38 Pointing the Way for Uchiha Itachi

With Orochimaru's intervention, Sasori of the Red Sands ultimately departed alongside him.

The intense battle concluded, and Baiyu had only managed to utilize half of the Wind Taming Sword Technique he had just comprehended.

If only Orochimaru had been a bit slower. I could have continued practicing my moves on Sasori to further familiarize myself with the Wind Taming Sword Technique.

Baiyu felt a tinge of regret; Sasori's puppets could provide a massive number of sword-draw counts, and with the augmentation of the Wind Taming Sword Technique, even a wooden sword could possess immense destructive power. Slicing through a few puppets would have been no problem at all.

Once the Magnet Release lost its effectiveness, the threat posed by Sasori was greatly diminished.

Just as Baiyu was lamenting this, a person suddenly appeared beside him.

Baiyu spoke without turning his head: "You've come."

"What happened?"

Uchiha Itachi asked softly. Orochimaru's sudden strike earlier had given him quite a start. After a brief exchange, Orochimaru had chosen to retreat, and Itachi had rushed over immediately after settling the group accompanying Miroku.

The surrounding environment was in chaos, with traces of the battle everywhere and countless iron sand scattered across the ground.

"I encountered a tricky enemy, but they have already retreated," Baiyu replied.

"Was Orochimaru with them? Looking at his attire, it was completely different from before," Uchiha Itachi remarked. After the battle just now, it was clear Orochimaru had an accomplice.

Having just defected from Konoha, it was impossible for him to have such a powerful subordinate capable of holding Baiyu back.

Moreover, Orochimaru's objective seemed entirely different; he hadn't come for the shrine maiden at all, but rather seemed to have sought him out specifically.

All signs indicated that Orochimaru was unaware of the specific details of their mission.

"That's right. The person just now was no less powerful than Orochimaru. He is also an S-rank missing-nin, formerly affiliated with Sunagakure," Baiyu answered.

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

Uchiha Itachi was still a blank slate; Fugaku had branded him with the mark of a genius, but had not yet stamped him with the mark of power.

Itachi had always acted according to his own will, and while he had been influenced by Konoha, his leanings toward the village were more pronounced.

However, after getting to know Baiyu, he discovered that not everyone in the clan was a fanatical, mindless warmonger.

The thoughts that had originally tilted in one direction gradually came to a halt, and he began to contemplate the true meaning of the clan's existence.

Following behind Baiyu, Itachi looked calm, though the heavy thoughts on his mind were plain to see for Baiyu.

Throughout the journey, Baiyu did not say much.

Whatever was hidden in the depths of Itachi's heart would naturally be revealed once he was willing to be honest.

Another day of tedious travel passed. They encountered two groups of bandits along the way, whom Baiyu cut down single-handedly, leaving no one alive.

There were over twenty people in total, some of whom were ninjas, yet they only provided Baiyu with a little over a thousand sword-draw counts.

As his strength grew, sword-draw counts became increasingly difficult to obtain, and most of the time, he still had to rely on his own cultivation.

During the journey, Baiyu recalled the awkward situation he faced against Sasori and decided to copy some ninjutsu, especially genjutsu, to bring the active abilities of his Sharingan into play, rather than just relying on the passive effect of its dynamic vision.

After another rest, they would be able to reach the location of the shrine maiden by tomorrow morning.

Miroku had intended to travel through the night, but was dissuaded by her subordinates, as 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 guard. He went off alone and sat on a branch of a tall tree.

Leaning his body slightly against the trunk, he looked up at the sky.

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

He was now striving to enter the state of Thunder Breathing continuously, turning the breathing technique into an instinct.

At the same time, Baiyu began to try using other forms of the Thunder Breathing Method and combining them with the Hiten Mitsurugi-ryu sword style.

The Wind Taming Sword Technique could not be used in conjunction with the Thunder Breathing Method; there was no synergistic effect between the two.

Baiyu guessed that this Wind Taming Sword Technique might have its own breathing method—a breathing method related to the wind attribute.

Holding this thought, Baiyu began to try improving the Thunder Breathing Method as a foundation, gradually deducing other breathing methods based on its principles.

At the same time, he waited until he completed the million-sword-draw milestone to perform a massive lucky draw, hoping to see if he could win rewards for other types of breathing methods.

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

"You should be resting," Baiyu said with his eyes closed. His Mind's Eye ability was becoming increasingly proficient, and its range had expanded from one hundred meters to about two hundred.

From the moment Itachi stepped into his perception range, he knew who had arrived.

"I have rested enough," Itachi replied.

"What do you want with me?"

Baiyu asked, knowing that Itachi wouldn't come to him without a reason.

"There are indeed some questions I would like to ask for your opinion on."

Itachi said directly.

He had been thinking about it constantly lately; Uchiha Shisui had been in contact with him for some time, their relationship growing closer, and he had gradually been exposed to some of Shisui's ideals.

The village and the clan!

This crucial proposition.

Now, it lay before him once again.

"What kind of questions? I'm the type of person who hates answering questions the most; if they're too difficult, I might not be able to give you an answer."

Baiyu opened his eyes and looked at Itachi.

At this moment, Itachi's face was full of desolation, his eyes had lost their luster, and his cold expression was masked by exhaustion.

"It seems you've been quite troubled lately!"

Baiyu guessed; a child of only ten or so, carrying such immense pressure on his shoulders.

Under such pressure, how Itachi would develop in the future depended entirely on the people around him.

Under the weight of such stress, few people could still calmly read books to enrich their minds and cope with those convoluted power struggles.

"I just received news that two more clan squads were wiped out while on missions... not a single message was sent back."

Uchiha Itachi replied. The Ninja Cats of the Uchiha were highly effective when it came to transmitting intelligence.

After understanding this, Baiyu knew that most Uchiha clansmen were capable of sending out intelligence when facing external enemies.

Only those familiar with the Uchiha would calculate this and silence them along with the Ninja Cats.

"Was it the village that made a move again?"

Baiyu guessed. This method of boiling a frog in warm water was very much like the Third Hokage's style, though the one executing it was likely Shimura Danzō.

Itachi remained silent.

He had just been exposed to Shisui's Hokage Faction ideals—the concept of the village above all—and now he had received news of his clansmen's deaths.

Although no intelligence pointed to who the culprit was, his heart already had a certain direction.

Uchiha Itachi did not directly refute Baiyu's statement, which was as good as an admission.

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

Itachi asked after a moment of silence.

Baiyu looked at him deeply and asked quietly, "Is it just a conflict?"

Uchiha Itachi was slightly stunned by this question.

"What else could it be?"

At this time, he hadn't thought that far ahead.

No one had yet imagined that the conflict would gradually escalate until the coup d'état plan was proposed...

"A coup is not impossible, Itachi! There are too many hardliners in the clan. The majority of our clansmen think the Sharingan is invincible; with such inflated egos, they are destined not to go far! The village will not spare ordinary clansmen because of our kindness, so..."

Baiyu saw things very clearly. The village Anbu had begun to gradually purge Uchiha clansmen until the clan's ninja could no longer perform missions, cutting off the clan's income.

They were trapping the Uchiha around the village, severing their economic sources.

Now, the village was even targeting the Uchiha's food supply. Before long, the contradictions would continue to intensify, and the Uchiha coup plan would be put on the agenda...

The day of the clan's annihilation was in the not-too-distant future.

Baiyu could only improve his strength as quickly as possible to ensure his own survival and protect more innocent clansmen.

Baiyu did not like the village's higher-ups, nor did he like the Uchiha's higher-ups.

The village would not investigate whether the Uchiha clansmen were innocent; they would only cut the weeds and dig up the roots.

The mindless arrogance of the Uchiha leadership would likewise lead to their destruction.

Therefore, becoming stronger was the only choice!