The Foolishness of Revenge

In the days after Orochimaru returned, the atmosphere in the hideout was like a coffin sealed shut.

No one spoke unnecessarily, and no one did anything unnecessary. Sakon no longer leaned against wooden posts and whistled. Tayuya's flute had fallen silent. Kidomaru no longer crouched in the eye socket of the snake skull, lost in thought. Even Jirobo ate much more quietly than before.

Because Orochimaru occasionally made sounds.

Not words. Wails.

The sounds came from the secret chamber inside the snake skull, low and restrained, as though something were being forcibly squeezed from the depths of his throat. They were not constant—sometimes two or three times a day, sometimes not at all for an entire day. But every time they rang out, the air in the hideout seemed to freeze a little more.

Everyone knew Orochimaru's arms had been sealed.

Everyone knew what those hands were like now—blackened, heavy, painful at the slightest touch, like two dead snakes hanging from his shoulders. Orochimaru himself forbade anyone from mentioning it, and he allowed no one into the secret chamber. Kabuto alone delivered food and medicine; even Kimimaro was kept outside the door.

No one would choose this time to get on Orochimaru's bad side.

Yunju trained as usual every day, neither disturbing anyone nor being disturbed himself. The hideout's scroll archive was open to him—Orochimaru had said before that he could search for whatever ninjutsu he needed. In a corner, Yunju found a dust-covered scroll bearing four words: Lightning Release: Earth Current.

Earth Current was a C-rank Lightning Release technique. Its principle was to channel Lightning Release chakra into the ground, conducting an electric current through the earth to attack every enemy within range. Its power was not particularly high, but it covered a wide area and was difficult to evade, making it especially suited for enclosed spaces or complex terrain.

When Yunju looked at the technique, his first thought was not How do I use this? but How can I combine it with Mud Release?

Mud Release: Sinking Domain left sludge and muddy water across the ground. Sludge conducted electricity.

He kept that idea in mind and began practicing Earth Current. He already had a foundation in Lightning Release, and the chakra conversion methods of Quick Flash and Earth Current had much in common—one converted Lightning Release into light, while the other converted it into electricity. The conversion logic was similar; only the output differed.

Two days later, Yunju formed hand seals on the training ground and channeled Lightning Release chakra from the soles of his feet into the earth. Arcs of electricity spread across the ground like a glowing spiderweb. At the same time, his other hand maintained a partial Mud Release form. As the current passed through the sludge, it hissed and crackled, while tiny bubbles rose across the muddy water's surface.

The effect was far stronger than Earth Current alone.

Yunju withdrew his chakra and memorized the combination. Sludge slowed them down, electricity dealt the damage—anyone who stepped into the Sinking Domain would either be stuck and unable to move, or shocked until they could not move.

Another massive enhancement.

Over the next week, Yunju spent most of his time on the Body Flicker Technique. It was a weakness he had long wanted to address. His battle with Neji had already exposed the problem—he was not fast enough. If not for the unexpected nature of Quick Flash, he would never have been able to touch Neji. No matter how powerful a ninjutsu was, if it could not hit the target, it was worthless.

The principle of the Body Flicker Technique was simple: use chakra to instantly strengthen the leg muscles, then combine it with the body's explosive force to achieve high-speed movement over short distances. The difficult part was not the principle, but precision and frequency. Too fast, and he would crash into a wall; too slow, and it was meaningless. Repeated use burdened the legs and consumed a great deal of chakra.

Every day, Yunju repeated the same motion on the training ground—flickering from one end of the field to the other, immediately turning around, then flickering back. Sakon glanced over when he passed by, muttered, "Maniac," and left. Kidomaru watched from afar atop the snake skull without saying a word.

"This is probably about as fast as an ordinary jonin's Body Flicker."

Yunju wiped the sweat from his forehead. He did not celebrate, nor did he rest. He walked to the edge of the training ground, picked up his canteen, took a sip, then set it down.

Everything was preparation for freedom.

Leaf Village, hospital.

Kakashi Hatake lay in a hospital bed, staring blankly at the ceiling. His pupils were unfocused, surrounded by an unnatural red ring, as though something had burned from within. Asuma Sarutobi and Kurenai stood on either side of the bed, their expressions grave. Neither spoke.

Three days earlier, Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki had infiltrated Konoha.

Their target—the Nine-Tails jinchuriki, Naruto Uzumaki.

A single Tsukuyomi from Itachi Uchiha had sent Kakashi into unconsciousness and left him injured.

When Kakashi fell, Might Guy caught him. Itachi and Kisame did not linger to fight. Their target was not Konoha's jonin—it was Naruto.

The news spread quickly. Konoha's shinobi all learned that Itachi Uchiha had returned. The S-rank rogue ninja who had slaughtered his entire clan and joined Akatsuki had returned. Sasuke Uchiha learned soon afterward as well. He did not hear the entire conversation, only the key words: Itachi Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake, Tsukuyomi, mental collapse, unconsciousness.

He did not listen to the rest. He simply turned and left.

He did not run or shout. His face showed no expression. But his hands were trembling, and so was his entire body.

Where was Naruto now? Jiraiya had taken him away to train. Itachi's target was Naruto. Find Naruto, and he would find Itachi.

A hot spring town, an inn.

Two figures appeared at the end of the corridor.

One wore a black robe patterned with red clouds and carried a bandage-wrapped greatsword on his back. He had a shark-like face and dark blue skin. The other wore the same black robe with red clouds. His features were handsome, faint lines marked the space between his brows, and long black hair fell behind his shoulders.

Itachi Uchiha. Kisame Hoshigaki.

They stopped before the door and knocked.

Naruto was inside the room, cultivating his chakra.

"I'm coming!" Thinking Jiraiya had returned, Naruto eagerly went to open the door, only to find a pair of Sharingan staring at him.

Itachi looked at Naruto without speaking. Kisame took the greatsword from his back and rested it on the floor.

"Nine-Tails, we finally meet."

Naruto gritted his teeth and formed hand seals—

"Multi Shadow Clone Jutsu—!"

Before the smoke had even cleared, a figure flipped in through a window at the other end of the corridor.

Sasuke.

"Itachi—!"

Sasuke's voice was forced from the deepest part of his throat, hoarse and shrill, like snapping metal wire.

"I'm going to kill you!"

Itachi turned to look at Sasuke, his expression unchanged. The way he looked at Sasuke was the same as it had been seven years ago—calm, almost gentle. That gentleness only enraged Sasuke further.

"I've lived all this time just to kill you!!"

Sasuke charged. Chidori burst to life in his right palm, its piercing chirping echoing through the entire corridor as blinding lightning illuminated every crack in the walls. He poured all his chakra, all his rage, and everything he had accumulated over the past seven years into that strike.

Itachi did not dodge. He raised a hand and caught Chidori barehanded. The lightning exploded in Itachi's palm, then went out, like a crushed firefly.

Sasuke's pupils widened.

Itachi seized Sasuke's wrist with his backhand and twisted hard. The crack of bone breaking was crisp, like a dry branch snapping. Sasuke's mouth fell open, but no sound came out—not because it did not hurt, but because it hurt too much for him to make a sound. Itachi pinned him against the wall, one hand around his throat. The pressure was neither too light nor too heavy, just enough to let him breathe while leaving him unable to move.

"You're too weak."

Itachi's tone was cold. It was not mockery or contempt, but a statement. As though he were saying the weather was nice today, or that the tea was a little hot.

Itachi's pupils changed. Mangekyō Sharingan. The three tomoe rotated, merged, and warped into a pinwheel-shaped pattern.

Tsukuyomi.

Sasuke's world turned red. The sky was red. The ground was red. Itachi stood before him with a blade in hand. That blade pierced Sasuke's body once, twice, ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times—too many to count.

Only a few seconds passed in reality.

Sasuke's body slid down from the wall and collapsed on the corridor floor. His eyes remained open, pupils unfocused, mouth slightly ajar, saliva trailing from the corner of his lips. His body was still breathing, but his consciousness had been shattered into countless fragments. Itachi looked down at him.

"Hate me."

His voice was soft, so soft it seemed meant for himself alone.

"Become stronger."

Kisame stood to one side, watching without a word.

Urgent footsteps sounded from the other end of the corridor. Jiraiya rushed up from the staircase. When he saw Itachi and Kisame at the end of the hall, then Naruto and Sasuke crumpled on the ground, his face instantly darkened.

"Summoning Jutsu!"

Jiraiya wasted no words and directly summoned the Toad Gullet. Huge fleshy walls grew from the walls and floor, writhing and contracting like a living creature as they tried to swallow Itachi and Kisame.

"Amaterasu."

Black bloody tears flowed from Itachi's right eye. Black flames ignited along the fleshy walls of the Toad Gullet. They did not spread, nor did they go out. Even the flesh wall's regeneration could not keep up with the rate at which it burned.

The Toad Gullet was burned through.

Itachi turned away without looking at Sasuke again. Kisame followed behind him, and the two disappeared into the black flames.

Jiraiya did not pursue them. He walked over to Naruto and Sasuke, crouched down, and checked their injuries. Naruto was unharmed, merely frightened. Sasuke—his right wrist had suffered a comminuted fracture, and his mind had sustained severe trauma.

Jiraiya remained silent for a long time.

"We're going back." He carried Sasuke onto his back, had Naruto follow behind him, and left the inn.

The night sky was clear, its stars shining one by one. Jiraiya carried Sasuke down the road back to Konoha. His steps were quick, but steady. Naruto followed behind with his head lowered, never saying a word.