They braced.
Ninjas formed a ring around him, tense. They boxed Shigeo and the old man and boy into a wide encirclement.
Earlier they'd blown the tavern to pieces in a panic attack. Several were already injured. Now the Special-Special-Rank wanted man stood before them and they dared not strike.
The old man suddenly pulled his grandson behind him, leaving his back to Shigeo. "Young man," he said, "they bully the few with numbers. That's too much. We two will help you."
He opened his stance. The boy drew a kunai and held ready toward two other directions.
Shigeo had no time for others. His eyes never left Itachi. Cold, he replied softly, "No. I won't join you. I am not used to being used."
The blunt answer fixed his stance.
Itachi's fingers moved at his sides. "If you join the Land of Sky, aren't you being used by them?" he said.
If… if the Third had not driven his line to extinction… if he were still of Konoha… would his choices differ? The thought flashed through Itachi's mind and vanished with the image of the dead Uchiha Shisui. There are no "ifs."
Shigeo smiled. He glanced at the bent old man and the small boy. "If it's willing, it's not being used."
His smile widened. He looked around and hooked a finger once. "Come."
At that command every ninja charged, including Itachi and Biwa Jūzō wielding a Beheading Greatsword.
The old man was no match. The moment they attacked he was struck by ninjutsu, collapsed and coughed blood. The boy, seeing his grandfather fall, did not beg. He surged forward, shouting, "No one may harm my master. I'll fight you!"
Itachi's eyes followed Shigeo's smile and then landed on the child. The boy had no chakra and clearly did not know these men. Yet he risked his life to protect him. Why?
The boy rushed, kunai not yet raised. A stray shinobi's kick sent him flying into a wall and he fell unconscious.
"Beheading Greatsword!" Biwa Jūzō swung his blade at Shigeo.
He fixed his gaze and threw himself at full power. He believed in a single strike. He knew Shigeo killed without blinking. A monster with seven Tailed Beasts within, with terrifying chakra. If he didn't strike true now there would be no second chance.
Boom.
A Kūton (Air Release) burst outward. Two hundred people were blown aside. As the Beheading Greatsword descended a huge Jiton (Magnet Release) appeared and blocked the blade. Sparks flew as the blade scraped the magnetic shield.
At the same time fierce flames rained down. Itachi's Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu (Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique) surged to consume Shigeo.
"Jiton protection!" someone shouted.
Itachi assumed Shigeo had used Jiton to shield himself. Instead Shigeo had activated Jiton (Magnet Release) to shield the fallen low-rank shinobi beside him.
He vaulted onto a nearby roof as the great blade surged from another direction.
Shigeo's eyes flared with Mangekyō Sharingan (Mangekyō Sharingan). Biwa Jūzō didn't understand before he was trapped in an illusion. The Beheading Greatsword fell into Shigeo's hands. Shigeo flipped and drove the sword in a powerful chop toward the man standing in the street.
Itachi turned to intercept but Shigeo's speed was extreme. He struck a sequence of linked kicks that stalled Itachi's movement.
Then a shuch sound. Biwa Jūzō's body was cut in half at the waist by the Beheading Greatsword. The force pinned his torso and sword to the wall. Blood poured from him. He was finished.
Itachi's face stayed emotionless. He looked at Shigeo and then at the Jiton barrier protecting the old man. "You're still the same."
"Yes. Those who are good to me get my whole heart. Those who are not, I discard as if dirt." Shigeo's expression was casual.
Itachi's pupils narrowed. He snorted. "Sometimes you have no choice."
He activated his Mangekyō Sharingan (Mangekyō Sharingan). Amaterasu (Black Flame) leapt toward the youth. Bloodshot veins showed at his eyes' corners and blood dripped.
Shigeo dodged, then, seeing the blood at Itachi's eyes, turned and carried the old man and his grandson away from the scene.
The other ninjas pursued. Itachi's Katon (Fire Release) incinerated them, wiping them out.
From a street corner Shigeo laughed. "Itachi, we'll meet again."
Itachi stood amid the raging flames and looked at Biwa Jūzō nailed to the wall, barely alive. He asked, softly, "Do you have any last words you want me to tell anyone?"
"There is no such person!" Biwa Jūzō gasped through pain. "Do you — do you have such a person?"
Itachi said nothing. He glanced toward the street corner and clenched a finger.
Shigeo—if you had not left Konoha—could I have asked you to protect someone?
If. Too late.
The attempt to recruit Shigeo into Akatsuki failed.
Pain had known it would be difficult. He had not been deeply interested in Shigeo until Konan returned with her report from the Land of Earth. After Shigeo once routed the six Akatsuki sent to Wumang Castle, Kurozaru suggested declaring war on the Five Great Villages using Shigeo's name. They aimed to cut off his retreat and force him toward Akatsuki.
But though the Five Great Villages hunted him and he became the world's enemy, he did not choose them. He chose the worthless Land of Sky.
They all concluded he must be mad.
(End of Chapter)
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