The meaning of Itachi's existence!

Izumi was worried about Itachi's injuries and wished she could grow wings and fly directly to Itachi's side, but unfortunately, Tōka didn't want Itachi to see Izumi so soon.

Otherwise, he wouldn't have gone to such lengths to personally take Izumi away secretly.

The two quickly left the quiet little village. Izumi suddenly felt a strange sense of reluctance, as if this departure would be her last.

As Dongge wandered through the Forest, Tōka always felt a lurking gaze on his back, a gaze that made him very uncomfortable.

"Black Zetsu, don't you want your eyes anymore?"

Tōka frowned slightly, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, which shot straight towards the Forest of trees beside the path.

Noticing Tōka's unfriendly gaze, Black Zetsu's expression changed slightly. He immediately withdrew his contemptuous look and turned to look in the other direction.

"Senior Tōka, what's wrong?"

Izumi, who was standing nearby, noticed Tōka suddenly stop and glanced in the direction of the Forest, following Tōka's gaze.

No abnormalities were detected; Black Zetsu's ability to conceal his presence is still very strong.

"No..." Tōka smiled awkwardly and quickly shook her head, "Let's go."

The mountains are quiet and still, the rising sun shines gently. White clouds float in the sky, like fluffy cotton candy, tempting one's appetite.

A wisp of smoke rose slowly from the Valley, and three people sat around the campfire.

It was... a barbecue?

With a snap, Tōka snapped his fingers.

The illusion dissipated, and like shattered glass, Izumi Uchiha's delicate and charming appearance vanished along with the broken glass.

"Senior Tōka, what do you want to tell me?" Itachi Uchiha held a skewer of meat in his hand, staring expressionlessly at the fire in front of him.

His heart seemed unmoved by Izumi falling into Tōka's hands, but was that really the case? Only Itachi himself knew the answer.

Tōka stared intently at Itachi's face, but ultimately gave up trying to probe Itachi's inner thoughts.

"The trip to the Land of Fire went well."

In a sense, Itachi was perfect as a double agent.

One thing that surprised Tōka was that Itachi had actually been to the Kaguya's Royal Palace and seen that Stone Tablet!

However, given the Dojutsu of the Mangekyo, one should only be able to see the first part of the text, which records the period from when Kaguya came to Earth until she was sealed away by the Six Paths brothers.

Upon hearing this, Itachi's brow twitched slightly, and his eyes glanced almost imperceptibly at Kisame.

Kisame really is Tōka- senpai's people; it seems he's trapped in a dead end!

"Heh, don't be so nervous." Tōka smiled ambiguously, "I'm a woman who appreciates beauty too, I wouldn't hurt your little lover!"

"The premise is..."

It's here!

Itachi's heart tightened, and he immediately perked up his ears.

Although his face remained cold and aloof, Tōka could sense Itachi's sudden increase in breathing.

Itachi knew Tōka's purpose in taking Izumi away; he was waiting, waiting for the conditions Tōka would propose.

He didn't know when it started, but besides Sasuke, there was another person in his heart, and he absolutely couldn't let anyone hurt her!

Kisame, sensing the situation, grabbed a handful of grilled meat skewers and got up to walk towards the stream at the foot of the Valley.

The rushing water would greatly interfere with his hearing, and Tōka and Itachi's conversation would be completely drowned out by the sound of the water.

"Senior Tōka, there's a question I'd like to confirm." Itachi raised his eyes, his gaze cool as he watched Kisame's departing figure.

"What's the problem?" Tōka noticed Itachi looking at Kisame, a hint of hesitation flashing in his eyes. Itachi shouldn't be that slow to notice.

Kisame is Tōka's person, Tōka has no intention of hiding it from him. Even if he knew, what could he do?

"Hmm... it seems there's no need to ask anymore." Itachi calmly withdrew his gaze, able to guess from Kisame's attitude towards Tōka.

The question simply eliminates that 0.1% possibility.

At this point, the conversation seemed to fall into an awkward silence.

In the silence, with only the sound of the babbling brook in his ears, Tōka stared at the fire in front of him, his eyes hazy as if he were lost in thought.

Itachi turned to look at Tōka and reminded him, "Tōka- senpai, you can speak now."

Tōka smiled faintly and remained silent. Instead, he stood the meat skewer upright in the crevice of the rock and then took out a Scroll from his sleeve.

Itachi's secret mission.

"It's simple, just kill someone for me!"

Kill someone?

The first thought that flashed through Itachi's mind was not guessing who this person was.

But why choose him!

Itachi knew that Tōka was very strong, so strong that even now he couldn't understand it. For Tōka, killing someone was far too easy.

After taking the Scroll from Tōka's hand, Itachi's hand began to move on its own.

Untie the rope binding the Scroll and unfold it...

When the name on the Scroll appeared in Itachi's eyes, his unchanging expression finally changed at that moment!

Nagato Uzumaki!

Having infiltrated the Akatsuki Organization for several years, Itachi certainly understood the significance that Nagato Uzumaki and the other two represented!

The leader of the Akatsuki Organization, Pain's Six Paths, was nothing more than six corpses that were turned into puppets and remotely controlled using chakra.

The person hiding behind Pain is the one with the name on the Scroll.

"Kisame will help you." Seeing Itachi's doubtful expression, Tōka assumed that Itachi wasn't very confident in defeating Nagato, so he comforted him with this.

Hearing the sound, Itachi snapped out of his daze, his expression returning to calm, and his turbulent emotions gradually settled down.

It can't be that simple!

At this moment, Itachi had only one thought in his mind: he stared into Tōka's eyes, wanting to see through them to Tōka's true thoughts.

Kill Nagato Uzumaki?

To be honest, Itachi wasn't very confident, even if he and Kisame went together, it wouldn't be the same; it wasn't a matter of numbers.

"What's wrong?" Tōka raised an eyebrow and asked when Itachi didn't speak for a while.

Could it be that a cute girl like Izumi isn't enough? Itachi really doesn't know how to be gentle with women!

Just as Tōka was lamenting Itachi's lack of romantic understanding, Itachi's voice suddenly rang out.

He said something that was expected, yet it still made Tōka slightly take aback.

I want to see Sasuke.

Seeing Sasuke? At a time like this?

In the Land of Rice, at the base of the Otogakure.

After Orochimaru was Reaper Death Seal and perished alongside the Third Hokage, the Otogakure base was nominally headed by Kabuto Yakushi.

However, the managers of other outposts didn't take the matter seriously.

Without Orochimaru's deterrent, the other strongholds of Otogakure are now in a semi-independent state, and the Land of Rice is in a state of great chaos.

Of course, this is only in name.

In fact, Tōka's appearance made Kabuto Yakushi feel uneasy.

This man, who didn't even need to lift a finger, but simply used others to kill Lord Orochimaru with a few words.

Kabuto Yakushi, a fear deep in his heart.

Perhaps more than a decade ago, during their first meeting in the Small Woods of Konoha, Tōka had already left a shadow deep in Kabuto's heart.

"This is Orochimaru's place." Itachi's tone was very certain; he could smell the distinctive scent of snakes in the air.

"Sasuke is receiving special training from Kabuto Yakushi."

To be precise, it was a special training program Orochimaru arranged for the Sound Ninja, which was essentially just a killing spree among themselves; only the strongest among them could survive to the end.

Tōka even neglects his own disciples, so how could he have time to personally teach Sasuke?

Besides, Sasuke's current strength is too weak. Passing Orochimaru's "basic" test and leaving this base alive is the first step in Sasuke's growth.

As Itachi stepped into the dark, narrow passage, his brow furrowed almost imperceptibly.

He didn't like it here; the air was thick with the smell of blood and mildew, and only the flickering torches on either side provided a faint glow in the darkness.

The narrow, dimly lit passageway resembled a death road leading to hell.

Just then, the sound of footsteps echoed from the other end of the dark passage, approaching Tōka and the others.

A short while later, the footsteps grew closer.

A figure shrouded in a long red robe appeared before them, the wide brim of his hat obscuring his face, and shadows concealing his eyes, revealing only half of his face.

The newcomer slightly raised his head, but the Kakkō reflected off his glasses, making it impossible to see his expression.

"Lord Tōka, what brings you here?" The low voice sounded extremely respectful, but only Kabuto Yakushi himself knew how much of it was genuine.

Tōka made no attempt to conceal his presence upon appearing. Although Kabuto Yakushi couldn't mobilize other strongholds of the Otogakure, the main base remained completely under his control.

Upon receiving news of the arrival of Tōka, Itachi, and Kisame, Kabuto Yakushi immediately put down his research and rushed over.

Tōka had visited the base of the Otogakure several times and was generally familiar with its layout.

Kabuto Yakushi knew which passage Tōka would enter through, so he had been waiting there for Tōka and the others.

"Where 'Sasuke? Did you manage to kill him?" Tōka Gate of Opening, stating the purpose of his trip.

Kabuto Yakushi lowered his hat brim, his eyes glancing at Itachi out of the corner of his eye. Had he brought Itachi specifically to see Sasuke?

Sasuke doesn't seem to want to see Itachi!

"That child is still alive and well!"

Kabuto Yakushi speaking, he slowly turned around, and a white phosphorescent snake emerged from his red robe, standing upright behind him like his tail.

Itachi narrowed his eyes. He hadn't seen Kabuto Yakushi for a long time, and he didn't know what had happened to Kabuto.

But Itachi could clearly smell a snake scent on Kabuto.

The aura of Orochimaru...

"Let's go, Kabuto knows where Sasuke is at this time." Tōka lifted his foot and walked forward, gesturing for Itachi and Kisame to follow.

Finally, he had to speak up and remind him, "Sasuke really wants to kill you. Is it really a good idea to go see him like this?"

Itachi walked silently in the middle of the group, naturally hearing what Tōka said.

He met Sasuke; it was he who met Sasuke.

Itachi has not yet decided whether to let Sasuke see him, as Sasuke is no match for him at his current strength.

Soon, the three of them, led by Kabuto Yakushi, arrived at the training grounds of the Otogakure underground base.

Standing on the high platform, one can clearly see the entire battleground below, with torches arranged in a circle every three steps and hung high on the wall.

The flickering Kakkō illuminated the black stains on the wall, marks left by bright red blood that had been splashed and dried.

The pungent smell of blood lingered in the air; the smell that Itachi had caught when he entered through the passage was coming from here.

"Where's Sasuke?" Tōka glanced at the kids fighting in the arena but didn't see Sasuke.

"He's out." Kabuto Yakushi raised his chin, gesturing for everyone to look towards Entrance Number One.

Sure enough, with the rumble of the iron gate opening, a slender figure strode out, casting a shadow on him.

As if swallowed by darkness, even the Kakkō right above his head could not dispel the endless darkness.

Itachi's eyes darkened slightly as he silently murmured Sasuke's name in his heart.

Sasuke has become stronger, but he has also moved closer to darkness.

"What? Aren't you going down to see him?" Tōka put his hands in his pockets, looking down at the Battlefield. With his eyesight, he could naturally see what Sasuke's appearance meant.

This means that those who survived the fierce fighting will face an even more brutal massacre.

This is how the Otogakure selects outstanding Genin. In the Otogakure, talent plus killing equals strength, and strength plus cunning equals status.

"I won! I survived!"

"Let's get out of here!"

The ten survivors in the arena wore expressions of relief, unaware of the figure that had entered through the dark entrance number one.

There were no lights on the high Viewing Stand; the nearest torches could only reach the edge of the railings.

Tōka and the others were hidden in the darkness, and those below could not see clearly whether anyone was standing on the platform unless that person was leaning against the railing.

Kabuto Yakushi then stepped forward, exposing himself to the light of the flames.

"The battle isn't over yet!" With a smirk, he glanced around mockingly, his icy gaze causing the expressions of the ten people in the arena to change.

Why hasn't it ended?

Wasn't it said that the ten survivors could leave this place? Leave this hellish place filled only with blood and filth?

"The last ten survivors will become Sound Ninja and leave this place!"

"Didn't you say we only have ten people left?!"

The crowd erupted in commotion, and a few fearless youngsters were eager to try their luck, seemingly wanting to climb over the wall and take down Kabuto Yakushi.

"Tsk tsk tsk... Look what that is?" Kabuto Yakushi smiled and shook his finger, gesturing for everyone in the room to turn around.

At entrance number one, a ghostly figure stood there.

Silently...

No one knew when Sasuke appeared, and Kabuto Yakushi didn't tell them that more people would join the Battlefield later!

However, these were not things they were considering.

They had only one thought in their minds: to turn eleven people into ten, and the extra kid looked to be no more than thirteen or fourteen years old!

Kill him!

The same thought surged through everyone's minds: kill this brat, and they could leave alive!!

Swish swish swish!!

Everyone gripped their Kunai tightly and pounced on Sasuke like a pack of wolves.

Sizzle...

A white arc of electricity flashed by, instantly illuminating the dimly lit training ground.

Lightning Release: Earth Flow!

Sasuke suddenly crouched down, pressing his hands to the ground. Blood was the best way for electricity to travel, and the ground, already stained red with blood, clearly amplified the power of his Lightning Release!

The Genin in the arena had endured a brutal battle, only managing to stay afloat thanks to sheer willpower.

Even those few with slightly stronger physiques managed to leap high and dodge the electric current that passed through the ground.

However, they were also unable to make the next rapid move...

With a whoosh!

In the darkness, a flash of white light appeared, moving like snowflakes dancing in the wind, and Sasuke's figure glided lightly through the crowd...

The expression on a person's face when they see a moment of hope only to face despair is incredibly complex.

This also made Sasuke very satisfied...

I'm one step closer to that man!