Chinatsu: Why are you running?! Get back here!
Itachi Uchiha: You think I'll come back just because you told me to? Don't I have any dignity?
Of course, there was no such conversation in reality. One side was chasing, the other fleeing, and both were completely focused, leaving no room for useless banter.
Itachi Uchiha sprinted forward with the standard high-speed shinobi running posture, while Chinatsu used giant trees created through Wood Release to rapidly close the distance from above.
A stamina contest? What could a sickly body like Itachi's possibly do?
Chakra reserves? Did he think her monstrous chakra volume enhanced further by Sage Mode and her Uzumaki vitality was a joke?
The outcome had already been decided the moment Chinatsu chose to pursue. Suddenly, Itachi turned around and formed hand seals at incredible speed.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Dozens of flaming projectiles shot toward Chinatsu, mixed with hidden shuriken just like the Uchiha clan's classic assassination tactics. However, Chinatsu merely copied Hashirama Senju's arrogant posture from earlier battles, wrapped her hand in Sage Chakra, and casually batted the flames aside while dodging the hidden shuriken with her enhanced perception.
Itachi Uchiha inhaled deeply and finally stopped running. A moment later, Kisame Hoshigaki also halted beside him, dragging Samehada across the ground.
Kisame stared at Itachi.
Itachi stared at Chinatsu.
Meanwhile, Chinatsu's Mangekyō Sharingan scanned Itachi's body like a radar searching for hidden treasure.
Where's my brother's Mangekyō Sharingan? It's not on his body. Did he really hide it inside one of those crows using a genjutsu trigger?
Chinatsu touched her chin and muttered softly. After a brief silence, Itachi activated Susanoo once more, but this time it was no longer the skeletal first stage.
Susanoo Third Form!
The first stage was merely a rib cage and skeletal structure.
The second stage added muscles, veins, and flesh.
The third stage manifested armored plating and proper weapons, turning Susanoo into a true half-bodied war god.
Above this still existed the Complete Body Susanoo and the Perfect Susanoo used later by Madara Uchiha, but those heights were impossible for Itachi's frail, disease-ridden body to sustain.
Even so, this armored Susanoo still possessed terrifying power because Kishimoto had practically stuffed cheat abilities into Itachi's arsenal.
The Yata Mirror.
The Totsuka Blade.
And the Yasaka Magatama.
Two of Japan's Three Sacred Treasures were directly referenced in his abilities, while the Totsuka Blade was essentially a spiritual sealing sword capable of trapping targets inside a genjutsu dream world forever.
Because of this, Chinatsu remembered how ridiculous powerscaling discussions from her previous life used to claim Itachi could seal even Kaguya Ōtsutsuki if he landed a hit.
Watching Itachi's desperate expression, Chinatsu frowned slightly, jumped down from the giant tree beneath her feet, and spoke in confusion.
"Are you trying to fight me to the death? Why are you risking your life like this? I suggest you cancel your Susanoo. Your remaining lifespan should be reserved for stimulating Sasuke's growth, right?"
"What…?"
Itachi's pupils shrank.
"How do you know that?"
Even Kisame turned to stare at him.
In the original story, Itachi suffered from a terminal illness while secretly planning Sasuke's future all along. He intended to die by Sasuke's hand, allowing Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan through hatred and eventually obtain the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan by transplanting Itachi's own eyes.
At the same time, Itachi had implanted Shisui's eye into a crow carrying Kotoamatsukami, intending to brainwash Sasuke if he ever turned against Konoha after learning the truth behind the Uchiha massacre.
This…
Honestly, Chinatsu still didn't know whether to call him the greatest older brother or Konoha's most tragic patriot.
She flicked the kunai in her hand casually. There was no genuine killing intent left in her anymore, but Itachi clearly misunderstood everything.
"Return my brother's Mangekyō Sharingan. No objections, right?"
Chinatsu held the kunai loosely while extending her free hand toward Itachi.
"Your brother… Shisui's eyes? You even know about that…"
"Of course I know. Those are my brother's eyes. Did you think I wouldn't recognize them?" Chinatsu replied shamelessly while widening her Mangekyō Sharingan slightly in warning.
Her expression practically screamed:
Want to test whether your Tsukuyomi is stronger, or my Kotoamatsukami?
Naturally, Itachi had no idea her Mangekyō possessed Shisui's ultimate genjutsu, so the threat existed entirely inside Chinatsu's own imagination.
Still, regardless of circumstances, he was indeed carrying another person's brother's eyes. Even though Shisui had entrusted them to him voluntarily before jumping into the Naka River, refusing the request of Shisui's surviving little sister would be difficult.
After a long silence, Itachi finally spoke.
"I can return Shisui's eye to you. But before that… tell me about Sasuke. How far has he grown?"
"Relax. With me around, Sasuke's developing perfectly fine physically, mentally, and emotionally. I'm not going to educate him using your self-sacrificing nonsense."
Chinatsu crossed her arms proudly and raised one finger.
"From childhood, I've taught him proper values, teamwork, emotional control, and basic human decency. He's not becoming another emotionally constipated Uchiha."
Itachi fell silent again.
Although he didn't understand half the strange terms Chinatsu used, he could tell she genuinely cared for Sasuke.
Perhaps…
Perhaps sparing her that night really had been the correct decision.
Finally, Itachi formed a hand seal.
"Crow Summoning Technique."
A black crow appeared in a burst of smoke. One eye was ordinary, while the other possessed the distinctive pattern of Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan.
The moment the crow looked at Chinatsu, its feathers puffed up in terror and it nearly dropped from the air.
Chinatsu waved at it cheerfully.
"Come here, little crow."
The crow trembled and looked toward Itachi for help. After seeing Itachi silently nod with resignation, it shakily flew over and landed on Chinatsu's shoulder.
The two stared at each other.
Chinatsu smiled warmly.
The crow blinked nervously.
Language barriers were meaningless when summon animals possessed intelligence comparable to humans.
Chinatsu: Little crow, don't be scared. I'm not a bad person. Look at my eyes don't they resemble your other master's eyes?
Crow: Caw! (Say whatever you want! I'm mentally prepared already!)
Chinatsu: Oh? Pretty brave, aren't you? How about becoming my summon from now on? But before that… hand over my brother's eye first~
With an innocent smile completely unbefitting the atmosphere, Chinatsu slowly reached toward the crow.
The crow released an utterly miserable scream.
"CAAAAW!!!"
A moment later
Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan had been successfully recovered!
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