Ash didn't want to leave corpses behind in his own space.
What puzzled him instead was something else entirely—
Why was there a sea inside it?
"Hm?" Ash's senses suddenly stirred. "These dark auras… Danzo's people."
Masked shinobi were moving through the shadows. Naturally, Akatsuki members weren't among them—this could only be Root, operating from Konoha's side.
Ash didn't bother paying them any attention.
He had already reaped enormous gains from this trip alone.
Not to mention the ten pairs of three-tomoe Sharingan, even a single pair of Mangekyō Sharingan was priceless. The Mangekyō's rarity went without saying—within the Uchiha clan's long history, those who awakened it could be counted on one hand.
Even now, Ash hadn't fully deciphered the secrets of the old man's Mangekyō.
After Ash finished his battle with the elders, the rest of the Akatsuki members had already wiped out the Uchiha clan.
Of course, with one exception.
Uchiha Sasuke.
That was Itachi's condition for joining Akatsuki—no harm could come to his younger brother.
"I didn't expect you'd really go through with it. I was planning to help you."
As Uchiha Itachi stood amid the corpses of his parents, tears still streaking his face, a space-time vortex opened behind him. Ash stepped out calmly.
"Your little brother is nearby too."
Itachi didn't respond, but Ash spoke anyway, his tone casual yet deliberate. He had already sensed a faint chakra signature approaching the compound.
Sure enough—
The moment Ash finished speaking, Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan snapped open, his gaze locking onto Ash like a drawn blade. One wrong move, and he would act without hesitation.
"Relax," Ash said lightly. "I'm not interested in your brother. Don't forget—we assemble after the mission is complete."
With that, Ash's body sank directly into the ground, vanishing without a trace.
"…The same kind of space-time ninjutsu as Obito."
Watching Ash disappear, Itachi's Mangekyō pupils shrank sharply. If Ash hadn't appeared simultaneously with the masked man—and without that distinct hairstyle—Itachi might have truly believed they were the same person.
After that, events unfolded much like they had in the original timeline.
Under Itachi's ruthless psychological assault, Sasuke's personality shattered. His Sharingan even activated briefly—
only to shut down almost instantly due to unstable mental strength.
Still, it was enough.
From this point on, Sasuke's future awakenings would come far more easily—though the Mangekyō would remain an entirely different matter.
After all, at present, Sasuke had only just begun awakening the second tomoe in his right eye.
"He really didn't hold back on his own brother… even used Tsukuyomi."
Not far away, the Akatsuki members had gathered. Watching Itachi torment Sasuke with illusion, Kisame spoke with a low whistle.
"Tsukuyomi? Mangekyō genjutsu on a kid that young?" Hidan scoffed.
"If he doesn't wake up brain-dead, it'll be a miracle."
Among Akatsuki, Mangekyō techniques were no secret.
After all, Ash had carried out missions alongside nearly every member. His mastery of the Sharingan was well known, and precisely because of that, his authority within Akatsuki was second only to Nagato.
"Itachi already held back," Ash said calmly.
"Even elite jōnin would suffer permanent damage from Tsukuyomi. Let alone a kid who hasn't even reached chūnin level."
Given Ash's deep understanding of the Sharingan, he could tell immediately—Itachi's restraint was anything but minor.
"Welcome to Akatsuki."
As Itachi approached the group, Ash was the one who spoke.
Itachi's expression remained blank, as if carved from stone.
But when Orochimaru's gaze lingered on him, the atmosphere subtly darkened.
"Since you can treat your own brother like that," Orochimaru said with a thin smile, "why not come with me? I happen to be short on experimental material."
In response—
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan opened instantly, his gaze locking onto Orochimaru without the slightest hesitation.
Orochimaru was naturally aware of the transaction between Akatsuki and Uchiha Itachi. What he had said earlier was nothing more than deliberate provocation.
After all, during the previous incident, Itachi had humiliated him badly—enough to make one of the Legendary Sannin lose face entirely.
"Hmph. There's still plenty of time anyway. Please—go ahead."
Seeing the tense atmosphere between Itachi and Orochimaru, Ash merely shrugged. He gave the other Akatsuki members a look before stepping aside, clearly intending to watch the impending clash from a distance.
"Is this really fine?" someone asked quietly.
"If their fight gets too intense and attracts Konoha's attention, won't everything be exposed?"
In the distance, Kakuzu glanced at the sky, which was already beginning to brighten.
"It won't matter," Kakuzu replied calmly. "There's a barrier in place. Besides, the people Danzo sent are still collecting Sharingan. Until they're done, the barrier won't be lifted."
"There were more than three thousand Uchiha," he continued flatly. "Even if only half of them possessed Sharingan—regardless of grade—that's more than enough to satisfy those people."
Hearing this, Ash responded indifferently.
"When it comes to Sharingan, Danzo won't let a single one slip away, no matter the quality," Ash said. "Of course, if there are three-tomoe eyes, even better."
In reality, though, such expectations were difficult to fulfill.
After all, both Tobi and certain gifted individuals had already been harvesting eyes on their own. Neither of them had shown up here, and no one seemed particularly concerned.
Tobi rarely revealed himself to begin with.
As for someone who hid their identity so thoroughly, the others didn't even bother trying to strike up conversation.
Everyone knew the truth anyway.
That man was clearly Tobi's subordinate.
Every time Tobi appeared, that individual was always at his side. Even a fool could see that their relationship was anything but normal.
Because of this, their standing within Akatsuki wasn't great. Beyond missions, there was virtually no personal interaction with the rest of the organization.
And no one minded that in the slightest.
...
TN:
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