A new arrival and it's about Itachi God. So, do give it a go.
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***
The setting sun, blood-red, enveloped the earth.
A courtyard nestled in the heart of Konoha.
This was the home of the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, and his wife, Kushina Uzumaki.
Four people sat at the living room table.
An elderly man, his hair slightly graying and his face wrinkled, held a pipe.
Next to him sat a woman of roughly the same age.
Although both were over fifty, they remained energetic.
The elder was the previous Hokage of Konoha, the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen.
As for the woman beside the Third Hokage, she was his wife, Biwako.
Across from the Third Hokage and Biwako, the Fourth Hokage, Minato, gazed at the woman beside him with an extremely gentle gaze.
The woman had long, blood-red hair and a pretty face, unmade up, yet her beauty was undimmed.
However, her prominent belly revealed that she was about to give birth.
The red-haired woman was Uzumaki Kushina, the wife of the Fourth Hokage and the current Jinchƫriki of the Nine-Tails.
Today was Kushina's due date, and the Third Hokage and his wife had come to their home to discuss all the details of the birth with Minato and his wife.
As the Jinchƫriki of the Nine-Tails, Kushina couldn't give birth directly at the village hospital for safety reasons.
Her birth had become a top priority for Konoha Village for the time being.
"I'll go get everything ready,"
Minato said gently, placing his hand on her shoulder.
His brow furrowed.
To protect Kushina from the emotional strain of labor, Minato hadn't told her about the possibility of an attack during her delivery.
Although Kushina was unaware of this, the change in Minato's eyes was clear to her.
She said nothing, simply gazing at the man with blonde hair before her, a smile plastered across her face.
And nothing in the world could bring Minato greater peace of mind than his wife's smile.
He gazed at Kushina and muttered to himself.
"Kushina, I will never let anything happen to you and Naruto!"
Minato and the Sandaime left the house first.
Using Space-Time Ninjutsu, they moved to the Hokage's office.
"Sandaime-sama, while I'm away, I'll leave the village affairs in your care."
Minato's face darkened.
Although Konoha remained peaceful, he had already made all necessary preparations.
Once Kushina left, the village would be put on high alert as quickly as possible.
"Be careful,"
the Sandaime nodded gravely.
He had dedicated decades to protecting this village and had no desire to see it damaged.
Swish!
The two concluded their conversation, and Minato vanished from the Hokage's office.
On the streets of Konoha, Biwako also left the house with Kushina, heading for the birthing site outside the village.
While Biwako appeared to be alone with Kushina, she was secretly accompanied by over a dozen Anbu experts, including Shisui.
Minato naturally couldn't feel completely at ease leaving all these matters to the Anbu, so besides them, Jiraiya also followed closely behind.
Kushina and Biwako walked towards the main gate of Konoha.
At this time, a black-haired woman holding a swaddled baby walked towards them.
"Mikoto, long time no see."
Seeing Mikoto coming towards her, the cheerful Kushina raised her hand and waved it at her, not looking like a pregnant woman who was about to give birth.
"Long time no see."
Mikoto also showed a happy smile on her face.
She looked at Kushina's bulging belly and glared slightly.
"You are pregnant too? When did it happen? I had no idea."
Kushina looked at Sasuke sleeping in Mikoto's arms and said in surprise:
"Wow, what a cute baby, is it a girl?"
"It's a boy." Mikoto chuckled.
"What did you name the child, Mikoto?"
Kushina asked curiously.
Mikoto replied, "Sasuke."
"Oh, he has the same name as the Third Hokage's father," Biwako said.
"Yes, I hope he can become a strong and great ninja like the Third Hokage's father."
Mikoto looked at Sasuke lovingly.
"Is that so?"
Kushina smiled, looking down at Sasuke in Mikoto's arms, and said, "My child's name is Naruto. I hope he can become good friends with Sasuke in the future."
After saying this, she suddenly leaned close to Mikoto and whispered.
"As expected, childbirth must be painful, right?"
Mikoto paused, then chuckled.
"Oh, I never thought Kushina had something to fear."
"Alright, Kushina, let's go."
Biwako suddenly grabbed Kushina's arm and pulled her away.
Because her birth was confidential, the conversation she had just had with Mikoto was already somewhat inappropriate.
"Then, Mikoto, we'll see you later."
Kushina turned around, smiled, and waved at Mikoto.
"Yes,"
Mikoto agreed, not giving it much thought, as she had no idea Kushina was the Nine-Tails' Jinchƫriki.
She held Sasuke in her arms and headed home.
Itachi, preoccupied, and Izumi walked through the family gate together.
They parted ways at the gate.
Along the way, Izumi had noticed something unusual about Itachi, but he refused to speak, so she didn't ask.
"Itachi, then, let's see you tomorrow morning,"
Izumi said, turning to leave.
"Be careful tonight,"
Itachi suddenly raised his eyes, gazing at the girl's back, and whispered softly.
Izumi, not quite hearing what he said, turned away.
By then, the boy had already vanished around the corner.
When Itachi returned home, the room was empty.
Moments later, Mikoto, holding Sasuke, entered.
"You're back," Itachi said, stepping out to greet them.
Suddenly, a figure appeared before the three of them.
Fugaku, dressed in combat gear, looked at Mikoto with a serious expression and said, "Highest combat readiness! Follow me!"
Mikoto, a former Uchiha JĆnin, grew serious at Fugaku's words.
"What happened all of a sudden?"
Though puzzled, she immediately approached Itachi and handed Sasuke to him.
"Itachi, please take good care of your brother,"
Itachi said, taking the still-sleeping Sasuke from her arms.
Mikoto quickly entered the room and quickly changed into combat gear.
"I'll leave Sasuke in your care,"
Fugaku said solemnly to Itachi before leaving.
Itachi nodded heavily and said, "Mom and Dad, don't worry. No matter what happens, I will definitely protect Sasuke!"
Reassurance finally crossed Mikoto and her husband's faces, and they vanished into the courtyard.
After they left, the sky finally fell into darkness.
The sun had set, and the moon had not yet risen.
In the darkness, Itachi, holding Sasuke, his eyes trembled with emotion.
The scene just now was exactly the same as his memory of the incident before the Nine-Tails.
Chi!
As the images of that night continued to resurface, Itachi's eyes unconsciously turned blood red.
Within them, black Magatama slowly swirled.
"May tragedy never happen again,"
Itachi sighed, automatically deactivating his Sharingan.
At that moment, the swirling Magatama patterns in his eyes suddenly shifted slightly, but quickly returned to their original state.
Even Itachi himself was completely unaware of this.
...
In the pitch-black night, a cave lies outside Konoha.
A dim yellow light illuminates the cave.
"Ahhh!"
A woman's moans, unable to bear the excruciating pain, echoed continuously from within the cave.
This is where Kushina gave birth.
Kushina, her hair disheveled and her face pale, lay on the delivery bed, her hands tightly gripping the armrests.
The excruciating pain of childbirth was unbearable even for her, and sweat streamed down her forehead.
As one life was born, another endured unimaginable pain.
"Kushina, hold on a little longer, the baby's head is already out!"
Biwako, who delivered her, appeared remarkably calm, having already given birth to a child.
"Um... Kushina, is she okay? This is the first time I've seen her scream in pain like this."
Minato, experiencing this for the first time, was panicked as well.
He looked at Kushina with concern, sweat dripping from his forehead.
"No problem. Women are much stronger than men. Rather than that, you'd better keep a close eye on the Nine-Tails' seal."
Biwako glanced at Minato and said solemnly, "You're the Fourth Hokage. Don't look so panicked!"
Bang!
At that moment, beneath Minato's palm, the already somewhat crumbling seal on Kushina's abdomen suddenly swelled, and a powerful surge of chakra assaulted the seal.
"Roar!"
The Nine-Tails' ferocious roar echoed in the ears of both the pained Kushina and Minato.
"Such a powerful force!"
Minato's face was solemn.
He mobilized all his chakra to firmly suppress the Nine-Tails.
"But you don't even think about getting out!"
He said nervously.
"Come on, Kushina!"
"Come on, Naruto!"
At this moment, Minato could no longer think about anything else.
He had to do his utmost to suppress the Nine-Tails.
Outside the cave, the mountain was covered with lines of barrier.
Buzzing.
Somewhere, space distorted, and then a figure in black appeared outside the cave.
The masked man trod the water, slowly moving forward.
However, there was no path directly ahead.
Swish!
He had just taken a few steps when several figures suddenly appeared from the mountainside ahead, charging towards him.
They were all quite agile.
Immediately afterwards, several Anbu, brandishing their swords, slashed at the masked man.
He simply stood there, neither dodging nor moving.
"Dang, dang, dang!"
Several Anbu swords, slashing from different directions, pierced through his body, as if slicing through the air, their collisions echoing with a clang of metal.
"What's going on?"
The Anbu stared in shock.
Then, the masked man took a step forward, his ethereal form emerging from the swords, and he suddenly extended his hand towards one of them.
However, the Anbu reacted quickly, retreating as the masked man attacked.
"What quick reflexes! The guards are so high-ranking!"
The masked man muttered to himself.
Anyone capable of fighting under his command was no ordinary Anbu.
Judging from their skills, they were all masters of the Anbu mid-level captain rank.
Swish!
The Anbu dodged his grasp, but wooden spikes suddenly sprouted from the masked man's outstretched hand.
With a swish, he thrust the spikes forward.
"Puff!"
The spikes flew with such speed that even the Anbu captain's skill barely avoided the vital points.
The spikes pierced his shoulder, and blood flowed out.
Immediately, the masked man formed hand seals.
"Ahhh!"
A scream rang out.
The wooden spike, which had originally been lodged in the Anbu's shoulder, suddenly grew rapidly, as if within the body, transforming into a dense mass of barbs, piercing half of his body.
The man instantly lost his breath and collapsed onto the surface of the water, his blood gradually staining it red.
The pupils of the people around him suddenly shrank, and someone exclaimed in surprise.
"Wood Release!?"
As they cried out, several people scattered.
"Our previous attacks all penetrated his body. A group attack is meaningless against him and will only hurt our own people!"
A short Anbu shouted a warning to his companions, his voice still tinged with childishness.
"Amazing observation!"
the masked man heard, looking towards the Anbu, quickly observing the blood-red eyes beneath his mask.
"Sharingan!"
Swish!
Just as he looked over, the Anbu before him suddenly formed a hand seal with one hand, and his form suddenly multiplied.
Several figures crisscrossed and rushed towards the masked man, simultaneously brandishing their blades.
"Boom boom boom!"
In an instant, countless flaming blades crisscrossed, enveloping the masked man in a dense attack.
The masked man still didn't dodge, but faced the blades, charging directly at the Anbu in front of him, aiming straight at one.
After all the flaming blades had pierced his body, the masked man formed hand seals, and wooden spikes sprouted from his palms once again.
The masked man was much faster than the Anbu, and his deception was completely useless against him.
Seeing the masked man rapidly approaching, the Anbu knew he couldn't escape.
His eyes flashed, and he manipulated his other clones to charge forward.
Just as the wooden spike was about to pierce him, a clone's blade struck the masked man's body.
The blade undoubtedly passed through his body, but at the same time, the wooden spike, meant for the Anbu, also pierced his body.
The two figures intertwined, and the masked man's body passed through the Anbu's.
Immediately, the remaining Anbu gathered around him.
"Just as I expected," the smaller Anbu muttered, staring at the masked man.
The latter, in turn, glanced back at him with a look of surprise.
"This guy's Ninjutsu allows our attacks to pass through his body, but to launch an attack against us, his body must first materialize."
He had previously observed that when the masked man attacked his companion, he took a step forward, allowing all his weapons to penetrate his body before launching his attack.
"Is Shisui Uchiha from the Anbu?"
The masked man's pupils shrank slightly.
This Uchiha Shisui, who must have been only about twelve years old, had actually analyzed his abilities in just two rounds.
"Wow!"
He sensed a threat from Shisui, and just as he was about to strike, a clear baby's cry echoed from the cave.
The masked man's eyes trembled.
"What a pity!"
He glanced at Shisui, just as several Anbu were about to launch another attack.
He formed hand seals and raised his arm.
"Whoa!"
The arm beneath his black robe suddenly transformed into a branch, then rapidly grew, spreading wildly, sprouting countless barbs, enveloping the Anbu in front of him.
They were forced to retreat temporarily.
Buzz!
The masked man flicked his hand, and the space in front of his right eye distorted, directly sucking him in.
Shisui, caught in the spurs' reach, saw this and his face suddenly tensed.
"Oh no!"
....
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