Guiding Uchiha Itachi

With Orochimaru's intervention, Sasori of the Red Sands eventually left with him.

The great battle came to an end, but Baiyu had only used half of the Wind Taming Sword Technique he had just mastered.

"If only Orochimaru had been a little slower. I could've kept practicing against Sasori and gotten more familiar with the Wind Taming Sword Technique."

Baiyu felt a little regretful. Sasori's puppets could provide a large number of Draw-Sword counts, and with the Wind Taming Sword Technique's enhancement, even a wooden sword had tremendous destructive power. Cutting through a few puppets was no problem at all.

Once Magnet Release was out of commission, Sasori's threat had been greatly reduced.

Just as Baiyu was sighing, someone suddenly appeared beside him.

Without turning his head, Baiyu said, "You're here."

"What happened?"

Uchiha Itachi asked quietly. Orochimaru's sudden attack had startled him. After they exchanged blows, Orochimaru chose to retreat. Itachi had settled the shrine maiden and her party before hurrying over.

The surrounding area was in chaos, with traces of battle everywhere and Iron Sand scattered across the ground.

"We ran into a troublesome enemy, but they've already left."

Baiyu replied.

"Was Orochimaru with them? His appearance was completely different from before."

Uchiha Itachi said. After the battle, it was clear that Orochimaru had an accomplice.

He had only just defected from Konoha. He couldn't possibly have such a powerful subordinate, someone capable of holding Baiyu back.

Moreover, Orochimaru's goal had been completely different. He hadn't come for the shrine maiden at all. It seemed as if he'd been looking for Itachi specifically.

All these signs indicated that Orochimaru didn't know the details of their mission.

"That's right. The man just now was no weaker than Orochimaru. He's also an S-rank missing-nin, formerly from Sunagakure."

Baiyu replied.

There was no need to hide Sasori of the Red Sands' identity.

Uchiha Itachi was still a blank slate. Fugaku had stamped the mark of a genius on him, but hadn't branded him with the mark of power.

Itachi had always acted according to his own will. He'd been influenced by Konoha to some extent, and his thoughts leaned more toward the village.

But after meeting Baiyu, he'd realized that not everyone in his clan was a fanatical, mindless warmonger.

Some of his previously entrenched views had gradually come to a halt, and he'd begun to think about the true purpose of his clan's existence.

Walking behind Baiyu, Itachi looked calm, but Baiyu could see that he was weighed down by his thoughts.

Baiyu didn't say much along the way.

The things Itachi kept buried in his heart would come out naturally when he was ready to confide in him.

Another day of dull travel passed. Along the way, they encountered two groups of bandits, and Baiyu cut them all down by himself, leaving no one alive.

There were more than twenty of them in total. Some were ninja, but they only gave Baiyu a little over a thousand Draw-Sword counts.

As his strength grew, Draw-Sword counts became harder and harder to obtain. Most of the time, he still had to train on his own.

As they traveled, Baiyu recalled the awkward situation he'd faced against Sasori of the Red Sands and decided to copy some ninjutsu, especially genjutsu. He wanted to make active use of the Sharingan's abilities rather than relying solely on its passive dynamic vision.

After they rested again, they would reach the shrine maiden's location the next morning.

Miroku had planned to travel through the night, but her people talked her out of it. The night was too dangerous.

In the end, Baiyu found a spot to set up camp.

This time, it was Baiyu's turn to stand watch. He went off alone and sat on a branch high up in a large tree.

He leaned slightly against the trunk and gazed up at the sky.

He was gradually mastering the Thunder Breathing Method. By now, Baiyu could maintain the breathing state for nearly six hours.

Now he was working to remain in the Thunder Breathing state continuously, until the Breathing Style became instinctive.

At the same time, Baiyu began trying out the other forms of Thunder Breathing and combining them with Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu swordsmanship.

The Wind Taming Sword Technique couldn't be used together with Thunder Breathing. The two didn't complement each other.

Baiyu guessed that the Wind Taming Sword Technique might have its own Breathing Style, one based on wind.

With that in mind, Baiyu began trying to use the Thunder Breathing Method as a foundation for making improvements, gradually working out other Breathing Styles based on its principles.

Meanwhile, once he reached one million Draw-Sword counts, he'd do a big round of draws and see if he could get a Breathing Style reward of another kind.

Just as Baiyu was practicing Thunder Breathing, Itachi suddenly appeared beside him.

"You should be resting," Baiyu said with his eyes closed. He was becoming more and more proficient with the Mind's Eye, and its range had expanded from a hundred meters to around two hundred.

He'd known who it was from the moment Itachi entered his range of perception.

"I've rested enough," Itachi replied.

"What do you need?"

Baiyu asked. Itachi wouldn't have come over if he didn't need something.

"I do have a few questions. I'd like to hear what you think."

Itachi got straight to the point.

Lately, he'd been thinking constantly. Uchiha Shisui had been in contact with him for some time, and the two had grown closer. Itachi had also gradually learned about some of Shisui's beliefs.

The village and the clan!

This crucial dilemma was once again staring him in the face.

"What questions? I hate answering questions more than anything. If they're too difficult, I might not have an answer."

Baiyu opened his eyes and looked at Itachi.

Itachi's face was full of despondency. His eyes had lost their light, and exhaustion had overtaken his usually cold expression.

"Looks like you've had a lot on your mind lately!"

Baiyu guessed. A child of barely ten was carrying an enormous burden.

Under such pressure, Itachi's future depended entirely on the people around him.

When weighed down by pressure like that, few people could calmly read a book and broaden their minds so they could deal with all the twists and turns of political infighting.

"I just received word that two more teams from the clan were wiped out on a mission... Not a single message got through."

Uchiha Itachi replied. The Uchiha's summoning cats were very effective at spreading information.

After hearing this, Baiyu realized that most Uchiha members could get word out when facing an outside enemy.

Only someone familiar with the Uchiha would anticipate that and silence the Ninja Cats along with them.

"Did the village make another move?"

Baiyu guessed. This method of slowly tightening the noose seemed like the Third Hokage's handiwork, though the one carrying it out was probably Shimura Danzō.

Itachi remained silent.

He'd only just been introduced to Shisui's Hokage Faction ideals and the notion that the village came first. Now he'd received news that members of his clan had died.

Although there was no evidence pointing to the culprit, his suspicions had begun to take shape.

Uchiha Itachi didn't directly refute Baiyu's claim. That was more or less an acknowledgment.

"If the clan and the village come into conflict, what would you do?"

Itachi was silent for a while before asking.

Baiyu gave him a long look and asked quietly, "Just a conflict?"

Uchiha Itachi was slightly taken aback by the question.

"What else could there be?"

At that point, he hadn't thought that far ahead.

No one had imagined that the conflict would keep escalating until a coup was proposed...

"A coup isn't impossible, you know. Itachi, there are too many hardliners in the clan. Most of them think the Sharingan makes them invincible. Their arrogance is bound to lead them nowhere. The village won't spare ordinary clan members just because we're kind, so..."

Baiyu saw the situation clearly. The village's Anbu had already begun gradually eliminating Uchiha members, until the clan's ninja could no longer take on missions or earn income for the clan.

They were trapping the Uchiha around the village and cutting off their source of income.

Now the village was targeting the Uchiha's food supplies. Before long, the conflict would escalate further, and plans for a Uchiha coup would be set in motion...

The clan's destruction was not far in the future.

Baiyu could only grow stronger as quickly as possible, both to protect himself and to save more innocent clan members.

Baiyu didn't like the village's leadership, but he didn't like the Uchiha leadership either.

The village wouldn't bother to find out whether Uchiha clan members were innocent. It would simply wipe them out root and branch.

The Uchiha leadership's blind arrogance would lead to their destruction as well.

So growing stronger was the only choice!