There was silence as Itachi looked at Izanami with disbelief. Even though he knew that Izanami was very mysterious and was more powerful than his unfathomable sister, he never expected she could easily toy with someone at the level of a Kage.
One had to say that Itachi, despite awakening the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, was still too green. Otherwise, he would have never thought like this. Kiyomi was the daughter of Indra, the true ancestor of the Uchiha clan, who was once called the Demonic Red Eye Princess, one of the three demon queens in the village.
In those ancient times where Kage-class beings were everywhere, these three demon queens made everyone tremble in fear with their unparalleled strength. Compared to legends like them, someone like Orochimaru was nothing more than a tiny snake.
"You seem surprised, Itachi," Izanami said, a faint, mocking smile appearing on her face as she looked at his shocked eyes. "Did you really think that snake was strong just because the rest of Konoha fears him?"
Itachi quickly brought his calm mask back, taking a small breath to steady his mind. "No, Lady Izanami. It is just... Orochimaru has been a threat to Konoha for a long time. To hear you talk about him made me think a bit. Orochimaru must have come to Konoha to fulfil some purpose."
"That I don't know," Izanami said, turning her back to the village as her hair blew softly in the wind. "But isn't this type of thing something your Root Division can find out?"
Itachi bowed his head slightly. "Yes, I will find out everything that is related to this incident, Lady Izanami. " Then he disappeared into a flock of crows.
Itachi's departure didn't make any change in Izanami's face. She looked back down at the village. From up here, it looked so quiet and peaceful, but she knew that peace would not last long.
" Well then, let's go back; it's time to eat lunch," Izanami said as she turned to a shadow and disappeared.
…..
After eating a lavish lunch, Izanami once again went to check on the chunin exams. It seems she may have missed some competition matches. Well, it doesn't matter; none of these kids have any strong abilities that interest her.
" Next Match: Uchiha Sasuke Vs Yoroi Akadō!"
Oh, never mind; it seems she was here right on me.
Thinking so, she immediately sat up straight as she looked at the arena. She even brought some popcorn just to have the authentic experience.
Up on the balcony, Sasuke jumped down into the arena, landing lightly on his feet. He looked calm and was full of confidence.
Yoroi Akadō walked to the arena with a mean smile on his face. He knew Sasuke Uchiha, who was their mission target. He had already decided to steal all of Sasuke's energy before he could even fight back. This way he would have no choice but use the curse mark.
"Good luck, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled from the balcony, looking very excited. As a partner who was in the same team, she knew how strong Sasuke was.
High up in the dark ceiling, Izanami ate a piece of popcorn, watching with a small smirk. She wanted to see if the boy could fight without using the dark mark on his neck.
Hayate Gekko stepped into the middle of the room, coughing softly into his hand. "Begin!"
Yoroi ran forward, reaching out with his glowing hand to steal Sasuke's power. But Sasuke just stood there, looking completely calm. His red Sharingan eyes lit up, seeing every move Yoroi was about to make.
"Take this!" Yoroi shouted, quickly making hand signs. He blew a thick cloud of black smoke from his mouth, hiding himself to attack from behind.
Sasuke did not panic. His hands moved super fast, making hand signs in a blur.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!" Sasuke called out.
He blew a huge ball of hot fire straight into the black smoke. The bright fire burned away the smoke instantly, lighting up the whole room.
Yoroi gasped in fear and jumped back to avoid the fire. But as soon as the smoke cleared, Sasuke was already high in the air above him, making hand signs again.
"Lightning Style: Spark Strike!" Sasuke whispered.
Blue sparks of lightning cracked around Sasuke's feet. He dropped down fast, kicking Yoroi right in the chest with his electric attack. The shock stopped Yoroi's body completely, sending him flying across the room until he hit the stone wall.
Yoroi slid down to the floor, knocked out cold. Sasuke landed softly on his feet, looking strong and completely untouched.
"Winner: Uchiha Sasuke!" Hayate called out.
Izanami ate another piece of popcorn with a small smile. "Not bad for a kid," she whispered softly, watching Sasuke walk back to the stadium.
The crowd cheered loudly as Sasuke walked calmly back up to the balcony, his face cool and quiet. Naruto slapped him on the back with a big grin, and Sakura let out a happy sigh of relief.
High up in the dark ceiling, Izanami finished her last piece of popcorn. Down below, the big board flashed bright red lights, spinning to pick the next two fighters.
"Next Match: Shino Aburame Vs Zaku Abumi!" Hayate called out with a soft cough.
"Hmm, two kids playing with bugs and noise," Izanami whispered, resting her head against the stone ceiling.
Down in the ring, Zaku stepped out with a mean smile, holding up his bandaged arms. Shino walked out quietly, keeping his hands deep inside his coat pockets.
"You're going down, bug boy!" Zaku yelled. He raised both hands, aiming the metal tubes in his palms right at Shino.
With a loud roar, Zaku shot a huge blast of wind and sound straight ahead. The air shook, blowing up dust all over the floor. But Shino didn't even move. A wave of black bugs flew out from under his coat, forming a thick shield in front of him. The strong wind hit the bug shield hard, but Shino stayed completely safe behind it.
"Is that all?" Shino asked in his calm, quiet voice.
Before Zaku could answer, dozens of black bugs crawled out from the ground around his feet. Zaku panicked and tried to aim his hands down to blow them away.
"Too late," Shino whispered softly.
While Zaku was busy looking at the floor, tiny bugs had already crawled up his legs and slipped inside the metal tubes in his hands. They packed together tightly, blocking the holes completely.
Zaku didn't notice. He laughed meanly and tried to shoot another massive wind blast right at Shino's face.
BOOM!
Because the tubes were blocked, the powerful wind had nowhere to go. The air pressure blew up right inside Zaku's arms. The blast tore through his bandages and broke his hands, sending him screaming in pain as he fell hard to the floor.
"Winner: Shino Aburame!" Hayate announced.
Izanami smiled faintly. "At least that bug kid uses his brain."
Like this, a few more battles went on as Izanami sat boredly on the seat, eating popcorn. Most of these matches were boring as hell to Izanami, making her almost want to go back home. But the match she wanted still did not start; she had to wait patiently. And finally, just as she was losing her patience, Hayate announced the match she wanted to see the most.
" Next Match: Naruto Uzumaki Vs Neji Hyuga! "
*****
Author's Note: I'm currently balancing my university studies with writing, and things can get pretty tight. If you enjoy my work, even a $1 donation on P.a.t.r.e.o.n makes a massive difference in helping me cover my education expenses.
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