"I'm so tired!"
Sakura sat down on a public bench, looking like she had lost all hope in life.
Ino and Choji were the same.
Because Naruto, Sasuke, and Shikamaru had all become Chunin, the three of them were preparing to team up for the Chunin Exams in the second half of the year.
That's right, founded by the Second Hokage Senju Tobirama, they were held twice a year.
Since participation required a team format, those among the Konoha 12 who hadn't passed the joint exams this time all looked for teammates.
Naruto's Shadow Clone sat on a bench not far away, chatting with Dahuang.
Dahuang was a Ninken meticulously bred by the Inuzuka Clan; though he couldn't speak, he could understand human speech.
Several Genin from the Konoha 12 had sought him out as a sparring partner.
Ino and Sakura both instinctively looked toward Naruto's Clone.
Even though they knew it wasn't him, just a Clone, the two of them just wanted to look.
To see his shadow through it.
It's always like this when people see someone similar; because of longing, it takes form in that moment.
Suddenly, the Clone seemed to sense something and looked toward the direction of home.
At the same time, Naruto, who was on Tanzaku Street, also noticed an unknown Chakra signal picked up by the sensory barrier at home.
Who could it be?
In a moment of distraction, the Chili Sauce in his hand was taken by Uchiha Hikari.
The latter held the bottle of Chili Sauce, unable to put it down.
Next time they ate, how much she wanted to add would be up to her!
"Have a seat."
Kushina led the two into a room with a beaming smile, then poured tea for them.
"Thank you, Auntie Kushina."
Itachi took off his straw hat and pulled open the collar of his cloak.
Kushina waved her hand.
"Don't mention it, just treat this place like your own home. Come, you must be Itachi's friend, this is for you."
Kisame Hoshigaki somewhat stiffly placed Samehada by the table and took the teacup handed over by Kushina with both hands.
Though he didn't quite understand why Itachi called such a young person 'Auntie,' the honest Kisame still said, "Thank you, Auntie."
"You're welcome. Sit for a while, I'll go get some snacks."
I've already sent Karin to call Sasuke; you'll see him in a moment, Itachi."
Kushina walked out of the room with a smile.
Click.
The soft sound of the door closing acted like an invisible switch.
The air in the Japanese-style room dropped to freezing point in an instant.
The trace of barely maintained calm on Uchiha Itachi's face vanished instantly, replaced by absolute coldness and vigilance.
Almost at the same time, Kisame Hoshigaki's hand gripped the hilt of Samehada, lifting the massive weapon onto his back, then he began to form hand signs: "Water Release: Great Waterf—"
"Wait."
Uchiha Itachi reached out his hand, stopping Kisame.
His eyes, at some point, had already turned into the Mangekyo Sharingan.
In the courtyard.
The smile on Kushina's face had long since disappeared.
With her back to the door of the room, her hands quickly formed a series of complex hand Seals in front of her chest.
Red Chakra, like living flames, rapidly spread along the doorframe, walls, floor, and ceiling, forming an invisible, sturdy barrier outline.
"Sealing Jutsu: Four-Corner Sealing Barrier."
She breathed out the name of the technique inaudibly as the final Seal was formed.
Hum—
A layer of pale red, almost imperceptible light film instantly enveloped the entire room, isolating all Chakra and sound transmission between the inside and outside, and completely sealing off all escape routes.
Inside the room, Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan clearly'saw' the exquisite and powerful sealing barrier completed in that instant.
"She wasn't unprepared."
Itachi's voice was extremely low, audible only to Kisame.
"And... she is very strong."
Though her strength appeared to be only at the level of a Special Jonin, her Sealing Jutsu were simply too formidable.
If she were in her prime, he and Kisame would likely have been sealed already.
Truly the wife of the Fourth Hokage; he had indeed underestimated her before.
Kisame slowly lowered his hands from the Seals and instead picked up Samehada.
Samehada was propped back on the ground; Kisame's muscles were tensed all over, like a shark ready to strike.
He grinned, revealing sharp teeth, his eyes flashing with the excitement and ferocity of meeting a strong foe: "It seems this cup of tea... won't be so easy to drink, Itachi-san."
The Mangekyo patterns in Uchiha Itachi's eyes suddenly accelerated their rotation, the eerie tomoe intertwining and shifting in his deep pupils like two miniature blood moons.
A massive ocular power permeated the small room like a physical substance.
"Though I don't know how she was resurrected..."
Itachi's voice was terrifyingly calm, a bizarre contrast to the Chakra beginning to boil around him.
"However, she was good friends with my mother."
Red, a crimson color composed purely of massive ocular power and cold Chakra, began to burn and spread silently at his side like flames blooming from Hell.
First, several ferocious ribs burst forth, followed by thick arm bones and a spine... a huge, skeletal frame glowing with an ominous red light rose boisterously from the ground with Uchiha Itachi at its center!
The wooden floor groaned under the unbearable weight, and dust from the roof fell in flurries.
Kushina, who had deployed the sealing barrier, sensed the abnormality inside, and her expression changed drastically.
Chakra continued to surge frantically, clinging to and filling the skeletal structure, rapidly constructing dark red energy flesh and meridians, making that skeletal Susanoo more solid and oppressive. The air was squeezed by this terrifying power until it distorted and boomed.
"With Auntie Kushina's personality."
Itachi's gaze pierced through the gradually forming Susanoo, as if he could see the figure outside the door maintaining the barrier.
"She will certainly be thinking of... seeking revenge for her good friend."
The moment his words fell, more complex and sturdy Chakra armor plates condensed out of thin air, like living things or greedy maws, layering and 'biting' onto the newly formed flesh and blood of the Susanoo.
The half-body Susanoo forcibly broke through the barrier that hadn't yet fully solidified.
Three figures landed in the courtyard.
They were Kakashi, Kurenai, and Asuma.
"Kakashi, why are you guys here?"
Kushina retreated to the side of the three.
"Because we noticed these two suspicious fellows a long time ago; I didn't expect it to be Itachi."
Kakashi explained.
Uchiha Itachi didn't focus his gaze on the four of them, but instead looked toward the roof.
Uchiha Sasuke was right there.
'So this is your brother? I didn't expect there to be someone in your era who has awakened the Mangekyo as well.'
Inside the consciousness space.
The phantom of Indra, dressed in ancient attire, wore a playful smile as he watched the confrontation outside like a spectator.
He walked slowly behind Sasuke, whose body was stiff but whose consciousness was completely gripped by the scene outside, and casually rested his hands on the boy's tense shoulders.
His head leaned slightly toward Sasuke's ear, like a demon tempting a Mortal to fall, his whisper carrying an irresistible magic and provocativeness:
"Go on..."
Indra's hands left Sasuke's shoulders, slowly rising and gradually approaching Sasuke's eyes.
"Try my eyes..."
"Kill him, use his blood to water your hatred, and awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan that truly belongs to you!"
The moment the words fell, Indra's hands gently covered Sasuke's eyes.
Outside, Uchiha Sasuke's body on the roof gave a violent jolt.
When he opened his eyes again, his originally pitch-black pupils had completely changed.
The three-tomoe Sharingan had turned into a six-pointed star pattern Mangekyo Sharingan.