Chapter 102: The Akatsuki's Gaze
Chaos reigned in Konoha. Fierce battles raged in every district. The once-bustling streets were now a landscape of rubble, shattered walls, and craters. The transformation from prosperity to ruin had taken less than half a day.
Few could have imagined that the great Konoha would suffer such a catastrophic blow, its losses staggering. Even if it were to recover, it would never again reach its former heights. Its pinnacle combat power, the Third Hokage, was gone, never to return.
At that moment, on a high mountain overlooking the village, two figures stood at the cliff's edge, their gazes fixed on the smoking ruin below.
Though motionless, their bodies radiated powerful chakra fluctuations so intense they seemed to warp the very air around them. Both wore long black cloaks adorned with several dazzling red clouds, a pattern that spoke of rain and sorrow.
They were members of the Akatsuki organization. The dreaded S-rank rogue ninja, Uchiha Itachi, and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki.
Having learned of Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha, Akatsuki had dispatched the duo. Their official mission was to capture Naruto Uzumaki and acquire the Nine-Tails. But in truth, Itachi's purpose was to deter Konoha's leadership and ensure they did not move against his brother, Sasuke. It was a secret pact he had made with the Third Hokage—a pact now rendered void by the old man's death.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like Konoha has fallen on hard times," Kisame grinned, his sharp teeth making the expression terrifying. He hefted his massive, bandage-wrapped sword, Samehada, as if it were weightless. "Losing their top fighter, the Hokage... they're practically hollowed out now."
"What was once a prosperous village has been brought lower than the dirt. Pathetic." Kisame's sneer was full of contempt. A Konoha with the Third Hokage had been a force to be wary of. This Konoha, however, posed no threat to him.
Though Kisame chattered away, Uchiha Itachi beside him remained silent. His face was a mask of pure, unfeeling indifference.
"Not like you. Even you should feel some nostalgia for your old home," Kisame prodded, trying to get a rise out of his partner. After years together, he knew Itachi's temperament well. The Uchiha prodigy was always this cold and merciless, as if his eyes saw nothing but the next target.
"No," Itachi finally spoke, his voice as cold as ice. "I feel no nostalgia whatsoever."
As his words fell, the temperature around them seemed to plummet, turning the mountaintop into a frozen wasteland. Itachi looked down upon Konoha, his expression as unshakable as a mountain. Yet, deep within his pupils, hidden beneath layers of control, was a flicker of something else—the memory of a life lived within those walls, the enduring concern for his little brother, Sasuke.
After personally eradicating the Uchiha clan years ago, Itachi had become a rogue ninja and joined Akatsuki. To the outside world, he was a vicious traitor who had turned on his own.
But only Itachi knew the true weight he carried. He had joined Akatsuki not just to hunt Tailed Beasts, but to monitor the organization from within, to prevent it from truly threatening Konoha. For years, he had borne the guilt of a spy and a kinslayer, all to prevent a civil war. The "lesson" he had forced upon Sasuke with his Tsukuyomi was his greatest sin, a burden of hatred he had deliberately placed on his brother's shoulders to fuel his growth.
"Orders from above are clear," Kisame said, breaking the silence. "We take advantage of the chaos and capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki."
"Uzumaki Naruto... the Nine-Tails' vessel. Interesting," Uchiha Itachi murmured, a faint, calculated smile finally touching his lips. But then his expression shifted. His brow furrowed as he stared intently at the village. "Kisame, hold. Do not act rashly. I do not know how that man stands in the sky, but he... makes me wary."
Even from this distance, Uchiha Itachi could feel it—a pressure that seemed to crush the soul itself. Watching the battle between the Toad Boss and the One-Tail, a spark of genuine surprise had ignited in his eyes.
They had arrived shortly after the Sand-Sound invasion began. Though both were Kage-level, they had held back, waiting to see how the chaos unfolded and to potentially profit from it.
But the situation had evolved beyond their predictions. The emergence of Aizen Sōsuke had changed everything.
When Itachi and Kisame first saw Aizen, they assumed he was a Konoha hero. Then, with a single, casual stroke, he had murdered the Third Hokage. The sudden betrayal left them speechless.
Immediately after, the One-Tail had broken free from its seal within Gaara, shocking them further. The rapid, unpredictable turns of events had forced them to remain on the sidelines, silently observing.
Uchiha Itachi's gaze sharpened, his focus narrowing on Aizen's form through the distance.
For some reason, he sensed a peculiar power emanating from Aizen. A fluctuation that felt... familiar. It resonated with something he knew intimately.
Is he also proficient in genjutsu?
Itachi's eyes snapped shut. When they reopened, his pupils had transformed.
The whites were gone, replaced by a vibrant red. Within them, three black tomoe spun slowly around the pupil.
The Sharingan was activated.
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