Itachi's Genjutsu

Sasuke Uchiha walked out of the office with a long face.

Writing a 000-word mission report... he'd rather fight 000 ninjas!

Don't assume that academic high-achievers don't struggle with writing. Besides, Sasuke was only a pseudo-academic in school, more of a STEM student. Furthermore, how many years has it been since he left school? After becoming a full-fledged ninja, Sasuke has written letters only a handful of times.

Sakura Haruno also had a headache.

No, her feelings were more complicated.

Because... writing the report was the suggestion that this stupid woman made to Tsunade.

At the time, she didn't think Tsunade would take her suggestion, but to her surprise, it was actually adopted. The Ice Release Girl's expression for a moment was quite remarkable.

However, to be honest, aside from putting the ninjas through a lot of trouble, this approach actually has many benefits. From the ninjas' individual perspective, forcing them to spend an hour or two after each mission reviewing and reflecting on their experiences and lessons learned is very helpful in improving their skills—especially for newcomers. From the Hokage's perspective, having every mission recorded and archived is very beneficial for the Hokage to control his subordinates and also helps Konoha become more organized and strengthens the ninja organization—the latter being even more important.

This kind of formalism may seem silly, but like folding tofu blocks in the military, it's not a meaningless act.

Of course! None of these things have much to do with Sakura's status as Konoha's fighting power.

What ninja skills? She doesn't need to improve them. What about improving Konoha's organizational structure? She's not the Hokage.

So...

"I want to write too?" the Ice Release Girl asked with a sheepish grin.

"And you?" Tsunade rolled her eyes at her, completely extinguishing Sakura Haruno's hopes. If just anyone could get an exception, wouldn't the new system be nothing more than a piece of paper?

Looking at the girl before him, whose lips curled into a smile but whose eyes didn't, the Fifth Hokage was actually very satisfied with this disciple. Whether in physique, appearance, or Ninjutsu skills, she was outstanding among her peers, much like himself in his youth (Tsunade was a washboard in her youth). Even more remarkable was her ability to sometimes transcend the limitations of a ninja's thinking... or, in ninja terms, to be magnanimous.

In particular, Sakura sometimes comes up with ideas from very unique perspectives— Tsunade, of course, doesn't know that she received an education in her previous life that was completely different from that of the ninja world—in short, Tsunade often finds those ideas to be quite reasonable after careful consideration.

He might be a Hokage.

--The Fifth Hokage muttered to himself.

Of course, most of the time, Tsunade still saw this Hokage candidate's ideas and actions as somewhat immature...

"Alright, stop fooling around." The Fifth Hokage cleared his throat and said seriously, "Sasuke is gone, we can get down to business."

The "serious business" that follows is a secret that Sasuke is not allowed to listen to; only the three of them present can know it.

What's the situation with Uchiha Itachi?

Both Hokage looked solemnly at Sakura Haruno.

"Uchiha Itachi..." Sakura Haruno began slowly, carefully choosing her words, because every word she uttered would directly affect the Hokage's attitude towards Itachi.

He also acknowledged his identity Konoha Ninja and admitted he had not betrayed the party.

"At the time, he fought Sasuke for a long time and had many opportunities to kill Sasuke, but in the end he only managed to knock him down."

"Later, during our battle, he used Tsukuyomi to create an absolutely safe mental space to communicate with me, and left some messages for you."

The two Hokage exchanged a glance, Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slightly, his eyes relaxed, as if recalling something.

"Is that so..." Tsunade lowered her eyes, her lips parted slightly as she murmured to herself, lost in thought.

The Hokage didn't question Sakura on this issue. Just as the Third Hokage trusted Itachi, they also trusted Sakura Haruno, the Konoha Ninja who grew up under the Hokage's care.

A brief silence fell over the Hokage's office.

"Uchiha Itachi... what happened to him?" After a moment of contemplation, Tsunade asked again.

"Uh... he used Genjutsu to preserve a few words he wanted to say to you two." Sakura Haruno blushed slightly, recalling what Itachi had done to her back then, and hesitated for a moment before answering.

She gestured to indicate that she was about to perform the technique, and only after obtaining the Hokage's permission did she remove what Itachi had left inside her body.

A huge black Crow emerged from her beak.

The process has already been covered in the previous chapters, so there's no need to go into detail, but Sakura Haruno still wants to emphasize it again: having such a big, strong bird going in and out of your throat is really extremely uncomfortable!

Moreover, its image can easily evoke negative associations!

She's a pretty girl, after all. Doesn't Sakura Haruno have any dignity at all? To be treated so rudely in front of her master and the Third! No wonder Uchiha Itachi doesn't have a girlfriend! (Note)

The person was speechless, filled with a mixture of grief and anger.

Fortunately, the Hokage didn't pay attention to these minor details, preventing the girl from becoming any more embarrassed. They were engrossed in Itachi's Genjutsu, listening to his words with solemn expressions.

When the Genjutsu ended, the Crow transformed into black feathers and vanished, leaving the two Hokage still silent.

Itachi's Genjutsu was extremely sophisticated; it could only be triggered by Sakura under certain conditions. He precisely targeted the two Hokage. Sakura Haruno tried to glean some information using her powerful mental strength, but she couldn't sense any useful data at all.

She couldn't resort to brute force in front of the Hokage.

However, she didn't come away empty-handed.

The highest level of traditional Genjutsu is the interplay of reality and illusion—anyway, it's a completely different style from Sakura Haruno's Genjutsu, since her infrasound Genjutsu is several levels more lethal than deceptive.

So, did Uchiha Itachi really leave a Crow inside her?

Of course not, that was just Genjutsu. Itachi's skill was so high that he could briefly turn the illusory appearance into a real Crow until his Chakra was exhausted, at which point the real image degenerated into an illusion.

From the illusory comes the real.

I've heard Sasuke that some powerful Sharingan Genjutsu can even permanently transform falsehoods into reality.

Itachi's Genjutsu is brilliant because it not only creates illusions from reality, but also transforms reality into illusion.

That's right, what he left inside her wasn't just a Genjutsu: Itachi transformed something into a phantom, mixed it into the Genjutsu, and hid it inside her body.

Sakura Haruno stroked her chin, looking thoughtful.

Its Chakra texture... is really a coincidence.

Didn't we just see each other a few days ago?

The two Hokage were still absorbed in the information conveyed by the Genjutsu and did not notice the girl's thoughts. Of course, even if that were not the case, the Hokage probably would not have been able to sense that there was something else hidden in Itachi's Genjutsu —there were probably very few people in the world besides Sakura Haruno, who was directly involved, who could completely see through Itachi's Genjutsu.

Sakura had no intention of making this public.

Why did Itachi put this on her and hide it so well? Let's keep it a secret for now.

The thought of actually managing to collect a pair made even Sakura Haruno, who didn't particularly value such things, feel a secret sense of satisfaction.

After all...

That's Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.