Curious Tales

The scene shifted, and the world before him brightened beneath the blazing sun.

Itachi felt a wave of discomfort wash over his body.

He had already returned to normal, and the overwhelming power that had made him feel in control of everything was gone.

His left eye was exhausted, as though he had watched action movies for dozens of hours straight. Everything he looked at through it was hazy.

The key was that the sensation only affected his left eye, creating a stark contrast between it and his right eye.

It was utterly surreal.

Looking at Akai Sanjin lying on the ground, Itachi shook his head, trying to dispel the discomfort.

But it seemed completely useless.

Seeing that, Itachi did not wait any longer. He took out two kunai from his ninja tool pouch and hurled them at Akai Sanjin on the ground.

When he had eaten lunch, he had absentmindedly stuck his sword into the ground beside him. When he sensed the enemy from the tree, he had not gone back for it.

Instead, he had rushed straight over here.

The scene he had imagined, of his opponent suddenly rising to block the kunai, never happened. His first use of Tsukuyomi had successfully shattered the enemy's mind.

Only then did Itachi feel a little better.

After waiting several seconds without any response, Itachi slowly walked forward.

There was a touch of wild abandon in his steps.

Carefree and composed.

He bent down, pulled out the bloodstained kunai, wiped it on the other man's body, and put it back into his ninja tool pouch.

Then came the tense and exciting treasure-hunting segment.

"One thousand silver taels, seven kunai?"

He searched out all of the man's valuables and set them aside.

Then Itachi picked up the spoils, counted them, and muttered to himself.

His brows quickly furrowed.

The scene fell silent. Itachi froze where he stood, stunned for a moment.

A few seconds later, Itachi felt a gust of cold wind. His body instinctively shuddered several times.

He subconsciously threw the silver and kunai in his hands onto the ground.

"Fuck, that's creepy!"

The scene shifted again. Itachi had vanished from the spot and was now standing atop a tree, bathing in holy sunlight...

"Supreme Lord Lao... Amitabha Buddha..."

Standing in the tree, Itachi hurriedly invoked mighty beings in his heart.

After muttering a few lines, he decided that they might not be reliable in this different world. He sprinted across the treetops and headed back.

"Juzo was the one who killed you, so don't come looking for me..."

Itachi stretched out a delicate finger and pointed at Juzo, who was sound asleep against a tree, babbling endlessly...

The Shadow Clone standing guard on the ground looked strangely at Itachi in the tree.

Itachi's old face reddened slightly, and he hurriedly dismissed the Shadow Clone to destroy the evidence.

That string of actions made the goosebumps in Itachi's heart ease somewhat, but he still had no intention of coming down. He simply continued basking silently in the sunlight.

That was right. Our dear Itachi was afraid of ghosts...

Juzo slept even longer than Itachi had expected. The sunlight Itachi loved gradually sank, and the last rays of sunset were about to fade.

Itachi hurriedly gathered some branches and used the Great Fireball Technique to light a campfire.

Then, unusually, he sat down beside Juzo.

Normally, they maintained at least a meter of distance between them.

This time, less than twenty centimeters separated them...

Feeling the warmth radiating from the fire, Itachi's mood improved considerably.

Juzo still had not woken by the time night fell.

Itachi was growing tired as well, and waves of drowsiness washed over him.

So he summoned four Shadow Clones in succession, had them guard him from all sides, and drifted into a light sleep...

Every detail was covered.

Juzo slowly opened his eyes in the middle of the night, stirred by repeated sensations.

He then discovered four Itachis sitting before the campfire, warming themselves and taking turns talking about things like Sadako and the Pen Fairy.

Another one was sleeping against the tree beside him.

Juzo listened for a while before vaguely understanding what they were talking about.

The four Itachis were so engrossed in the conversation that they failed to notice Juzo watching them from behind.

Juzo had no intention of interrupting them. Naturally, he knew the Shadow Clone Technique.

He had simply realized that Itachi's Shadow Clones seemed rather interesting...

"Are you talking about me..."

Just as the Shadow Clones reached a terrifying part of the story.

The long-prepared Juzo made a ghostly face and suddenly spoke.

"Fuck!"

After a bout of chaos.

Juzo found a tree some distance away and relieved himself happily, whistling a rather cheerful tune.

Meanwhile, Itachi was scolding his Shadow Clones.

The clones' screams had naturally succeeded in waking the lightly sleeping Itachi.

He had not expected the Shadow Clones he summoned to protect himself to be this unreliable...

They were simply even less reliable than the Shadow Clones that fought Naruto over the bathroom.

By the time Juzo returned, Itachi had already dismissed the Shadow Clones.

After reliving the memory of four Shadow Clones telling ghost stories at midnight, his fear of ghosts had also faded.

It was not that he was afraid. He merely held an instinctive reverence for unknown things.

"You use Shadow Clones pretty well, kid."

Having finished relieving himself, Juzo teased him cheerfully.

"Want to learn? Call me big brother, and I'll teach you..."

In response to Juzo's teasing, Itachi answered calmly.

"Uh..." Juzo was speechless after being choked by Itachi's words.

This brat was becoming more and more obnoxious...

Juzo grumbled unhappily in his heart.

But he could not think of any way to counter Itachi's verbal tactics, so he could only complain inwardly.

Juzo's lack of response left Itachi somewhat depressed.

He had wanted to give this sword-bearing guard a few more survival skills. Who would have thought Juzo's skin was so thin?

He had been serious. He did not have the same mentality as others, hoarding even a broken broom as a treasure.

But then he remembered that Juzo could use the Executioner's Blade to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb head-on. Even if he taught him Shadow Clones, it probably would not make much difference...

Seeing Itachi grow drowsy again after chatting for a few lines, Juzo did not suggest continuing their journey.

He merely added branches to the fire in silence and kept watch through the night.

When Itachi woke again, the sky was already bright.

Beside him, Juzo was idly using a kunai and a piece of wood to carve something.

"You're awake?"

Before Itachi could speak, Juzo tucked the carving into his clothes and spoke softly.

Like an emotionless killer.

"Yeah, I'm awake. Another day has passed."

Itachi replied softly, summoning a ball of water to wash up.

"By this evening, we should be more or less back at the organization. Is there anywhere you want to go have some fun?"

Juzo spoke softly, explaining their travel progress.

Although they had dawdled on the way back, their pace on the way here had not been much better. Their pleasant time slacking off was about to end.

"Nowhere I want to go. It's boring."

Itachi deeply despised Juzo's attempt to skip out on work while dragging him along...

"Konoha isn't too far from here. Do you want to go back and take a look?"

Seeing Itachi's indifference, Juzo made the suggestion softly.

"Forget it. I may have a poor sense of direction, but I still know the general area..."

Itachi remained unmoved by Juzo's coaxing.

Konoha was farther away than the organization. Besides, even if he went back, there was nothing he could do. There was no great point to it.

"Is that so..."

Seeing that Itachi would not take the bait, Juzo sighed softly.

To be honest, he did not really want to go back either, but he had no good excuse.

If he could have talked Itachi into it, he would have had a better reason...