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***
"How is this possible?"
Even a gloomy mind like the masked man's was shocked when he heard the information Zetsu had gathered about Uchiha Itachi.
A ten-year-old Uchiha boy possessing the Mangekyo Sharingan and being able to unleash the power of his eye technique to its fullest extent was already quite incredible.
And to say that the person who had interfered with his control of the Wooden man Jutsu five years ago with his eye technique was a then-five-year-old Itachi was simply a fantasy.
Regardless of whether he possessed the Mangekyo Sharingan at that age, even if he had the physique of a Senju or Uzumaki clan, he would never have been able to use that kind of power.
The eyes beneath the mask flickered violently.
"I'm leaving first. The attempt to ambush Uchiha Shisui failed this time. Konoha's Hokage will surely be on guard. Besides, Pain's Six Paths' abilities have already been exposed."
The masked man looked at the red-haired man and woman beside him and said gravely, "It's best not to make any major moves for the time being."
He then glanced at Zetsu, who was leaning out from the cliff face.
Srch!
As he finished speaking, the space before him distorted again, and his figure was swept up in it, disappearing.
Then, Zetsu quickly dove back into the rock face.
"He's panicking?"
The violet-haired woman's eyebrows raised playfully, a hint of surprise in her eyes.
In all her years, she had never seen the masked man express such emotion.
"No wonder. That young man named Uchiha Itachi is truly remarkable."
The red-haired man's eyes flashed.
Even though he was fighting alone, even if the enemy had already learned about Pain's Six Paths, he was absolutely confident of defeating Itachi.
But this opponent, one he had to treat with such caution, was only ten years old.
While the power of the Mangekyo eyes had its limits, Itachi's current level made further progress in his eye techniques nearly impossible.
But there was no doubt that once he truly matured, he would be a formidable obstacle.
In a dense forest somewhere in the Land of the Moon.
Whoa!
Space warped before a large tree, and the masked man's figure emerged.
As he appeared, Zetsu emerged from the tree beside him.
"You deliberately avoided Nagato and Konan because you wanted to ask about Uchiha Itachi, right?"
Zetsu's voice was hoarse and gloomy, as if he had aged.
"You should know what I want to ask," the masked man said, gazing at Zetsu.
"Could it be Uchiha Itachi who thwarted my plans five years ago?"
He still couldn't believe that Itachi had been the one who had influenced him back then.
Even from the information Zetsu had provided, all the evidence pointed to this ten-year-old Uchiha boy.
This simply defied the masked man's common sense.
Unless it was Zetsu before him who told him that this possibility existed.
"Normally, the person who ruined your plan five years ago couldn't have been Uchiha Itachi."
"Given his age, even if he was talented, even if he'd been training since his mother's womb, it would have been impossible for him to reach that level at the age of five."
"But from the intelligence I've gathered, he was indeed in a coma for two years, starting from that night five years ago."
"Konoha kept the exact cause of his coma strictly confidential, making it difficult to determine. But the Fourth Hokage held him in high regard, and Tsunade, one of the Sannin, remained in the village until Uchiha Itachi awoke."
"How strange."
Zetsu ultimately didn't give the masked man a definitive answer.
He, too, harbored doubts.
Regarding Uchiha Itachi's situation, due to his age, their understandings conflicted.
Zetsu looked at the masked man, his blood-red eyes dark beneath the mask.
"Damn it! These guys in Konoha Village are such a nuisance!"
The masked man gritted his teeth.
Besides the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze, whom he considered his greatest enemy, Konoha now had troublesome figures like Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha.
Their failed plan to ambush Shisui hadn't only failed to eliminate Uchiha Shisui, but had also given him even greater power.
The Mangekyo Sharingan.
"It's certainly a problem, but they're not like you. While the Mangekyo's power is formidable, it will eventually weaken and disappear completely," Zetsu said.
No one in the world understood the true nature of the Mangekyo's power better than he did.
This seemingly powerful force, with increasing use and prolonged duration, will eventually fade.
"But the Sharingan's true power requires both eyes to be present."
Zetsu glanced meaningfully at the masked man beside him.
"The plan has failed again. The people of Konoha will not be unprepared. It is unlikely that they will succeed using the same method again," the masked man said in a deep voice.
His eyelids drooped slightly, and it was unknown what he was thinking in the depths of his eyes.
"Let's observe for a while. We need to continue investigating the matter concerning Uchiha Itachi," he said to Black Zetsu in a commanding tone.
"The Yellow Flash of Konoha, you've arrived just in time this time."
For some reason, the masked man's words were tinged with sarcasm.
With that, he once again used his eye technique and vanished.
"It's a shame we didn't eliminate Uchiha Shisui, one of the two most capable ANBU under the Fourth Hokage, this time."
White Zetsu sighed softly.
"Haha, yes, one of the two most capable. And the other guy, even to this day, still hasn't taken action against him?"
"Of the Fourth Hokage's three disciples, the only one still alive is Hatake Kakashi," Black Zetsu sneered, though at this moment, he was still shaken by the events surrounding Itachi.
"If the person who interfered with the Wood man Technique five years ago was really an Uchiha..."
"Where did his power come from?"
"In this life, Indra has been reincarnated into Uchiha Sasuke."
"During the incident five years ago, Sasuke was less than three months old. Even if Indra's chakra was attached to him, it would not have been possible to exert its power to that extent."
"Even if Uchiha Itachi is Sasuke's brother, as a non-reincarnated person, he could not have used his power."
"If it weren't for Indra and Ashura, there would only be one person in the history of ninja who could do this."
"Could it be that guy Hagoromo!?"
"That's impossible. He's dead, and this is the first time in thousands of years that such a situation has happened."
"What on earth is going on!?"
...
The sun rises, its rays covering the earth and dispelling the darkness.
In the capital of the Land of Stone.
"Good morning."
Itachi had just opened the door when a gentle, soft voice reached his ears.
He turned, smiled at the girl before him, and said, "Izumi, good morning."
"Were you okay last night?"
Izumi stared into Itachi's eyes.
Last night, they had been together in the Land of Stone admiring the Blood Obsidian, but Itachi had returned to his room early.
When Izumi and the others returned to their quarters, they didn't disturb him again.
"Yeah, just a little tired," Itachi nodded.
When he left the village on his mission, he was carrying a special kunai with a time-space mark.
After receiving treatment from an ANBU medical ninja in the village, he reported all the information about Pain to the Fourth Hokage, who then used the Flying Thunder God Technique to escort him back to his room.
"It's strange to hear such words from you."
In another room, Aoki Yui opened the door and emerged with a smile.
"Since you are all awake, let's pack up and go."
Shikaku also walked out of his room and said to the three people.
"Yes!"
Itachi, Izumi, and Aoki Yui responded after hearing this, and then returned to their rooms to pack their luggage.
After packing, Shikaku and the three people in the team said goodbye to Lei, and set out on the journey back to the village.
This time, without having to protect the client, Itachi and the others could travel at full speed.
So, it took them less than half a day to return to Konoha.
In the Hokage's office, Shikaku and the three people in the team delivered the task to Minato.
Whether issuing tasks or accepting the situation after the task is completed, Minato always stands to receive each ninja.
Although Minato had already learned the whole process of this mission from Itachi, he still had a smile on his face and smiled at the four people in Shikaku's team.
"Thank you for your hard work! You completed this mission perfectly."
Shikaku, Izumi, and Aoki Yui's gazes simultaneously fell on Itachi.
Their successful mission was largely due to Itachi's repeated identification and decryption of Iwagakure's detonating clay.
However, Konoha's mission philosophy always prioritized teamwork, regardless of the individual's contribution.
This wasn't wartime, so there was no such thing as rewards.
"There shouldn't be any activity from the Land of Earth and Iwagakure, right?"
Shikaku glanced at Minato.
He'd expected this even without asking.
Even if the Iwagakure ninja failed in this mission, the Tsuchikage Onoki wouldn't react.
The friction between the Land of Earth and the Land of Stone wasn't worth Iwagakure's constant harassment.
It was all due to the Land of Earth's high-ranking officials being too petty.
Since Iwagakure's mission had been thwarted by Konoha, the Land of Earth, facing opposition from the Land of Fire, Konoha, and the Tsuchikage Onoki, naturally dropped the matter.
Even if word of this reached the Fire Country Daimyo, it wouldn't have any impact.
After all, it was the Fire Country Daimyo who had directed the Land of Stone people to Konoha for help.
"Yes," Minato nodded, saying, "Now that this mission is over, you all should return to your classes and posts."
The three-person team of Itachi, Izumi, and Aoki Yui was formed temporarily by Minato based on the situation surrounding the Land of Stone mission.
Now that the mission was complete, it was time for them to return to their respective units.
"But there haven't been many missions in the village lately, so you should all take a good rest these few days," Minato said.
"Yes!"
Itachi and the others replied, handing over their tasks and leaving the Hokage's office.
"Shikaku-sama, Itachi, Izumi, we'll see you later."
In front of the Hokage building, Aoki Yui waved to Itachi and the other two.
She was originally a member of Konoha's Sensor type Squad.
Shikaku and Itachi nodded in a gesture of understanding.
Izumi smiled gently and said, "Goodbye, Aoki-senpai."
Swish!
Aoki Yui smiled and darted away.
Then, Izumi and Itachi were also preparing to say goodbye to Shikaku.
"Teacher Shikaku, thank you for your care during this time."
Izumi bowed politely and respectfully to Shikaku and said.
"No, you are already a very good ninja."
Shikaku shook his head and said.
Itachi and Izumi were both students who had just graduated from the Ninja School for two months, but as ninjas, their abilities were enough to stand on their own.
Especially Itachi, in terms of strength and brains, he was actually enough to take on the responsibility of leading the ninja team to carry out missions.
The only thing he lacked now was that he had too little experience in carrying out missions outside the village.
After parting with Shikaku, Itachi and Izumi returned to the clan together.
Arriving at the clan gate, they each went home.
Izumi's father was a ninja, but her mother wasn't, so her mother would be very worried if she left the village on a mission.
Although Itachi was concerned about Shisui's injury, it wasn't appropriate for him to visit him at the Konoha hospital right away.
Crossing the streets, Itachi arrived at his home.
He stepped through the gate and quickly entered the house.
The main hall was empty at the moment.
However, someone of Itachi's strength could immediately hear noises coming from the backyard and the kitchen.
Itachi walked to the kitchen, where Mikoto was preparing dinner.
Mikoto was also a jonin of the Uchiha clan, so she heard the noises when Itachi entered the house.
She was holding a wooden basin for the ingredients, and as she emerged from the kitchen, Itachi was already standing before her.
"Mom, I'm home," Itachi said.
"Welcome home," Mikoto beamed, then asked with concern, "How did the mission go?"
She had great faith in her son's abilities, but out of common parental concern, she couldn't help but ask.
"It was a little dangerous, but thankfully it went smoothly," Itachi said calmly.
"That's good," Mikoto said with a faint smile.
"You must have had a hard time these past few days. I'll make you something delicious tonight."
"Thank you," Itachi nodded at Mikoto.
"I'll go get it ready then."
Mikoto returned to the kitchen with the wooden basin.
Itachi turned and headed straight for the door to the backyard.
In the backyard, Sasuke was practicing his taijutsu.
His movements were swift, his punches and kicks whizzing by.
Although Sasuke hadn't yet entered the ninja academy, his skills were already comparable to those of some of the younger students.
Through this practice, Sasuke's five senses were much more acute than average.
As Itachi emerged from the door, Sasuke turned and looked at him.
"Brother, you're back!"
When Sasuke saw Itachi, a look of surprise immediately appeared on his face.
He immediately stopped moving his body, ran to Itachi, and hugged him.
Itachi looked at Sasuke with eyes full of doting.
He stretched out his hand and rubbed his hair, saying,
"Yeah!"
....
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