The scene returns to Kyo's side.
Kyo leisurely left the Amegakure's Shinobi Academy.
Then, he slowly walked back towards his residence.
Sunlight stretched his shadow long.
With his hands in the wide pockets of his Akatsuki's robe, he walked forward as if taking a leisurely stroll.
His expression was relaxed, his pace unhurried.
After all, at this point, there was basically nothing to worry about regarding this main mission.
There was no need to sneak around using Garganta and Hollowfication like during the night of the Uchiha Clan's annihilation.
For this trip to Konoha,
He just needed to put on his black-rimmed glasses, run his hair gel hand through his hair, and he'd be the most honest man in all of Amegakure.
Easy and simple.
Furthermore,
He had just learned from Konan that the Konoha's Chunin Exams would officially begin in ten days.
And considering the distance between Amegakure and Konoha,
Even if they walked the entire way, they could easily arrive in three days at most. There was no rush.
So naturally, he didn't need to worry about it too much now.
However,
One thing worth mentioning,
Just a moment ago,
Before Kyo left the Amegakure's Shinobi Academy,
Those three chosen children, as if they had planned it, suddenly began to plead with Kyo together,
Hoping that before heading to Konoha, Kyo would teach them some swordsmanship.
The three had very earnest expressions, their postures humble to the extreme.
Kyo felt helpless inside.
There's no way around it.
He had to temporarily pull a relatively basic swordsmanship scroll from his system storage.
He handed it directly to them, gave a few casual instructions, and then left.
Even so,
The three little ones, upon seeing the glowing swordsmanship scroll, had their eyes instantly light up.
They all started bowing and thanking him repeatedly, as if they had found a treasure, extremely excited.
But in reality,
They didn't know.
This swordsmanship was just the most basic one in Kyo's collection.
It was a reward Kyo had obtained through survival check-in back in the hidden territory. After learning it, he had simply stored it away.
If not for these three children, he wouldn't have remembered it existed.
Kyo had, of course, familiarized himself with it beforehand.
Although this swordsmanship came from the Bleach World,
All the techniques and sword skills within this scroll could be learned even by people with no Spiritual Power at all.
It was completely entry-level.
Furthermore, once learned, it possessed considerable power, its pure destructive force could even rival many Ninjutsu.
However,
That being said,
It would naturally depend on whether those three had any talent for learning.
...
As he was thinking,
Kyo had already arrived near his residence.
And then, at this peculiar spot once again,
He suddenly saw two figures walking towards him from a side path.
Again, two figures in Akatsuki's red cloud black robes.
But this time,
Biwa Juzo was not there.
Instead, it was Itachi and the newly joined formal member, Hoshigaki Kisame.
And unlike last time,
This time, Itachi did not take a detour as before; instead, he quickened his pace and walked directly over.
"Kyo-senpai, please wait a moment!"
Itachi called out as he approached.
Ever since that clash of Dojutsu with Kyo back then, Itachi had always addressed Kyo as "senpai".
He had gotten used to calling him that.
And now, he couldn't switch back.
At this moment,
Kyo also stopped what he was doing.
He still had his hands in the wide pockets of his robe, looking over with a slightly surprised gaze, saying:
"What's up? Something wrong?"
As his words faded, Itachi had already arrived before him.
He slightly lowered his eyes, his facial expression as calm as an iceberg, without a ripple, and said very calmly:
"It's like this."
"Leader just assigned our team a new mission, to annihilate a hostile organization targeting Akatsuki."
"And I also received word from Zetsu that you, coincidentally... have a new mission, is that right?"
"Would you mind disclosing it a little,"
"Perhaps we could assist you in some way."
Itachi looked calmly at Kyo, his tone very ordinary, as if chatting with an acquaintance.
"..."
However, as soon as these words were spoken, Kyo was rendered speechless.
'Huh?'
'This kind of operation...?'
'Although we both seem to be in the same organization,'
'You, Uchiha Itachi, as a Konoha's spy, don't you have any awareness of being a spy?'
'With no reason at all, asking me so bluntly about my mission information, that's too careless.'
'Do you really treat me like your big brother?'
'You will come to me whenever you don't know something?'
Kyo rolled his eyes.
But in fact,
Regarding this mission, there was indeed nothing unspeakable.
After all, his actions were open and aboveboard; revealing it wouldn't affect anything.
So,
Kyo looked at Itachi, suddenly raised an eyebrow, and said with a meaningful smile:
"Oh, you're talking about the mission."
"Let's go, I'm going to overthrow Konoha. Want to come along?"
"-?!!"
As soon as these words were spoken, instantly, Itachi's expression changed slightly, and his pupils contracted sharply for a moment!
'Wh-What...?!'
'He's going to overthrow Konoha...???'
'This...'
'How is this possible?!'
This sudden, bizarre statement instantly shattered Itachi's original train of thought, leaving his mind blank!
All the various deductions he had prepared before coming here were now completely frozen!
And at this moment,
Seeing the fleeting look of shock in Itachi's eyes,
Kyo's smile grew even wider. He slightly raised his chin and said with a laugh:
"What's wrong? Scared?"
"You could annihilate the entire Uchiha Clan, yet you're afraid of a mere Sarutobi faction?"
"Come on, come with me. Let's burn Konoha Village to the ground, and directly create a 'Where Konoha's foliage dances, fire also springs forth ever' scenario. How about it?"
"..."
As his words faded, Itachi was momentarily stunned.
Hearing this, he finally realized he had been fooled...
And he also realized that his strange expression just now had been too obvious. So, he quickly lowered his head, dropped his gaze, and forcefully suppressed his feelings.
Only after a moment did his expression return to indifference.
Thinking carefully, it was indeed true.
A major event like overthrowing Konoha couldn't possibly be carried out by Kyo alone.
Nor could it happen at a time like this.
In the current situation, before they had even collected all the Tailed Beasts, Akatsuki couldn't possibly wage war on one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
Realizing this,
Itachi slowly raised his eyes again, returning to calm, then looked at Kyo and said coolly:
"Kyo-senpai, you're joking."
"Leader and the others wouldn't send you to overthrow Konoha under these circumstances, so..."
"You must have a different mission."
He spoke with great certainty.
After hearing this, Kyo simply rolled his eyes.
'Talking to an acting master is such a hassle.'
'His speed at changing expressions was almost faster than the Flying Thunder God of Minato.'
'Simply absurd.'
"Believe it or not, I don't care."
"I'm off."
Kyo couldn't be bothered to deal with him anymore.
After waving them off, he turned and entered his residence.
His pace was still leisurely, as if he didn't take these two seriously at all.
Itachi and Kisame were momentarily stunned.
'Huh?'
'Just like that... he left?'
'But, I still haven't found out anything...'
Itachi lowered his head slightly, a complex light flashing in his eyes.
'What's going on...?'
'It seems like, from the past until now, this Kyo has always been completely distrustful of me...'
'He won't even disclose a simple mission objective to me.'
'Could it be,'
'He already suspects my identity as a spy...?'
Itachi lowered his head, his brow furrowed, his mind racing.
'Since he just mentioned Konoha,'
'Then it could basically be concluded that his mission this time is highly likely related to Konoha.'
'However,'
'If it's not a big move like overthrowing Konoha, then what could it be?'
'An investigation into the Jinchuriki...?'
And while Itachi was pondering, Kisame, who had witnessed the whole process, slightly grinned and chuckled strangely:
"Tsk, Itachi-san,"
"Your expression looks very complex."
"What are you thinking about?"
"..."
As his words faded, Itachi snapped back to reality.
Then, he raised his head, glanced indifferently at Kisame, turned around directly, lowered his eyes, and started walking forward, saying blandly:
"Nothing. Let's go, time to accept the mission."
"..."
Having said that, Itachi walked forward alone.
Kisame looked at his back, once again revealing an unfathomable strange smile.
'Tsk, just as Uchiha Madara-sama said,'
'This Uchiha Itachi,'
'Although he is in the Akatsuki, he indeed seems to have unsevered ties to Konoha...'
'The micro-expressions just now have explained everything.'
Kisame's eyes flickered slightly.
Although his appearance seemed honest, his thoughts and ideas were very delicate.
Otherwise, he couldn't have been a member of the Kiirgakure's intelligence squad.
Therefore,
In that brief conversation just now, he had successfully captured all of Itachi's micro-expression changes.
It was these changes that further confirmed the words of the masked man, Uchiha Madara.
However, this time,
What surprised Kisame more was Kyo.
This guy with the dazzling golden eyes, almost always maintained an extremely relaxed posture whenever he spoke.
Even when he said the words "overthrow Konoha",
His expression, movements, tone, and even his gaze remained completely unchanged, utterly unassailable.
There's no flaws whatsoever.
So much so that although Kisame knew his "overthrow Konoha" was a lie, he couldn't find a single trace of deception.
'What a dangerous man.'
'No wonder both Itachi and Madara-sama were so focused on him...'
Kisame's eyes flickered slightly,
Then he followed Itachi, gradually walking away.
Today,
His understanding of Akatsuki had become a bit clearer.