Tsunade noticed the change in Itachi's expression which made her realize that maybe Itachi now had a name for who had sent the letter.
"What happened? Did it ring a bell?" Tsunade asked.
Itachi nodded slightly as he said "Yes it did but I don't think he is the type to send letters through mercenaries. He is more like the guy who likes to do those things himself. It can't be him...he finds joy in such things and he would do anything to see the look on your face when you read that scroll."
"Sounds like a maniac." Tsunade said. She had no idea who Itachi was talking about but the things Itachi just said described a person with narcissistic traits.
"He is one. We need to find out who sent those people to you. Did they say anything?" Itachi asked. He was a very cautious person and he didn't think that Hiruzen or the Konoha higher-ups would leak the whole incident as it would be bad for the village. This means someone took the risk of shaming the entire village just to save Itachi's life. Itachi knew that there was no one willing to go this far for him.
"You need to come back to the village and abandon your mission."
Itachi knew that this would anger the Akatsuki and they would actively harm the hidden leaf. On top of that Itachi was worried about what steps the Konoha higherups like Koharu and Homura would take along with Danzo to keep Itachi quiet. He was unaware of the setbacks Danzo had faced and the recent disappearance of Koharu and Homura.
"I cannot do that. This is the path I have chosen and I will see it till the end." Itachi said.
Tsunade leaned forward and asked "Are you refusing a direct order from the 5th Hokage?"
Itachi was confused as he asked "You are going to become the 5th Hokage?" to which Tsunade nodded.
"Then I can only ask you to take care of my brothers. Danzo must have been furious since he has lost his chance to become the Hokage. He will try to use underhanded methods so all I can say is be careful." Itachi said.
"I know better than to trust Danzo. Itachi I don't think you going back to the Akatsuki is safe. Whoever knows your secret may just act like they are your benefactor but what if that person tells the Akatsuki about you being a spy? I think healing your disease and finding who this person is should be our top priority." Tsunade said massaging her chin.
Itachi wanted to refute Tsunade's words but she was right. He wasn't sure to what extent this unknown person would go just to get Itachi healed. Itachi was one of the strongest members of the Akatsuki but he definitely wasn't the strongest. On top of that if he and the village had to face the onslaught of multiple Akatsuki members at the same time then the damage could be way more than what the Orochimaru invasion did.
"For now I will leave with Kisame. The only option I have left is to fake my own death and enter the village as someone else. Akatsuki has a member called Zetsu whose spying capabilities are beyond anyone else I have ever seen." Itachi warned.
"We will decide on a signal for you to let me know that you have entered the village. But will you be able to maintain your identity while in the village and you can't even meet your own brothers?"
"I know that it will be hard but for them and the village I will do it. If there isn't anything else I will end the genjutsu now." Itachi said and was about to end the Tsukuyomi but Tsunade stopped him.
"Wait...Is there a way for me to get rid of my blood phobia?" Tsunade asked. She felt very helpless that she couldn't even operate on her own sensei when his life is hanging in the balance. She wanted to get rid of her blood phobia and who better for this than the best genjutsu user?
Itachi thought for a few seconds and then said "There is something I can try but are you sure you want to go through this? You might end up in the hospital for a few deaths or even weeks."
"I know but I can't run from it anymore and I need to face it." Tsunade said with a determined expression on her face.
Itachi nodded and started to make change in his genjutsu. Cracks started appearing on the ground around Tsunade and Itachi. All the people looked like shinobis and they didn't have headband of any specific village. Shinobis from the different villages walked out of the cracks made on the ground and took out kunai from their utility belt. Tsunade took a stance to defend her self from these shinobis but the shinobis instead of attacking her started killing each other. Each shinobi killed the other and there was a lot of bloodshed. Tsunade could see that under 20 seconds, everyone was bathed in blood and they were still killing each other.
Tsunade tried her best that the phobia wouldn't take over her but then a small amount of blood got splashed on her face and dress and Tsunade completely lost it. She froze as she kept staring at the blood stains on her clothes.
Tsunade had told her mind that this was just an illusion and none of it was real. But when the blood splashed on her, memories from the past flooded her mind. The death of her brother Kawaki and her lover Dan had made her hate the sight of blood.
As the shinobis were fighting in the genjutsu and it was a bloody atmosphere, Tsunade kneeled on the ground and she was staring at the blood covering her hands. "I have to overcome this" she muttered.
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