Uzumaki Mito stepped out of the wooden courtyard at an unhurried pace. She smiled gently at the pitch-black crow in front of her.
"You're an Uchiha child, aren't you?" she said softly. "Not bad at all… You've already awakened the Mangekyou Sharingan. You must have suffered a great deal over the years, haven't you?"
There was a trace of calm sorrow in her voice at the end.
Uchiha Kagami had been Hashirama and Tobirama's student and subordinate—someone she had practically watched grow up.
Not long after Hashirama passed away, the First and Second Great Ninja Wars followed in quick succession. Under those circumstances, Kagami awakened his eyes. Through repeated pain, he went from one tomoe in both eyes, to two, to three… and even further, to the Mangekyou Sharingan as well.
Knowing that Itachi, as a crow, couldn't properly communicate with her, Mito still asked, "What year is it in Konoha now? It's been a long time since my death, hasn't it? Was it you who revived me? Using power similar to Hashirama's?"
"Caw, caw."
Mito took two steps forward and happened to see the words carved into a nearby tree—
"Rules. First: there are three chances. All living beings within the domain are eligible to answer. Second: those who answer incorrectly…"She paused. "Is this some kind of quiz?"
The crow nodded.
"What's the question?"
The crow flew up to the treetop where the question and three answer options were carved, cawing twice. Mito followed his gaze upward.
"'After the Konoha ninja Uchiha Itachi dies and is revived through Edo Tensei, what is the last sentence he says to his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, when they part once more?'"
Mito read the question aloud, then frowned slightly. "Edo Tensei? Is that the technique Tobirama developed? Hashirama clearly sealed it away in the Scroll of Seals. To think it was still obtained by someone with malicious intent…"
Only then did Itachi remember that he could use the crow's claws to write on the ground and communicate with Lady Mito.
He had tried writing before, but if he didn't speak the answer aloud, that being behind the scenes wouldn't accept it. After Mito's revival, he had completely forgotten about written communication.
Now, he wrote down answers to Mito's earlier questions—what year it was in Konoha, why she had been revived, and information about this mysterious "death quiz."
"So you're the Uchiha Itachi mentioned in the question?"
The crow nodded.
"If one person was chosen from ten to be revived, then reviving me must have been done with some purpose in mind," Mito said gently. "Can you tell me about yourself?"
Itachi fell silent for a long moment before writing his first sentence:
[There is no longer an Uchiha clan…]
[I killed them.]
[Following the orders of the Third Hokage and Danzo, the leader of Root, I carried out the Uchiha clan's extermination.]
…
Elsewhere—
Deep within Konoha's Training Ground 44, Naruto's trio and the Sound ninja trio were locked in fierce combat.
Gaara kept his eyes fixed on Naruto. It was as if the boy would never give up. No matter what the Sound ninja did, they couldn't bring him down. Instead, Uzumaki Naruto only grew more relentless, showing signs of defeating his opponent even before Sasuke and Sakura finished their own battles.
"Hey! You little mutt!"
Before Kankuro could finish shouting, the half-black, half-white-haired child who had been largely ignored suddenly moved. The dark brown python coiled around his waist transformed into a human arm!
The long, snake-like arm—slick, flexible, and disturbingly wet—snatched Itama up and flung him more than ten meters away into the bushes!
"Who's there?!"
Temari swung her fan, and the gust of Wind Release exposed the person hiding in the shrubbery.
It was a Grass Village ninja. His sinister gaze was cold and inhuman, like that of a serpent. His tongue extended nearly a foot as he licked Itama's face, making the boy break out in goosebumps.
"Tch, honestly… I merely asked you to kill a few people, and in the end I still have to do it myself," he said, his voice sticky and hoarse, as if his vocal cords had been damaged.
Lord Orochimaru!
Dosu, Zaku, and Kin all realized it at the same time. A fear that brushed the edge between life and death seized them. Without hesitation, the three launched desperate attacks at their opponents—willing to trade injury for injury, even if it meant dealing one hundred damage at the cost of eighty to themselves!
Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, who had briefly held the upper hand, were caught completely off guard!!
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?! Put Itama down!!"
Naruto possessed a natural sense of justice, sharpened by his childhood experiences into a keen instinct for malice.
Even while locked in combat with Dosu, he split off several shadow clones and sent them charging straight at Orochimaru!!
Orochimaru chuckled softly. "Oh, nothing much. I just felt like playing with you kids for a bit."
As the words left his mouth, Orochimaru released his killing intent.
The indiscriminate pressure instantly drenched the three Sound ninja in cold sweat. As for the other six—who had never encountered Orochimaru before—they all froze in place.
Especially Team 7's three genin. Konoha had protected them too well. Aside from the unexpected battle in the Land of Waves, they had only ever carried out D-rank missions like cleaning or helping people find lost cats.
Their stomachs churned as if they were trapped in a genjutsu—one where they were slaughtered again and again.
Seeing Uchiha Sasuke standing rigid, unable to move from fear, Orochimaru couldn't help but feel disappointed.
"Sasuke-kun… honestly speaking, compared to your older brother, your talent is far too lacking."
"!!!!"