The gates of Konoha. The sun dipped toward the horizon.
Shadows stretched long.
Itachi Uchiha walked out through the main gates. He stopped, turned back for one last look.
Perhaps this time, he wouldn't come back.
He lowered his gaze, hiding the welling sorrow in his eyes.
"Itachi! Waited long enough!"
A familiar voice cut through the air beside him.
Itachi looked up in surprise.
Down the wide road, two familiar figures stood where the path ended, smiling at him.
"Shinya? Tenri?" Itachi murmured.
A sharp pang of bitterness flooded his chest.
"Hah, Itachi! You can't just shoulder this alone and not tell us!"
Shinya Aoi's smile was warm. He walked closer and slung an arm over Itachi's shoulders.
His eyes silently conveyed a firm, unwavering strength.
"You're not alone, Itachi," Shinya said, his voice serious.
The cold distance in Itachi's eyes melted, revealing a pained smile.
Tenri Hyūga bounced over to them. She flashed a huge grin and playfully punched Itachi's chest. "Itachi! Don't look down on us! Shinya and I aren't any weaker than you!"
Itachi forced a smile.
He knew how dangerous rescuing Sasuke was. That was exactly why he didn't want Tenri and Shinya involved.
The odds were high. None of them might return.
"Thank you for seeing me off. But this is far enough."
Itachi took two steps forward, and Shinya's arm slid from his shoulder.
Tenri's brow furrowed. "What?! We're not here to see you off! We're teammates! We're not letting you go alone!"
She looked at Shinya. "Right, Shinya?"
Shinya met Itachi's gaze and nodded silently.
"Sasuke is my brother. I have to be the one to go."
"You, Tenri, need to stay in the village. Help our teacher."
Itachi spoke to Tenri, not giving her a chance to argue, then turned to Shinya. "You haven't been in Konoha long with the Raikage's group."
Shinya had lived in Kumogakure for years. He'd become a living symbol of the strong alliance between the Cloud and the Leaf.
If something happened to Shinya—whether in Konoha or Kumo—it would be a major incident.
Shinya understood the weight behind Itachi's words. But he couldn't just watch Itachi walk into danger alone.
Tenri and Shinya stood firm. Unshakeable.
Itachi knew he couldn't persuade them.
So, he gave them his guarantee. "I might not be a match for the Akatsuki. But if my life is truly in danger, I will retreat. You should believe in me."
His words gave them pause.
They knew Itachi's strength.
He had been chosen by Heshu as the next Hokage candidate. His power wasn't to be underestimated.
Even if he couldn't defeat that strange masked man, escaping at a critical moment shouldn't be a problem.
"And… think of our teacher," Itachi said suddenly.
He met Tenri's and Shinya's eyes, his own deadly serious.
If something happened to just him, their teacher would only lose one disciple.
But if all three of them were lost at once?
How could she possibly bear that cruelty?
Tenri's mouth opened, but she fell silent, bowing her head.
She'd ignored how their teacher would feel.
If they all left… how much pain would that cause?
Shinya was quiet for a long moment before sighing.
He stepped forward and pulled Itachi into a brief hug, patting his slightly thin back. "Come back safe."
A genuine, heartfelt smile finally touched Itachi's lips. "I will."
Tenri beamed. "Itachi's treating us to a feast when you get back!"
Itachi gave an indulgent nod. "Fine."
Shinya and Tenri stood shoulder-to-shoulder, watching as Itachi's figure vanished into the bleeding light of the sunset.
The moment his form disappeared at the road's end, the last sliver of sun sank below the horizon.
An endless night draped over Konoha. Itachi's figure melted into the darkness untouched by the moon.
Amegakure, the Village Hidden in the Rain.
A steady drizzle fell.
From a high vantage point, the dim yellow streetlamps looked like scattered soybeans, unevenly distributed across the dark landscape.
"Can the Leaf shinobi really find Sasuke Uchiha?" Kakuzu asked, his tone thick with doubt. He suspected they didn't even know the boy's location.
"Don't underestimate Konoha." Hanataki chuckled, glancing at Kakuzu. "They're not that incompetent."
A major shinobi village unable to find an enemy's position? Unlikely.
Kakuzu nodded slowly, his thoughts turning to their captive. "The kid from Konoha hasn't eaten for a day."
Stubborn little thing.
He remembered the kid's hate-filled glare and snorted in disdain.
Hanataki: "…"
So the Second Young Master was on a hunger strike now? Who besides his brother would even care if he ate?
In a dangerous situation like this, not eating meant having no strength to escape.
Not that he could escape anyway.
"If he won't eat, don't prepare anything for him."
"He won't starve," Hanataki said, utterly merciless.
"Poor Second Young Master!" The system wiped away a digital tear. "His -100 favorability towards you isn't without reason!"
Hanataki: "…"
Oh, right. He'd forgotten the kid's favorability was still in the negatives.
This was a chance for payback, then.
A cold smirk twisted Hanataki's lips. "Don't give him water either."
Kakuzu: "…"
Brutal.
But he liked it.
Food and drink cost money. The Akatsuki had many mouths to feed.
One less person to provide for was one less expense.
Kakuzu smiled, satisfied.
Sasuke Uchiha had been in a normal room with a view. Now, he'd been unceremoniously tossed into a basement cell.
The room was dark and damp. Nothing but a single flickering lamp.
Not even a straw mat.
Sasuke gritted his teeth.
When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
But who was he?
He was Sasuke Uchiha, master of the secrets that had made Tsukimi Heshu famous across the shinobi world!
How could such a trivial setback defeat him?
His eyes held mockery, coldness, and a feigned indifference.
Then, a thought struck him. All other emotions vanished, replaced by pure, arrogant confidence.
He believed it. He could escape this hellhole with his own power.
In the dead of night, Kakuzu, who was keeping an eye on Sasuke, sensed something was off.
Coincidentally, Sasori—who had been buried in his lab for days—emerged.
"Who is that?" Sasori had been perfecting his new puppet day and night. He was clueless about recent events.
From the ground level, he had a clear view of the basement cell and its occupant.
Once he got a good look at Sasuke's face, a sense of crisis bloomed in Sasori's heart.
That Zabuza fellow, with that face of his? Not a threat.
But this brat… he had to admit, the kid had decent looks.
"A brat Hanataki caught in Konoha," Kakuzu replied, not glancing his way.
Sasori's puppet arm extended, poison mist gathering at its tip.
"What are you doing?" Kakuzu finally looked at him.
"Killing him," Sasori said calmly.
"Kill him," Kakuzu answered with equal calm, "and Hanataki will kill you."
Sasori: "…"
He slowly lowered his arm.
Damn it!
Were his puppets, the ultimate representation of art, less important than some brat in a basement?
Sasori left, radiating pure resentment.
"…Something's wrong."
Kakuzu's attention snapped back to Sasuke.
From his high perch, he could see the kid's eyes rolled back, his lips twitching.
Classic signs of impending death.
Out of a sense of duty toward their valuable hostage, Kakuzu knocked on Hanataki's door.
Hanataki, who had been enjoying a dream on his luxurious, king-sized bed: "…"
Who the hell was disturbing his sleep?
"You better have a damn good reason," Hanataki said, his eyes lifeless as they fixed on Kakuzu.
Kakuzu: "…That brat you brought back is dying. Does that count?"
If not, he'd just head back.
Hanataki: "!"
Sasuke Uchiha was dying?
Son of a—!
Had the kid's delicate psyche finally shattered?
Hanataki's form vanished from his plush residence in an instant.
Kakuzu followed at a leisurely pace. He didn't care if the brat lived or died.
Dead was dead.
In the basement, faint light seeped through a narrow, barred window.
Sasuke Uchiha wore a look of utter contempt, the corner of his mouth curled in a sneer.
A flawless plan was already forming in his mind.
He would use every trick he'd secretly gleaned from Tsukimi Heshu's manuals to escape this prison.
Suddenly, Hanataki materialized right in front of him.
The expression on Sasuke's face froze. He almost jumped out of his skin.
Hanataki, who had seen it all, turned to the approaching Kakuzu. "…This is what you call 'dying'?"
This was vibrant and full of life.
Kakuzu frowned.
What was going on? A moment ago, the brat's eyes were white, his face twitching.
Had he been faking it?
Kakuzu's eyes darkened. If he could, he'd end the kid right now.
Daring to trick him?
"Tsukimi Heshu!"
Sasuke finally snapped out of his shock, his eyes wide with disbelief.
"You… you staged all of this yourself!" Flames of fury burned in his pupils.
"Hm?" Hanataki hadn't expected to be unmasked by the Second Young Master himself, even if it was a case of a blind squirrel finding a nut.
Worried Sasuke might actually die, he'd forgotten his mask.
So there he stood, wearing the exact face of Tsukimi Heshu.
Hanataki touched his cheek, an unreadable smile playing on his lips. "Calling me Tsukimi Heshu isn't entirely wrong."
His demeanor made Sasuke's racing thoughts gradually clear.
A flurry of theories flashed behind his eyes.
This person definitely wasn't Tsukimi Heshu, but they had her face!
Remembering the shapeshifting disguise during the Chunin Exams…
Sasuke was convinced he'd uncovered the truth.
This person had disguised themself as Tsukimi Heshu to lure him in!
He might hate Tsukimi Heshu, but he acknowledged her position as Hokage!
"Hmph!"
Sasuke smirked, a smug, knowing twist of his lips.
A simpleton like Naruto might fall for it.
But he, Sasuke Uchiha, would never be trapped by such a trick.
Watching Sasuke's face cycle through a parade of expressions, the looks on Hanataki's and Kakuzu's faces grew increasingly complex.
Hanataki: "…"
Has the Second Young Master gone stir-crazy?
Kakuzu: "…"
Is this brat actually an idiot?
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