Izumi's thoughts churned as she approached the gathering. Uchiha Obito probably wants me to come, doesn't he? she mused inwardly, her mind wary. Is he hoping to see my reaction? If that's the case, then he truly is twisted.
Despite the strange and tense atmosphere, Izumi made her way directly to Uchiha Itachi's side. But upon seeing him, she instinctively stepped back, maintaining a distance and looking noticeably frightened.
Itachi's cold gaze met hers, and his voice was calm yet probing.
"Are you very afraid of me?"
Izumi nodded immediately, her hesitation evident. But after a moment, she seemed to realize that such an admission might not be well-received. Hastily, she shook her head and raised a sign that read, "No, no, no. I'm just very curious. Mr. Itachi doesn't seem like the ruthless type who would kill his own clan."
Itachi's eyes softened momentarily, but a shadow crossed his face as he looked up to the dark sky.
"Yes..." he said quietly. "Why did I do what I did back then? Looking back now... was there a better way?"
Izumi tilted her head, her sign asking, "What better way? Do you have some hidden reason for exterminating your clan?"
Itachi sighed deeply. "Nothing I say now will change anything."
After a brief pause, Itachi asked, "As my temporary teammate, what techniques are you proficient in?"
Izumi's two large, blank eyes on her doll costume blinked in hesitation. Then she raised a sign, "I specialize in Fire, Water, and Lightning Release ninjutsu."
Itachi nodded thoughtfully. "I see. Let's go then. I took on a mission earlier."
Izumi shook her head with another sign, "No need for that—I can fly."
Curious, Itachi's brow furrowed. Izumi's doll costume was entirely impenetrable and odd, making him uncertain how such a thing was possible.
Suddenly, Izumi spat out a large sheet of paper from the bird's mouth of her costume. The paper swirled and folded, transforming into a giant paper bird animated by her jutsu.
With a soft flutter of paper wings, the bird lifted into the air.
Itachi watched in surprise as Izumi jumped onto the paper bird and then leapt up himself.
"You're quite impressive!" he remarked.
Izumi shyly rubbed her face and held up a sign, "Not at all. I'm far from as good as you official members."
Itachi was silent for a moment, watching her antics. He thought to himself, Both he and Uchiha Madara are interns? Are they really interns, or are they actually incredibly powerful?
There was something familiar about the person in front of him, despite the doll costume's blank expression. Glancing down at her slender calves and small feet peeking out beneath the costume, Itachi noted their perfect shape—without a doubt, a beautiful woman.
He finally asked, "Which ninja village are you from?"
Izumi tilted her head in response, and then opened the bird's mouth, revealing its dark hollow interior.
From inside emerged a Konoha Ninja Village headband, battered and scratched from countless battles.
"Ah," Itachi's eyes narrowed. "You're also a rogue ninja from Konoha? Then I should know you. Who are you?"
The headband slipped back into the darkness of the paper bird's mouth.
Then, suddenly, a pair of white eyes appeared within that darkness.
"Is that the Byakugan? Are you a Hyuga clan ninja?" Itachi asked, surprised.
Izumi held up a sign firmly, "I won't tell you."
Though Itachi was somewhat displeased by her secrecy, he knew it was her private matter, and there was nothing he could do.
However, she quickly lowered the sign and raised another, which now read, "I've answered one of your questions; now you have to answer mine."
Curious, Itachi asked, "What do you want to know?"
He suspected she might ask about the clan extermination or something personal.
But what she asked surprised him.
Her sign read, "Your brother is still alive. Do you want to die by his hand? To let him kill you and awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Itachi's eyes flashed crimson, his Sharingan revealing its haunting design.
"You know about the Uchiha clan's Sharingan?" he asked, his voice tense.
Izumi immediately assumed a panicked posture, then held up a sign pleading, "Don't kill me! I just overheard the higher-ups discussing this. It's such a pity—I used to have many good friends in the Uchiha clan."
Itachi's curiosity deepened. "You have familiar people in the Uchiha clan?"
Izumi almost laughed and raised a sign listing names: "Uchiha Tamai, Uchiha Tsuki, and many more. I even carried out assassination missions with Uchiha Mikoto in the past!"
Itachi's eyes flickered at the mention of Mikoto. "My mother's friend?"
His chakra fluctuated slightly with emotion.
Feigning fright, Izumi took a few steps back and then wrote with dissatisfaction, "Senior Uchiha Mikoto was killed by her own son. How tragic! She was such a good person! Bastard!"
Itachi turned his head slightly, voice low and bitter.
"Yes, I who killed my clansmen and parents am indeed a bastard."
Izumi raised a sign, asking simply, "Do you regret it?"
She wondered silently, He must regret it, but...
Itachi replied quietly, his back to her.
"Perhaps. After leaving Konoha, I have often thought—if I had been calmer back then, could there have been another way?"
Suddenly, Itachi heard a small noise—pfft!
He turned sharply to see Yan, who couldn't speak but was spitting on the ground in contempt. The sign she held read, "Bastard! Beast who killed his own clan!"
Itachi's anger flared, but before he could react, Izumi quickly lowered the sign and raised another.
"I heard that if no one scolds you when you do something wrong, it's bad for your health. If someone scolds you, you'll feel better. Do you feel better?"
Itachi was about to retort, but found himself oddly calmer.
He looked at Yan with his Sharingan, but she remained impassive.
"My genjutsu is useless?" he thought, surprised.
He snorted coldly and turned his head away.
Izumi didn't expose his feelings but kept holding up signs teasingly.
"Why are you looking at me? Do you want to use genjutsu? Hehe, I'm not stupid. It's the famous Uchiha Itachi; of course I'll be prepared! Idiot! Hahaha!"
Itachi knew he was outmatched here. Watching her comical and rapid sign-changing, he wondered how she wrote words so quickly and precisely on each sheet.
Unable to argue, he turned away and ceased looking at her.
Soon, the pair arrived at their destination: the gangsters' hideout.
Itachi glowered at Yan, who was still holding up signs and scolding him incessantly.
"Our mission is to deal with these gangsters," he instructed. "There are retired ninjas among them. You handle them!"
"Understood! Watch me, scumbag!" Izumi put away her sign, sprouted her playful wings, and pulled a wooden baseball bat from the bird's mouth.
With exaggerated, comical steps, she charged toward the gangsters' headquarters.
Her ridiculous doll costume with its wide, blank eyes made her appear utterly hilarious.
The guards at the gate eyed her suspiciously.
"Who are you? Are you here to film a comedy?" they jeered.
No one expected Izumi to swing the bat twice and knock them all out cold.
Without hesitation, she climbed over the wall.
But fate had other plans.
The edge of her doll costume snagged on a protruding corner, causing her to stumble and fall hard into the courtyard.
The loud noise instantly put everyone on high alert.
Soon, sounds of fighting erupted from within.
Itachi watched as Yan clumsily struggled to her feet, unsure if her stumble was genuine or a ruse.
He inhaled deeply to steady himself and proceeded into the courtyard.
There, he found the white doll-costumed figure crouched low, swinging a baseball bat with reckless abandon against a ninja's head.
Only then did Itachi snort coldly, his expression unreadable, and continue deeper into the courtyard without interfering.
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