Deep in the Forest

Ryosuke lightened his footsteps and slowly made his way into the forest.

He had never ventured this deep into the woods before.

It seemed that his sensory perception had become more acute due to the increase in his chakra limit and spiritual energy.

After cautiously advancing several hundred meters, he finally saw two shadows conversing beneath a towering tree.

One of them was around his age, while the other appeared to be an adult; though his features were obscured, his hair, which reached down to his waist, was remarkably striking.

Ryosuke was startled by the sight.

If he wasn't mistaken, that had to be Itachi and his mysterious mentor, Obito.

He hadn't expected them to be in contact this early on.

It seemed that the unprecedented talent Itachi displayed in his youth must have had a great deal to do with Obito's guidance.

Had he known they were here, Ryosuke wouldn't have come to join in the excitement even if it killed him.

Because once discovered, he might truly be killed.

He was no match for Obito, who had already awakened the Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

He hurriedly hid behind a tree, holding his breath and focusing, intending to wait until they left before he made his own departure.

The forest was deathly quiet; Ryosuke could even hear the sound of his own heartbeat.

He wondered, if he really were to encounter Obito, how could he possibly win?

The Shinigami Template might not be inferior to the regenerative abilities granted by the transplanted cells of Senju Hashirama.

However, the opponent's "Kamui" could suck him into another space-time dimension.

Even if Obito couldn't kill him, he could simply leave him to starve to death inside.

And "Kamui," a bloodline limit ninjutsu that required the Three-Tomoe Sharingan to use—even if the system could record it, his own Two-Tomoe Sharingan would likely be ruined if he attempted to use it.

Lost in these conflicted thoughts, Ryosuke waited for over half an hour.

"They should be gone by now, right?"

Ryosuke turned his head and took a cautious peek in that direction.

Only to find a figure standing right behind him.

"Lightning Release: Sandamurei!"

Startled, Ryosuke retreated rapidly while unleashing the strongest ninjutsu in his arsenal, hoping to buy himself some time.

"Hey, what are you doing here?"

A cold yet youthful voice appeared once more by Ryosuke's side.

"Itachi? It's you."

Ryosuke let out a sigh of relief. He had thought he'd run into Obito.

"I was chasing a rabbit and got lost," Ryosuke said.

"What about you?"

"I'm here to train in ninjutsu."

Itachi coldly tossed out a single sentence before disappearing into the depths of the forest with a few leaps.

"That was close. Curiosity killed the cat; I can't do this again."

Ryosuke wiped away a cold sweat and turned to leave, only to suddenly realize that he was, in fact, truly lost.

"I shouldn't have come here."

Several hours later, the night had deepened.

Ryosuke finally managed to stumble out of the forest.

He was carrying a bear on his back, and his body was covered in wounds.

This forest was simply too dangerous.

Ryosuke built a fire at the edge of the woods and roasted a few pieces of bear meat.

"Today was truly too dangerous. I never expected Obito to have already made contact with Itachi. Calculating the time, Yahiko must have established the Akatsuki by now as well. This world is just too perilous."

After eating a few bites of bear meat, he was so exhausted that he collapsed onto the ground.

Even with the system, my growth rate is still too slow. If I leave the village like this and accidentally run into some big boss, my life might be forfeit.

"Regardless, I should focus on passing the graduation exam first. I'll worry about everything else later."

As Ryosuke thought this over, he actually fell asleep right there on the grass.

Fortunately, the scent of the bear lingered in the area; otherwise, he might have been snatched away by some beast in the forest.

The next day.

Ryosuke was startled awake by dew dripping onto his face.

He glanced at his watch and saw that class time had already passed.

"I might as well not go to school; it's useless anyway."

"How about I go track Itachi? See what he's actually up to?"

Ryosuke suddenly became interested.

Obito's identity was extremely sensitive, so he shouldn't be appearing near the Uchiha compound often.

Yesterday, because he was too nervous, he had almost forgotten that he possessed the skills Sonido and Pesquisa.

Sonido was equivalent to a B-rank ninjutsu, consuming 100 chakra per use.

Pesquisa, however, was equivalent to an A-rank ninjutsu, consuming 300 chakra per use.

As long as he could master these two skills, he shouldn't be discovered by Itachi.

Having made this decision, Ryosuke slipped back into the forest.

He searched for the place where Itachi practiced his ninjutsu while familiarizing himself with Sonido and Pesquisa.

This time, he finally found some clues when his chakra was down to only one thousand.

On several trees surrounding a clearing in the forest, circular targets were placed in various positions.

These targets were covered in shuriken marks.

It seemed Itachi must have been training here.

Ryosuke counted them; there were over a dozen of these targets.

Moreover, several of them were even positioned behind trees.

This made the corner of his mouth twitch.

Was Itachi really this monstrous at nine years old? He was a genius, indeed.

Without the system, he might never have been able to catch up to the other's pace in his entire life.

At this moment, he finally understood Sasuke's feelings.

Ryosuke chose the thickest tree, jumped to the trunk in the middle, and used the branches and leaves to conceal his body.

This way, I shouldn't be discovered, right?

He waited from the morning until the afternoon.

Just as he was becoming drowsy, a figure appeared in the clearing.

"He's here!"

Ryosuke rubbed his eyes and observed Itachi's movements below through the gaps in the leaves.

He saw Itachi holding a kunai in each hand, standing there with his eyes closed.

Then, he suddenly flipped into mid-air, spun his body, and threw all the kunai at once.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish," followed by the sound of kunai hitting their targets.

Ryosuke activated his two-tomoe Sharingan and only barely managed to see the other's movements clearly.

The result was that every single target had a kunai embedded in its center, even the ones behind the trees.

Even though Ryosuke had seen such scenes countless times, none were as shocking as witnessing it in person.

This guy is a damn monster. If not for the Uchiha clan's affairs, Itachi might have been the only candidate for Hokage.

Itachi on the ground, however, was not very satisfied with his training results, as one kunai had actually fallen to the ground.

He then began several more rounds of practice until he finally made no mistakes.

Only then did he turn and vanish from the spot.

"Pesquisa!"

Ryosuke immediately used the skill and quickly locked onto Itachi's location.

"That's the Uchiha Shrine?"

Ryosuke followed behind, unable to help but feel a sense of worry.