Time passed.
Two days later.
The several Akatsuki teams that had left Amegakure separately had also arrived at their mission locations.
Outside Konoha.
At this moment,
On a lush, high mountain,
Itachi and Kisame had successfully arrived here,
Gazing down at the vast circular village not far below,
The two had different expressions.
Kisame slightly grinned and chuckled:
"Well..."
"Although I've heard of it before,"
"Today is the first time I've truly overlooked its full view."
"This is the Konoha Village where Itachi-san was born, huh..."
"It seems indeed much larger than Kirigakure. As expected of the former overlord of the Shinobi World."
Kisame grinned, commenting calmly.
However,
Despite saying this,
There was no trace of respect or admiration in his tone.
Instead, it was somewhat rueful.
He seemed,
To be lamenting the fall of the former overlord.
And at this moment,
Itachi beside him naturally also sensed this feeling.
However,
His expression still remained calm, his gaze indifferent.
He just gazed below,
Without a word.
This village... was once the place he relied on most.
However,
Since the night of the massacre a few years ago,
In order to constantly monitor Akatsuki and avoid suspicion, he had never returned here.
And now,
Was the first time since that night.
Looking towards the direction of the old Uchiha compound in the distance, a slight ripple finally appeared in Itachi's gaze.
His gaze then shifted towards the residential area of Konoha.
He knew,
That was where Sasuke currently lived.
Back then, after the Uchiha massacre, the Uchiha compound was completely sealed off.
And according to Hiruzen's promise,
He would let Sasuke grow up safely here...
He wondered,
How was Sasuke doing now...?
Itachi lowered his eyes slightly, his heart filled with complicated emotions.
This time,
He chose to personally come to Konoha to execute the mission.
Besides wanting to sabotage Akatsuki's Kyubi capture plan, of course, he also wanted to take the opportunity to see how his little brother was doing.
"..."
But just then,
Kisame beside him suddenly made a strange sound.
"Huh?"
"..."
Hearing this, Itachi snapped out of it, then looked over indifferently and said:
"What's wrong?"
As his words fell,
Kisame squinted slightly, looking in a distant direction, and said somewhat puzzledly:
"Strange."
"Before coming, I heard..."
"Konoha Village has a landmark building called the Hokage Rock, carved with statues of the past Hokage."
"Could it be... that one?"
As he spoke, Kisame raised his hand and pointed to a building in the distance that was under repair.
Itachi's gaze naturally followed.
However,
This look made him freeze.
Huh...?
Wait!
Wh-what's going on...?
The Hokage Rock was being recarved and repaired...???
And... what about the ruins spreading around it...???
Could it be,
That the Hokage Rock had collapsed not long ago?!
"!"
Realizing this, Itachi's heart contracted.
Before this,
His gaze had been focused on the direction of the Uchiha compound and the residential area, and he hadn't noticed that the Hokage Rock had changed like this!
Connecting it to what he had heard from Pain before,
Could it be,
That these... were also caused by Orochimaru?
Itachi's gaze flickered slightly.
Unable to determine for now.
After all,
In this Chunin Exam unrest, there was an unstable factor named Kyo.
As long as he was present,
Anything could happen...
After a moment of silence,
Itachi raised his eyes and said calmly:
"Let's go."
"Put on a cloak to slightly conceal ourselves, then go in."
Saying this,
Itachi took out the prepared bamboo hats and cloaks, handed one to Kisame, and put one on himself.
Seeing this, Kisame was momentarily surprised, then took the cloak while grinning:
"Oh my,"
"I heard that Konoha has a barrier that can completely detect intruders' presences."
"Just wearing a cloak like this, will it really work, Itachi-san?"
"..."
As his words fell,
Itachi didn't even look and said calmly:
"I know the formula for this barrier very well."
"So I also have a way to avoid its detection. Stop talking nonsense, let's go."
Saying this,
Itachi leaped forward.
Seeing this, Kisame was momentarily stunned, then his gaze flickered slightly.
Chuckling softly to himself:
"Tsk tsk..."
"It seems quite determined..."
After speaking,
He also immediately put on the cloak,
Leaped forward, chasing after Itachi.
...
A moment later,
The two easily successfully infiltrated into Konoha.
They swaggered down the commercial street.
Kisame lowered his voice and smiled:
"Truly worthy of you, Itachi-san."
"We really weren't discovered."
"Now... how do we find the Kyubi Jinchuriki?"
As an honest man,
He was still thinking about their mission to Konoha.
However,
Hearing this, Itachi frowned imperceptibly and said:
"Don't rush."
"Let's first go somewhere to eavesdrop on Konoha's intelligence."
"Avoid alerting the enemy."
"Let's go."
Saying this, Itachi quickened his pace and led Kisame to a ramen shop.
Kisame's gaze immediately became strange.
Huh...?
What's going on??
Talking about eavesdropping on Konoha intelligence, how did they end up in a damn ramen shop...
However,
At this moment, he naturally couldn't ask.
He had no choice but to helplessly follow Itachi and find a corner behind a partition curtain to sit down.
...
The two pretended to eat their ramen.
Although the shop owner, Teuchi, was also surprised by their appearance, he didn't ask much.
After all, many people had come to Konoha for trade recently, and wearing a bamboo hat wasn't strange.
And just a moment later,
Two people slowly walked over and also sat down in the shop, ordering two bowls of ramen.
One of them wore a black mask, his forehead protector tilted down covering his left eye, his silver hair very conspicuous, and his eyes very lazy.
He was the famous Copy Ninja of the Shinobi World, possessing the strength to go 50-50 with anyone from Momochi Zabuza to Otsutsuki Kaguya, the Chakra Unit, Hatake Kakashi.
And walking beside him was also a Jonin.
However, compared to the slender Kakashi, he was very broad, with healthy brown skin, a cigarette in his mouth, and a burly bearded man.
He was Konoha's number one official second generation, a man madly blackened by countless doujin authors and stepped on by countless harem novel protagonists, Yuhi Kurenai's lover, Konoha's number one cuckold, Sarutobi Asuma.
At this moment,
The two were casually chatting about something.
They didn't notice Itachi and Kisame, who were disguised in the corner.
The first to speak was Asuma.
He took the cigarette out of his mouth, put it out, and said casually:
"Kakashi,"
"How is your student, Uzumaki Naruto, doing now...?"
"...?!"
As his words fell, in an instant,
Itachi and Kisame on this side were both stunned!
Huh?!
Whoa!!!
Such a coincidence... Damn, they just came in, and the first sentence hits the nail on the head???
Kisame immediately looked at Itachi beside him, revealing an "awesome" shocked expression.
As expected of Itachi-san!
Seemingly randomly choosing a ramen shop, but just one minute after sitting down, they heard the most important intelligence!
The Kyubi Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto!
However,
What he didn't know was,
Itachi beside him was naturally even more stunned.
This...
This is too damn coincidental?!
Asuma! Can't you just chat about something irrelevant?! Why start with this???
Beneath the bamboo hat, Itachi's expression shifted slightly.
He continued to listen carefully.
And at this moment,
Kakashi over there showed a wry smile and shook his head:
"Well..."
"Of course, it's much better than before."
"At least now, he's not as persistent as before, insisting on going out to find Sasuke..."
"He's also started focusing on training his Ninjutsu."
Hearing this,
Asuma nodded and smiled helplessly:
"Ah, that's good."
"That guy has finally calmed down a bit."
"Although Uchiha Sasuke was taken away by Orochimaru this time, for now... he probably won't be in any life-threatening danger."
"It's more important to let Naruto focus on training..."
Asuma sighed softly.
However,
He didn't know that,
Just as he finished saying "Sasuke was taken away by Orochimaru" --
Behind him,
In the corner,
Beneath Itachi's bamboo hat, his pupils suddenly contracted sharply!!
He was directly frozen stiff!!