Yata Mirror, Susanoo's Second Form

Although the two of them traveled very slowly, they finally entered the territory of the Mist Village.

Juzo walked silently ahead, leading the way without a word.

This was a place sacred in his heart, and also a place filled with memories.

The moment they entered the Mist Village, they sensed quite a few people gathering around them.

Fortunately, Juzo had once been one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen and was extremely familiar with the Mist Village.

He easily slipped out of the Mist Ninja's encirclement, appearing and vanishing like a ghost.

At this moment, the Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, stood in his office, while a man wearing a yellow spiral mask sat across from him.

The masked man was reading through documents and had no intention of acknowledging Yagura.

The office was completely silent, without the slightest sound, and the atmosphere was somewhat oppressive.

A moment later, a vortex appeared beside the masked man, as though space itself had twisted.

In the blink of an eye, the masked man's figure vanished from the office.

Only Yagura Karatachi remained standing there in a daze. He had a childish face, green hair, purple eyes, a scar beneath his left eye resembling a stitched wound, and a club-like weapon strapped to his back, its hooked tip adorned with green flowers.

But not long after, the pattern of the Mangekyo Sharingan flashed through Yagura's eyes and disappeared.

Like a robot receiving an order, Yagura began to move.

He directly mobilized an elite force, as though preparing for war.

At this moment, Obito stood atop a rooftop as the space around him distorted.

It was as though he were admiring his own masterpiece.

"How far can your Mangekyo Sharingan see, Itachi Uchiha..."

Obito's voice was icy, like that of an emperor holding everything in his grasp.

At this moment, he was preparing to lure his capable subordinate into a trap.

He also wanted to see just how far Itachi had progressed. If Itachi had slipped beyond his control, then it would be best to seize this chance and get rid of him.

Obito thought to himself.

"Kid, go back. A large force is coming... Let me carry out this mission alone."

Sensing a large number of ninja pouring out from the village, Juzo spoke with a grave expression.

"If you want to die, I can't stop you. But I want to fight beside you until the very last moment..."

After hearing Juzo's words, Itachi was uncharacteristically impulsive.

Just as the large force conducted a carpet search and was about to reach the two of them—

Nearly half of the ninja suddenly began to withdraw.

Yagura's abnormal behavior had long been noticed by the Mist Village's higher-ups. Now that Yagura was trying to make another big move, they immediately pulled back those beneath them who shared their views.

This was already open defiance of the Mizukage's will.

The entire village took on an atmosphere of swords drawn and bows bent.

At the same time, a force of Rogue Ninja lingered in the shadows, faintly forming a three-way standoff...

"Leader, what do we do? Yagura is causing trouble again."

Two figures stood in a room. A stunning woman quietly sipped tea, while the man across from her asked worriedly.

The man had gray-blue hair, intricate sealing talismans hanging from both ears, and a black eyepatch over his right eye, making him look like a pirate.

"Ao, don't rush. Let's sit back and watch the tigers fight. This may be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. Secretly warn our people: they only need to go there and make up the numbers. Don't actually fight."

The woman lazily set down her teacup, then equally lazily rested both hands on the back of the chair behind her, revealing her full figure.

Her emerald-green eyes, long reddish-brown curls crossing over one another, hair covering her right eye, and pink lips all exuded an intellectual beauty. Her figure was voluptuous, her ample chest imposing, and her skin fair and tender. She wore a blue strapless dress with a white belt around her waist, while her nails were painted deep blue. That mature charm rushed straight at Ao.

Ao immediately turned his head away, not daring to look at Mei Terumi again.

"Hehehehe..."

Seeing Ao's embarrassment, Mei Terumi covered her seductive red lips with her delicate fingers and laughed. Her smile was utterly captivating...

"We should retreat. We've already alerted them. If the Three-Tails has been enslaved, it will soon reveal itself..."

Sensing the crowds drawing closer and closer, Itachi spoke uneasily.

He could not be too explicit. If he said too much, he would seem far too prescient.

If such a matter were investigated closely, many unreasonable things would be uncovered.

After all, even the Toad Sage could only make vague prophecies.

Juzo's grip on the Executioner's Blade loosened slightly. He looked seriously at Itachi, as though engraving Itachi's appearance deep into his heart.

Not remembering what his mother had looked like while she was alive was his regret...

This time, neither of them wore straw hats.

They only wanted to look at each other a few more times...

"It's too late. We'll break through. I'll get you out..."

Juzo spoke seriously, his gaze utterly focused.

At this moment, he no longer wanted to care about that damned mission. He only wanted to protect this young man and ensure his safety.

To be honest, Juzo had not expected them to be exposed so quickly, nor had he expected a large force to arrive and surround them so soon.

He had originally believed that, with his familiarity with the Mist Village, things would not become this dangerous.

Even if he died, he wanted to obtain the intelligence the organization wanted. He did not want Itachi to bear the stain of mission failure again.

This was the last thing he could do for Itachi...

But everything before him was completely different from the plan he had imagined.

Itachi simply looked at Juzo.

A moment later, he nodded gently.

Though he had long known the answer, he had still stepped into this vortex. This was his choice.

People were sometimes like this. Emotion could always defeat reason before one even realized it.

The two quietly looked at one another until figures of Mist Ninja appeared within their sight.

"Found them!"

A loud cry echoed through the damp forest blanketed in mist.

Their eyes narrowed, instantly filling with killing intent.

Juzo drew the Executioner's Blade without hesitation.

This time, he drew his sword incredibly fast, and his body moved even faster.

At this moment, his will was incomparably firm, as though he had returned to life in a final flash.

It was as though his life had been renewed, along with the soul and spirit he had lost when he fled the village...

The blade reached the newcomer's neck in an instant.

But upon seeing the numbness in the other's eyes and the ninja forehead protector he wore—

Juzo changed his slash into a strike with the flat of the Executioner's Blade. The Mist Ninja was sent flying, knocked unconscious.

The Three Tomoe in Itachi's eyes began to spin.

His figure moved like a dance, harvesting the lives of Mist Ninja trapped within an illusion.

"Be careful! That man has the Sharingan! He's from the Uchiha Clan!"

After several people at the front were cleanly killed by the two of them, the troops behind rushed out one after another.

Someone began shouting warnings.

"Biwa Juzo? You fled the Mist Village, yet you still dare return!"

At last, someone looked toward Biwa Juzo and recognized him.

Itachi ignored the Mist Ninja's voices. He merely picked up a longsword from the ground, then flashed and vanished from where he stood.

He wanted to ease the oppression in his heart through battle.

Within moments, the two of them were surrounded by more than thirty people who had arrived one after another.

And even more people were continuously rushing over from nearby.

Fortunately, because there were too many Mist Ninja, they did not dare use ninjutsu for fear of accidentally injuring their companions.

"Itachi, stop playing around. It's time to go..."

Juzo looked in Itachi's direction and called his name for the first time.

Without stopping, he ran toward the way they had come, veins bulging across his arms.

Two expressionless men blocked Juzo's path, chakra continuously flowing onto their blades.

Juzo no longer held back. He also coated the Executioner's Blade in a layer of chakra.

He swung it in a half-circle toward the ninja before him.

When the Executioner's Blade collided with their weapons, Juzo's heart sank. The two men before him were not ordinary.

Sensing Itachi rapidly approaching, he did not hesitate and swung his heavy Executioner's Blade once more.

The two had just taken Juzo's strike head-on. Though they had neutralized the immense force due to the difference in their weapons, they had still been forced back several steps.

Now, as this monster charged at them again, a trace of fear flashed through their eyes.

But it vanished in an instant, replaced by a fierce glint.

Then, as though linked by telepathy, they separated, each taking a position from which they could launch a crossing attack against Juzo.

Sensing Itachi racing toward him, Juzo did not pause. He simply launched a heavy strike at one of them, completely ignoring the other, as though prepared to trade his life for one.

"Use ninjutsu! At any cost, kill them both!"

Seeing that several people had died in such a short time, Yagura, who had already arrived, shouted furiously.

Itachi was about to intercept the other man's attack for Juzo, but while he was in midair, he froze slightly.

Massive chakra fluctuations appeared all around them.

They did not care about the lives of their companions at all. They were prepared to wipe out both enemies along with their own people.

"Juzo, run!"

Coming back to his senses, Itachi shouted urgently.

He turned around in midair and charged toward the place where the order had been given.

"Damn it, this disgusting village..."

Juzo could only abandon his attack and activate the Body Flicker Technique, preparing to leave the area that had already been targeted.

But what Juzo had not expected was that those two ninja would charge at him without regard for their own lives, as though they intended to drag him down with them.

Although fear and sorrow showed in their eyes, they still resolutely rushed at Juzo, intending to hold him here, within the range covered by ninjutsu...

They would use their sacrifice to save the lives of their other companions...

Their decisiveness, like that of a suicide squad, was astonishing.

Itachi rapidly charged toward Yagura's position, while his senses constantly searched for Juzo's location.

The dozen or so ninja before him had already completed their hand seals. In the next second, the world would be torn apart.

Itachi's running steps came to a halt, and the Three Tomoe in his eyes transformed into the Mangekyo Sharingan.

A vast expanse of black flames appeared upon the ninja before him.

His eyes instantly could not withstand the burden brought by this powerful ocular technique. Two streams of bloody tears gushed out, more violently than ever before.

Faced with the powerful flames covering them, the Mist Ninja immediately unleashed their ninjutsu, and the sky instantly turned azure.

Itachi felt as though his entire vision was filled with water...

The Great Waterfall Technique, the Water Dragon Bullet Technique...

Some rushed toward him, while others surged toward Juzo and the two men holding him back.

The dozen people before him were burned to ash, but their ninjutsu had still been released.

Throughout the process, they did not even let out a muffled groan.

Their unwavering will was terrifying, as though they feared nothing, felt no pain, and possessed no emotions...

Itachi's originally bright, large eyes visibly narrowed, as though his eyelids could no longer stay open...

A massive red half-bodied phantom appeared around him.

The phantom faced the attacks head-on and blocked them all, but because it had been summoned in too much haste and lacked sufficient chakra, it was shattered in an instant...

Itachi's body was directly exposed to the ferocious incoming attacks...

"Has fate already changed? Am I the one who dies first?"

Strange thoughts surfaced in Itachi's mind as he stared blankly at the overwhelming Water Release techniques slowly rushing toward him.

Endless confusion filled Itachi's heart. He was a transmigrator. He knew the plot. So what was happening now?

Waves of unwillingness and anger boiled up within him.

He had never fantasized about changing anything, fearing that the future plot would be altered. But what was this situation before him? He had merely wanted to change the fate of an ordinary person this time. Why had things become like this?

"Must I, Itachi Uchiha—Li You—die here so carelessly?"

Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, as though ten thousand ideas had arisen in an instant, while the outside world seemed frozen.

A question rose from the depths of his heart, only to be shattered in an instant.

"Fuck this!"

Itachi watched the overwhelming Water Release drawing ever closer in his Mangekyo Sharingan and cursed furiously.

As Itachi let out an unwilling, furious roar, the Mangekyo Sharingan seemed to undergo a subtle change. The eyes, which had been weakening, became filled with power once more.

The red that had been shattered in midair instantly condensed again.

The phantom of the gigantic half-body skeleton also underwent a series of changes. Like a Saiyan transforming, veins and sinews appeared, winding around the skeleton.

A phantom spiritual weapon also appeared at its waist.

Instinctively, Itachi removed the phantom object from his waist. Chakra rapidly surged into it, forming a shield...

"Yata Mirror..."

Itachi murmured softly, only now realizing it.

Information about the Yata Mirror surfaced in his mind.

Yata Mirror: A "spiritual weapon" without physical form. It possessed every nature transformation and changed its own properties according to the nature of the incoming attack, rendering it ineffective.

The Water Release filling the sky, which had given Itachi such trouble, seemed to be absorbed and rapidly vanished...

Itachi stared blankly at everything before him, utterly bewildered.

He had not been confident he could withstand that sky-filling assault even after unleashing the second form of Susanoo. So what was with this accompanying Yata Mirror?

This was a divine artifact...

But if the Yata Mirror was a trait, like Indra's reincarnation, then where had the Sword of Totsuka gone...

Itachi's emotions rose and fell wildly, his heart filled with confusion.

Seeing more than a dozen of his elite subordinates die in an instant, Yagura flew into a rage.

A ceaseless stream of dark-red chakra burst from within him and wrapped around his body, forming a Tailed Beast cloak.

Though his body remained humanoid, there was no trace of humanity left in his appearance. He looked like a savage, man-eating beast.

Yagura crouched on the ground, tilting his head back slightly. He gathered Tailed Beast chakra at a two-to-eight yin-yang ratio. The chakra spun at high speed before rapidly forming a dense black energy sphere.

"Tailed Beast Bomb..."

Seeing Yagura open with his ultimate move, Itachi's expression turned grave. He could feel that he was not in good condition, and his heart sank.

He watched the beast-like Yagura swallow the terrifyingly powerful Tailed Beast Bomb into his mouth.

It was about to fire...

Can the Yata Mirror block a Tailed Beast Bomb? Waiting online, this is urgent...

Sensing that Juzo had not foolishly rushed over from behind him, Itachi secretly let out a sigh of relief.

"As long as I block this attack, Juzo's fate should change..."

Itachi murmured softly.

He could not dodge, because a Tailed Beast Bomb could blast straight through an entire mountain. His position was awkward now; after blocking the ninjutsu just now, he and Juzo were standing in a straight line.

A blinding light appeared in Itachi's eyes. At that moment, he felt a little foolish. Was it worth risking his life for someone who had already lost the will to live?

Memories and fragments of their time together surfaced in Itachi's mind, and his heart gave him a certain answer.

"Worth it! Isn't the purpose of power to protect...?"

Besides, Itachi's life had already been filled with so many regrets. Now that he possessed strength, he wanted to keep his life from gaining any more regrets if he could...

Perhaps that was the meaning of his coming to this world...