"Xia Yu, meet with me."
That single line, dripping with pretension, was all the scroll contained.
"..."
"Dammit!"
"That's it?"
Xia Yu was instantly speechless.
One look told him Uchiha Itachi had never arranged a date!
The three essentials of a date: time, place, and people.
He had the people, but neither the time nor the place!
How were they supposed to meet?
Were they supposed to bump into each other on the street?
Xia Yu closed the scroll. Whatever happened, happened.
In any case, taking care of business was what mattered most to him.
Xia Yu stood up and walked toward the street opposite him.
"Caw! Caw!"
The cry of a crow suddenly rang out overhead.
A crow circled above Xia Yu's head, refusing to leave for a long time.
When it came to crows, it had to be Uchiha Itachi.
Realizing Xia Yu had noticed it, the crow stopped circling and flew toward the mountain behind the village.
Xia Yu knew the crow was Uchiha Itachi's guide. He started walking, slowly following it.
In fact, he had wanted to meet Uchiha Itachi for a long time...
A grove on the mountain behind the village.
The moment the crow vanished, Uchiha Itachi appeared deep in the grove.
"Itachi, did you need something?" Xia Yu asked expressionlessly.
A flicker of surprise passed through Itachi's eyes at those words. "You... don't hate me?"
He had thought Xia Yu would attack the moment they met.
After all, he had been the one who directly carried out the clan massacre that night.
"Whether I hate you doesn't matter anymore. I only came to ask where you stand now."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, which do you choose now: the village or the Uchiha?"
"..." Uchiha Itachi's pupils contracted again. He kept feeling that Xia Yu seemed to know a great deal.
"Xia Yu, I don't understand what you mean. My only choice is to keep testing my limits. As for the village or the clan, neither has anything to do with me..."
Xia Yu waved a hand helplessly. "Enough, enough. There's no point talking if that's what you're going to say. I've already brought Danzo down. Do you still think I don't know that little secret of yours?"
Uchiha Itachi fell silent. Only after a long while did he speak. "Xia Yu, I'm surprised. All of it surprises me: your current power, what you've done over the past two years, and... what you've said today."
"Since you won't say it, I'll make my stance clear first." Xia Yu no longer wanted to play these pointless word games with Uchiha Itachi and spoke frankly:
"My goal is to have both the Uchiha and the village. On a larger scale, that even includes this Shinobi World! That's what I'm working on now. Also, your little brother Sasuke is living well. You don't need to worry."
"!"
How did he know I was worried about my little brother Sasuke?
Itachi's gaze was complicated. He had never expected Xia Yu to know so much!
It seemed there was no need to keep talking in circles.
"I am Uchiha Itachi of Konoha. Naturally, I will always act to protect Konoha. That... is where I stand."
Itachi voiced his true thoughts.
Xia Yu countered, "So you abandoned the clan?"
"For the village, it was a necessary sacrifice..."
"Heh..."
Xia Yu sneered.
He truly was the perfect bearer of the Will of Fire, burning himself to light the way for everyone.
Itachi wasn't someone who merely shouted slogans. He had truly done it.
"Itachi, I should actually thank you. If you hadn't done that, I might never have awakened this power."
Naturally, Xia Yu wouldn't tell Itachi the true source or effects of his power. Instead, he fooled him with a plausible explanation:
"After so many of our clansmen died, an electric current flashed through my mind, and I unexpectedly awakened the same eyes as yours. Through these eyes, I saw so, so much..."
"Do you know why I know about you? You must also be curious about why I brought Danzo down..."
"Because my Mangekyō's ability is [Insight into Everything]..."
"Everything, this sky, these clouds, you, or anyone else, can hide no secrets from my Mangekyō... only the truth remains!"
The distinctive pattern of the Mangekyō Sharingan flashed through Xia Yu's pupils.
"Insight into... everything?"
"That's your Mangekyō ability?"
Uchiha Itachi finally understood.
No wonder he felt as though Xia Yu could even see the color of his underwear.
So his Mangekyō Sharingan possessed such a powerful ability!
Seeing everything about a person!
Itachi's expression made it obvious that he believed him.
He had no choice but to believe him, either. Otherwise, there was no explaining why Xia Yu knew everything.
Little did he know, Xia Yu was merely recounting everything he had seen in the anime as someone who had transmigrated.
"Itachi, join me. I'll give you a chance to atone. It's not too late to turn back. The path you're on now isn't the only way to protect Sasuke."
"Rather than protecting the village led by the Third, why not change this village?"
Hearing this, Uchiha Itachi raised his head slightly. "Bringing Danzo down wasn't enough? Do you intend to bring down the Third Hokage too?"
"Yes..." Xia Yu nodded emphatically, his expression utterly serious.
"The Third has only ever had one governing principle: sacrifice the individual for the greater whole. He demands it of himself and everyone else alike."
"From a ruler's perspective, there's nothing particularly wrong with that. But what I want is to have it all! Everyone on our side must be protected!"
After saying that, even Xia Yu froze.
Those words sounded so familiar.
They were words Naruto and Boruto always had on their lips.
He had never expected that one day, he would say the same thing.
Was this the standard personality for a protagonist?
Heh...
No way!
Xia Yu knew he wasn't finished speaking.
There was one last sentence.
"And everyone who hurts us must be eliminated! Not only eliminated, but their sins must also be made public, so they'll be reviled forever and leave behind a name cursed throughout history!"
At those words, Uchiha Itachi's lips curved upward as he said self-mockingly, "Then I suppose that will be my fate as well. The harm and sins I've committed against the Uchiha run very deep..."
Xia Yu chuckled. "Heh... that's why I'm asking you to atone. Once you've atoned enough, you can leave those eyes to Sasuke, then die enjoying your infamy..."
"While that sickly body of yours can still move, why not do more meaningful things for the Uchiha and your little brother..."
Uchiha Itachi turned his head and looked at the land beneath his feet, the land where he had grown up, pondering for a long while.
"All right... Xia Yu, how do you want me to atone?"
"You don't need to do anything. Just keep protecting Konoha from the shadows. Only, it will be the Uchiha's Konoha... Oh, right, is there a woman named Konan in your organization?"
This time, Uchiha Itachi wasn't surprised. He knew Xia Yu probably knew Konan's name because of his Mangekyō Sharingan ability.
"Yes, there is. Why?"
"Could you find an opportunity for me to see her sometime?"
"Oh? Do you know each other?"
"No, we don't... Don't worry, I won't make things difficult for you. I don't need to meet her directly, face-to-face." Xia Yu shook his head, and the Mangekyō Sharingan bloomed in his eyes again:
"I just want to look at her with these Mangekyō. It won't take long. A few seconds will be enough..."
Before you continue