The Land of Demons lay between the Land of Wind and the Land of Earth, and was a great distance from the Land of Fire. Considering that the Third Shinobi World War had only recently ended, the Third didn't want to stir up trouble again.
But since Uchiha Shiraha planned to go, they might as well let him.
He considered having Shiraha take Uchiha Itachi along. That might help keep the Uchiha Clan a little more settled.
The Uchiha Clan.
Uchiha Fugaku was at home teaching his younger son. Sasuke was almost four years old now, old enough to begin training in chakra.
Itachi had started learning at this age, and now Sasuke was beginning at the same age.
"Come on, Sasuke. Refine your chakra some more. Try to get it done before you turn four!"
Uchiha Fugaku had high hopes for Sasuke, as his name alone made clear.
He shared a name with the Third's father. What was Fugaku scheming?
"Yes, Father!"
Little Sasuke trained hard, hoping to earn his father's approval, but he always ended up disappointed.
Uchiha Itachi's talent far surpassed his.
At thirteen, Sasuke was still goofing off, while Itachi had already awakened the Mangekyo and slaughtered the clan.
Sasuke worked hard, but Fugaku's expression never changed.
After a long while, Fugaku let out a heavy sigh and sent Sasuke off to rest.
"He's still nowhere near good enough!"
Fugaku shook his head. Sasuke's performance was mediocre at best.
"Father."
Sasuke had just finished training when Itachi's voice sounded beside him.
A smile appeared on Fugaku's face, then vanished in an instant.
"You're back. What did the Third assign you?"
Fugaku asked.
"He assigned Baiyu and me to the same team. We'll arrange the details of the mission ourselves."
Itachi replied.
He'd known for a long time that his father planned to put him forward for promotion to jonin, but the village wouldn't agree.
Now, with Baiyu's help, the village had finally promoted him to jonin.
"Good. You've finally made it to jonin. Next, try to get into Anbu. Find out the village Anbu's secrets and replace its members with Uchiha."
"Yes, Father."
Itachi replied. Fugaku nodded in satisfaction, then left with his hands behind his back.
Sasuke looked at his older brother enviously. Their father was always kind to Itachi, but stern and rigid with him.
Their father's different treatment of the two brothers would shape them into very different people.
Having grown up under their father's influence, Sasuke naturally admired his older brother.
"How did your training go today?"
Itachi asked gently.
"I think... it went okay?"
Little Sasuke said, unsure. Their father hadn't said anything about his performance.
He didn't understand what Fugaku had meant, either.
"Keep training hard."
Itachi urged him. From Fugaku's expression, he already had a pretty good idea.
"Brother, you said you'd teach me ninjutsu!"
Little Sasuke tugged at Itachi's hand, looking at him expectantly.
Itachi looked up and saw Fugaku waiting by the study door. He sighed inwardly.
Forcing a smile, he said gently, "Next time, for sure."
As soon as he finished speaking, someone flicked him on the forehead. It hurt so much that he yelped.
When Sasuke looked over again, Itachi was already gone.
"Again!"
Sasuke stamped his little feet in anger.
Elsewhere in the Uchiha Clan Compound, Baiyu returned home with someone following him.
Ever since Miroku had accepted the mission, she'd stayed by Baiyu's side.
Including her guards, there were five of them in all. Baiyu's home was tiny, so he'd arranged for Miroku and the others to stay outside.
But Miroku refused, worried that Konoha might break its promise, and followed him all the way to the Uchiha Clan Compound.
"You live here?"
Miroku asked softly, looking around the cramped room before her.
It was even smaller than one of the little rooms in her shrine.
"Yep. Right here."
Baiyu replied, getting started on the ingredients he'd bought.
He'd just bought two jin of pork belly at the Uchiha market. He'd make some Twice-Cooked Pork, then stew some cabbage in a soup.
The two dishes were ready quickly. By the time the rice was done, so was the food.
Baiyu took out a pair of chopsticks and a bowl for himself and started eating.
Miroku stood to the side, feeling a little awkward. She hadn't expected Baiyu to ignore her.
"I didn't know you could cook!"
Miroku said with a smile. She'd been traveling around for quite some time, trying to recruit helpers from the various great nations, but almost everyone refused as soon as they heard she was from the Land of Demons.
The shrine maiden of the Land of Demons held a special place in this world.
"If you want to eat, get yourself a bowl. We don't know each other well, so meals are five hundred ryo each, no haggling."
Baiyu glanced at her. Since she was the one paying him, he was willing to make an exception.
Miroku didn't say anything. She went to the kitchen and got herself a bowl and chopsticks.
"When are you leaving tomorrow? I feel the seal loosening. We need to get back to the Land of Demons as soon as possible."
Miroku asked worriedly. Recently, some people in the Land of Demons had been searching everywhere for Moryo. They'd eventually traced the trail to the shrine and attacked several times.
"I'll get a few things ready and leave tomorrow morning."
Baiyu replied. He planned to stay up all night making a few kinds of poison and set off once he was done.
He had the main ingredients at home. After dinner, he'd gather the other ingredients and turn them all into poison.
He also had to pick up the two swords Kin Uchiha had made. They were his primary weapons, so he needed to get his hands on them.
After dinner, Miroku went to rest in the village with her guards.
Baiyu went to make poison and pick up the Reverse-Blade Sword and Forward-Blade Sword. Meanwhile, at his father's urging, Itachi began putting the next stage of their plan into motion.
At dawn the next day, before the sky had even begun to brighten, a crowd had gathered at the village gate.
"Has your companion not arrived yet?"
Miroku asked Itachi. It was almost daybreak, and they still had a long journey ahead of them.
They had to get back as soon as possible.
"He..."
"Let's go."
Itachi hadn't yet spoken when Baiyu's voice came from behind them.
The group traveled as fast as they could. A day and a half later, they reached the border of the Land of Rain. They could continue through the Land of Rain for two more days and then reach the Land of Demons.
"Let's rest here tonight."
Baiyu suggested. He found a relatively secluded spot and settled Miroku and the others there.
"Itachi, stay here and protect them. I'll go keep watch."
Baiyu turned to Itachi and gave him his instructions.
"No problem. I'll keep them safe. Has something happened?"
Itachi asked. He sensed Baiyu's mood had changed and had also noticed an unusual disturbance earlier.
"Yeah. An old friend is here. We've met before..."
Baiyu said with a smile.
"Orochimaru?"
A name surfaced in Itachi's mind. Of all the enemies they'd met together, Orochimaru had left the deepest impression.
"Heh. I'll go keep watch. You protect Miroku. We can't rule out the possibility that they're after the shrine maiden."
Baiyu reminded him again.
He trusted Itachi's abilities, but he was worried that a moment of carelessness might get Miroku hurt.
"No problem."
Itachi replied.
Baiyu then left.
He appeared again beside a cliff, where two familiar figures stood before him.
"Baiyu, it's been a long time!"
One of them was Orochimaru, who greeted Baiyu warmly.
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