"I never expected Big Brother Indra to entrust his power to you," Karura said in surprise. "But what does that have to do with Itachi?"
"Heh…" Isamu smiled. "Haven't you noticed these eyes have been giving off a faint, intermittent reaction?"
Karura focused her senses.
Sure enough…
The eyes emitted an incredibly subtle pulse. If she hadn't examined them carefully, she would never have noticed it.
Suddenly, realization dawned on her.
"It has something to do with Itachi?"
"Exactly."
"When I first met Itachi, I noticed these eyes reacting."
"At first, I thought I was imagining it."
"But the more I saw him…"
"…the stronger the reaction became."
"In fact…"
"The closer Itachi gets to me…"
"…the stronger these eyes resonate."
"That's when I realized…"
"…his power is extraordinarily compatible with them."
"There is a saying that spiritual treasures choose their own master."
"These eyes…"
"…have chosen Itachi."
"So that's it…"
Karura nodded in understanding.
"No wonder you insisted on bringing him with us."
"Now it all makes sense."
"That's only part of the reason."
"The more important issue…"
"…is Itachi's body."
"If he remained in Konoha…"
"Even with Senba and Konoha's training methods…"
"…he still wouldn't develop a body capable of bearing these eyes after decades."
"If these eyes were implanted by force…"
"…their power would simply crush him."
"Indra's power…"
"…isn't something an ordinary person can withstand."
Karura frowned.
"That makes sense…"
"But a person's body is largely determined at birth."
"No matter how much it develops…"
"…there's still a limit."
"I don't believe Itachi's body can ever naturally reach the level necessary to bear Big Brother Indra's power."
"If you force it…"
"…I'm afraid it still won't work."
Isamu nodded.
"I've already considered that."
"But…"
"Itachi inherited a small portion of my Sage Body."
"It isn't much…"
"…but it's enough."
"When the time comes…"
"I'll awaken that dormant power…"
"…and share a little more of my own with him."
"He won't possess a complete Sage Body…"
"…but an ordinary Sage Body will be enough."
"Combined with his own strength…"
"…it'll allow him to bear Indra's power."
Karura smiled helplessly.
"So you've already planned everything."
"I was worrying for nothing."
"Heh."
"I've never liked leaving things to chance."
"I prefer preparing everything beforehand."
"It's much better than panicking when the time comes."
While they were talking…
Karura suddenly looked down.
"Tian Qi…"
"Look."
"Three blind idiots just blocked Itachi's path."
Isamu glanced downward.
Sure enough…
Three men had appeared on the road ahead, cutting Itachi off.
After a closer look, he realized they were nothing more than common highway robbers.
He sighed.
"I'm speechless."
"Why does this happen every single time we leave Konoha?"
"It's almost become a tradition."
"Every trip…"
"…someone tries to rob us."
"The Land of Fire really produces an endless supply of bandits."
"Stop complaining."
Karura rolled her eyes.
"Go deal with them."
"We've already spent half a month on this journey."
"I'm getting tired of looking at the scenery."
Isamu couldn't help laughing inwardly.
Just recently you were praising how beautiful the scenery was…
Now you're already sick of it.
With a flip, he leaped down.
"Hey, kid."
One of the robbers grinned.
"Why are you out here all alone?"
"Didn't your parents come with you?"
"What does bringing adults have to do with me traveling?"
Itachi answered calmly while studying the three men.
Their ragged clothes and crude manners made it obvious they weren't good people.
"So there aren't any adults."
The robber's grin widened.
"Perfect."
"We're a little short on cash."
"So lend us yours."
"Hand over your money."
"So you're highway robbers."
Itachi remained calm.
"Aren't you afraid of Konoha's shinobi?"
"Konoha shinobi?"
The robber spat on the ground.
"We don't care about them."
"We're only stealing a little spending money."
"They're too busy to bother with people like us."
"There's always an exception."
"Aren't you afraid today might be one?"
"An exception?"
The three men burst into laughter.
"You?"
"Hahaha!"
"Laugh all you want."
A voice suddenly echoed behind them.
"What's so funny?"
One robber answered without thinking.
"We're laughing because he doesn't know his place."
"…Huh?"
He froze.
The three quickly looked around.
There was nobody except Itachi.
"Stop looking."
The voice sounded again.
"I'm behind you."
The three men spun around.
Standing silently behind them…
…was Isamu.
"Who are you?"
"Where did you come from?"
Isamu sighed.
"Talking to people like you…"
"…is a complete waste of time."
In a flash—
He disappeared.
Before the robbers could react…
Their belts had already been pulled free.
An instant later…
All three were hanging upside down from a nearby tree.
Only then did they realize what had happened.
"A-Amazing!"
"Sir, we were wrong!"
"We were blind!"
"Please spare us!"
"Yeah!"
"We only rob people for money!"
"We've never killed anyone!"
"Please let us go!"
"Please!"
"Enough."
Isamu cut them off impatiently.
"Be quiet."
"I never said I was going to kill you."
The three immediately shut their mouths.
None of them dared say another word.
"Itachi."
Isamu looked at his grandson.
"The next time you run into worthless trash like this…"
"…don't waste your breath talking."
"Just act."
"Every extra word you say to people like them…"
"…is a waste of time."
"Understood?"
"Yes, Grandfather."
Itachi nodded.
"Good."
"Now search them."
"If they can rob us…"
"…then we can rob them."
Following Isamu's instructions, Itachi searched the three robbers from head to toe.
In the end…
He found only about 1,000 ryō.