Chapter 295: Shisui and Itachi
Even the Yamanaka clan's intelligence network couldn't pinpoint Uchiha Itachi's exact whereabouts, only able to narrow it down to a general area. Shisui left marks known only to the two brothers in several nearby hidden locations and then waited.
In the dead of night, Uchiha Itachi, clad in a black cloak adorned with red clouds, arrived at the lakeside. His eyes were filled with doubt. Who could have left the marks he found during the day?
"Itachi, long time no see. You've grown taller," Shisui said, emerging from behind a tree.
Uchiha Itachi looked at him warily, a flicker of surprise vanishing as quickly as it appeared. "Is this a genjutsu?"
As one of the foremost genjutsu masters of his generation, his voice was laced with an uncertainty rarely heard from him.
"You're much thinner than before," Shisui said sincerely, recounting their past experiences to dispel Itachi's doubts.
Story after story, each one was so real and believable.
"Are you… are you really Big Brother Shisui?!" In their younger days, Shisui had taught Itachi shuriken practice and then carried him home on his back, just as Itachi would later carry Sasuke.
These memories were far too profound for Itachi. His intellect told him to be cautious, but his subconscious fully believed that Shisui was truly standing before him.
"As you can see, I am indeed a soul, Itachi. I've come to you because there's something I need to tell you."
Shisui got straight to the point, forgoing the pleasantries of a long-awaited reunion between brothers, and directly stated his purpose.
After listening to his explanation, Itachi summarized, "Big Brother Shisui, you intend to use Kotoamatsukami to control Chiyo and then resurrect the Fourth Hokage?!"
Itachi had long served as an ANBU under the Third Hokage and later acted as a double agent between the village and his clan. He had a decent understanding of Konoha's methods, but this massive plan truly astounded him.
He pressed, "What if the Kishō Tensei fails?"
Ino's team had also researched this question. Shisui answered frankly, "If it fails, the village will still gain a Sand Village elder who is extremely amicable towards Konoha. It's enough for me to be able to do one last thing for the village."
Itachi understood.
So, you're completely disregarding the alliance with the Sand Village and preparing to directly kidnap one of their elders? Is the current Fifth Hokage this aggressive? This is entirely different from the Third Hokage's style.
Sasuke hadn't defected from the village and seemed to be developing well in Konoha. As his older brother, Itachi hoped Sasuke would become the Uchiha clan's strongest, stepping up to protect the village when Konoha faced danger, fulfilling his own dying wish.
But now… this scenario was completely off. Konoha didn't need protecting; it was even looking to instigate war! When you're invading someone else's home, is there still a need to arrange for someone to "protect" it? Shouldn't it be the Sand Village protecting their homeland?
Itachi was young when the Fourth Hokage died in battle, and they had never met, but the Fourth's virtues were widely praised in the shinobi world. He held a favorable impression of the man.
He truly had no use for Kotoamatsukami, and Shisui himself had come to ask for it. Logically and emotionally, he had no reason to refuse.
"No problem. It was originally your eye anyway. I was just keeping it safe for you temporarily," Itachi said, summoning his crow and removing the Kotoamatsukami left eye that had been stored in its socket, handing it to Shisui.
The eye itself was an external manifestation of Yin Release chakra refined to its peak, different from ordinary flesh and blood.
The Mangekyo Sharingan was connected to his bloodline, and a soul could serve as a vessel for the eye. It effortlessly returned to its place in his left eye socket.
With a thought from Shisui, his ocular power dispersed, and he deactivated the spinning Mangekyo Sharingan, returning his eye to normal. Itachi, who had been watching him intently, finally let go of his last shred of caution.
This was his Big Brother Shisui. Even the way he deactivated his Sharingan was identical; it couldn't be an impostor.
"...Big Brother Shisui, I've missed you so much."
"Itachi, I've missed you too."
At Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya tossed and turned.
Shisui had retrieved his Mangekyo Sharingan from Itachi.
Kakashi was at home, preparing night-clothes, a sack, and ropes.
Shikaku had been working overtime for days, formulating a battle plan.
Once the war began, Konoha had to "protect" the Daimyo of the Land of Fire at the earliest opportunity. Then, they would incite the Mist Village and Cloud Village in the east to fight each other. To the northwest, they would confront the Stone Village head-on. To the west, they would concentrate their forces to crush the Sand Village first! Forcing them back to the negotiating table for an alliance.
He had prepared several plans for this, but the core idea was singular: regardless of the situation, attacking the Sand Village first was definitely the right move! Make them cede territory and pay reparations, then dispatch troops to aid Konoha in the war.
These prominent figures of Konoha were incredibly busy.
Ino, the instigator of it all, was nonchalantly coasting through her days at the Ninja Academy as if nothing was amiss.
Her current status was somewhere between "teacher" and "teaching assistant." With Tsunade backing her, the Ninja Academy dared not neglect her, but they also didn't dare assign her actual teaching duties.
Ino clocked in at the Ninja Academy for a "well-paying, low-effort job close to home," and to add a few more D-rank and C-rank missions to her ninja resume.
After casually lecturing on theory for half a class, she asked the few rascals in the classroom, "What kind of ninjutsu do you want to learn?"
Konohamaru shot his hand up. "Rasengan!"
Moegi, Udon, and a few other children eagerly voiced their wishes.
"I want to learn the Shadow Clone Jutsu!"
"Great Fireball Technique!"
All sorts of requests filled the small classroom.
Tonton, who had clearly put on weight from being well-fed at the Yamanaka residence recently, looked up at the children, seemingly puzzled by their excitement.
Ino made a downward gesture with her hands. "Alright, alright, I heard you all. Let's be democratic and vote. Whatever the outcome of the vote, that's what I'll teach you. Hmm, there are nine of you, plus me makes ten. Each of you gets one vote."
Konohamaru was overjoyed. He looked at his best friends, Udon and Moegi; that meant he had three votes already. He then glanced to the other side, where a new friend named Mugino sat. Mugino had supposedly come from afar to seek refuge with his grandfather. My grandfather is already dead, and you show up now? Nevertheless, they got along well, and he could enlist Mugino's support.
There were only nine students in the class. If he could secure just one more vote, he'd be unbeatable.
While Konohamaru was still calculating his votes, Ino spoke again, "I'm the teacher, so I get ninety-one votes. Today, we'll be practicing shuriken!"
Konohamaru: "..."
Are you kidding me? Fine, whatever you say!
Ino was delighted. Whether it was beating up old men, kidnapping old women, or playing tricks on children, she found endless joy and a great sense of accomplishment in such activities.
The chakra pathways of these Ninja Academy students were still quite fragile and couldn't refine too much chakra. Teaching them anything advanced now wasn't suitable. They should just diligently practice their shuriken!
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