Itachi, I'll Keep Your Secret for the Rest of My Life

At that moment.

Whoosh—

A gentle breeze drifted in from nowhere, stirring the forest with a soft rustle.

Uchiha Itachi's Akatsuki cloak fluttered open slightly. His right hand hung limply at his side, and his Sharingan gazed calmly at Kakashi and the others without a ripple.

Yet such a simple gesture

made the atmosphere around them feel oppressive.

Just then.

"Yo! Itachi!" Naruto greeted him with a grin.

At the sound of his name, Chiyo's heart lurched. "Itachi?! The S-rank rogue ninja who slaughtered his entire clan!"

"So he's Sasuke's older brother!" Sakura clenched her fists, veins bulging.

In her mind, Itachi was the one who had brought Sasuke endless pain and tragedy!

Itachi lifted his eyes slightly, his expression perfectly composed. "Captain Kakashi, Naruto. Long time no see."

Although he had already seen Naruto's portrait,

after speaking, Itachi couldn't help glancing at him again.

People said girls changed beyond recognition as they grew up, but Naruto had changed thirty-six times over as a boy!

Still, whatever he thought, Itachi maintained an utterly calm expression.

At that, Kakashi quickly straightened his Forehead Protector, revealing his blood-red Sharingan. His expression grave, he said,

"Itachi, the Akatsuki sent you to stop us, didn't they?"

"As expected of you, Captain Kakashi." Itachi's voice was calm, yet carried a force that could not be ignored.

Just as Kakashi was about to press him for more, Naruto stepped forward and pushed Kakashi behind him.

Then,

"Itachi, you're still putting on an act..." Amusement glimmered in Naruto's blue eyes as he smiled. "You know I wiped out Root, right?"

As he spoke, Naruto studied Itachi's face, but saw not the slightest change in his expression.

So Naruto went straight for the kill. "I've already got that eye. As for the secret of that night..."

Sure enough, the moment Naruto said that,

"Gasp—" Itachi's eyelid twitched violently. Then, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, he hurriedly interrupted him.

"Naruto..."

Itachi's usually impassive face was now filled with surprise. "How did you manage to get this strong in just three years? Have you mastered Kurama?! And you look so different from before..."

Itachi cursed inwardly. He had a rough idea that Naruto already knew the truth behind the Uchiha Clan Massacre. As he questioned Naruto, he was also trying to change the subject away from the clan's secret.

But such an obvious attempt to change the subject could hardly escape anyone's notice.

"That eye? That secret?!" Kakashi, for one, was intensely curious. He murmured under his breath.

Naruto ignored Itachi's words. With a knowing smile, he continued,

"You know, about the Uchiha Clan Massacre..."

"What?! The Uchiha Clan Massacre?!" Kakashi and the others were struck as if by lightning. They pricked up their ears, ready to hear a shocking secret about to burst into the open.

But just as Naruto was about to reveal the truth,

"Shut up!" Itachi suddenly lost his composure and shouted.

He clasped his hands together, moving as fast as lightning.

In the blink of an eye, he had formed the Hand Seals!

Scorching fire chakra filled the air, as if it were about to set the entire world ablaze.

The next moment,

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Itachi said in a low voice.

Rumble—!

A gigantic fireball radiating unbearable heat burst through the air, surging toward them with an aura capable of burning everything to ash.

Wherever it passed, temperatures exceeding a thousand degrees scorched the very air with a sizzling hiss, as if it were crying out in pain.

"What fast Hand Seals, and what powerful Fire Release!" Chiyo was stunned.

Only then did she understand that anyone capable of wiping out the Uchiha Clan was no ordinary person!

Even the most basic Fire Release technique could unleash earth-shaking power in Itachi's hands!

Sakura's face darkened, her expression turning ugly. "Sasuke's enemy is so powerful that even his every move is extraordinary!"

Kakashi, standing nearby, was about to defend against it with Water Release.

But before he could form the Hand Seals, the water molecules around them suddenly surged in number.

Then, before he could react,

Whoosh—!

A towering wall of water, like a pillar supporting the heavens, stood firmly before them, radiating a power that seemed capable of protecting everything.

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat. He turned around abruptly and realized that Naruto had used Water Release.

When had Naruto gained a water nature?

A flood of questions overwhelmed Kakashi, but before he could think it through,

the terrifying Great Fireball was already charging toward them like a ferocious beast.

The two techniques collided with a thunderous crash.

In an instant,

"Hiss—" Water and fire met in an earth-shattering explosion. Billowing steam surged skyward like a roaring dragon, and the surroundings vanished beneath a veil of mist.

A dense fog that blotted out the sky descended in an instant!

Just then, suddenly,

"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—" Several razor-sharp Kunai, their edges glinting with a chilling light, shot through the air with murderous intent.

"Watch out!" Kakashi's Sharingan spun rapidly as he shouted a warning.

At the same time, he swung the Kunai in his right hand.

With a series of sharp metallic clinks, the incoming Kunai clattered to the ground!

"Stand back-to-back and watch out for attacks from every direction!" Chiyo warned gravely.

Sakura didn't dare let her guard down. She immediately did as told. Without a Sharingan, she could barely see anything in the fog!

Kakashi joined them without hesitation. After all, the terrifying experience of falling victim to Itachi's Tsukuyomi last time still haunted him like a nightmare!

The three stood with their backs pressed together. That way, even if one of them fell under a genjutsu, the others could help break it quickly.

"Naruto, get over here! Watch out for Itachi's surprise attack!" Kakashi shouted to him as well.

But Naruto did not do as he wished.

Quite the opposite.

"Ha..." Naruto actually yawned as if he couldn't care less. A faintly mocking smile tugged at his lips, and he said with utter disdain, "Itachi... you're so fake that I can't muster the slightest interest. Stop playing these childish tricks!"

The instant he finished speaking, Naruto rapidly formed the Hand Seals. Gusts of wind howled around them.

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

The next moment,

"Whoosh—" A furious wind roared from Naruto like an enraged dragon, sweeping in every direction with the force to engulf everything.

"What powerful Wind Release! Grab onto each other!" Kakashi exclaimed in shock, warning them at the same time.

The surrounding mist had no chance at all.

In an instant, the gale swept it away completely.

It also revealed Itachi's true form.

Itachi was holding several Explosive Tag Shuriken, their blades glinting coldly, poised to throw them.

His actions were now completely exposed.

"Cough, cough..." Itachi couldn't help coughing twice. He slipped the Shuriken back into his sleeve, then fixed his blood-red Sharingan on Naruto. His gaze turned slightly wary as he said in a low voice,

"As expected of someone capable of wiping out Root. Those two techniques are already far beyond the level of an elite jonin!"

"Heh..." Naruto let out a cold laugh, then continued with interest, "It was a moonless, windy night, and the Uchiha Clan was wiped out..."

"Naruto, wait!" Itachi hurriedly shouted to stop him, his eyes flickering with helplessness.

He couldn't understand how Naruto had learned his secret.

But judging from Kakashi and the others' reactions, Naruto didn't seem to have told anyone about it yet.

Still, he absolutely could not let Naruto reveal it now.

Even if there were only a few people present, the news would inevitably spread.

How would the Shinobi World see Konoha then? And what would people think of the Uchiha Clan?

It had come to this. His only choice was to use genjutsu and forcibly make Naruto forget everything.

With that thought, Itachi's Sharingan focused, its Three-Tomoe spinning wildly like a whirlwind.

In an instant,

"Whoosh—" Terrifying ocular power surged forth, pressing toward Naruto with a thunderous force.

"Not good! It's a genjutsu! Naruto, don't look into his eyes!" Kakashi cried out in alarm.

He knew Naruto was exceptionally strong, but genjutsu was the most insidious and treacherous kind of attack.

With Itachi's mastery of genjutsu, he might still be able to trap Naruto!

Yet the next moment,

the unexpected happened.

"How boring..." Naruto looked completely uninterested, utterly unaffected by the genjutsu.

"Hm?!" Itachi froze at the sight.

Then, unwilling to accept it, he cast Sharingan Genjutsu again.

But the genjutsu surrounding Naruto

still had no effect!

"What... is going on?" Itachi stared in shock, unable to understand what he was seeing.

"Did the genjutsu really fail?" Kakashi was equally bewildered, at a complete loss.

At the same time, he wondered why Itachi hadn't switched to the Mangekyō Sharingan...

Could it really be as he had thought before—that Itachi's eyesight had deteriorated so badly that he no longer dared use it?

But before he could think it through,

Naruto crouched down, picked up a stone, and rubbed it in his hand. Then he smiled at Itachi.

"Itachi... if you want me to keep this to myself, come find me in person and bring the other eye..."

As he finished speaking, Naruto suddenly threw the stone in his hand.

"Whoosh—" It shot through the air as fast as lightning, reaching Itachi in the blink of an eye.

In an instant,

Whoosh—!

An intense black-and-gold light flashed across the stone, and Naruto's figure burst out of it. His right hand opened wide.

"Rasengan!"

Terrifying chakra surged into his palm. A red-and-blue Rasengan appeared, radiating an aura that struck fear into the heart.

Then Naruto seemed to descend like a god.

He slammed the Rasengan into Itachi's chest.

"Holy crap! What's going on?! Was that Flying Thunder God plus Rasengan?!" Kurama had been watching everything from Naruto's inner world. At last, he could no longer contain his shock.

It had all happened too quickly. Flying Thunder God was a peerless killing technique created specifically to counter the Uchiha.

With his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, Itachi hadn't even had time to react!

Only after the Rasengan struck his chest did he suddenly cough up blood, his face filled with disbelief. "How... could you..."

But

Naruto simply smiled calmly. "Come find me with that eye!"

Then, without giving Itachi a chance to speak,

Naruto clenched his right hand. The Rasengan instantly spun like a raging tornado, tearing into him.

The next moment,

Boom—

Itachi's black cloak ripped to shreds like scraps of paper, and his body shot backward. The Rasengan's terrifying force twisted everything in his chest.

Only Naruto's mocking words remained on the scene.

"Itachi, I'll keep your secret for the rest of my life!"

[Rasengan struck down Uchiha Itachi's Shoten Technique clone. Villain Points +239!]