Sasuke Ran Off After Being Provoked by Itachi!

News of Tsunade's return and her impending appointment as the Fifth Hokage acted like a shot of adrenaline, allowing the traumatized Hidden Leaf Village to regain a little vitality.

The villagers discussed one of the Legendary Sannin, hoping she could lead the village out of the darkness.

But Ling Yue sensed the air before a storm. She knew that Tsunade's return was often accompanied by...

One afternoon several days later, Ling Yue was at the training ground pondering new uses for [Void Threads], trying to use extremely fine thought threads to remotely trigger the simple traps she had set.

Suddenly, a violent chakra surge came from the eastern side of the village, followed by the alarm!

An enemy attack?!

She immediately reeled in her thought threads and sprinted toward the source of the disturbance.

The closer she got, the more she could feel two terrifying chakra signatures that made her heart pound!

This feeling... Akatsuki!

Alarm bells rang in Ling Yue's head, and she sped up even more.

By the time she arrived, the battle appeared to be nearing its end.

The scene was a complete mess. Kakashi lay on the ground, seemingly badly injured.

Asuma and Kurenai were panting heavily, while Naruto sat slumped on the ground with a terrified expression.

Standing across from them were two figures in black cloaks patterned with red clouds.

It really was them! Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki!

Ling Yue could not help but tense up. Though she had expected this, seeing the brother who had exterminated his own clan in person and feeling that bottomless, terrifying strength still sent chills through her entire body.

"Oh? Another brat showed up?" Kisame noticed Ling Yue's arrival. With Samehada slung over his shoulder, he studied her with interest. "The Hidden Leaf Village's genin are pretty impressive. None of them are afraid of dying."

Itachi's gaze swept lightly over Ling Yue as well. Those Mangekyo Sharingan showed no emotional fluctuation, as if he were looking at an utterly insignificant object.

Her [Root] state instinctively rose to its limit, [Paper Arts] operating at full force as her body tensed to the extreme. Under that gaze, it felt as though even her soul had been seen through!

"The target is the jinchuriki. Do not create unnecessary complications," Itachi said calmly, his voice utterly flat.

"Got it~" Kisame chuckled, sounding somewhat regretful.

"Uchiha... Itachi!!!"

At that moment, a roar filled with extreme fury, pain, and hatred came from behind them!

Sasuke! He was here!

Ling Yue turned back in surprise and saw Sasuke charging over. His eyes had long since turned into scarlet two-tomoe Sharingan, fixed viciously on Itachi. His entire body trembled violently, and even the cursed seal Kakashi had placed on him was faintly heating up from his emotional turmoil, black markings emerging across his skin!

"Oh? My foolish little brother." At last, Itachi shifted his gaze away from Ling Yue and onto Sasuke. His tone remained calm, even carrying a trace of... indifference. "You've grown up, but you're still this weak."

"I'll kill you!!!" Sasuke completely lost his mind and formed hand seals without hesitation. "Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu!"

A massive fireball roared toward Itachi!

Yet Itachi did not even move. He merely raised a hand slightly.

"Mirror Heaven and Earth Change."

The fireball Sasuke had launched instantly reversed direction and blasted back at him even faster!

"What?!" Sasuke could not comprehend it at all!

His own jutsu blew him away, and he crashed heavily to the ground in a miserable state.

"Tch, that was pathetic, Mr. Itachi. Is that all your little brother can do?" Kisame mocked from the side.

Sasuke struggled to his feet, his Sharingan spinning wildly as he charged again, driving a kunai straight at Itachi's heart!

Itachi merely shifted slightly aside, easily avoiding the strike before chopping the back of Sasuke's neck with a precise hand strike.

Sasuke groaned and fell face-first to the ground, yet stubbornly tried to rise again.

"Why... why did you do it?! You killed Father! You killed Mother! You killed the entire clan!!" Sasuke's voice cracked with tears and heartrending pain.

Itachi looked down at him, his eyes cold and cruel. "To measure my capacity. Just as now, the reason I do not kill you is because you possess value that I need to measure."

"Your so-called capacity... is slaughtering your own family?!" Sasuke roared and lunged again, only for Itachi to easily seize him by the throat and lift him into the air.

"Foolish. Hate me. Resent me. Then cling to life in ugly desperation." Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan slowly rotated.

"Tsukuyomi."

Sasuke's eyes instantly lost focus, plunging him into the seventy-two hours of mental torture created by Itachi. He let out a desperate scream, his body convulsing violently.

"Sasuke!" Ling Yue's heart lurched as she instinctively tried to rush forward.

"Don't move around, little girl." Kisame's Samehada blocked her way, carrying a teasing killing intent.

Kakashi struggled to save Sasuke, but Itachi forced him back with a single glare. Cold sweat poured down Kakashi's face, and he could not move at all.

Absolute domination! A dimensional gap in power!

Ling Yue felt a profound sense of helplessness.

Was this the strength of a Kage-level powerhouse? She did not even have the right to interfere!

Just then, Jiraiya finally arrived! His powerful presence instantly shattered the stagnant atmosphere.

"Oh? Lord Jiraiya? What a troublesome person." Itachi apparently had no desire to fight head-on. He casually threw Sasuke, who was trapped in Tsukuyomi and nearly mentally broken, onto the ground like discarded trash.

"The mission comes first. Retreat," he said flatly, before his and Kisame's figures slowly sank into warped space and vanished.

The oppressive feeling abruptly disappeared.

Ling Yue immediately rushed to Sasuke's side.

He was curled up on the ground, his eyes vacant and his body constantly twitching. He unconsciously muttered, "Don't... kill..." Clearly, he was still immersed in Tsukuyomi's horror.

"Sasuke! Sasuke!" Ling Yue tried to envelop him in the gentle white light of [Healing Arts], attempting to soothe his wounded mind.

The energy of [Healing Arts] seemed to have some effect. Sasuke's convulsions eased slightly, but his eyes remained hollow and despairing.

Kakashi, Asuma, and the others gathered around as well, their expressions all extremely grim.

"Tsukuyomi... Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyo dojutsu... an absolute attack on the mental level..." Seeing Sasuke's condition, Kakashi's eyes were filled with worry and helplessness.

The medical team soon arrived and carried both Sasuke and Kakashi back to the hospital.

Ling Yue followed them to the hospital as well. Sasuke was given a sedative and fell into a deep sleep, but his brows remained tightly furrowed, as though he were still struggling within a nightmare.

Ling Yue sat on a bench outside the ward, her heart heavy.

She knew that after this blow, Sasuke's determination to defect would likely never waver again.

Itachi's appearance was like a precise key, completely unlocking Pandora's box of hatred and power within his heart.

Sure enough, over the next few days, Sasuke became even more gloomy and silent.

He refused visits from anyone, including Sakura and Ling Yue. He only trained like mad, overexerting himself again and again, as though self-torment could make him forget that bone-deep humiliation and helplessness.

Ling Yue found Sasuke on the hospital rooftop, standing alone and staring into the distance. His back looked especially lonely and resolute.

"Sasuke," Ling Yue said softly.

Sasuke did not turn around. His voice was hoarse and cold. "What is it?"

"Are you... okay?"

"Okay? After seeing me like that, do you think I could possibly be okay?"

He turned around. His Sharingan were bloodshot, filled with obsession and madness. "Did you see it? That kind of power! Before him, I was like an insect he could crush to death at any moment! All my efforts over the years, all my hatred, were nothing but a joke in his eyes!"

"That wasn't your fault. Itachi, he..."

"Shut up!" Sasuke cut her off with a low roar, his gaze becoming extremely dangerous. "What do you understand?! You understand nothing! With those eyes, he's a real monster! If I want power capable of defeating him, then it's absolutely impossible to get it by staying in a place like the Hidden Leaf Village!"

Ling Yue looked at him, so close to losing himself completely, and knew that nothing she said would matter.

Hatred and Itachi's "guidance" had already pushed him completely into the abyss.

After a moment of silence, she slowly said, "There are... many paths to strength. Don't choose the one that will destroy you."

Sasuke stared at her intently. After a long while, he suddenly said coldly, "Those threads of yours... are interesting. But they're not enough. Not nearly enough."

After saying that, he ignored Ling Yue and turned away, his departing back resolute.

Ling Yue watched him leave and sighed. What was meant to come had come after all.

A few days later, news arrived that Sasuke had injured Sakura and Naruto, who had gone to stop him, and defected from the Hidden Leaf Village.

The Hidden Leaf Village's upper ranks were shaken and immediately organized a pursuit squad. Shikamaru was assigned as captain, with Naruto, Kiba, Neji, Choji, and... Ling Yue as members.

"Team 7's Ling Yue requests to join the pursuit squad!" Ling Yue stood at the mission desk, her tone firm.

The jonin responsible for assigning missions glanced at her and nodded. "Approved. Assemble at the village gate immediately!"

Ling Yue turned and hurried toward the village gate.

She knew she might not be able to change anything, but she had to go.

At the very least, she needed to see his choice with her own eyes. And she also needed to... try to sever certain ties that should not exist.

The system panel quietly appeared.

[New mission issued: Participate in the pursuit of Sasuke Uchiha.]

[Mission requirement: Prevent Sasuke from leaving if possible, or obtain critical intelligence.]

[Mission reward: Settled according to completion.]

[Failure penalty: None.]

At the village gate, the pursuit squad had already assembled.

Shikamaru wore a troubled expression. Naruto's face was full of anger and unwillingness. Kiba and Akamaru were restless, Neji remained silent, and Choji quietly ate potato chips.

"Let's go!" Seeing Ling Yue, Shikamaru did not waste any words and waved his hand.

Six figures instantly rushed out through the Hidden Leaf Village gates, speeding in the direction Sasuke had gone.

Carried on the wind came Naruto's pain-filled roar: "Sasuke! You bastard! I'm definitely bringing you back!"

Ling Yue tightened her grip on her kunai as lightning flickered quietly in her eyes.

This time, it was no longer a drill.