On the screen, Itachi and Kisame, who had entered Konoha, walked slowly along the riverside.
The river flowed, reflecting their black-and-red cloud-patterned cloaks.
The two S-rank rogue-nins walked through the village so brazenly, as if the strongest village in the Shinobi World was nothing to them.
However, Asuma and Kurenai had already spotted the two suspiciously dressed individuals and blocked their path ahead.
Asuma, with a cigarette in his mouth, spoke calmly: "You're not from the village."
"What exactly are you here for?"
But the response from the opposite side confused both Asuma and Kurenai.
"Long time no see, Asuma-san, Kurenai-san."
They hadn't expected the newcomers to recognize them—and to speak so politely.
As Itachi and Kisame slowly lifted their heads and casually removed their straw hats, Asuma and Kurenai were shocked when they recognized the faces before them.
"Y-You're…"
"Hmph, without a doubt..."
"Uchiha… Itachi!"
Asuma's voice was laced with suppressed anger, and Kurenai's hand was already quietly resting on a kunai.
Meanwhile, Kisame on the opposite side still felt the need to introduce himself properly.
"Don't interfere with me. I don't intend to kill you," Itachi said expressionlessly.
But Asuma's retort cut deep: "That's not a line for someone who killed his own clanmens should say."
Hearing their exchange, Kisame's patience was already wearing thin. He hadn't come here to reminisce—much less to listen to sarcastic remarks.
Without a word, Kisame pulled Samehada from his back and slammed it into the ground, speaking impatiently: "This guy is pretty annoying. Should we just kill him?"
Itachi said calmly: "It seems they're not willing to step aside. But don't overdo it—your techniques tend to stand out."
Hearing that, Kisame's face split into a ferocious grin, as if a seal had been lifted. "They're done for then."
The next instant, both sides moved almost simultaneously.
Kisame charged with Samehada in hand, swinging fiercely at Asuma. At the same time, Kurenai activated her Genjutsu, preparing to strike at Itachi.
The moment their attacks met, Asuma realized the gap between himself and this "humanoid Tailed Beast."
Kisame, holding Samehada with just one hand, was easily overpowering Asuma's two-handed grip on his chakra-bladed knuckles.
What was even more exaggerated was that Kisame was using only the tip of the blade—the part least suited for exerting force.
That single move was enough to show just how terrifying Kisame's strength truly was.
Soon, Kisame pressed his attack. Asuma was too slow to react, and a large chunk of flesh was torn from his shoulder by Samehada.
In just a single exchange, Asuma—an Elite Jōnin—was already wounded.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Waves, Tazuna's house]
Naruto's eyes widened. "That shark-face guy is so strong! Asuma-sensei got hurt so fast?"
Kakashi stared at the screen and didn't answer.
Hoshigaki Kisame, a rogue-nin from Kirigakure with chakra comparable to a Tailed Beast.
Asuma losing to him was normal. Even if Kakashi was in his place, he wouldn't have a sure win.
[Speaking of which, compared to life's bitterness, Uchiha Itachi preferred sweets. After bringing Kisame to Konoha, he couldn't wait to get some sweets—even if it meant being discovered.]
[Without a doubt, Itachi was a typical Uchiha madman—willing to kill his parents and clan to achieve his goals. So from that perspective, the bitterness in his life was largely self-inflicted.]
[He and Obito might have wiped out the Uchiha clan together. But despite having so-called "Hokage mindset," he never thought of changing things—only of solving problems through simple, brutal slaughter.]
[Sometimes I really don't understand K-san's logic, which was essentially: Yes, Itachi killed many people—possibly even infants in swaddling clothes—but he's a good person! Look at how good he was to his little brother! Sure, he probably killed babies younger than Sasuke, but he's more pitiful than those children—his parents loved him, after all.]
[Thinking about how in the later stages Sasuke would actually say that Itachi was a perfect brother, it's hard not to cringe. It even feels like Sasuke might have been under Kotoamatsukami at that point!]
[Otherwise, based on his normal personality, when faced with the reanimated Itachi, he would most likely have gouged out his own eyes, thrown them at Itachi, and said, 'These were originally yours. Now I'm returning them.']
The screen's roasting was merciless, one jab after another, like a stand-up routine.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Land of Waves]
Sasuke clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white. His face had dark-lines all over it, and his voice seemed to squeeze through gritted teeth: "What a joke! What right do I even have to forgive that man…"
"I'll only kill him and offer his head as tribute to the clan. Whether to forgive him or not is for them to decide!"
Naruto stood nearby, his mouth opening and closing—but he didn't know what to say.
Indeed, the blood debt of parents and clansmen wasn't something that could be let go with just a few words.
---
[Konoha, Year 52. Uchiha Clan Grounds]
The Uchiha only felt like the screen was telling a sick joke.
With the way future Itachi acted, did he even deserve to eat sweets?
"Hokage mindset?"
Someone couldn't help but sneer. "Killing your own parents and clansmen is called Hokage mindset?"
Meanwhile, the fight on the screen continued.
Kurenai had already engaged Itachi, using her Demonic Illusion: Tree Bind Death.
"With this... it's over!"
Kurenai shouted—only to realize in the next instant that she herself was bound to a tree.
[T/N: The OG Meme.]
She had been caught in her own Genjutsu, reflected back at her.
A Jōnin specializing in Genjutsu had her technique reversed in an instant. No—perhaps earlier, from the moment she locked eyes with that Sharingan, she had already fallen under his Genjutsu suggestion.
"Genjutsu of that level doesn't work on me," Itachi looked at Kurenai expressionlessly.
Kurenai, though, was still immersed in shock. 'Th-This… is Genjutsu Reversal?'
She had heard that the Sharingan was a hard counter to Genjutsu, but experiencing it firsthand made her realize just how devastating it could be—enough to crush a Genjutsu user's confidence.
Just as Itachi drew a kunai to finish Kurenai, she barely managed to bite her tongue and break free from the Genjutsu at the last moment. Though she dodged his fatal strike, she was still kicked onto the water's surface.
---
[Konoha, Year 52]
The Uchiha Jōnin present twitched at the corners of their mouths.
Who was that female shinobi in the village on the screen?
She sure had nerve!
Trying to use Genjutsu in front of an Uchiha? That was like showing off your mediocrity before an expert.
Not to mention Itachi, who had the Mangekyō in the future, even in front of them—Jōnin-level Uchiha—she would have been crushed.
The Sharingan's Genjutsu wasn't simply something ordinary shinobis could contend with.
Besides, the first rule when facing an Uchiha was never to look into their eyes—it was basic knowledge.
Meanwhile, on the screen.
"Kurenai!"
Seeing Kurenai get kicked, Asuma shouted in alarm.
"Do you really have time to be worried about someone else?"
Kisame grinned, his tone carrying a hint of mockery.
Kurenai had barely steadied herself on the water when Itachi silently appeared behind her, and spoke:
"As expected of Kurenai-san, but…"
"But this is as far as it goes… for you." Kakashi said, as he arrived on the battlefield at that critical moment.
*****
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