Homecoming; There Are Gaps Even Between Sharingan

Sasuke raised his head and said seriously:

"Got it."

"Where are you right now? How should I contact you?"

Aoike smiled faintly. "Work hard on improving your strength. When the time comes, we'll meet again."

Then, without giving him another chance to ask, the Shadow Clone dispelled itself.

Sasuke gripped the scroll tightly. Companions on the road of revenge were different from companions from Konoha.

The latter were more like they were playing a game of ninja house. They couldn't help him with his goal at all, and might even run counter to it.

He could defect from the village for the sake of his objective, while Naruto and the others would come to stop him and get in his way.

Bonds, love, friendship... all of it was meaningless before his resolve for revenge.

Meanwhile, in the Hyuga clan compound.

The precise, solemn machine of days past was now reduced to screws scattered all over the ground.

Unlike the Uchiha massacre, the honest civilians of the Hyuga had not been implicated. Only seventy to eighty percent of their ninja had been killed, so they still had the ability to make a comeback.

After comforting Hinata and Hanabi, Hyuga Hiashi turned and continued working.

The funerals for the dead, the tallying and repair of their losses this time, plans for future development—each matter had to be resolved one by one.

The difference was that from now on, the Hyuga would finally no longer have something as harmful to others and beneficial to themselves as the Caged Bird Seal.

The protection of the Byakugan still required a seal. The Hyuga could not yet develop a new seal on their own, so they would have to cooperate with the village.

Back then, when Uzushio Village was destroyed, its sealing techniques had been divided up by the other ninja villages. But if one were to speak of who was the best at sealing techniques now, it still had to be Konoha. After all, their princess had married Hashirama.

Now that Danzo, the scapegoat, was gone, there was no need to worry about anyone causing trouble either.

In a moment of dazed distraction, he thought again of his daughter's attitude toward Aoike, and his heart clenched.

At this moment, Aoike was still searching everywhere for traces of the White Zetsu army.

White Zetsu had always been secretive. Without clues to guide him, it was very difficult to find their location. Aoike had used the Tenseigan to scan for many days in a row, but he had not found a single trace.

Even so, Aoike could not approach Obito and Zetsu to search. The two of them could be called the mysterious figures of the Ninja World.

One possessed the Kamui Dimension and came and went without a trace; the other could sink into the earth, its underground stealth technique unmatched in the Ninja World.

If they noticed that he had designs on their family assets, they would definitely transfer those assets away. At that point, Aoike would truly have no tears left to cry.

So Aoike used missions as an excuse to travel the Ninja World, while also continuing to polish his Fire Release.

Possessing the Uchiha bloodline limit, his attainments in Fire Release were extremely high. Among the attributes he possessed, it went fire > wind > lightning > (unenhanced by the Mangekyō) > earth.

While Aoike continued to wander around, two people wearing black robes patterned with red clouds entered Konoha without obstruction.

The ninja assigned to keep watch were taken down by the Sharingan in a single exchange, without even a chance to send out information.

Of Aoike's Mangekyō Sharingan, one eye was Devouring (functional), and the other was Lightning Control (ninjutsu enhancement).

Uchiha Itachi's, meanwhile, were genjutsu and flames.

Both of Obito's were space-time.

Both of Shisui's were genjutsu.

The Mangekyō Sharingan was the eye of the heart. Each person's wish at the moment they awakened their eyes would be reflected in those eyes.

Itachi's genjutsu at this moment undoubtedly stood above everyone else's.

And so, Kurenai Yuhi, who had attempted to overpower Itachi in genjutsu, was countered instead.

The two sides faced off beside the lake. As the kunai in Itachi's hand stabbed toward Kurenai, he still could not help praising her.

To dare use genjutsu before the Sharingan, and still break free in time after being countered by him—both her courage and her mastery of genjutsu were worthy of his praise.

Kurenai took it only as provocation, and she and Asuma braced themselves.

Thud, thud, thud.

Three scattered shuriken nailed into the trees. With a clean Substitution Technique, Itachi made Kakashi's attack miss.

"Kakashi, why are you here?"

"I was worried about you, so I came to take a look."

Kakashi guarded warily against Itachi's Sharingan.

At that critical moment that day, he had activated the dormant Mangekyō, only to unexpectedly drain his own chakra dry all at once.

He guessed it was because that was the first time he had used that eye technique, and he had not been able to withstand it.

Itachi merely glanced at him coldly and stopped Kisame's movement.

"We only came to find something. There's no need to make a big commotion. Your purpose in coming to Konoha wasn't to get injured."

"Oh," Kisame said, interest piqued. "Mr. Itachi thinks he can hurt us?"

"Copy Ninja Kakashi is still rather famous."

As an undercover agent, Itachi did not want to attack someone from his own village, so he gave Kakashi a suitable bit of praise.

"Heh. Uchiha Itachi and the freak, Kisame Hoshigaki. Is your target Sasuke?"

Kakashi probed for information.

To his surprise, Itachi answered in the simplest, most direct way possible, without beating around the bush at all.

"Our target is the Fourth's legacy."

Kakashi froze for a moment, not expecting Itachi to be so completely unconcealing.

Of course, Itachi had not said everything.

For example, he really did want to take a look at Sasuke, and perhaps exchange some information.

Kisame Hoshigaki, standing off to the side, had not expected Itachi to state it so openly either. Not wanting to take a stance, he could only stand there woodenly.

Itachi had long since realized that Kisame Hoshigaki was there to monitor him. To keep up appearances while also controlling the situation, he looked straight at the three people ahead of him, and his Sharingan also transformed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.

"Not good! Close your eyes!"

Kakashi shouted as he looked into Itachi's eyes.

Out of trust, the other two cooperated fully and squeezed their eyes shut, relying only on instinct to guard against any incoming attack.

"Tsukuyomi."

"Kakashi, there are gaps even between Sharingan."

Itachi's cold voice rang out, and in the blink of an eye, Kakashi was already inside the genjutsu.

"In this space, time and matter are both under my control."

"Without eyes of the same level, you cannot break this ninjutsu."

As he spoke, Itachi drove the blade into Kakashi's body again and again, letting the intense pain torment him.

Using Itachi's hint, Kakashi grasped the key phrase: eyes of the same level.

He kept reminding himself inwardly that this was only a genjutsu, and tried to draw out the power known as the Mangekyō Sharingan.

Itachi marveled at Kakashi's will, then kindly reminded him, "Do not look down on it just because you think it is only a genjutsu. The pain it creates is completely identical to reality."

And so, amid stab after stab of pain—

Kakashi in the world of Tsukuyomi stood firm as a rock, stubbornly enduring for twenty-four hours before finally digging out the power hidden within his eye once more.

Violent ocular power swept through the Tsukuyomi space, and Itachi, completely unprepared, suffered an instant backlash.

This was also because Itachi had been careless.

Kakashi had, without a doubt, more or less pinched together an instant detonation.

In the real world, Kisame, who had been watching, only felt that Itachi had glared at Kakashi once, and then both of them dropped to their knees on the water. This went a little beyond his expectations.

He could not help glancing at Itachi, thinking to himself, Mr. Itachi isn't putting on an act for me, is he?

Uchiha Itachi, who had never made a mistake before, had slipped up for the first time. Could this Kakashi really be that strong?