A flash of steel glinted in Itachi's eyes.
In an instant!
The two charged at each other!
Their figures collided.
Their Mangekyo stared each other down.
Chuan Yu drew his long blade and slashed swiftly.
Itachi hurriedly retreated.
At the same time, he threw out several shuriken.
"Fire Style! Hōsenka Tsume Akai!"
Flames hidden among the shuriken suddenly burst forth.
Chuan Yu stood motionless, instantly riddled with holes.
But soon,
he scattered into a swarm of crows.
The genjutsu took effect, and Chuan Yu's figure appeared again and again around Itachi.
Even when struck,
it was only a crow's disguise.
"Are you planning to hide forever?!"
Itachi, who had been watching his surroundings, suddenly locked onto a direction.
"Amaterasu!"
Blood immediately seeped from the corners of Itachi's eyes.
The next second, a green Susanoo rose into the sky, brandishing its Spiral Sword.
Chuan Yu tilted his head slightly and looked at the layer of black flames covering the Susanoo.
It seemed Itachi was getting serious.
"Sword Over Flame!"
The Spiral Sword in the Susanoo's hand was instantly engulfed in flames.
The moment Chuan Yu stepped forward,
the Spiral Sword spun rapidly through the air.
The air rippled from the force.
Itachi looked at Chuan Yu and frowned.
"Ah!!!!"
Chuan Yu roared as he thrust at Itachi.
Just as he neared Itachi, an orange-red Susanoo appeared over his body.
It swung both arms.
The Susanoo's hands clamped down on the Spiral Sword in Chuan Yu's Susanoo.
Although Itachi's Susanoo was incomplete,
its strength was still a cut above Chuan Yu's.
The moment the two Susanoo clashed,
a deafening roar echoed outside the cave.
The entire surrounding area shook.
"You really have surprised me."
Itachi smiled faintly and withdrew his Susanoo.
Chuan Yu froze.
"There's no point in continuing to fight."
"Congratulations. You're now a member of Akatsuki."
A cold face.
A perfunctory reply.
Chuan Yu suddenly felt a pang of disappointment.
Watching Itachi walk out of the cave, Chuan Yu suddenly called after him.
"Why did you attack the Hyuga?"
As a transmigrator, Chuan Yu naturally knew what kind of person Itachi was.
By rights, with the Uchiha still alive, Itachi shouldn't have decided to defect from Konoha.
In the original story, the Uchiha clan's plans for a coup could not be changed.
Konoha initiated the Uchiha Clan Massacre.
To protect Sasuke, Itachi was forced to strike first and wipe out his clan, setting himself on an irreversible path.
At the same time, he joined Akatsuki as a spy.
So the Uchiha hadn't been wiped out, and Sasuke was at least still living a normal life. That part made sense.
But Chuan Yu couldn't understand why the Uchiha had been spared, while Itachi had wiped out the Hyuga.
There had to be a reason behind it.
Itachi stopped, his back to Chuan Yu, but still said nothing.
He felt around inside his clothes, then tossed something to Chuan Yu.
At that moment, Chuan Yu understood. His eyes gradually grew moist.
Just like in the original story,
Itachi must have taken on some mission again...
But one thing was certain.
Itachi had never changed.
Chuan Yu slowly opened his right hand. An Uchiha clan crest lay quietly in his palm.
Gradually, Chuan Yu looked at Itachi's back and smiled.
Outside the cave,
Konan and the others were still waiting.
When Itachi and Chuan Yu emerged together, they all let out a breath of relief.
"Starting today, you're a member of Akatsuki."
"You'll be teamed up with Karin."
"Looking forward to working with you."
Konan walked up to Chuan Yu and held out her right hand.
Chuan Yu took it.
Oh! So soft!
"Come with me to Konoha."
Itachi suddenly spoke from beside them.
Chuan Yu paused, then turned to look at Konan.
Konan's brows knitted slightly, perplexed.
"What's going on with you brothers?"
Itachi suddenly looked toward a distant mountain.
"We're going after the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto."
"Then what about me?"
Kisame felt a pang of sorrow.
Could teammates really be swapped out just like that?
After all, I even held an umbrella for you.
"You'll team up with Karin for now and assist Konan with her mission."
"Chuan Yu and I have some other business to take care of."
Kisame glanced sidelong at Karin, then clicked his tongue in disdain.
"You're still making that noise?"
"Look at you, all big and burly! You look like a fish!"
"One of these days, someone's going to pin you to the ground and beat you senseless!"
The two of them were at odds.
Chuan Yu helplessly held his head.
Fortunately, Karin was very obedient.
And Kisame gave in to Itachi.
After changing into a black cloak patterned with red clouds,
and putting on the bell-trimmed hood, Chuan Yu took the ring Konan had prepared for him earlier.
He was ready.
Unlike the others,
the rings on Chuan Yu and Karin's fingers bore the characters for "Heaven" and "Earth."
Konan had clearly put a lot of thought into it.
Jingle~
As the bells rang, sand swept across the sky.
The two set off for Konoha, one following the other.
But just then,
Chuan Yu suddenly noticed a new name on his Favorability System.
[KONAN: 100 favorability points.] [Hidan: 10 favorability points.] [Kakuzu: 5 favorability points.] [Mei Terumi: 200 favorability points.] [Itachi Uchiha: 500 favorability points.]
Chuan Yu froze.
Itachi's favorability toward him was actually 500?!
That meant Itachi's earlier attack on him and his defection from Konoha might have all been an act!
What puzzled Chuan Yu was that Mei Terumi, that Scorpion Beauty who wanted him dead, still had 200 favorability points for him.
What kind of bizarre situation was this?
[The maximum favorability score is 500 points, representing how important the host is to the other person.] [It varies from person to person. Everyone has a different favorability score. If the other person likes the host, then at 500 points, they'll willingly do anything the host says.] [For example, Karin...](Not the heroine, just an example.) [Developing a relationship with someone who likes the host has a high chance of triggering a system bonus! The reward will be related to that person! The favorability score must first reach 500 points!] [If the bond is friendship or family affection, it means the other person will never betray the host.] [The higher the favorability between the other person and the host, the greater the chance that both will receive system bonuses!] [The host's emotions will also have a very high chance of triggering a special bonus! The reward will be related to the other person!]
"So that's how it works..."
Now Chuan Yu understood.
Mei Terumi liked good men.
And since Chuan Yu had kept his promise, her subconscious had defined him as a good man.
But because Chuan Yu's potential was terrifying, Mei Terumi wanted to kill him.
In short, it was a case of wanting someone you couldn't have. If she couldn't have him, then no one else could be happy either.
The two traveled through the night and finally reached the border of Konoha.
Chuan Yu turned to look at Itachi.
He knew Itachi wasn't really here to capture Naruto.
More than anything, he wanted to see how much Sasuke had grown.
After all, Chuan Yu had been in Konoha before, so Itachi hadn't worried.
Now Hiruzen Sarutobi was dead, and Chuan Yu had also left Konoha.
As his older brother, Itachi still couldn't stop worrying about Sasuke.
But the two of them still had to keep up appearances.
After all, two more tails were following them.
He glanced sideways.
In a stretch of woods, Sasori and Deidara were staring intently at him and Itachi.
It seemed Konan didn't completely trust them after all. She'd even sent people to keep watch.
Interesting...
Well then, Sasuke.
Your older brother's going to have to let you down...
You have to understand: when you get hurt, I feel the pain too...
Before you continue