"No matter what you become in the future, I will always love you."
These were the last words Itachi had spoken to Sasuke after defeating Yakushi Kabuto and activating Edo Tensei.
Itachi, whose soul was about to return to the Pure Land, looked at Sasuke with eyes full of affection.
"Sasuke, you foolish little brother."
"In that case, the future of the Uchiha clan will continue through you."
And as his soul ascended, Itachi's consciousness grew weaker and weaker.
"I have no regrets," he said, smiling happily.
…
After an unknown amount of time, Itachi suddenly opened his eyes.
The first thing he saw on the horizon was a hazy sunlight and countless intertwined roots of enormous trees.
In the scene before him, countless colorful and diverse fish swam freely.
Through the massive tree roots extending upwards and the swimming fish, Itachi realized that this did not seem like the Pure Land.
Looking at this scene, it seemed as though he was underwater.
Itachi had once been to the Pure Land before, after exhausting his chakra and dying from illness during his first battle against Sasuke.
He remembered that the world of the Pure Land was not like the scene before him.
"So… where is this?" Itachi could not help but ask. He tried to sit up, and suddenly felt his heart beating strongly.
Itachi pressed his fist, then wiped the tears marks on his face, standing in shock.
This was not a spirit, nor had he been revived through Edo Tensei; this was his physical body!
Itachi wandered around and discovered that he was aboard a ship; the vessel was enveloped in a bubble-like material, sinking into the depths of the sea.
Through the faint reflection cast by the bubble, he became more certain that he was not in a spiritual state, but in possession of his tangible, physical body.
"What is going on!"
At that moment, Itachi suddenly heard sounds coming from the front of the ship's cabin.
On the deck of the Sunny Go, Sanji slowly opened his eyes after hearing Franky and Zoro's voices.
"Benefactor?"
"Sanji, you're awake!" shouted Chopper.
"Come and eat the bento! Amazon Lily Bento," Luffy said with a smile, extending his hand.
"Amazon Lily…"
"Was Kuma really the benefactor…?"
"Do you know where you were for the past two years?"
"What exactly were you training for in that women's paradise, Luffy?"
Sanji remembered the terrifying experience he had on Okama Island during the two years Kuma had sent him on a flight, and he could only roar in frustration.
"Well, Sanji-san, though I don't know the hardships you endured, let us fully enjoy our new journey now," Brook took out his guitar, aiming to console Sanji.
"Let's sing together, let's celebrate our reunion after two years, and start a new path!"
"Don't encourage me, that will make me even sadder!" Sanji's face was colorless.
Itachi listened to their voices and frowned slightly.
It seemed they were the crew of this ship.
He didn't fully understand; he should have returned to the Pure Land, so why had he come to this place with his physical body?
He immediately wanted to confirm whether his body had been subjected again to a Reanimation Jutsu like Rinne Rebirth, and also to find out if Yakushi Kabuto or someone with a Rinnegan was nearby.
"Or did Sasuke bring me back to life?" The more Itachi thought, the less he understood.
At that moment, Usopp walked by carrying a telescope and said anxiously, "Hey, hey, you still have the courage to enjoy yourselves?"
"Nami just said that seven out of ten ships heading to Fishman Island are sinking—seven out of ten! We can't afford to slack off."
As Usopp spoke, he raised his telescope to look around; climbing the stairs to the ship's secondary mast, as soon as he looked through it, he suddenly saw someone standing on the deck!
"Wow!"
Hearing Usopp's loud scream, Itachi, still confused, immediately became alert.
Usopp shouted and fell on the stairs, and then Luffy and Zoro rushed toward him.
"Usopp, what's happening!"
"There's… there's an enemy on the ship!!" stammered Usopp.
"Enemy! Where! Where?" shouted Chopper alongside Usopp.
By then, Zoro had already seen Itachi and drew his sword immediately.
Itachi instinctively reached for the ninja tools on his waist, but he did not have a ninja tool pouch.
Luffy watched Itachi carefully; he wore a mesh vest on his upper body, black pants with knee pads on the lower, short open-toed shoes, sunken eyes, a scratched forehead protector, and long hair tied back.
Luffy jumped excitedly, "This enemy's outfit is amazing!"
As soon as he said this, all members of the Straw Hat crew looked at Luffy.
"Luffy, it's been two years and your focus is still so unique."
"Yes, at least we need to know where this person came from," Franky clenched his iron fist and looked at Itachi tensely.
Since arriving at the Sabaody Archipelago and escaping the Navy's pursuit, diving into the depths of the sea, he had been aboard the Sunny Go the entire time; he also confirmed before departure that there were no enemies hidden on the ship.
Robin cautiously looked at Itachi and said, "Could he be a warrior sent by the Navy specifically to take our lives?"
"You make it sound really scary, Robin!" Chopper jumped along with Luffy.
"Tear-man, where are you from!" Sanji pointed at Itachi and asked.
"By the way, do I even have tears? Right, I'm a skeleton, so I don't have tears," Brook touched his empty eye sockets with a sigh.
"Stop fooling around, Brook!" Nami punched him away.
Itachi looked at the people before him and thought, Why are these people speaking so randomly?
From their appearance, none of them resembled a ninja from any country, except for the green-haired man in the middle, whose clothes resembled a samurai to some extent.
"Hurry up and tell us, Tear-man, how did you get on our ship, ha ha ha ha."
Luffy asked, hands clasped behind his head, laughing loudly; he showed no signs of tension.
Itachi then realized that the language they spoke was the same as his.
"What if I said I don't know why I appeared here?" Itachi spoke, his voice still as deep as before.
"Then I'll cut off your limbs and ask!" Zoro drew his sword and attacked, appearing immediately before Itachi.
"Zoro! Don't be reckless!" Nami's warning didn't finish before Zoro's sword struck Itachi.
Zoro easily cut Itachi in half!
"Ah, that's it!"
All the Straw Hat crew cheered in unison.
But at that moment, Itachi's body split in two, suddenly dissipating, transforming into a flock of black crows.
The crows scattered and flew, making strange sounds in the depths of the sea.
"Devil Fruit? What kind of ability is this?"
Zoro immediately infused Haki into his sword; at Mihawk's castle, Hawkeye had taught him how to deal with Devil Fruit users—by infusing Haki into his weapons to attack and break the Devil Fruit abilities.
But as soon as Zoro attempted to release the Haki, he suddenly felt dizzy in his eyes. When his vision stabilized, he found himself in a desolate world full of shades of red blood!
"What is this!?"
Wasn't he supposed to be on the ship? How did he end up in a place like this?
And his body… he couldn't move.
"Zoro, what's wrong!" Luffy rushed forward quickly. He found Zoro in a sword-swinging stance, but his body was completely immobile.
And the Tear-man was nowhere to be seen.
At that moment, Itachi's form slowly reassembled from the crows and stood on the ship's secondary mast.
"Look, Tear-man is there!" Usopp was the first to point out Itachi.
Everyone immediately turned their gaze to Itachi.
"Tear-man, what did you do to Zoro!" shouted Luffy loudly.
"Don't worry, he's fine." Itachi's eyes moved slightly, freeing the Genjutsu, making Zoro collapse to the ground.
Chopper quickly went to check on Zoro.
"First, I want to clarify that I am not here to be your enemy," Itachi said, looking at Luffy.