Clues of the Totsuka Blade
The moonlight remained bright, and the stench of blood from the duel seemed to have been somewhat dissipated by the night breeze.
After a moment of silence, Kou turned to look at Orochimaru Shadow Clone that was still standing there, and commanded in a deep voice:
"You shall immediately travel to the Land of Lightning and create several disturbances at the border, fabricating the illusion of recent activity in the Land of Lightning."
"No need to be too conspicuous; just make sure Akatsuki's intelligence network notices it."
Orochimaru's Shadow Clone nodded, its pale face devoid of any other expression.
The next instant, his figure vanished silently from the spot.
Kou watched quietly as Orochimaru's figure disappeared from the spot, heading towards the northeast corner of the continent.
That place is the Land of Lightning.
In that distant land, there are two places he must see for himself.
... Those two sites are suspected to be the tombs of the reincarnations of the previous Indra.
Thinking of the information about those two tombs, Kou's heart grew heavier.
One of the tombs dates back to an extremely ancient period, even before the Warring States Period officially began and before the Uchiha Clan truly rose to power.
That is the resting place of an Uchiha ancestor.
Because the era is so distant, there is almost no record of that ancestor in the history of the Uchiha Clan.
Even Orochimaru, a "giant" in the archaeological world of the Ninja World, only stumbled upon a vague clue to the tomb many years ago while excavating an unknown Senju Clan tomb...
He went through these scattered pieces of information in his mind again, and finally shook his head slowly, temporarily putting aside his speculation about the first tomb.
Practice is the sole method for testing truth.
Once I personally set foot on that land and pry open the door to that tomb, everything will become clear!
With that thought, Kou pulled his attention away from the first tomb and turned it to the second tomb, the one that concerned him most...
Kou's gaze turned serious at that moment.
Unlike that ancestor who lived in an era so distant that almost no useful information can be found, that Uchiha Clan elder from the mid -Warring States Period was much more famous.
Because that senior was the first person recorded in the official history of the Uchiha Clan to awaken Susanoo!
But what Kou was concerned about was not the glorious military achievements of that ancestor, which were written in great detail in the family history books.
It wasn't even his Uchiha Fugaku lineage.
His focus was on that senior's Susanoo —or more precisely, on the Susanoo's accompanying artifact!
Thinking of this, the image of a man he loathed involuntarily surfaced in Kou's mind.
Uchiha... Itachi!
According to the historical records of the Uchiha Clan, the ancestor from the mid- Warring States Period possessed a sword as the accompanying divine weapon of his Susanoo.
That sword is renowned even in the Ninja World today.
One of the three legendary Kusanagi Sword, the sealed sword— the Totsuka Blade!
Thinking of that divine weapon, which Uchiha Itachi regarded as one of his strongest trump cards in the original timeline, Kou's eyes became slightly solemn.
Uchiha Itachi has only recently awakened his Mangekyō Sharingan, and according to the timeline, he should not have obtained that divine weapon yet.
The problem is that, as the rightful wielder of the Totsuka Blade in the original timeline, Uchiha Itachi obtained the Totsuka Blade Orochimaru before Totsuka Blade, who had been searching for clues about it.
His source of information was Orochimaru.
In other words, if you want to obtain accurate information about the Totsuka Blade, following Uchiha Itachi, the "real owner," might yield unexpected results.
This was the real reason why he accepted the suggestion from the prisoner to team up with Uchiha Itachi.
Thinking of this, an uncontrollable restlessness welled up in his chest.
Honestly, I really don't want to be around that guy...
But in order to prevent the Uchiha Chu on that divine weapon, he had no choice but to endure some hardship.
He sighed deeply in his heart, but then a thought flashed through his eyes.
If I really find clues about the Totsuka Blade, wouldn't it be easy to just kill Uchiha Itachi on the grounds that he harmed his comrades while trying to steal the treasure?
Anyway, that son of a bitch created a persona for himself that was willing to slaughter his entire clan for power. To others, doing something like that is perfectly normal, and there's no need to defend him!
But if I were to actually do that, my true strength would probably be exposed...
Thinking of this, the slight upturn of his lips instantly crumbled.
Leaving aside the fact that I don't yet have the full confidence to deal with Kotoamatsukami, which is capable of permanently altering the will of Kotoamatsukami, in Uchiha Itachi's possession.
The chain reaction triggered by the exposure of his own strength after killing Itachi was something he didn't want to see.
With a deep sense of regret, he suppressed the tempting idea for the time being, and took one last look at the bright, full moon overhead.
The silvery light fell silently on his slightly furrowed brows, illuminating the dark pupils in his eyes that were simultaneously filled with calmness and killing intent.
The next instant, Kou's figure vanished from the spot.
Orochimaru silently cleaned up the remains of the last few corpses on the battlefield, and then left.
The ruins finally fell completely silent, leaving only the blood-soaked stone slabs slowly drying in the moonlight...
Meanwhile, at an inn on the border of the Land of Fire.
Uchiha Itachi sat alone at the low table in the room.
The light flickered briefly in his calm, almost icy black eyes before fading into silence.
He slowly placed the letter on the table, his fingertips trembling slightly.
After a moment, he picked up the paper again and read it from beginning to end once more.
Every word tells him an unbelievable truth.
"Danzo... has actually defected."
An unconcealable shock surfaced in Itachi's usually calm and collected eyes:
What exactly happened in the village?
He frowned slightly and put down the letter in his hand with a heavy heart.
Itachi shifted his gaze from the words to the Land of Fire plains outside the window, shrouded in night.
That direction is towards Konoha, and also towards where Sasuke is.
"Sasuke, how are you now?"
He silently recited the name of his only remaining relative in the world, and a deep, unspeakable worry welled up within him.
Danzo is no longer in Konoha.
For someone who was worried about Sasuke's safety, this was undoubtedly good news.
This means that Sasuke is at least absolutely safe in the village, and even after my death, I don't need to worry about Sasuke's safety in Konoha.
It was clearly good news, but Itachi's dark eyes were filled with deep worry.
Because he knew very well that Danzo's defection meant more than just the removal of one enemy who threatened Sasuke.
This also signifies a dramatic and unpredictable shift in Konoha's power structure, one that was completely unexpected and beyond his control!
Those foolproof plans I had envisioned in my mind all seemed to have unexpected cracks due to the appearance of this variable...
As for what kind of outcome these cracks will lead to, he can no longer be sure.
With that thought in mind, Itachi suppressed the turbulent thoughts in his heart and turned his gaze away from the window.
Although he has only recently joined the Akatsuki and cannot act too conspicuously yet, there are some things he must personally confirm regarding the upcoming plans!
Itachi instinctively clenched his fists, muttering to himself:
"It seems I must find an opportunity to return to Konoha."
Just as Itachi was lost in thought, a familiar Chakra fluctuation suddenly emanated from the crimson ring on the finger of his right hand.
Itachi lowered his head and looked at the ring on his finger with the word "zhu" engraved on it.
The red light on the ring face was slowly flowing, staining his knuckles a deep red in the dim room.
In that instant, his gaze regained its calm and sharpness:
"This communication is from... Pain!"
(Next up is the storyline involving Hatake Sakumo, Asuma, Itachi, and the main character. There will be some unofficial history of the Ninja World interspersed in the story, and we will try to integrate the side stories into the main storyline.)