Naruto and Itachi (Please Recommend)

"Wasn't your father and mother's death caused by your weakness? If you had been strong enough, how could they have died?"

"Do you hate me? Do you want to kill me?"

Itachi raised his voice a little more, relentlessly provoking Sasuke. Listening to his soft laughter, Sasuke felt as though his heart were being carved apart. His eyes nearly split with fury, and he wished he could slice Itachi into a thousand pieces and devour his flesh alive.

"That little anger isn't enough. Weak as you are, all you can do is rage helplessly."

Itachi shook his head with a faint laugh, then activated Tsukuyomi.

Tsukuyomi enveloped Sasuke. He clearly saw clan member after clan member die miserably at Itachi's hands—and his father and mother dying at Itachi's hands as well.

Blood!

Blood everywhere!

Hatred!

I hate him so much!

I hate the heavens and the earth!

"I'm going to kill you!" Sasuke growled like a wild beast.

"Kill me? With you? You're too weak to withstand a single blow. If you want to kill me, then become stronger. Once you're strong enough, come find me for revenge." Itachi smiled.

His smile branded itself deep into Sasuke's heart like a devil's mark.

"Oh? It seems your friend Naruto Uzumaki is rushing over." Itachi sensed a powerful life force racing in his direction.

Sasuke's pupils contracted. Naruto, don't come over. Don't come over!

Bang...

A sturdy figure landed in the street, kicking up dust everywhere.

"So you're Sasuke's friend, Naruto Uzumaki. Not bad. You look a little stronger than Sasuke." Itachi looked at the dust-covered figure and smiled.

At the same time, Naruto was observing Itachi. This man looked a lot like Sasuke. Could he be Sasuke's brother, Itachi?

But why was Itachi holding Sasuke captive?

This was not the time to worry about that. Naruto took a heavy step forward and shouted, "Let Sasuke go!"

"Oh? Little brat, are you challenging me?" Itachi chuckled. He glanced at Sasuke and said, "My dear little brother, it seems you really did make a good friend. But now, I'll kill your good friend and make your hatred grow even deeper."

With that, he tossed Sasuke aside like a ragged sack.

"Naruto, get out of here! You can't beat him!" Sasuke propped himself up with both arms and rasped out a shout with the last of his strength.

Naruto clenched his fists and stared intently at Itachi. Calmly, he said, "Whether I can beat him or not, I won't know until I try. And Sasuke, you're my friend. I don't have a principle of abandoning my friends and running away alone."

"Oh? Big words for a little brat."

As soon as he finished speaking, Itachi used Body Flicker and appeared before Naruto. He thrust a Shuriken forward, aiming straight for Naruto's chest. From the look of it, he truly intended to kill Naruto.

"Run..." Sasuke shouted again with all his might, only to see Naruto and Itachi's figures grow fainter and fainter before gradually vanishing.

Sasuke fainted.

Clang...

Naruto twisted sideways and flicked his middle finger. Vibration Force struck the Shuriken with a crisp clang, knocking Itachi's weapon away. The moment it was deflected, Naruto spun and slammed a palm downward.

Kidney Strike.

His palm howled through the air as it struck toward Itachi's left kidney.

The blow was heavy and powerful. If it landed solidly, Itachi's kidney would shatter on the spot.

Such powerful Taijutsu. Itachi leaped back, hurriedly dodging Naruto's Kidney Strike.

Naruto followed him like a shadow. His palm did not retract; instead, he turned it into an elbow strike aimed directly at Itachi's ribs.

Itachi was not slow. He slid backward, denying Naruto an opening. Then he reached out, grabbed Naruto's arm, and twisted it, immediately turning Naruto around so that his back faced Itachi.

Naruto smiled at the corner of his mouth, borrowing Itachi's force against him as he fell backward into Itachi's chest.

Thud! Thud!

Two dull impacts rang out. Itachi felt his chest tighten as tremendous force struck him. He quickly jumped away, putting distance between himself and Naruto. Once he steadied himself, he felt a stifling pressure building in his chest and lungs.

It turned out that the moment Naruto fell into Itachi's chest, he had controlled the muscles in his back and used them to pound furiously against Itachi's chest.

The two stood far apart, staring at each other. In this exchange of Taijutsu, Itachi seemed not to have gained any advantage, while Naruto had not injured Itachi in the slightest. Naruto only felt the two muscles in his back going numb.

The auras of the Third Hokage and Danzo were drawing closer and closer.

"Naruto, let's end this here. Remember to tell Sasuke to come find me for revenge. Hahaha..." Itachi let out a villainous laugh, then flashed away and quickly disappeared.

Naruto let out a breath.

At that moment, the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, and Shimura Danzō, the leader of Root within the Anbu, arrived belatedly with a group of people.

Seeing Naruto standing there and Sasuke unconscious nearby, Hiruzen Sarutobi asked in surprise, "Naruto, why are you here? Don't you know it's dangerous?"

"Sorry, Grandpa Third. I was just passing by," Naruto said perfunctorily, though suspicion rose within him.

You knew the Uchiha Clan would face disaster tonight, yet you only arrived after it was over.

Grandpa Third, what role were you playing in all this?

Naruto kept those thoughts to himself, revealing nothing on his face.

He walked over to Sasuke and checked his body. Fortunately, he was still breathing. Naruto picked Sasuke up and said to Hiruzen Sarutobi, "Grandpa Third, Sasuke is hurt. I'll take him to the hospital."

Hiruzen Sarutobi studied Naruto's face for several seconds but could discern nothing from his expression. After sensing him and finding no issue with Naruto's seal, he could only wave his hand. "Go. Once you get to the hospital, don't run around. Stay there, or go home. We don't know whether the killer will cause more trouble."

Carrying Sasuke, Naruto leaped away, gradually disappearing into the distance.

Beside Shimura Danzō, the White-Haired Anbu kept his eyes fixed on Naruto's departing figure. That familiar blond hair and those familiar blue eyes stirred ripples in the White-Haired Anbu's heart.

"Danzo, clean this up." Hiruzen Sarutobi looked over the devastated Uchiha Clan Grounds, his voice carrying a faint trace of regret.

"Third Hokage, should we pursue the killer?" the White-Haired Anbu asked.

"Go. Be careful," Hiruzen Sarutobi said.

"Understood." The White-Haired Anbu led several people away to search the area.

Meanwhile, as soon as Itachi left the Uchiha Clan Grounds, he met up with a masked man.

They stood on a tree in the forest outside the clan grounds. Itachi Uchiha looked once more at the Uchiha Clan Grounds—or perhaps at Konoha. His expression was slightly complicated.

"What? Can't bear to leave?" the Masked Man asked.

Itachi Uchiha shook his head, then nodded. "I lived here for more than ten years, after all. Of course I'm a little reluctant to leave. But it's fortunate that it was destroyed by my own hand. Otherwise, it would have been even more regrettable."

The Masked Man gave Itachi a meaningful look. "Let's go. Leave quickly. Delays bring complications."

"Wait. There's a streetlamp outside the clan grounds that I want to take with me. It's the streetlamp I often stood beneath." Itachi suddenly stopped the Masked Man.

The Masked Man's face beneath the mask darkened with speechlessness. "Let's go. There's no time. Once we get there, there'll be plenty of streetlamps. Pick whichever one you want and stand under whichever one you want."

Thanks to qcaqwe54732, Passing By and Confused Reader, and Yipo Yi for their 100 Qidian Coin rewards; Book Friend 20181124001805668 for the 600 Qidian Coin reward; Huazhongdao for the 300 Qidian Coin reward; Sanada Hanami for the 200 Qidian Coin reward; and QQ Reading's Beloved Benxi for the 100 Book Coin reward.

Everyone really pulled through yesterday—over seven hundred recommendations in a single day. Keep it up today! My readers aren't impotent!