[Check Out My Patreon For +20 Extra Chapters On All My Fanfics!! For Only $5!!][www.p@treon.com/zaelum]
[+500 Power Stones = +1 Extra Chapter]
[Thank You For Your Support!]
====
Ding ding ding~~
The wind continued to blow fiercely, turning the once gentle sound of the wind chimes into a more intense melody.
Itachi had been searching for some time.
The Kisame who had been following him had unknowingly been led away by Itachi's crow clone under the influence of his genjutsu.
Just as Kisame had learned a lot about Itachi during their time together, Itachi had also studied Kisame closely.
Under the genjutsu of Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan, no matter how vigilant Kisame was, there were always moments when he would fall for it during their peaceful interactions.
This wasn't the first time Itachi had left Kisame's side.
Especially when it concerned Sasuke.
Although Itachi got along well with Kisame and the latter respected him, Itachi had long suspected that Kisame was placed by his side for another purpose.
There were some things better left unknown to him.
Itachi glanced at the crow perched on his left shoulder.
In its left eye socket was also the black, blade-shaped Mangekyō Sharingan—Shisui's other Mangekyō Sharingan.
Before Shisui had jumped off the cliff to his death, he had entrusted this eye to Itachi.
The two Mangekyō Sharingan from the same person shared a hidden connection.
Using this connection and his own Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi had set out to search.
Unlike his initial decision to let Sasuke follow Gensou without interference, Itachi had grown uneasy upon learning that Sasuke was drifting further away from Konoha and that Gensou possessed another Mangekyō Sharingan with the same ability, "Kotoamatsukami."
No matter how others viewed him, Itachi's seemingly cold exterior hid deep, genuine feelings for Sasuke and Konoha.
Even if these feelings were expressed in ways that others found unbelievable and difficult to accept.
But for Itachi, both Sasuke and Konoha held extremely important places in his heart.
It was one thing for Sasuke to seek power from Gensou, but now he was in severe conflict with Konoha, a situation that seemed irreconcilable—something Itachi could not ignore.
Just as in the original story, where he left the crow with Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan inside Naruto, to use "Kotoamatsukami" to turn Sasuke back to protecting Konoha if he continued on a destructive path, Itachi now felt compelled to act.
If possible, Itachi did not want to use "Kotoamatsukami" to alter his younger brother's mind.
But just because he didn't want to, didn't mean others wouldn't.
Given that Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan was capable of "Kotoamatsukami," Itachi knew its potential very well.
Therefore, for Sasuke and for Konoha, he had to investigate personally and decide what to do next.
Time passed swiftly.
Following the faint connection between Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi sped through the vast interior of the Land of Fire, heading towards the unknown.
Suddenly, he halted and lifted his gaze, looking towards the horizon.
"I've been found."
Itachi calmly acknowledged the reality.
Just as he could track them through the hidden connection between the Mangekyō Sharingan, the other party could trace him back as well.
It seemed they didn't want him to find their base and had come to meet him instead.
Itachi decided not to waste any effort and waited quietly where he was.
Within less than a minute, a sound of something cutting through the air approached and stopped in front of Itachi.
"Uchiha Itachi."
A man wearing a blue Uchiha robe and a white spiral mask appeared before Itachi. Glancing briefly at Itachi's black cloak with red clouds, he spoke in a low tone, "You've got some nerve."
Itachi looked at the newcomer.
He matched the description of the person said to be by Sasuke's side.
Moreover, Itachi noticed that the crow on his shoulder, with Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan in its left eye, was staring directly at the man's mask.
As expected, the Mangekyō Sharingan this person had was indeed Shisui's other eye.
Just as Itachi had suspected.
With a stoic expression, Itachi asked, "So, are you Hagoromo Gensou? Or one of the survivors who left the village back then?"
"Survivors?"
Gensou didn't answer Itachi's question, but instead responded with surprise, "It seems you know quite a lot."
The "survivors" clearly referred to Izumi and the others.
Gensou had assumed Itachi was unaware of this.
But now it seemed that Itachi had known for a long time.
Indeed, Itachi had suspected that some Uchiha clan members had been secretly taken away from Konoha.
After all, the number of death certificates issued within the clan during those years was slightly higher than usual, especially when one of them was someone Itachi knew very well—Uchiha Izumi.
The reason Itachi hadn't killed them all back then wasn't out of kindness, but because those people had essentially severed their ties with Konoha.
Since they were no longer part of Konoha, and the higher-ups hadn't objected, there was no need to wield the blade.
Ignoring those people could be considered Itachi's way of preserving a final remnant of the Uchiha, even if it wasn't under Konoha's banner.
However, looking at things now, that small act of mercy had left him with considerable trouble.
Itachi looked at the man again.
Because of the mask blocking his view and the altered voice, he couldn't discern the man's expression.
If this person was indeed one of those survivors, it meant they had all allied with Hagoromo Gensou.
Sasuke was now with them as well.
No wonder Sasuke's attitude towards Konoha had changed so drastically.
Itachi's gaze lowered slightly.
Things were progressing in the direction he had least wanted.
"Do you regret not killing those survivors back then?" Gensou, noticing Itachi's change in expression, asked with a hint of curiosity.
"Just a bunch of deserters, no longer worthy of my concern," Itachi replied coldly as he removed the hat from his head.
"But as for you, you are now worthy."
Itachi raised his eyes, and the three-tomoe Sharingan spun, instantly evolving into the Mangekyō Sharingan, as he coldly declared, "I'm taking that Mangekyō Sharingan from you!"
Whether it was to change Sasuke's mind or for the sake of Konoha, Itachi couldn't allow the "Kotoamatsukami" ability to remain in the hands of the person before him—Hagoromo Gensou or otherwise.
Itachi had already made up his mind to reclaim Shisui's other eye and extract any necessary information from this man.
Coincidentally, seeing Itachi come to him, Gensou also decided to collect both of Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.
"It's time for the sinner of the Uchiha clan to atone for his sins."
(End of Chapter)