Leaves rustled softly in the wind.
Bathed in the pale moonlight, Itachi stared at the boy standing beneath the tree. His face was a blank mask, his eyes completely devoid of emotion.
Instead of answering the question, he simply studied Shikage—who was only a year younger than him.
That dead-eyed stare made Shikage uncomfortable.
He opened his mouth to speak, but a sudden shadow lunged at him from the sky.
Shikage didn't even bother looking up. He moved instantly, chaining several high-speed dodges together before landing lightly on a high tree branch.
A split second later—Boom! A deafening explosion rocked the forest, sending dirt and debris flying into the air.
Shikage looked down at the dust cloud billowing from where he had just been standing. A flock of pitch-black crows burst from the smoke, diving straight for him.
He twisted his body sideways, effortlessly flicking several kunai from his waist. They struck the crows dead-on.
The moment cold metal met chakra, a chain of violent explosions ripped through the air.
The shockwave whipped Shikage's hair back. Lowering his eyes, he flooded his muscles with chakra and vanished, flashing straight into the settling dust.
Holding a kunai in a reverse grip, he thrust it mercilessly into Itachi's neck.
The blade sank in, but there was no resistance. No feeling of tearing flesh.
Itachi gave him a mild, sidelong glance before his body dissolved into dozens of scattering crows.
The moment the flock took flight, that familiar, dangerous sensation washed over Shikage again.
He looked at the crows surrounding him, their beady red eyes glowing in the dark. His instincts were screaming at him, but he didn't even flinch.
He just watched thoughtfully as the flock turned into living bombs, detonating in a massive fireball that reduced his body to ash.
As the blast cleared, two figures stepped out from the dead silence of the forest.
It was Itachi and Shikage—both completely unharmed.
Itachi stared at Shikage and finally spoke his first words of the night.
"A solid Shadow Clone."
Shikage smiled faintly. He lowered his center of gravity and bolted straight at Itachi.
"Your crow bombs aren't bad either."
Itachi didn't dodge. Instead, he whipped out several shuriken to cover his advance and rushed in to meet Shikage in close-quarters combat.
As their fists and kicks clashed in a blur of motion, Itachi surprisingly engaged in a bit of casual banter.
"They aren't crow bombs. It's the Clone Great Explosion technique."
Catching a brief opening, Shikage spun and unleashed a heavy, sweeping kick.
"Seems pretty useful. Mind teaching me later?"
Itachi raised an eyebrow slightly, bringing up an arm to barely block the heavy blow.
"Sure."
Using the kinetic force from Shikage's kick, Itachi cleverly backflipped several times to create distance.
The moment he had breathing room, his chest expanded and his hands flew through hand seals.
"Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive sphere of flames scorched the oxygen from the air, hurtling toward Shikage in a wave of distorting heat.
Shikage sidestepped the fireball with fluid grace and charged forward without a second thought.
He knew exactly where his advantage lay. If he let Itachi keep his distance, he'd just get whittled down by ninjutsu.
The fiery explosion behind Shikage stretched his shadow out—long, thin, and fast. The very tip of it slid perfectly over the toe of Itachi's sandal.
Itachi wasn't surprised that Shikage dodged the fireball.
He hadn't stopped moving. While Shikage was evading, Itachi's hands were already blurring through the signs for his next jutsu.
He brought two fingers to his lips.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage..."
But the chakra that should have ignited in his mouth suddenly stuttered.
For the first time tonight, the always-composed Itachi widened his eyes in genuine shock.
He watched helplessly as Shikage closed the gap and planted a fist squarely into his right cheek.
Smack! Itachi shattered into a flock of crows once again, scattering into the night.
A moment later, the birds converged on a high branch, reforming into Itachi's body.
A dull, burning ache throbbed on his right cheek. A thoughtful gleam flickered in his calm eyes.
—That feeling just now... Shikage didn't give him time to figure it out. The second Itachi reformed, Shikage was already on him.
Because of the angle of the moonlight, he couldn't catch Itachi's shadow this time, forcing him to rely entirely on pure taijutsu.
The sequence repeated itself. Itachi used the momentum of Shikage's strikes to bounce back and open up the distance.
But this time, Itachi wasn't holding back. He focused entirely on Shikage and the surrounding battlefield.
The three black tomoe in his blood-red eyes spun wildly.
He threw out a hand, fingers moving like phantoms.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Flower Nail Crimson!"
Dozens of shuriken, wreathed in roaring flames, spun through the air.
The dense, inescapable net of fire rushed at Shikage, the blistering heat making it hard to breathe.
Yet, Shikage just smiled. He looked up at Itachi and murmured:
"The clouds moved."
The moment the words left his mouth, the real Shikage—who had been hiding in the dark the entire time—leaped into action.
He had calculated the exact trajectory of the clouds, the moonlight, and the forest canopy. Even with Itachi's insane reaction time, there was no escaping the shadow that snapped onto him.
This time, Shikage didn't just use his shadow to cause a "lag spike." He unleashed the full [Shadow Imitation Binding Technique], effectively hard-stunning Itachi and completely cutting him off from his chakra network.
Itachi stood frozen. He didn't even try to struggle against the suffocating shadow binding him.
He just watched as Shikage charged at him. He saw the cold glint of the kunai. He saw the pure, calculating rationality in Shikage's eyes.
And in his mind, it clicked.
—Just as I suspected. Seal-less ninjutsu. Accepting it, Itachi closed his eyes.
...
The moon hung bright in the clear sky.
Shikage opened his eyes. He wasn't surprised to find himself sitting next to a crackling campfire, looking across at Itachi.
"So," Shikage said calmly. "What's my Anbu entrance exam mission?"
Itachi was holding a wooden stick over the flames, carefully roasting something. He looked completely serious about the food, but his tone was painfully casual.
"Lord Hokage asked me to evaluate your combat strength to determine your assignment."
"From what I can tell, you aren't any weaker than an official Jonin."
He paused, shooting Shikage a very meaningful look.
"Especially your ninjutsu. It's incredibly lethal."
"Because of that, your mission is to participate in the Chunin Exams."
Shikage threw his hands up in exasperation.
"Let's skip the games. Just give it to me straight."
Itachi acted like he didn't even notice Shikage's annoyance, keeping his eyes on the fire.
"During this upcoming Chunin Exam, the leader of Takigakure—the Hidden Waterfall—will be conducting a black-market trade with certain individuals inside our village."
"The item being traded is 'Hero's Water,' a highly volatile and dangerous drug."
"Your mission is to ensure the Chunin Exams proceed without catastrophic interruption, and to prevent any 'accidents' from befalling the candidates from Konoha or the allied villages."
Shikage thought about it for a second. The objective was obvious.
"You're saying someone is going to use the Hero's Water during the exams?"
Itachi nodded in silence.
Shikage sighed, feeling a fresh wave of exhaustion at how cryptic these ninja always had to be.
"By the way, why did the Hokage make me come all the way out here to find you?"
"Couldn't he have just handed me the mission scroll himself?"
Itachi's answer was short and to the point.
"If you make it into Anbu, I will be your teammate."
Shikage raised an eyebrow.
Was Hiruzen trying to build a bond between them? Force them to network?
Whatever the old man's goal was, building a relationship with Itachi meant absolutely nothing to Shikage. He had zero interest in getting buddy-buddy with the guy.
Shikage glanced at the black lumps in the campfire.
"Dinner?"
"No." Itachi shook his head. An almost imperceptible warmth softened his eyes. "Sasuke likes roasted sweet potatoes."
"Right. Have fun with that."
Tossing out a casual goodbye, Shikage turned and walked into the dark forest.
The exact second he turned his back, every trace of his laid-back demeanor vanished, replaced by heavy, grim tension.
He knew that the fight ending by the campfire meant he had broken out of the Genjutsu.
But what terrified him was... he had absolutely no idea when Itachi had cast the Genjutsu on him in the first place!
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