Mission Complete

After watching Itachi dispose of the corpse, Juzo's expression grew somewhat complicated. He looked as if he wanted to ask something, yet did not know how to begin.

"How did you figure it out?"

Watching Itachi fiddle with the skin mask, Juzo spoke calmly.

His tone was flat, so he would not seem quite so dumb.

"Didn't I tell you?"

Juzo's question left Itachi a little baffled.

"Explain it more clearly. I'm a little curious..."

Seeing Itachi like this, Juzo said irritably.

"It was simple. Luck. Once I suspected him, he was guilty."

Itachi tossed the scroll containing the head to Juzo and spoke seriously.

"You only suspected him? Then you tricked him into revealing himself?"

Hearing Itachi's words, Juzo became even more confused.

They had originally planned to chase after that villager, but before they had gone far, Itachi had turned back.

That move left him completely at a loss.

"More or less. I hadn't suspected him at first. I simply sensed that the person who went to report us had acted somewhat irrationally."

"So I overturned every assumption and put myself in his place."

"If I were him, what would I do?"

"What was irrational about it? Didn't he leave in quite a hurry? He looked just like a servant running off to report something."

Juzo's eyes went blank. For the first time, he felt that his brain was not quite enough.

"The moment we left, I realized it was already close to dusk. Wouldn't it have made more sense to report us at night, when everything was quiet? Besides, this small village was already so secluded. There was no need to run up the mountain and live like a wild man..."

Itachi entered the house, intending to see whether there were any other spoils, and sensed Juzo following him in.

Since there was nothing else to do, he explained quietly.

"And then..."

Juzo continued pressing him, his curiosity overflowing like that of an old auntie.

"So I discarded my earlier line of thought. I thought that if I were him, I would stay in this village and most likely use some method to live here. At that point, I remembered the only burly man in this village who had a courtyard."

"And as a somewhat skilled man, he would definitely think about living comfortably instead of staying in a small wooden hut. Besides, he was wanted by the conglomerates. That was somewhat related too."

"The rest was just hindsight. A few chances of success were enough. After all, before absolute strength, every petty trick can be easily shattered."

As Itachi used his Sharingan to inspect the house, he answered.

"Uh, the more you explain, the more mysterious it sounds. The first part made some sense, but the rest sounds like you were just guessing. No wonder I couldn't figure it out."

Hearing Itachi's explanation, Juzo complained blandly.

Yet the frustration in his heart dissipated considerably. After all, no one wanted to be a fool...

That was the mindset of someone willing to learn.

"Everyone has a different style. You simply haven't found your own way out."

"Given your personality, you are merely used to keeping a low profile. If you truly get annoyed, you would probably use ruthless methods."

Hearing Juzo's words, Itachi did not turn around and merely spoke softly.

"Hehehe, of course. Our organization has lofty goals, but we haven't begun yet, so we need to keep a low profile. I'm simply used to it. If someone really pushes me too far, I'll just kill them all, simple and direct. This village is so remote anyway; no one would discover our identities."

"When the time comes, only that guy would be somewhat strong. Once we started fighting, I would naturally notice anything unusual."

Juzo scratched his hair and gave a foolish grin.

Yet what he said was incomparably ruthless.

But they were rogue ninjas to begin with. Which of them was not ruthless and willing to do anything to achieve their goals?

They only bothered reasoning with others when the other party had some ability, or when they did not particularly want to fight.

Inside the room, Itachi found nothing special and felt rather bored.

After all, the process of searching for treasure was quite enjoyable.

When no treasure was found, boredom naturally followed.

"Are we staying here for the night, or leaving for the bounty exchange tomorrow?"

Seeing Itachi stop, Juzo asked.

"Let's go. We should not disturb this village's peace. Living in the ninja world is already hard enough for ordinary people..."

Itachi looked at the little houses with smoke curling from their chimneys and spoke softly.

"Alright."

Juzo had no objections to Itachi's opinion.

Just as Itachi had said, ordinary people were innocent. Under normal circumstances, there was no need to disturb their peaceful lives.

Of course, that was only if they were not ignorant and did not block their path.

The narrow road was pitted and uneven.

The two walked along it, one ahead of the other.

Juzo was in front, Itachi behind.

Whenever he had time to himself, Sasuke's figure constantly flashed through Itachi's mind.

It was the body's instinct.

Many times, instincts and habits could be fatal.

"Wait for me. It won't be long before I can bring you out to enjoy yourself..."

Remembering how he had once carried Sasuke along Konoha's paths at dusk, Itachi murmured softly.

It added several shades of melancholy to the poetic scenery.

"Kid, what are you good at?"

The two walked on in silence.

Suddenly, Juzo asked quietly.

"What is it?"

Hearing Juzo's question, Itachi was somewhat puzzled.

"Don't misunderstand. I'm only asking so we can have better coordination in future battles."

Hearing the confusion in Itachi's tone, Juzo explained softly.

"It's fine. Just charge in and start cutting. I'll watch your back..."

After considering his own role, Itachi replied quietly.

He was an all-rounder. He possessed five chakra natures: Yin, Yang, Fire, Water, and Wind.

Genjutsu was what he was best at.

His use of concealed weapons was also one of his specialties.

He was slightly weaker in close combat, but with these eyes, aside from encountering someone like Kai, he would not suffer much at anyone else's hands.

He could form hand seals with one hand when casting ninjutsu. Usually, while others were still forming seals, his ninjutsu could already be crashing down on them.

So calling himself an all-rounder was not really wrong.

But Itachi had no intention of showing off and remained thoroughly low-key.

Night soon fell.

Having completed their mission, the two had no intention of traveling through the night. Instead, they found a place and prepared to rest properly for the evening.

Naturally, they would sleep in shifts.

One would take the first watch, and the other the second.

Juzo sat beside the campfire, watching the flames blaze within it, occasionally crackling sharply.

Now and then, the sounds of birds and beasts came from the surroundings.

He was taking the first watch. Itachi leaned against a nearby tree, closed his eyes, and rested to recover his strength.

Before long, faint snores appeared beneath the night sky.

Itachi's snoring drew Juzo's attention.

Looking at Itachi's youthful face and small body,

Juzo's expression softened somewhat.

The fact that Itachi could fall asleep so quickly meant he was not on guard against Juzo and trusted him deeply.

And being trusted by someone was quite a good feeling.

It was a high form of recognition—and of being needed...