Reuniting with Obito, an Opportunity?

"Ninjutsu is meant to counter moves and seize the advantage, not create openings like you lot do."

A massive flaming lion charged at Itachi.

Itachi's voice remained where it had been, drifting through the air.

But his figure had long since vanished.

"You evil Uchiha brat, what do you know?!"

Watching his companion die, the remaining ANBU member's eyes filled with sorrow as he roared in anger.

A sea of flames poured from his mouth once again.

He wanted to burn away all the annoying trees around him, leaving the brat nowhere to hide.

His heart was in turmoil now.

Two elites had faced a brat, yet one had been killed and the brat had even mocked them.

It infuriated him all the more because he had looked down on Itachi from the start.

"Quite a lot of chakra, and he knows plenty of ninjutsu. Is the next move going to be this one...?"

Itachi's figure appeared before the ANBU at some unknown moment, watching him rapidly form hand seals.

Itachi stood calmly in place.

Quietly watching the other man form seals.

Just as the other man was about to finish, Itachi spoke.

A stream of Fire Release like molten lava erupted from Itachi's mouth.

Its target was the ANBU who was forming seals to unleash ninjutsu.

The ANBU had been furious when he saw the brat actually dare to walk before him and look at him with such disdain.

His anger made his hand seals even faster, pushing beyond his limits.

Enraged, he was ready to burn this ignorant brat into charcoal.

Yet without even forming seals, the brat had somehow unleashed ninjutsu before him...

"Witchcraft?"

His movements froze as he muttered under his breath.

His eyes were full of disbelief.

"Fake!"

Itachi's figure emerged from behind the ANBU, and the ANBU-issued longsword pierced straight through his heart.

The scene shifted.

The ANBU was staring blankly ahead.

His pupils had gone unfocused.

A bloodied sword tip protruded from his chest.

There was no trace whatsoever of Fire Release having been unleashed on the battlefield.

He had merely fallen under Genjutsu when Itachi knocked him back...

He pulled out the bloodstained longsword, drawing forth a gush of hot blood.

The ANBU's corpse fell onto the ground on its back.

Itachi flicked the blood from his sword.

Then, somewhat displeased, he crouched down and wiped the blade against a relatively clean spot on the ANBU's robes.

He recalled the battle from moments ago.

After a while, he stood.

Then he turned and left.

Only a sigh remained in the air.

"Who said you can't fall under Genjutsu if you don't look into my eyes? What a childish idea..."

As a genius, Itachi understood that, since he was a member of the Uchiha Clan, no one would stupidly stare into his eyes during battle. Thus, he had long developed a set of Genjutsu techniques.

This Genjutsu was somewhat complicated, but it overcame the flaw of enemies believing they could avoid Genjutsu simply by not looking into his eyes.

However, the technique was still far from complete.

It required too many preparatory mediums, and it was difficult to pull an opponent into Genjutsu without them noticing.

After all, when fighting someone from the Uchiha Clan, enemies would remain constantly vigilant against falling under Genjutsu.

"Itachi-kun, did you have fun playing?"

Looking at the youth who appeared before him, especially the conspicuous slash across the other's ninja forehead protector, Obito's twisted face beneath his mask tightened into a faint smile.

"I had fun. It just wasn't enough. It was still far from enough..."

Itachi looked at the man wearing a shit-yellow mask and answered softly.

His tone was calm.

"Let's go. Take me to see your organization."

Seeing Obito standing there in a daze, Itachi spoke softly, leaving no room for doubt.

At first, Obito had been slightly stunned by Itachi's seemingly changed demeanor.

Then, hearing Itachi's unquestionable words, the confusion in Obito's eyes deepened.

He felt as though Itachi had become a completely different person.

The former Itachi had been steady and reserved.

Why did the current Itachi feel arrogant? Wildly overbearing?

Obito shook his head, suppressing the doubts in his heart.

He could not understand how Itachi had changed so much after only a few hours apart...

Then he remembered that Itachi was only twelve years old.

It was normal for him to become somewhat inflated after discovering his own strength.

Back when he himself had been young and green, merely learning a Great Fireball had made him act as if he were the greatest under heaven. He had been eager to try it out, his gaze full of aggression, wanting to find someone as a target and roast them on a skewer.

Thinking of this, Obito's mood abruptly soured, and he fell silent.

He remembered a small figure...

"Rin, wait for me. I'll create a world with you in it again... I refuse to accept a world without you..."

Obito roared in his heart.

At that moment, he did not feel good at all.

The two traveled in silence, with only their figures moving one behind the other.

Having lost all interest in conversation and sunk into his inner world, Obito felt that nothing had any meaning.

Itachi also traveled quietly, occasionally looking at the surrounding scenery.

The occasional chaos of war had not destroyed this beautiful landscape.

Even where destruction had left traces, time had covered them over.

As though none of it had truly mattered.

After such an exhilarating battle, everything felt just right.

Of course, there was one small flaw.

Itachi could feel that his eyesight had worsened considerably.

Over the coming period, the outside world would likely grow increasingly blurry before his eyes.

That was why Itachi had taken an interest in appreciating all of this...

Soon, a faint dawn slowly rose from the horizon. The white clouds in the sky seemed to have been roasted golden by the sunlight, like grilled meat...

The sun itself had not yet appeared.

Seeing that sight, Itachi only felt a little hungry...

"Um..."

Thinking of this, Itachi stopped walking, coming to a steady halt.

Hearing Itachi's voice, Obito stopped as well and turned back to look at him in confusion.

"What is it?"

Obito asked, somewhat puzzled.

He seemed to have recovered emotionally and no longer carried that keep-out aura.

Of course, Itachi could only judge that from Obito's tone.

After all, Obito wore a mask, and Itachi could not see through it.

"Um, I'm hungry. Let's catch some cute little animals and roast them..."

Thinking about Itachi's life, he had loved sweets yet endured bitterness for his entire life.

Now that he had transmigrated, he had to take proper care of himself. He absolutely could not let himself live like the original version.

"What a troublesome brat..."

Hearing Itachi's words, Obito muttered softly.

Then his stomach let out a growl...

It sounded somewhat piercing in the silent early morning.

A few blushes flashed across Obito's face beneath the mask.

Unfortunately, Itachi could not see that wonderful sight and could only sigh inwardly that this guy had rather thick skin.

Even when his stomach exposed him, he could still remain unfazed.

Then the two activated their Three-Tomoe Sharingan and began hunting.

They used their Sharingan to search for the faint traces left by small animals in the grass...

"At this hour, how could there possibly be any cu... small animals?"

Thinking of the roasted meat Itachi had mentioned, Obito swallowed rather pathetically.

His eyes beneath the mask rolled around, sweeping the area in every direction...

Itachi leaned against a tree, watching Obito grow busy.

After searching for a while without finding any animal tracks, he became bored and started slacking off.

Watching Obito act like a hunter, Itachi crossed one leg over the other and held a blade of wild grass between his lips.

His gaze was slightly unfocused...

At that moment, Itachi seemed a little like he had returned to the twenty-first century, with his occasionally childish, hot-blooded, and lazy nature resurfacing.

Obito still needed him and would not harm him, so he allowed his tense nerves to relax slightly.

Quietly enjoying the beauty of life...

"Annoying brat..."

Obito returned carrying two cleaned small animals. Seeing Itachi slacking off, he felt displeased and muttered softly.

Suppressing the urge to slap this brat to death, he kept chanting in his heart that the brat was still useful, still useful...

"Brat, go gather some branches..."

Seeing Itachi still spacing out, Obito suppressed the frustration in his heart and spoke calmly.

Itachi's pupils began to focus as he looked at the figure carrying the prey.

"Okay..."

Itachi stood and patted the dew- and dirt-stained trousers around his backside.

Then he turned and left.

Watching Itachi walk away into the distance.

Obito furrowed his brow beneath the mask.

"Why does this brat seem to have multiple personalities, changing every moment? Which one is his true personality?"

Obito pondered inwardly...

"Grrr..."

His stomach made another dissatisfied sound.

Obito came back to his senses.

"Why isn't this brat back yet?"

Obito sat on the ground, holding the bleeding prey, feeling irritated.

"I found something interesting. We can put it in the prey's belly, and it'll taste better when we roast it."

Itachi appeared before Obito.

Then he bent down and placed the dry branches he had gathered on the ground.

After that, he sat down without any concern for appearances and took out some seasonings he had found from his clothes.

He carefully fiddled with it.

"Brat, has Konoha become this corrupt? On a mission, it was already good enough to have food and soldier pills. Why were you being so particular?"

Obito watched Itachi dawdle and grew impatient, speaking irritably.

"A mission is a mission. Life is life..."

Hearing Obito's somewhat mocking words, Itachi replied calmly.

Watching Itachi fiddle with strange plants while answering him, Obito said nothing more.

He formed hand seals, then spat a small flame onto the pile of dry branches before him.

Seeing the branches catch fire, Obito's mood improved slightly.

"I really can't figure out what kind of person you are. Last night, you killed your own parents and slaughtered your entire clan, yet today you're acting as if nothing happened."

In a slightly better mood, Obito sneered at Itachi, venting his dissatisfaction.

He also waited for Itachi's answer.

In his mind, he kept forming an image of Itachi's character, gathering information on him.

Yet Itachi kept overturning that image, leaving him somewhat helpless.

"Aren't you the one who calls yourself Uchiha Madara? Didn't you enjoy killing too? I never saw you hesitate when you dug out their eyes."

Hearing Obito's words, Itachi replied calmly, scenes from last night surfacing in his mind.

Obito's hand paused slightly as he shaved the branch with a kunai.

"They were merely a foolish clan that betrayed me..."

The scene fell silent once more. The atmosphere, which had been fairly harmonious just moments ago, was utterly ruined after they exposed each other's wounds and stabbed at them with words.

The two master actors competed in acting, gathering information on each other through their close contact.

"Leave it to you..."

Obito stopped shaving the wooden skewer and tossed the straight branch to Itachi.

Then he lay on the ground with both hands behind his head.

He stared blankly at the sky.

As if Itachi had broken through his defenses.

The branch fell beside Itachi.

Itachi did not pick it up. Instead, his eyes turned blood-red.

The Mangekyo Sharingan appeared in his eye sockets.

Black flames appeared on Obito's body.

His first move was Amaterasu!