyes widened. "You awakened it?"
Kiyomi nodded. Her red eyes spun with all three tomoe glowing clearly.
"Three tomoe?!" Izumi gasped. "Since when?"
"A long time ago. I just didn't want to be a shinobi, so I kept them hidden… I didn't tell anyone. Not even Sasuke."
Izumi was still in shock. "You've been hiding this the whole time?"
Kiyomi nodded again, more serious this time. "Please. Teach me. I want to get stronger. I don't want to be left behind anymore."
Izumi looked at her for a long moment… and then smiled softly. "What with others asking me to teach them Genjutsu today." She chuckled at the irony.
Kiyomi didn't get it. "What does that mean?"
"Okay... I'll teach you." Izumi nodded, earning a bright smile from Kiyomi.
xxx
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