Kisame wasn't anxious at all, strolling leisurely alongside Itachi on the road to Konoha.
Throughout the journey, Kisame kept trying to make conversation.
Itachi, aiming to gather information, engaged with him readily enough.
"Danzō Shimura is a Konoha elder," Itachi noted. "His strength is considerable. This won't be easy."
The most critical point was Danzō's current location: a breeding facility not far from Konoha. Any disturbance could easily lead to them being surrounded by the village's powerful shinobi.
Kisame, carrying Samehada over his shoulder with a relaxed pace, just shrugged. "No need to worry."
After all, Kakuzu had said that at the crucial moment, Hanataki would step in.
He heard the ease in Kisame's tone. Itachi couldn't help but glance sideways at him, silently reassessing the shark-man's capabilities.
As they drew closer to Konoha, Itachi's heart trembled.
He didn't know how to face his old comrades, much less his teacher.
"Itachi-san," Kisame asked, "what kind of place is Konoha to you?"
Kisame had visited Konoha once before, accompanying Mei Terumi. Back then, he wasn't a missing-nin, but a member of Kirigakure's Anbu.
His first impression of the village was prosperity.
Itachi Uchiha, having grown up there, should have more to say.
Itachi hadn't expected such a question. He pressed his lips together. The words that came out were the opposite of what he felt. "For me, Konoha is a place in the past. A memory about to end."
He couldn't be sure if Kisame was here to monitor him for the Akatsuki. He couldn't speak his mind.
From the day he joined the organization, baring his true heart to anyone was an impossibility.
"Is that so?"
Kisame looked at him curiously, a slight smile on his face. He detected no emotion on Itachi's face.
Really, the Uchiha didn't need to be so guarded. Kisame wasn't even truly part of the Akatsuki himself.
The rest of the journey passed in silence. Soon, a sprawling breeding facility came into view.
The structures were all wooden. Shinobi and civilians moved among them.
As for Danzō Shimura himself, they saw no sign of him.
"Damn, it stinks."
Kisame sniffed the air, his face twisting. He lowered Samehada from his shoulder. "Let's make this quick."
The smell was truly lethal.
"Now?"
Itachi was surprised.
Though the shinobi here weren't strong, barging in recklessly risked getting surrounded. Even if they were surrounded, that wasn't the main issue. The real problem was a shinobi getting away to alert the Hokage.
If the Hokage intervened, escape would be impossible.
Most importantly, he didn't want his teacher to see him like this.
Even if his name as a traitor would spread across the shinobi world after this mission, at least then his teacher would only hear of his defection from others, not witness it.
"Fine then. Itachi-san can handle the tactics."
Kisame looked at him seriously and hoisted Samehada back onto his shoulder.
After their journey together, Itachi had a better grasp of Kisame's temperament. He was surprised by how unexpectedly cooperative the man was, but that was a good thing, wasn't it?
"Alright." Itachi nodded.
He preferred assassination missions carried out silently, striking the target dead before anyone even realized what was happening.
It was only as he explained his plan to Kisame that he recognized his own chilling detachment. Towards anyone he didn't care about, he felt nothing.
Itachi stared blankly at his own hands. Perhaps his teacher had been wrong about him. He was never fit to be Hokage.
The sun dipped lower in the west. On the distant mountaintop, half of a brilliant red disc remained visible.
The river flowing past Konoha glittered.
The village was bathed in the golden-red glow of twilight.
Supported by Torune Aburame, Danzō Shimura walked out of the breeding facility, rubbing his shoulder. Exhaustion was etched on his face, but his eyes shone brightly.
"Lord Danzō," Torune reported. He had adapted well to his new role as Danzō's secretary, his path as a corporate ninja now firmly set. "Thanks to the artificial breeding techniques the Hokage introduced, our piglet numbers keep rising. Orders from the major nations are increasing."
A smile blossomed on Danzō's face, crinkling like a chrysanthemum. He nodded repeatedly. "Good! Excellent!"
Danzō's steps suddenly halted. He grabbed Torune's arm, his expression serious. "Don't forget to reserve a premium black pig. That's my New Year's gift for the Hokage."
The techniques, the management methods—all came from the Hokage's suggestions. Danzō remembered clearly. The facility's current scale was largely thanks to him. To ensure future business growth and expansion, staying on the Hokage's good side was essential.
Torune nodded solemnly. "Rest assured, Lord Danzō! How could I forget something so important?"
Danzō nodded with satisfaction. "You see, business isn't simple! To make the Konoha Breeding Facility the strongest enterprise in the shinobi world, we must be thorough. We must be… well-connected!"
"Truly insightful, Lord Danzō!" Torune said with utmost seriousness. "Your subordinate is enlightened!"
Danzō smiled, letting Torune support him as they turned towards Konoha's gates.
A rustle came from the woods behind them.
Danzō's eyes sharpened.
Torune immediately felt a surge of respect. Even in his new line of work, Lord Danzō hadn't lost a shinobi's vigilance.
Danzō moved towards the rustling bushes, Torune close behind.
"Could a piglet have escaped from the pens?" Danzō speculated gravely.
Torune: "…"
The rustling stopped. The next second, a dark shadow darted deeper into the woods.
Danzō erupted in anger. "Which caretaker wasn't watching the pens?!"
Premium pigs were usually black!
Forgetting his stiff old legs and aching back, Danzō brandished his cane and gave chase.
Torune hurried after him.
The surroundings grew darker. Towering tree canopies stretched overhead. The murky light filtering through the leaves reminded Danzō how late it was getting.
But he couldn't just leave a premium black pig behind and go home.
Seeing the bushes ahead still rustling, Danzō shot Torune a look.
Torune fell silent, his footsteps becoming soundless as he crept towards the thicket. Premium black pigs had terrible tempers and incredibly sharp hearing.
Torune steadied his breath—and lunged.
"Caw! Caw! Caw!"
Black crows flapped their wings, flying up to the branches.
Torune landed on empty air.
Suddenly, his expression froze. Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
Something bit into his neck.
His chakra drained away. Darkness swallowed his vision.
Danzō's eyes swept over the two figures who had appeared.
"Itachi Uchiha?"
Danzō showed no panic. He'd lived a long life and seen many storms. Two shinobi whose combined age probably didn't match his own weren't about to frighten him.
"You defected?"
The village was awash with news of Itachi Uchiha's death. Yet here was the man who should have died a hero, wearing enemy colors.
Seeing Torune's collapsed form, their hostile intent was clear.
Itachi didn't answer. His hands flew through seals.
Shuriken wreathed in flames shot towards Danzō.
Danzō batted them aside with a Wind Release technique. He snorted, tossing his cane aside. "Traitors to Konoha have no place in this world."
It had been a while since he'd fought, but that didn't make him useless. He was Danzō Shimura, disciple of the Second Hokage.
"Wind Release: Vacuum Wave!"
A sharp, scythe-like blast of air pressure shot towards Itachi and Kisame. Nearby trees were caught in the attack, sheared in half by the violent wind. The pressure carried shattered rock and wood fragments, hurling them at the pair.
A pale cyan wall of wind materialized before Itachi, dissolving Danzō's assault.
"Hmph." Danzō grunted. "Not bad."
"Wind Release: Vacuum Great Sphere!"
Danzō's hand seals were incredibly fast. He took a deep breath, and the Vacuum Great Sphere shot forth like an air-propelled rocket shell, blanketing the area. Trees in its path were instantly pierced and pulverized. The power was terrifying.
A massive, pale cyan palm imprint of energy manifested, meeting Danzō's attack with a gale of its own. Under its pressure, the Vacuum Great Sphere seemed fragile.
Danzō's expression shifted. The corner of his mouth twitched. He couldn't help but complain. "Just like Tsukimi Heshu's disciple. A real pain to deal with!"
He might actually die here today.
Danzō's mind raced. His hands formed another rapid series of seals. Black seals spread from his palm across the ground.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"ROAR!"
A deafening bellow.
A monstrous beast tore free from the summoning circle.
Danzō's summon, the Baku.
"Not good," Itachi said, glancing at Kisame.
A summon this large would definitely draw attention from inside the village.
"Finish it quickly!" Itachi ordered.
Kisame nodded, charging forward with Samehada.
At the same moment, the black tomoe in Itachi's eyes spun and merged.
A crimson skeletal giant erupted from the ground. Wielding the Sword of Totsuka, it surged towards the Baku at Itachi's command.
The Baku unleashed another Vacuum Great Sphere, and the combined force actually tore through the outer layer of Itachi's Susano'o.
But at the same time, Amaterasu's black flames landed on the Baku's body.
The beast shrieked—POOF!—and vanished in a cloud of white smoke, the summoning cancelled.
Kisame's Samehada slammed hard into Danzō's back.
The impact drove him deep into a stone wall. Danzō's body crumpled to the ground, and he knelt, curled in pain as blood gushed from his mouth.
"Itachi Uchiha!"
He hadn't truly believed he'd die here. His eyes widened with fury, fixed on the approaching Uchiha.
"Why… why betray Konoha?" Danzō spat, more blood flowing with each word.
Itachi's hand paused slightly. "Does betraying Konoha require a reason?"
"A waste of all the effort your teacher, Tsukimi Heshu, poured into you!" Danzō snarled, his gaze locked on Itachi.
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