Chapter 4: Bullshit, It's Just a Bald Head Reflecting Light
"Wait a second, Naruto."
The Nine-Tails, who had been napping inside Naruto, suddenly opened its eyes.
"What is it, Kurama?"
Naruto, who was moving swiftly, came to a halt upon hearing the voice of the Nine-Tails from within.
"There's a battle going on behind you. That chakra... it feels a lot like that loathsome masked man who appeared in the Hidden Leaf."
Having once been controlled by Uchiha Madara, the Nine-Tails still harbored deep resentment toward anyone with a Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Got it."
Naruto instantly entered his Nine-Tails Chakra Mode and used the Body Flicker Technique to rush toward the source of the commotion.
"You're... the mysterious Mangekyō Sharingan user..." Opening her eyes and seeing the Mangekyō Sharingan not hidden behind a mask, Sarada's emotions were conflicted. "Why did you save me?"
"I'm not your father."
Uchiha Itachi had already guessed what was on Sarada's mind.
"But you must know who my father is, don't you?"
Itachi didn't answer. To Sarada, his silence felt like an unspoken confirmation of a connection between him and Sasuke.
"So this guy with the Mangekyō Sharingan is related to the Uchiha Clan too?"
What Sarada really feared was that this "Shin Uchiha" might be her father's illegitimate child from some affair.
Kids do have wild imaginations.
"The Uchiha Clan doesn't have anyone that ugly."
As a true member of the Uchiha Clan, Itachi was more than qualified to make that statement. In fact, the Uchiha Clan was known for their good looks. This non-mainstream weirdo with an all-white outfit and a weird tuft of white hair on his head? No way he was one of them.
The only thing Shin Uchiha had in common with the Uchiha Clan was that Sharingan of his.
"You've got a Mangekyō Sharingan too. Who are you? Whatever, my orders are to bring Uchiha Sarada back—so anyone unrelated... should just be killed."
Shin Uchiha muttered to himself as his Sharingan transformed from three tomoe into a Mangekyō.
"Stay here and wait for me."
Itachi didn't let Sarada take the opportunity to escape. He couldn't be sure if the enemy had other allies, and more importantly, he trusted in his own strength.
Killing someone with a Mangekyō might be difficult—but just beating them wasn't a problem.
"Looks like I arrived just in time."
Naruto, wrapped in the Nine-Tails' chakra cloak, appeared between Itachi and Shin. A massive chakra arm swayed gently in the air.
"Seventh—he's the enemy."
Leaping down from a tree, Sarada stood behind Naruto and, without hesitation, pointed at Shin Uchiha.
Seeing Naruto's arrival, Itachi turned and fled without a second thought.
If even he couldn't defeat Naruto, there was no way Shin could. With Naruto here, Sarada was safe.
Naruto didn't try to stop Itachi from escaping.
Compared to chasing down a Mangekyō Sharingan wielder, Sarada's safety was far more important.
"Sorry, I don't like fighting kids... but I have to arrest you for trying to kidnap a child from my village. And I have a lot of questions I need answered."
Naruto precisely controlled a massive chakra hand, directing it toward Shin. Meanwhile, he stayed on alert to protect Sarada from any possible accomplices of Shin.
Under Naruto's assault, Shin scrambled to dodge in every way he could, eventually leaping onto the nearby branches.
"So this is the fabled power of the strongest ninja of this era, the Seventh Hokage and his Nine-Tails power... Seeing it in person is quite the unexpected bonus. Time to retreat, Shin. You alone can't beat him."
A strange, white, flesh-like creature about fifteen centimeters tall, with only one eye—a three-tomoe Sharingan—suddenly appeared beside Shin on the branch. It activated a space-time ninjutsu and teleported away with Shin.
"They vanished..."
Sarada's face filled with surprise.
As a newly minted genin, this was her first time seeing space-time ninjutsu.
"That was a space-time ninjutsu," Naruto explained simply. "Sarada, what are you doing here?"
"I needed to ask my father something."
Sarada looked up at Naruto. Though she had long wanted to meet the father she hadn't seen since she could remember, after just being attacked, she figured Naruto would more likely send her back to the village.
Naruto smiled and said, "I see... Well, I can't just let you return to the village on your own. And I'm also in a hurry to meet Sasuke... Why don't you come with me? You'll be safest by my side. Besides, I'm sure Sasuke will be really happy to see you."
Itachi hadn't gone far from Sarada. Thanks to Naruto's presence, he kept himself at a distance—about six Body Flickers away.
"Grandma Knock Jutsu."
[Grandma Knock Chatroom]
Uchiha Itachi: Shunhi, I just encountered another kid with a Mangekyō Sharingan. He called himself Shin Uchiha. Is he one of yours?
Uchiha Shunhi: Shin Uchiha? Never heard of him. Not one of mine... Hold up, aren't Mangekyō Sharingan worth a lot on the black market...? Itachi, bring me his Mangekyō Sharingan.
Uchiha Itachi: Got it.
[Uchiha Itachi has left the chatroom]
Even though his body was under Shunhi's control, Itachi never trusted him. He believed Shunhi's ultimate goal was to threaten the entire ninja world. What he was doing now was no different from his time infiltrating the Akatsuki—except now his situation was even more dangerous.
Though fully submitting to Shunhi for the sake of protecting Sasuke and Sarada wasn't out of the question, after witnessing Naruto's overwhelming strength, Itachi began to believe there might be another path: stay undercover, feed intel to Naruto, and let Naruto take Shunhi down.
Since Shin Uchiha's target was Sarada, all Itachi had to do was stick close to her—and eventually, they'd cross paths again.
Thanks to Naruto, Itachi kept a careful distance of about six Body Flickers from Sarada.
"Sigh... I can't believe Itachi would view his elder like this. I'm so hurt. I'm clearly a peace-loving person."
Shunhi muttered from his seat in the second branch of Ichiraku Ramen's Konoha location. Through the [Clone Tool Management Log], he could see not only his clones' actions but also their thoughts.