Itachi's Memories

"Sasuke... Is my brother alright?"

Itachi rushed over anxiously and saw Sasuke, who possessed Medical Ninjutsu and was examining Suzuran.

At the same time, the Mitsudomoe Sharingan stared at Sasuke, scrutinizing him from head to toe, checking for any hidden injuries.

"No, Deputy Chief, your brother is perfectly healthy. He just fainted, and there are no obvious external injuries, but there are burn marks..."

"Sasuke and Naruto were thrown away by the Explosive Tag. Although we caught them, they were still knocked unconscious by the impact."

Shuyuan rubbed her sore shoulders.

He spoke eloquently when he shouted at Scorpion, but in reality, he was under a lot of pressure. This battle felt completely different from when he sparred with his father at home.

The thought that losing would mean death lingered in his mind, putting him under immense pressure.

This caused his shoulders to ache.

"······"

Itachi remained silent, unsure of what to say. His relationship with Shuyuan was limited to a few meetings, and the age gap meant they had no topics to discuss that could bridge the gap between them.

Fortunately, a violent cough broke the awkward silence.

"Cough cough!!"

Naruto woke up.

In terms of physical ability alone, Naruto, who inherited the bloodline of the Uzumaki Clan, is far more resistant to impact than Sasuke, and the two received roughly the same amount of damage.

Sasuke is still unconscious, while Naruto has woken up and is asking for water.

"... Shuyuan, where is that red-haired bastard?"

After taking a sip of water, Naruto instantly perked up and looked around, ready to seek revenge.

"Hey, hey! You idiot, use your brain when you talk! Who are you calling a jerk?"

Shuyuan kicked Naruto in the butt.

"Isn't that the bastard who plays with puppets...? By the way, where are Suzuran and Sasuke? Are they alright?"

Shuyuan, feeling a headache coming on. It seemed that Naruto was perfectly fine, still as annoying as ever!

"Boom--!!!"

A tremendous roar soared into the sky, and a violent shockwave swept over like a tidal wave. The giant tree, which would take five people to encircle, swayed violently in the shockwave, shaking off a green leaf.

"What... is this going on?"

Naruto hugged the gnarled old tree roots beside him, crouching down to avoid the fierce impact, while shouting and asking.

"Father is fighting with that puppeteer."

Shuyuan used Earth Release: Earth Release to summon a wall of rock, shielding Suzuran and Sasuke.

"Huh? You mean Uncle fought with that red-haired jerk?"

Naruto crouched down and dodged as well, his words causing Shuyuan's forehead veins to throb with anger.

This bastard really speaks without thinking. The Uzumaki Clan is full of red-haired people. This statement sounds really off. The Root ninjas' expressions were hidden by their masks, so we couldn't see the details, but the moment Itachi's lips twitched, he didn't avoid Shuyuan's gaze.

"Hey, Shuyuan, let's go take a look! Dad and Mom keep saying how amazing Uncle is, but I've sparred with him a few times and I haven't really felt anything. He just treats me like a kid. How about we go check it out?"

Naruto enthusiastically encouraged Shuyuan.

He was incredibly annoyed by this guy, and Sasuke and Suzuran were being cared for by Itachi and the elite members of Root. In addition, he was also curious about Sasori's situation.

"Take a look, no problem. But Naruto, let's get this straight: if you dare to cause me any trouble, I'll teach you a lesson you won't forget."

After threatening the stubborn idiot a couple of times, the two of them stealthily crept towards the direction from which the booming sound came.

"Deputy Chief, aren't you going to stop them?"

The subordinate watched the two little ones' retreating figures and asked.

"... No need. Lord Katsuki's son is not someone that can be compared to an ordinary person." Itachi's eyes were full of deep meaning. The scene of the tsunami-like quicksand being broken had not faded for a long time and was deeply imprinted in his mind.

At that time Naruto, Sasuke, and the girl had all fainted, but Shuyuan was the only one who stayed by their side.

That power is definitely related to Shuyuan.

No wonder Lord Katsuki seemed so calm before. At the age of twelve, he was able to fight Sasori of the Red Sands and escape unscathed with three people. There was indeed no need to worry.

"Besides, Lord Katsuki has already made his move. Do you think Sasori of the Red Sands can cause any trouble?"

This question stumped the elites at the Root, who craned their necks and peered toward the source of the storm.

The Deputy Chief makes a good point. With Lord Tianzai taking action, I really don't believe that damn Sasori of the Red Sands can do anything. He's the one who took down two Kage and is currently the strongest person in the Shinobi World.

"Speaking of which, I've never even had the chance to witness Lord Calamity in battle."

One of them sighed.

"Me too. I missed the last Shinobi World War, so I never had the chance to witness the prowess of the strongest Shinobi World... Killing the Third Mizukage and the Third Tsuchikage, just thinking about it makes me incredibly excited."

"They're all the same..."

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, resenting that their parents had given birth to them too late, missing out on a better time.

"Um... Deputy Chief, have you ever seen Lord Calamity take action?"

All eyes were on Itachi.

Itachi, who was looking after Sasuke, was taken aback by what he heard. He smiled and shook his head. He wasn't the kind of boss who was strict and unapproachable, and he didn't mind chatting with his subordinates.

He gathered his thoughts briefly before saying, "I initially worked in the Anbu. At that time, the head of the Anbu was Lord Katsuki. Once, Lord Katsuki took a group of us new recruits out for training. Our target was an A-rank missing-nin mixed in with the wandering ninjas."

He was a madman tainted by Forbidden Jutsu. That group of wandering ninjas had been transformed into beast-like monsters by that missing-nin using a drug. We were just newcomers to the Anbu, and naturally, we were plunged into a fierce battle. Later...

Later, when we reached our limit, Lord Katsuki made his move, and for the first time in my life, I witnessed the power of the pinnacle... The monster that we had fought so hard against was as fragile as paper in front of Lord Katsuki, and was slapped into mangled pieces of flesh with a single blow.

From beginning to end, Lord Katsuki didn't use any Ninjutsu; she only used pure Taijutsu to wipe out the monsters. As for that missing-nin ..."

At this point, Itachi suddenly stopped talking, looked around at his subordinates, and asked, "Have any of you ever seen a head pop out of its butt?"

"······"

No one spoke; only their flickering eyes suggested the richness of the expressions hidden beneath the masks.

"That day, Lord Katsuki showed us what it was like to have your head punched out of your buttocks, supposedly to broaden our horizons... I threw up then, and all the newcomers threw up, even bile. I'll probably never forget that scene for the rest of my life."

His vivid words left everyone speechless, completely at a loss for words. (To be continued)