It was not that Itachi Uchiha had never considered finding the clan's shinobi and asking them to search for this sneaky "infiltrator."
But in his view, since the other party had exposed movements that even a brat like him, who had not even attended the Ninja Academy yet, could discover, and had left traces that were extremely obvious in the eyes of someone paying attention, then this "infiltrator's" level should not be too high.
Even if he could not capture the other party alone, he could follow the direction the other party had left in and find more clues, ensuring that after he reported it to the clan's shinobi, they could find the target more smoothly.
After all, just a few broken branches and two footprints so shallow they could disappear at any moment were truly not enough evidence to make the clan move out in force.
Although he was still young, Itachi Uchiha did not want to leave the terrible impression in the adults' eyes that he would make trouble over such matters just to attract attention.
And so, a five-year-old brat relied on tracking skills that could only be considered newly learned and began earnestly pursuing that "rookie infiltrator" who had entered the Uchiha clan's forest.
As he identified the information left by the other party along the way and used the knowledge he had learned to deduce the other party's escape direction, Itachi Uchiha gradually left the familiar part of the forest and entered a deeper, more primitive woodland with a more complicated environment.
He did not notice that the sky was gradually darkening.
He also did not notice just how far he had already gone.
Only when he finally could no longer identify the traces left by the "infiltrator" in the surrounding environment, and realized that his legs had grown as heavy as if they had been filled with lead, did Itachi Uchiha finally discover in astonishment that he had already reached a completely unfamiliar and pitch-black forest.
Watching Itachi Uchiha's little face suddenly panic, and watching him run desperately along the route he still remembered on his short little legs, Rei Kaguya, who had been observing him the entire way, could not help shaking his head and muttering inwardly.
"He chased my clone for almost five or six kilometers in a straight line, taking a little over an hour in total. For a five-year-old child's stamina, that is quite impressive… But is your courage not a little too big? You discover someone infiltrating your family's forest, and as a five-year-old child, you actually chase them this far alone. Were you really thinking of relying on your own strength to solve the problem?"
"The idea of solving everything alone is not good at all. No wonder, in the original world line, he ended up doing something that deranged… As expected, Shisui's personality is a little better. Hm, but that might also be because Shisui was older and more mentally mature when I took him away?"
Rei Kaguya shook his head, temporarily setting aside the idea of recruiting him as a three-way spy among the Uchiha, Konoha, and Kirigakure.
He prepared to watch Itachi Uchiha find the Uchiha clan shinobi coming to search for him, then end this small test that could only be described as a momentary whim.
Then, a sneaky chakra source emerged from the soil not far away.
In Rei Kaguya's perception, the spot where this fellow appeared happened to block the path Itachi Uchiha had to take to run back.
"Tch. A shinobi sneaking into Konoha at this time… Someone from Root? Are you really this unlucky, Itachi Uchiha?"
No longer having time to sigh over the other party's terrible luck, Rei Kaguya's bone clone immediately left the place where he had been observing Itachi Uchiha. While giving himself a temporary disguise, he rushed at full speed toward the sneaky fellow who had suddenly appeared.
…
"Hah, hah, hah…"
"Is… is this the right path?"
"Yes, yes, yes. The flattened grass I saw earlier is still here…"
"Why… why did I unknowingly run so far…"
"What… what exactly happened to me? Why would I do something so… so irrational?"
Itachi Uchiha felt his lungs burn like fire. While gasping for breath and following the landmarks he still remembered, he quickly ran back in the direction he had come from.
At the same time, he unconsciously questioned himself in his heart.
He did not know why he had suddenly come up with such a risky idea.
He also did not know why, after making that decision, he had behaved as if possessed. He ignored the consumption of his stamina. He ignored the passage of time. He focused entirely on catching that "infiltrator."
All he knew was to go forward.
Forward.
And farther forward.
He had not cared at all about the possibility that the other party might suddenly stop, turn around, and ambush him, or that dangerous wild beasts might appear.
"The sky is already completely dark. Even the moon is out… Father and Mother must be terribly worried, right?"
The moment he thought of his mother, who should have been waiting at home for him to return for dinner, but had not seen him come back for so long and might be so anxious her eyes were filled with tears, and his father, who was already so busy with Shisui Uchiha's matter that he had not even appeared and had even missed their promised training, Itachi Uchiha could not help feeling waves of guilt.
Just imagining the scene he might see after he safely returned home was already enough to make Itachi Uchiha feel helpless and ashamed.
If something really happened to him because of this sudden possessed behavior, he simply could not imagine how huge a blow it would be to his father and mother.
"I-It is still all right. Still all right. I still remember the way back. Although… although my body is a little stiff, as long as I grit my teeth and endure it, I can definitely, definitely get back before Mother and Father become too worried…"
Snap.
Just as he thought that, Itachi Uchiha's foot somehow caught on a branch.
His already exhausted body instantly lost control, and he fell face-first onto the thick layer of autumn leaves in the forest. For a moment, he could not move.
"Oh no… If I fall now, I cannot use my strength anymore…"
Itachi Uchiha's heart turned bitter.
He worked hard to brace his body up with his hands, but he could not even muster the strength to lift his upper body.
Just as he began feeling somewhat desperate, a tall figure appeared in the direction he had come from and walked straight toward him as he lay fallen on the ground.
"Is… is that an uncle from the clan?"
Because he had not yet awakened the Sharingan, Itachi Uchiha could not see the other party's true appearance clearly. He could only make the best guess in his heart and ask as if pleading.
After the figure that had suddenly appeared heard his question, he tilted his head and looked at the ground behind him, then asked coldly,
"Zetsu, is this the Uchiha brat you asked me to specifically wait for? I cannot see anything special about him."
"Judging from his appearance, if our intelligence is not wrong, he should be the eldest son of the Uchiha clan head, Fugaku Uchiha—Itachi Uchiha… Heh. We unexpectedly picked up a big fish."
The humanoid aberration that had half its body emerging from the ground spoke words that made Itachi Uchiha's hair stand on end.
"If we kill him and throw his body into an area under the control of Root members controlled by the Third Hokage, we should be able to cause another wave of chaos, right?"
"Should I do it now?"
The tall man narrowed his eyes and asked with interest.
"Capture him first. After all, this is an unexpected gain. We need to consider exactly when to play this card…"
"You decide. As long as I can take revenge on Konoha, who abandoned us, and on those shameless bastards who kept the name Root, that is enough."
The tall man shrugged indifferently, then reached out toward Itachi Uchiha, whose face was already full of despair.
"Ninja Art: Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!"
Whoosh—
Without the slightest warning, countless shuriken borrowed the cover of the forest's shadows and attacked the tall man and the half-exposed "Zetsu" from all kinds of tricky angles.
The tall man's eyes sharpened. He immediately used Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall to create an all-round defense without blind spots, blocking every incoming shuriken.
When the sound of the wind calmed again, he released the Earth-Style Wall and looked with an unfriendly expression at the figure who had tucked Itachi Uchiha under one arm and was staring at him with a chilling gaze.
"Who are you?"
"The one who will stop you from bringing conflict and opposition back into this era."
Itachi Uchiha turned his face sideways.
He looked at the young man who had saved him.
He looked at the three-tomoe Sharingan in the other party's eyes.
He looked at that somewhat familiar face.
His mouth unconsciously fell open.
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