'What?!'
Orochimaru's face twisted in shock as he jerked his head to the side. There, beneath the tree branches, stood a bespectacled boy bathed in sunlight, his glasses glinting with an orange-red glare.
Then he glanced back at the person he was clutching by the throat—a figure clad in the Akatsuki's signature cloak, cold crimson eyes boring into him.
"Orochimaru... what is the meaning of this?"
"Uchiha Itachi?!"
Orochimaru's brain short-circuited. 'How the hell did this happen?!'
He had sworn he was holding that white-clad brat—so how had he suddenly pulled off a magic switcheroo?!
To be fair, Itachi was just as confused.
He had come to confront Hayashi Yuto about whether Danzō truly intended to move against his little brother. But the moment he materialized, Orochimaru had lunged at him like a rabid weasel.
Normally, Itachi could've dodged in his sleep.
Yet, in that split second, some bizarre force had locked his body in place. Next thing he knew, Orochimaru had him by the throat, dangling him mid-air while muttering something about "hating people who resemble him."
Itachi was baffled.
'How the hell do I resemble you?!' Just because we're both missing-nin from Konoha?!
"Heh… hehehe!" Orochimaru's gaze slid toward Yuto behind him, a grin stretching across his face. "You've become far more interesting, Yuto-kun."
He'd been played.
Both of them had been played.
This kid's abilities were nothing like what he'd let on—being able to cast this level of genjutsu without even a flicker of movement?!
"Sharingan.'
Orochimaru needed the Sharingan.
Only with those eyes could he avoid being humiliated like this again!
As for why Itachi, a Sharingan user himself, had also been fooled? Clearly, he just wasn't skilled enough.
But Orochimaru and the Sharingan? That would make him unstoppable.
With that thought, Orochimaru's free hand shot toward Itachi's eyes.
Watching the approaching fingers, Itachi's tomoe spun lazily as he murmured, "Genjutsu: Shackling Stakes.
*BZZT.*
The air warped.
The world shifted.
A blood-drenched realm unfolded before Orochimaru. The Itachi he'd been holding now stood meters away, those crimson eyes staring down at him with icy detachment.
"What…?"
Looking down, Orochimaru saw his body impaled by massive iron stakes, as if he were some sacrificial offering.
Ah.
'So this was the true power of Uchiha Itachi.'
Fantastic. The legendary Sannin, twice in one day, utterly outplayed by genjutsu.
Orochimaru's pride shattered.
With a sickening rip, he tore himself free—leaving an arm behind—before fleeing underground without so much as a parting insult.
"A splendid counter, Itachi-san," Yuto applauded. "So this is the power of the Sharingan?"
"Hayashi Yuto," Itachi's voice was frosty. "Whose side are you on—Danzō's… or the Akatsuki's?"
"Must I choose?" Yuto smiled warmly. "Both are merely stepping stones toward my goal."
Itachi's eyes narrowed.
He understood the implication—and it shook him.
This boy saw both Root and the Akatsuki as tools to be used and discarded.
'Wait—'
Had Yuto lured him here on purpose? Orchestrated this clash with Orochimaru to weaken them both?
"Oh? Caught me, did you?" Yuto sighed dramatically. "I'd hoped Orochimaru might at least wound you enough to make my job easier. Ah well. Guess I'll have to start with… an easier target."
"Danzō sent you to kill me?" Itachi's voice was lethally calm.
"'The Uchiha remnants must be purged.' His words, not mine!" Yuto shrugged. "But killing you alone seems tricky. Maybe I'll begin with… Uchiha Sasuke?"
*CLANG!*
Yuto's blade met Itachi's kunai in a shower of sparks.
"Angry, Itachi-san?" Yuto's smile never wavered. "I heard from Sasuke himself—you slaughtered your clan to 'test your capacity.' So what's one little brother in the grand scheme?"
"Abandon this course," Itachi's voice was deathly quiet.
"Or?"
"I will end you here."
Itachi's tomoe morphed into a sinister pinwheel.
"Amaterasu."
*WHOOSH!*
Black flames erupted over Yuto's body—
Yet the boy only grinned.
"Huh?!"
Before Itachi could react, a blade pierced his shoulder from behind.
"Tch. You dodged?" Yuto flicked blood from his sword. "Impressive reflexes, Itachi-san."
The burning Yuto dissolved into smoke.
"What…?" Itachi's mind raced.
No genjutsu or substitution should've fooled Mangekyō Sharingan.
"You told me to spare Sasuke, yes?" Yuto tossed him a photo. "Apologies… but that ship has sailed."
Itachi's hands trembled.
'Had Sasuke already—?'
His eyes dropped to the image.
And his brain blue-screened.
There, in full gothic lolita attire, twin tails and all, sat Uchiha Sasuke—glaring at the camera with unbridled fury and shame.
Itachi's soul left his body.
"Our time's up, Itachi-san," Yuto turned away. "This was fun."
"WAIT!" Itachi's voice cracked. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO SASUKE?!"
"Just a friendly classmate bonding exercise~" Yuto waved. "Let's go, Nee-chan."
Konan nodded, casting a conflicted glance at Itachi—who hadn't even noticed her presence.
Now she understood why her little brother was so confident.
If he could toy with a Mangekyō sharingan user like this…
'What in this world could possibly threaten him?'
"Hayashi Yuto—STOP!" Itachi's hands flew through seals. "Fire Style: Dragon Flame Bomb!"
A roaring fire dragon surged toward Yuto—
The boy didn't even turn.
"Water Style: Water Severing Wave."
*BOOOOM!*
A wall of spiraling water pillars erupted, swallowing the flames whole.
Steam billowed.
Itachi's jaw dropped.
'No hand signs.'
'No water source.'
'Just… a literal tsunami on demand.'
"What…"
"What kind of monster IS this kid?!"
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