Chapter 5: The Crow Hidden in the Tsukuyomi Space
"Uzumaki Naruto, you…"
Uchiha Itachi had expected Naruto to sink deep into the genjutsu, but when he saw those clear, bright blue eyes staring straight back at him, even his normally unshakable calm cracked for a split second.
"What's wrong?"
Naruto widened his large ocean-blue eyes, gazing at Itachi with pure curiosity and innocent confusion.
He knew no genjutsu and possessed no dojutsu bloodline.
But he did have soul power, the memories he had devoured from the outsider's soul, and the special abilities left behind by that so-called System.
Perception was one of the System's basic functions. So were soul protection, replication imprinting, and several other foundational skills.
"Just who are you?"
Itachi refused to believe a child could resist his genjutsu, yet Naruto had done exactly that. The only explanation he could think of was that this boy might not be the real Uzumaki Naruto at all.
"My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm Konoha's… well, I guess I'm the demon fox. That's pretty much all I can remember right now…"
Naruto scratched the back of his head and tilted it slightly, still staring at Itachi.
Right now he really wanted to do something to this Uchiha. There were things he hadn't known before, so he hadn't cared. But now that he knew…
This guy possessed an insanely powerful eye that could directly rewrite a person's thoughts and beliefs.
And that Tsukuyomi ability looked extremely useful.
One moment inside it equaled three full days outside. This wasn't simple mental genjutsu — it touched on space, time, and more.
Since he was now basically a half-finished System, it would be a shame to walk into a treasure mountain and leave empty-handed.
"I'll show you properly. Your memory is damaged, so it needs some stimulation to awaken everything…"
Itachi hadn't used his Mangekyō Sharingan many times yet, so he wasn't fully aware of the consequences of repeated use.
To complete the mission the Hokage had given him, he decided to drag Naruto into the illusory world of Tsukuyomi and let the boy see the truth for himself.
Fortunately, he had already learned the most important details from the Hokage beforehand. He could piece them together easily.
"Eh?"
Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly, pretending he hadn't noticed Itachi activating the Mangekyō at all.
In reality, the instant it happened, he had already copied and recorded the entire process. The moment his consciousness was pulled into the Tsukuyomi space, he used the System's search-and-locate ability to find the eye that belonged to Shisui.
Itachi had hidden Shisui's eye deep inside his own Tsukuyomi space, concealing it extremely well.
But that crow…
Even though countless crows filled the genjutsu world, under Naruto's clear eyes — empowered by the System's ability to see through truth and illusion — nothing could remain hidden.
At that moment, Naruto stood on a familiar street. In front of him was a small golden-haired boy clutching the tiny allowance the Third Hokage had personally given him. Yet the moment he tried to buy anything, every shop owner drove him away. No one would sell him even a single thing…
Naruto remembered every single one of these scenes perfectly.
He could still hear every cruel word the villagers had spat at him. The real memories were actually far more vicious and full of hatred than the scenes Itachi had created.
Perhaps even Itachi couldn't imagine just how far the people of Konoha could go.