Chapter 22: I need to escape out of here!
Itachi's eyes widened as a strong sense of danger gripped his heart.
The voice that he just heard was his own! It was his subconscious screaming at him, telling him to wake up from this dream world.
Memories on top of memories started flooding Itachi's mind, from the day he was born to the day of his death, his emotions, his hardships, everything came flooding in none-stop.
When the family looked at Itachi who just stood up, they could see his expression had changed, what was replaced was a deep dark gaze, the innocent confusion that was present before had long disappeared. An expression of composure and calm had taken over.
" I'm back… So that's how it is, to think I nearly lost my life here. Meditating on that scroll has taken my consciousness to a world of deep slumber, if I had not woken up I would've been trapped here forever, never to awake again. I need to be extremely careful when meditating on that scroll from here on out, any small mistake could cost me my life! "
With that being said, Itachi examined his surroundings and a deep feeling of sorrow sprouted in his heart.
" Mother… Father… Sasuke… "
Itachi looked at his family, he could see all of their concerned and warm gazes, staring deep into his soul. He wanted to stay here longer, but he knew that this wasn't his family. It was all fake! The scroll had transported his consciousness to his deepest memories, creating a false dream.
When it comes to Illusions, If Itachi claimed second, not a single person in existence could claim first! Itachi knew better than anyone that conversing with this illusion would only sway his emotions more, this was a trap. He had to leave here as soon as possible!
" Mother, Father, Sasuke, I have to go… "
Hearing these words, the family of 3 looked at Itachi as though they were about to lose him.
Itachi's mother started weeping and crying her eyes out, she looked at him and begged him to stay.
" Itachi, my son… Don't go, let's all stay here and forget about everything. I missed you… we all have missed you… Let's forget about the past and move forward "
Hearing his mother weep and beg for him to stay, Itachi felt his heart bleeding, even though he knew this was an illusion, he couldn't help but feel a deep sadness when he listened to his mother. He wished he could go back in time and relive the sweet memories of his past, but he knew that was all in the past, he had to move forward!
" Ni-San! You promised me you would teach me how to throw kunais, please don't go… "
Sasuke cried as he bellowed at his brother to stay.
Itachi once again heard this and he couldn't take it anymore, he would give the world for his one and only brother. If he stayed here any longer, I'm afraid even if he force himself, he won't be able to leave. His emotions were starting to sway.
" Sasuke… "
Itachi looked at his brother and family one last time and turned around to leave.
Click
He turned the handle of the door and pushed it open. He held back his tears and strode forward. Leaving the small and cosy hut.
" Itachi! "
" My dear son! Don't leave us "
" Ni-San, come back! "
As he was leaving he could hear his family plead for him to stay, he forced himself to ignore these shouts and leave.
When he left through the door, a cold breeze hit Itachi across the face. It was already dark outside and the sun had set, he could barely make out his surroundings.
" Now, how can I leave this place? Hmm let's see… "
Itachi walked forward and activated his Sharingan, he scanned his surroundings and looked for any abnormalities.
In front of him he could see the same grass path he walked on, and beside it was a long river that spanned endlessly.
Deep down Itachi had to applaud this illusion, it was extremely life-like. Everything felt so real, it reminded him of his Tsukuyomi gen Jutsu.
Itachi continued to scan his surroundings but was eventually left at a dead end, he couldn't sense any abnormalities or any indication of an exit.
Itachi decided to also activate his byakugan at the same time, his eyesight improved tenfold and he could see extremely clearly! The lack of sunlight didn't affect him at all.
He kept walking back on the grass path, and after a while he eventually reached the point he started at.
He walked towards the edge of the river and stared at it, as he was staring at it he noticed a blue spark within the river. With the Sharingan and byakugan, he was able to notice to smallest of details.
" Interesting… "
Itachi looked at the river and as if coming to a realisation he smiled and at the same time held his breath.
Splashhh
Itachi jumped into the river without batting an eye and allowed himself to sink to the bottom.
*
Nether sect. Itachi's dorms.
Seated on the bed was a young youth, he was drenched with sweat and his eyes were closed. Laid before him was a scroll that looked ancient and rough.
The youth's eyelids lightly twitched and his eyes slowly opened.
Itachi opened his eyes and looked at his surroundings, he was still in a daze , he felt groggy as if he had been sleeping for a long time. He ignored these thoughts and smiled, he had succeeded in escaping!
" As expected, that was the exit. Whew, I have finally awoken. However, I'm drenched in sweat. It felt like I was gone for weeks, but looking at the clock, only 10 minutes has passed. This scroll is truly potent, I need to be careful not to end up in the same situation. If it wasn't for my subconscious warning me, I'm afraid I would've been stuck in that place "
Itachi instinctively furrowed his brows at that thought.
As Itachi was deep in thought, he caught a glimpse of the scroll in front of him. Or better yet, he saw the shining blue light coming from the first letter of the inscription.
" Does this mean I have progressed in deciphering the scroll? After all that, I have only progressed with one letter. I'm guessing once all of the words light up in the first section I would be granted the new ability. I'm looking forward to what it would be "
Itachi felt depressed that he only deciphered one letter but he had a feeling that as he gets used to the meditation, deciphering more sections of the scroll would become much easier.
If he quantified it, he was roughly at 1% progression for the first section of the scroll! It wasn't too bad at all, considering the powerful ability that the scroll would give, Itachi was willing to wait. Nothing comes easy in life, working hard was part of it!
The harder you worked, the sweeter the reward would be.
Itachi's negative thoughts dispersed and was instead replaced with a keen anticipation for the future!
Following that, Itachi grabbed the scroll, opened the system and transported the scroll back into his spatial inventory.
" Now, let me go and have a shower, I'm utterly soaked in sweat. I need to prepare myself for tomorrow, it's a big day! I need to visit the ancestral book pavilion and sort out some business "
Itachi went to grab his towel and as he was about to head to the shower, he heard a knock on the door.
Knock knock
Itachi suddenly went on guard and prepared himself for the worst, who could be knocking at his door at this time? Was it the instructor or one of the elders?
Itachi had never had a good impression of these elders, ever since the Elder Li situation, he had a strong sensation that this sect wasn't all flowers and sunshine, there was definitely a deep conspiracy going on in the background.
With this being said, Itachi swiftly summoned the divine dagger from his inventory and hid it with one hand behind his back, seemingly prepared for any mishaps. If the situation came to it, he wouldn't hesitate to slit the other person's throat.
For his enemies, Itachi had no mercy!
He slowly walked towards the door and with his other hand, he carefully opened the door slightly.
Click…
He peaked through the small slit of the door and was greeted by a surprise guest.
"It's you?… "
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone