An uninvited guest

On the outskirts of Konoha Village in the Land of Fire.

A gentle breeze rustled the leaves, and sunlight filtered through them, casting dappled Limbo Shadow.

A dark-haired man with very prominent tear troughs quietly appeared near the Village Entrance.

His pace was neither hurried nor slow.

"Pat, pat"

The steady, powerful footsteps were clearly audible in the quiet atmosphere.

The man slowly walked towards the Konoha Village Entrance.

A Ninja suddenly jumped out from the Village Entrance; this person was none other than Kotetsu Hagane.

His brow furrowed, his eyes filled with vigilance, and he shouted, "Who are you?!"

Immediately afterward, Mizuki Izumo also quickly stepped forward from the side, looking tense, and shouted again, "Didn't you hear me call you to stop?"

However, Itachi Uchiha in front of him seemed not to hear him at all, and did not care at all.

He walked straight toward the two of them with a blank expression.

At the same time, his scarlet Sharingan began to spin rapidly.

"Sharingan Genjutsu."

In an instant, both Kotetsu Hagane and Mizuki Izumo froze on the spot.

It was as if they had been Binding Curse.

Their eyes became empty and blank, their expressions froze, and they silently watched Itachi Uchiha walk in, even mechanically bowing and saying, "Please come in."

Clearly, they had fallen under Itachi Uchiha's Illusion Technique.

From beginning to end, Itachi Uchiha never stopped, as if all obstacles here were as non-existent as air, moving as if he were in an empty place.

The entire village's Sensory Shinobi World seemed to have no effect on Itachi Uchiha at this moment.

Upon entering the village, he vanished in a flash, transforming into a flock of Crow that soared through the air.

The crows flapped their wings, creating a gentle breeze, and soon arrived at Uchiha Sasuke's residence.

Using the Crow's eyes and through Visual Sharing, he saw that Sasuke was safe and sound inside the room.

In the room, Sasuke lay quietly. Suddenly, he seemed to sense something, and his body moved slightly as he rolled over.

In an instant, his sharp eyes met those of the Crow outside the door.

"Crow?"

Sasuke frowned, a look of disgust on his face, and a hint of annoyance flashed in his eyes.

The Crow always reminded him of bad things, and it inexplicably made him think of that man.

He gritted his teeth, sat up abruptly, and quickly got up to open the window to scare the Crow away.

"Whoosh--"

The sound of the window being opened echoed in the air.

"Splash--"

The sound of Crow flying away.

Uchiha Sasuke stood blankly by the window, watching the Crow gradually fly away, his eyes filled with complex emotions.

After a long while, a crisp "slap!" sound suddenly came from the room.

Uchiha Sasuke's left cheek was swollen and red, but his gaze remained resolute.

"I almost forgot, I forgot the meaning of my life!"

He gritted his teeth and forced out a few words: "You... I will kill you."

After saying that, he began various Taijutsu training exercises in the room without hesitation. Sweat slid down his cheeks, and every movement he made was full of power and determination.

He knew that his older brother Itachi Uchiha, was extremely skilled in Illusion Technique, so he decided to take a different path.

"Since Illusion Technique won't work, let's try Taijutsu!"

If Taijutsu) won't work, then Ninjutsu!

"If Ninjutsu doesn't work, then Dojutsu!"

"If Dojutsu don't work, then forget about them all and attack together!"

He secretly vowed to himself that he must become stronger.

On the other side, the Crow flew for a long time before finally landing in the hands of Itachi Uchiha was in the shade of a large tree.

Itachi Uchiha stood there quietly, a gentle breeze ruffling the hem of his robes, his eyes filled with tenderness and concern.

"Sasuke... are you alright?"

He murmured softly, this time he had only come to visit his younger brother.

He didn't want to do things like sending intelligence to Konoha.

He tilted his head slightly, gazing at the sky, lost in thought. He was beginning to doubt whether what he had foreseen about the future of the Uchiha Clan was right or wrong.

If his father had followed his Bloodless Revolution back then, wouldn't the Uchiha Clan's future be even more glorious now?

He thinks about this problem often now.

Physical illnesses are easy to treat, but mental illnesses are very difficult to cure.

He already had very serious physical and mental illnesses.

If Uchiha Sasuke hadn't been there, he doesn't know if he would have jumped off the cliff like Shisui Uchiha.

He had witnessed far too many wars in the Shinobi World.

Whether from Konoha's perspective, Akatsuki Organization's perspective, or the Uchiha Clan's perspective.

This entire Shinobi World filled him with despair; there was no hope left.

He sighed softly and was about to leave.

Just then, he suddenly felt a slight ripple in the space in front of him.

He stopped in his tracks, his eyes instantly sharpening as he silently stared at what was in front of him, his Mangekyo Dojutsu: Amaterasu ready to be activated at any moment.

"Bass--"

A familiar figure appeared before them— Kanami.

Upon seeing Kanami appear, Itachi Uchiha deactivated Sharingan, effectively retracting Amaterasu, and the wariness on his face gradually faded.

"Long time no see, visiting you again, my little brother?"

Kanami spoke first, a faint smile on his face.

Itachi Uchiha nodded, his gaze softening slightly. "It's been a long time since I've visited him. With such a large-scale incident occurring in Konoha this time, of course I had to come and see."

"Oh, you're in Akatsuki Organization, don't you know about this operation?"

Although Kanami heard about it from Nagato's Location, he did not tell Itachi Uchiha about the planned attack on Konoha.

However, he simply did not believe that Itachi Uchiha would be unaware of this matter.

As a former squad leader in the Anbu, his intelligence-gathering ability was second to none, let alone gathering intelligence on the Akatsuki Organization he belonged to every day.

Itachi Uchiha didn't offer much explanation and directly admitted, "You're right, I know about this, everything about my brother... no, or rather, everything about Konoha."

His gaze was intense, and he looked at Kanami with great confidence, as if everything was under his control.

I completely believe that.

Kanami responded, his face still showing a calm expression.

"However," Itachi Uchiha paused, his tone shifting, his brow furrowing slightly, "It seems you only protected my brother's life, without showing him any care whatsoever."

Kanami wasn't angry at Itachi Uchiha's somewhat resentful tone.

He merely raised an eyebrow slightly, staring intently at Itachi Uchiha: "Our agreement was solely for his safety; there were no other conditions attached."

"But when it comes to protecting his safety, you should definitely keep him safe. However, as far as I know, in this battle, you were at the forefront and not by Sasuke's side."

Itachi Uchiha's tone carried a hint of dissatisfaction.

Just tell me whether he's dead or not.

Kanami disliked this topic intensely, and a hint of impatience flashed across his face.

If something really happened to Uchiha Sasuke, he could reach Uchiha Sasuke's side in an instant.

Therefore, he didn't understand why Itachi Uchiha would say such a thing.

Is this an attempt to make him fulfill his duties as an older brother?

But he wasn't Uchiha Sasuke brother. In Xuanhuan Novels, he would be more accurately described as Guardian Daoist.

"..." Itachi Uchiha's expression darkened, a hint of displeasure appearing on his face.

He was quite displeased with Kanami's blunt answer. In truth, he hadn't died.

However, this is the most rational behavior; his love for his younger brother could not possibly be rational.

Seeing that Itachi Uchiha remained silent for a long time, Kanami shook his head slightly and crossed his arms. "Do you have any other requests? Tell me, and I might actually be able to do something extra for you."