Making Money

Naruto looked at the scene of disaster before him, a cold drop of sweat falling. What kind of monsters were these two people? Especially after seeing the eyes of Itachi, and having experienced Uchiha Gen, Naruto felt his entire being was in a bad state.

Suddenly, he heard the sound of running in the hallway.

"Naruto, what's going on?!"

"Hm?! Sasuke, don't come over!" Naruto said hurriedly.

"Itachi?!"

Sasuke ran over, and upon seeing this scene, his mind went blank with a buzz.

Anger and killing intent permeated his mind, his chest heaving violently. Unlike before, he was not blinded by rage this time, nor did he rush forward blindly only to be beaten down.

Kakashi arrived a step earlier, and fearing Sasuke would charge in, he drew a Kunai and blocked Sasuke's path. Seeing that Sasuke wasn't acting impulsively, he let out a sigh of relief.

Itachi looked at Kakashi, then at Jiraiya. One... two. If he hadn't seen wrong earlier, there was another one, wasn't there?

Itachi looked at Sasuke and said indifferently, "You are still so weak, no different from back then." He didn't specify who he was talking about, but everyone present, except for Naruto, knew exactly what that meant.

"...I will kill you with my own hands!" Hearing these words, Sasuke immediately recalled the sight of Itachi killing his parents. Extreme rage began to devour his reason.

Jiraiya shielded Naruto behind him. Having just exchanged ninjutsu with Kisame, he felt extremely conflicted looking at Itachi. The clan had already been wiped out, and these were the only few Uchiha left in the world. To run into all of them in such a short time—had he poked an Uchiha nest?

Itachi watched Sasuke, noting that even with such provocation, he hadn't rushed over. It seemed he had grown, or perhaps his hatred wasn't deep enough yet? Then...

"You still don't seem to understand what I mean..." As Itachi spoke, he suddenly bypassed Kakashi, looked down at Sasuke from a superior position, and kicked him in the stomach, sending him flying.

"You are so weak that I don't even have the desire to kill you." His tone was as if he were stating a fact.

Just as Itachi was about to pick Sasuke up, Kakashi finally reacted. "Sasuke!"

He threw several Kunai at Itachi, forcing him to retreat, and immediately followed up with a Chidori.

Did he land it?! Kakashi watched as the Chidori struck Itachi's body, yet it passed right through. Itachi exploded into a murder of crows. A genjutsu?!

However, in reality, what Naruto and Jiraiya saw was Itachi walking toward Sasuke, while Kakashi stood dazed for some reason, suddenly unleashing a Chidori against a wall.

Hiding behind the wall, Uchiha Gen felt that something was wrong and had already left that position a step early. "Damn it..." As expected, watching the show wasn't as easy as it looked.

After punching a giant hole in the wall, Kakashi finally snapped out of it. Looking at his handiwork, then at Jiraiya and Naruto, and finally at Itachi standing next to Sasuke, he was bewildered. "What is going on here?"

Seeing this, Itachi frowned slightly. Had he failed to force the person hiding in the shadows out? Forget it, he would end this quickly.

Just as Itachi lifted Sasuke to cast Tsukuyomi on him, a hand suddenly appeared and gripped his wrist. It belonged to a person wearing a white mask, their hair pulled back into a bun.

"It's useless," Uchiha Gen said. The way this kid awakened his Sharingan was different from the others; there was definitely pain, but that wasn't the emotion that should trigger the evolution of Sasuke's Sharingan.

If it were merely that kind of emotion, then given the entire clan was slaughtered and his parents killed, he should have at least been at the Three-Tomoe level by now.

It was him? Itachi broke free and put Sasuke down.

Sasuke coughed a few times after being dropped and slowly stood up. He was as powerless as before, but fortunately, thanks to his earlier mental preparation, his composure hadn't completely collapsed.

"Who are you?" Itachi asked. This person seemed to know what he was planning, and it didn't look like he was with the Akatsuki.

At that moment, Jiraiya suddenly slammed his hands onto the ground. "Ninpō: Toad Mouth Bind!"

Seeing the flesh walls appearing all around, Itachi realized there was no more time and said directly to Kisame, "Retreat!"

This time, Kisame did not hesitate. They didn't have the numerical advantage, and he didn't know the strength of the guy who had suddenly appeared. It would be disastrous to be trapped on someone else's turf.

Uchiha Gen could have stopped them, but there was no need, and he didn't want to be trapped here either.

Watching Uchiha Gen's back as he fled behind Itachi, Sasuke suddenly shouted, "Uchiha Gen?!"

Uchiha Gen didn't stop, but the corners of his mouth beneath the mask curled upward.

Naruto hurried over to check on Sasuke. Seeing that he was fine, he patted his chest. "You scared me to death. I'm glad you're okay."

"...Idiot."

"You actually called me an idiot? I was worried about you, you know!" Naruto said, feeling a bit angry.

"...Thank you."

"...? What did you say? I didn't hear you, say it again." Naruto realized what happened; this was a rare moment, so he pretended not to hear.

"..." Sasuke's eye twitched. As expected, he shouldn't be polite to Naruto.

Seeing that he couldn't stop them, Jiraiya sealed the black flames that had breached the Iwayado throat. He would have to apologize to the Iwayado toad later. Once finished, he walked over to Sasuke. "You said that person was Uchiha Gen? Uchiha Gen ran away?"

Sasuke nodded. "Actually, I'm not sure if it was him. I just shouted it out instinctively."

Jiraiya pondered. How did that person appear earlier? Even he hadn't seen or sensed it clearly. Did Uchiha Gen have that kind of strength?

But if it wasn't him, how did he escape right under the noses of Kakashi and Sasuke while his chakra was sealed, his hands bound, and he was unable to weave signs?

Should he have learned Naruto's binding method after all? The moment he changed the binding, the guy vanished; he had been perfectly fine when wrapped up like a rice dumpling before.

Hiding in the distance, Uchiha Gen suddenly felt an inexplicable chill.

Kisame saw Uchiha Gen escape as well, running in a different direction. "That guy doesn't seem to be from Konoha either. So, did we just run into a bunch of lunatics?"

"..." Itachi didn't answer, his mood heavy. He had cast a genjutsu on that person earlier—though not Tsukuyomi—but it had been completely useless.

Generally, the only people capable of causing such a situation are those who also possess the Mangekyō Sharingan. Is it Uchiha Madara? No, that can't be right—could there be someone else who escaped the night of the clan's annihilation?! Regardless of who it is, it is fortunate that he harbors no ill will toward Sasuke.

I will have White Zetsu investigate this later...

After leaving that place and running to a more distant village, Uchiha Gen used the Transformation Technique to take on the appearance of a passerby, intending to earn 10 million ryō first.

My current appearance will likely be made public once Naruto and the others return.

Uchiha Gen needs a new persona. Besides, Nagato has always been hiding behind the scenes and has never shown himself, so there shouldn't be any problem using that skin.

Thinking of this, Uchiha Gen stopped in his tracks and looked up; he had arrived at his destination... hanging above the building was a sign with the character for "Gambling."

On this day, major gambling dens were all swindled by some kid who had appeared out of nowhere. Those who suspected him of cheating and tried to teach him a lesson were, without exception, sent flying with a single blow.