Encountering an Enemy Again, Clone Great Explosion

Under the moonlight, a small figure kept running and leaping through the forest and across the tree trunks.

Itachi's gaze gradually changed from curiosity and eagerness to try things into the stillness of an ancient well.

The outside world did not give him enough time to adapt to everything.

So he continuously merged the memories, actively accepting the past of his former self.

Everything his former self had experienced felt as though he had lived through it himself, drawing him deeply in.

"Those little legs sure can run..."

Just as Itachi sensed the enemy and stopped to prepare for battle, a lazy voice sounded from behind him.

Itachi turned around and looked at the enemy who had caught up.

After completely merging Itachi's memories, he knew the enemy before him was from Root.

He knew he did not have much time and had to take the opponent down quickly.

Otherwise, the enemy's reinforcements would soon reach the battlefield.

Looking into Itachi's ancient-well-still eyes,

the pupils beneath the Root operative's mask contracted slightly, and irritation rose in his heart.

What he wanted to see more was the panicked gaze of prey.

Not those calm eyes.

Then he froze. Why had he looked into the boy's eyes?

His opponent was a genius of the Uchiha Clan...

Yet the thing that terrified him did not happen. His mask shielded him.

And Itachi did not immediately cast Genjutsu.

Instead, the hand beneath his long sleeve secretly formed seals.

Seeing Itachi's chest swell slightly, the Root operative became even more contemptuous.

Though disdainful, he still raised his guard somewhat.

Even though he had never believed that this bedraggled little brat was some so-called genius.

It was only because he was the eldest son of the Uchiha clan head that his reputation was so great.

And even if he was supposedly a genius, he was only twelve years old. How strong could he possibly be?

Having experienced the Ninja World War, he was not comparable to flowers raised in a greenhouse.

Itachi raised his fingers slightly and formed a hand seal.

A massive fireball surged from his mouth.

A scorching heat filled the air, and the burning fireball illuminated the night sky.

At the same time, Itachi activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.

The instant the flames collided with the Root operative, Itachi stopped using the Great Fireball Technique.

At some point, a kunai had appeared in his hand, and he stabbed it behind him without hesitation.

The sound of the kunai colliding with a shortsword rang out, accompanied by a flicker of sparks.

Itachi clenched his left fist and blocked the Root operative's powerful kick, sliding several steps backward.

Neither of them wasted a single movement in their attacks.

Clouds covered the playful moonlight, and together with the dense leaves overhead, turned the area pitch-black.

At that moment, Itachi's heart began to burn hot.

He liked this feeling.

This feeling of fighting made every cell in his body seem to brim with vitality.

He was exhilarated.

Yet his eyes remained utterly calm, unaffected by the impulse in his heart.

His left hand dropped again, disappearing beneath his long sleeve.

He stood where he was, letting the breeze gently stir the hem of his clothes and his somewhat messy bangs.

His left hand, hidden beneath his long sleeve, formed seals again.

He did not have much time to drag this out with the man.

The enemy's reinforcements could arrive at any moment.

He had ultimately acted on impulse just now, wanting to see whether the Great Fireball, which never killed anyone, could burn someone to death...

Because he had not dealt with the enemy immediately and did not know where the opponent was hiding, he had fallen into a passive position.

After swiftly finishing the hand seals, Itachi calmly turned around and walked forward.

He did not mind exposing an opening before this Root operative, whose assassination skills were maxed out.

One step, then two.

The Root operative hidden in the darkness did not appear, as if he had already left.

Itachi continued walking forward without a care.

Then, seemingly convinced the opponent had left, he bent his knees slightly and leaped toward a tree with the help of his springing force.

And just as his body was suspended in midair,

the Root operative in the darkness did not hesitate in the slightest.

His figure became an afterimage as the shortsword in his hand viciously stabbed toward Itachi in midair.

Feeling the feedback through his shortsword, the Root operative's heart sank.

But he had already been tricked into the air by Itachi. He had no way to rapidly descend or protect every part of his body.

He could only curl up in midair and use the shortsword in his hand as best he could to block the incoming attack.

All of this happened in a mere flash.

The moment he struck Itachi and sensed something was wrong, he had already reacted.

And the Itachi he struck suddenly exploded.

A flicker of fire appeared in the night sky, followed by a thunderous boom.

Violent energy erupted from Itachi's body.

He had self-destructed...

The powerful energy unleashed by the self-destruction instantly engulfed the Root operative.

At the same time, a large amount of unknown gas appeared and enveloped him.

Itachi appeared atop a slender branch, coldly watching the direction of the Root operative, who was wrapped in dense gas, his fate unknown.

"Bang!"

A faint sound came from the site of the explosion.

Within the dense gas, another cloud of white smoke appeared.

The Sharingan spinning in Itachi's eyes paused slightly. Then he turned and swiftly darted across the branches, light as a dragonfly touching water...

This man was an expert. Unless he used the Mangekyo Sharingan, with its severe backlash, he could not end the battle quickly.

And the Mangekyo Sharingan filled him with hesitation. The original Itachi had Bloodline Disease. It was very likely caused by using the Mangekyo Sharingan too many times and overexerting himself too often in battle, along with the drawback that each use drastically reduced his eyesight.

Being someone who cherished his life, he did not want to fight with the Mangekyo Sharingan unless it was a matter of life and death.

Besides, this Root operative specialized in assassination and would not attack carelessly.

There was no need for him to keep tangling with this man, especially since the opponent had reinforcements coming.

He was fighting alone.

The ninjutsu he had used just now was the A-rank technique, Clone Great Explosion.

Its principle was similar to Kakashi's Lightning Release: Shadow Clone.

Kakashi used Lightning Release so that when the clone exploded, it generated lightning to attack the enemy.

His technique caused a Shadow Clone to produce high temperatures and thick, intense gas the instant it exploded.

It was a very powerful technique.

What he had not expected was for the opponent to cautiously use a Shadow Clone to attack him.

After all, Shadow Clone was a ninjutsu created by Tobirama Senju specifically to counter the Sharingan.

Even the Sharingan could not spot its flaws.

The Sharingan's perception and Genjutsu gave it a considerable advantage in battle, but in terms of sensing, it was nowhere near as effective as the Byakugan.

If he had the Byakugan, he could have turned on its X-ray vision and dragged that guy out for a beating long ago...

Of course, the Sharingan's powerful insight was also something the Byakugan could not replace.

So each had its own strengths and weaknesses.

After Itachi left, a figure emerged from the darkness.

It was the Root operative who had just fought Itachi.

"Ah, I failed. As expected, a great reputation is never without substance..."

The Root operative watched Itachi's departing back, his eyes somewhat melancholy.

Then he rustled as he removed his vest and mask.

He dug a hole and buried the tools of the crime in the dirt.

He was an ANBU operative...

The Hokage had ordered them to disguise themselves as a team from Root and hunt down Itachi Uchiha.

Now that his teammates had not arrived and his pursuit had failed, he did not want to continue chasing.

After exchanging a few moves just now, he understood that he was no match for the boy.

After all, when an expert made a move, one could immediately tell whether they had the real deal.

Even if he continued the pursuit, he would only be asking for trouble.

The ANBU operative quietly held a signal flare in his hand, but after thinking it over, he lowered it.

The battle just now had been rather loud. He needed to leave this troublesome place as well.

Hiruzen Sarutobi sat in his office reading documents.

He rehearsed what he would say tomorrow and considered how to settle the last remaining young seedlings of the Uchiha Clan.

His eyes occasionally drifted toward the window.

Beyond it lay the area outside Konoha Village.

Symbolically, he had sent a relatively inexperienced ANBU squad to pursue Itachi Uchiha openly.

At the same time, he had secretly sent an elite team disguised as Root to assassinate Itachi Uchiha.

If Itachi Uchiha could not escape from the elites, then he had no value as a spy.

It would be better to cut the weeds and pull up the roots while there was still time.

He could completely eliminate the two brothers and prevent future complications from becoming a hidden danger.

Yet whenever he thought that way, he remembered how Itachi had faced his entire clan alone to prevent war from breaking out in the village, shouldering an overwhelming crime. He could not help but feel sorry for the child.

Thus, his heart was filled with conflict.

Reason told him that he should completely destroy the Uchiha Clan.

But emotion told him that this child's love for the village far surpassed that of ordinary people. He would never make a move against the village, and Hiruzen should honor his promise to Itachi, protect Sasuke, and let Sasuke attend school and grow into an adult.

This was the promise Itachi had demanded when the two were alone before he massacred the clan.

At this moment, Hiruzen Sarutobi's heart was filled with contradiction.

The office was deathly quiet, smoke curling through the air...