Upon hearing this, Sasuke was stunned.
He was just bragging, so why did Satoshi agree with him?
Could his older brother really be a genius among geniuses?
Was he just hiding his strength in previous matches?
Sasuke's mood improved somewhat. "Hmph, even though you admit nii-san's excellence, when he beats you up in the future, he definitely won't go easy on you."
Satoshi patted Sasuke's head and said, "I'm relieved to hear you say that. Next time we fight, I won't hold back either."
"Don't touch my head." Sasuke snorted and stomped home angrily.
"Nii-san, when are you going to get revenge on that white-haired guy?"
Sasuke searched everywhere but couldn't find Itachi. Instead, he found Fugaku.
Fugaku explained, "Itachi has many missions recently and won't be back for a few days."
"Oh, alright then."
Sasuke plopped onto the sofa, looking very unhappy.
"Ever since nii-san joined Anbu, he barely comes home. There's no one to teach me shurikenjutsu."
"Even when he occasionally comes back, he just locks himself in his room without speaking, looking worried."
"Father, is nii-san under a lot of pressure right now?"
No one answered Sasuke's question. The atmosphere became a bit awkward.
Mikoto smiled and said, "Well, you can ask Satoshi for guidance. He's a recognized genius."
"No way! Nii-san will always be the strongest."
With that, Sasuke stormed back to his room, slamming the door shut.
He wrestled with his pillow, muttering things like, "I'll defeat you sooner or later."
In the living room, Fugaku and Mikoto exchanged glances and couldn't help but chuckle.
"Sasuke truly only has Itachi in his heart."
"We should find an opportunity to tell Itachi to spend more time with Sasuke when he's free."
"Understood."
At this point, Mikoto suddenly stopped smiling.
She lowered her voice and moved closer to Fugaku. "I had dinner with some of the clan's wives tonight, and they inadvertently mentioned Itachi."
Fugaku raised an eyebrow. "What about Itachi?"
Mikoto's voice dropped even lower. "Itachi has missed two clan meetings, and the elders are quite displeased."
Fugaku understood.
Inadvertently? This was clearly a message they wanted Mikoto to convey. The reason they had Mikoto relay it was simply to avoid making things too ugly.
In fact, ever since Fugaku assigned Itachi to Anbu, some radical elders in the clan had voiced their opposition. They believed this was a surrender to the Hokage and did not align with the Uchiha's original intention of overturning the status quo.
Fortunately, Fugaku found an excuse about gathering intelligence, which managed to appease them for a while. But he didn't expect that after only a few days of calm, other voices would emerge within the clan.
Alas, being a clan head is difficult.
Mikoto said, "Fugaku, I think we still need to talk to Itachi. He is, after all, the clan head's son, and we must be mindful of his reputation within the clan."
"I understand. Let me think about what to do."
Fugaku was a bit annoyed.
What to do?
There was no way.
He couldn't possibly have Itachi in the middle of a mission tell the Hokage, "I'm going home for a meeting, I'll be back in two hours," could he?
That would infuriate the Hokage. He might even be removed from Anbu.
Fugaku used to think he was treading on thin ice, but now he suddenly realized he seemed to have already fallen in.
—
Late at night, Kakashi stood before the Memorial Stone.
"Obito, I almost thought I wouldn't make it back."
"Do you Uchiha brats always like to stir up big trouble? When we were on missions together, you always went against the norm."
"Now Satoshi is the same. He actually had the audacity to kidnap the Mizukage."
"Fortunately, we made it back from Kirigakure."
Kakashi was silent for a moment then said, "Actually, it wouldn't have mattered if I didn't come back. You all are waiting for me there anyway."
According to usual practice, when Kakashi visited the graves, Obito would eavesdrop from the shadows. Then he would constantly curse him as useless but today was an exception.
Obito was planning how to deal with the trouble of Orochimaru. Because of Orochimaru, his plans were disrupted, which put him in a very bad mood.
Moreover, Konoha probably now believed even more strongly that he was Orochimaru's subordinate. Otherwise, why would Orochimaru's name be listed before his on the wanted poster?
He was clearly the darkest mastermind behind the Ninja World, wasn't he?
Obito asked, "Is there any news of Orochimaru? Why do Konoha's ninjas insist he's in Kirigakure and won't let it go?"
Zetsu said, "I can confirm Orochimaru never entered there. Otherwise, I would have discovered it immediately."
Obito's mood worsened.
These Konoha ninjas were all idiots, lacking even the ability to distinguish false information. They would never catch Orochimaru in this lifetime.
But if they couldn't catch Orochimaru, these people definitely wouldn't give up.
Who knew if next time they would sniff their way to his new hiding place?
"Fine, consider it doing Konoha's idiots a favor."
"Find Orochimaru's whereabouts as soon as possible, then send Kakuzu to deal with him."
Zetsu slowly submerged underground. "I understand."
Two days later, Danzo was still on the border of the Land of Fire. As for when he would return, he had to wait for Hiruzen's orders.
Danzo was furious in the camp. He wasn't just a scoundrel, he was an absolute scoundrel.
Could such a big negotiation be handled without him? Hiruzen knew nothing about negotiating.
It was originally a good opportunity for blackmail, to make a hefty profit. But if Hiruzen handled it, it would be a miracle if they didn't have to give away a large sum of money.
Without him, the assistant—
Pah, he wasn't an assistant anymore.
Danzo became even angrier. He furiously smashed his teacup, inadvertently spotting a small white snake in the corner.
"What is that bastard Orochimaru up to again?"
That night, Danzo, like a thief, arrived at a cave entrance. Orochimaru had been waiting there for a long time.
Danzo asked, "Orochimaru, how could you let them return alive? Where are your subordinates?"
Orochimaru was also frustrated. His subordinates were only good for petty thievery. When they encountered a full-strength Konoha Squad, they were wiped out in three minutes.
He answered, "There was a slight accident. I didn't expect them to defeat the Mizukage, and even more, I didn't expect them to be mostly unharmed."
Danzo snorted coldly, "To cooperate with your plan, do you know how much manpower and resources I expended?"
Orochimaru licked his lips, not taking Danzo's words to heart in the slightest. In his eyes, Danzo was merely a tool.
Who would care about how a tool was doing?
However, he still offered a symbolic reassurance. "The Wood Release experiment has made new progress. I believe that in the near future..."
Danzo interrupted Orochimaru without mercy, "I don't want to hear any of that. First you said three years, then three more years after that..."
Seeing Danzo about to lose control, Orochimaru threw out another bait, "I will secretly assist you in capturing the masked man. Once successful, I will hand him over to you immediately."
Danzo's mood suddenly improved. The masked man's Sharingan and the Wood Release on his body were good things.
Danzo said, "Let's go. We should minimize our meetings."
He turned and left the cave, secretly cursing Orochimaru for being foolish.
Once he ascended to the position of Hokage, the first thing he would do was kill this rogue ninja who knew too many of his secrets.
Orochimaru sneered.
Once he mastered the secret of immortality, this evil assistant would no longer be necessary.