The Land of Grass.
North of the Kannabi Bridge battlefield.
There was no moon tonight. Kakashi walked through the dense forest, checked the traps he had set one last time, then headed toward the makeshift camp in the darkness.
Rustle—
Kakashi had barely left.
A man in an Akatsuki cloak stepped silently out from behind a tree trunk. His deep-set eyes fixed on a length of wire glinting faintly in the dim light...
Rustle.
Another man, tall and broad, approached. He glanced at the first man and frowned. "Mr. Itachi, Zetsu's already urged us on several times. Aren't we going to act?"
"..."
Uchiha Itachi pressed his lips together.
"Kisame, have you met the organization's leader?"
Kisame Hoshigaki grinned. "Of course. Pain—"
"No."
Uchiha Itachi cut him off with a shake of his head. "I don't mean the Puppet being controlled. I mean the real leader behind the Akatsuki!"
"The person Konan keeps hidden!"
"..."
Kisame Hoshigaki fell silent for a moment, then shook his head. "I haven't."
"...Is that so?"
Uchiha Itachi turned and looked up slightly at Kisame. "Then haven't you wondered why Zetsu sent us to take the eye of Kakashi Hatake, a Konoha Ninja?"
"..."
Kisame's Ao-tinged shark face stiffened.
He shut his mouth and said nothing more.
"So I was right. You've dealt with that man before..."
"Mr. Itachi?"
A rare smile appeared on Uchiha Itachi's face. "Don't worry. He was the one who recruited me into the organization too. Once they've settled down to rest, we'll move in the latter half of the night!"
With that, Uchiha Itachi leaned against the tree trunk.
He closed his eyes to rest.
Ever since joining the Akatsuki, he had kept turning one question over in his mind: that man who called himself Madara Uchiha.
*What exactly was