"Unlike the other two simulations, this cottage seems to actually exist in the past?" Uchiha Ying gently laid the unconscious Kaguya on the bed. Looking at her beautiful face, still smudged with remnants of… something, he finally had a moment to contemplate his surroundings.
According to Kaguya, this bamboo hut was her former home. She claimed that after leaving this place, the outside world remained unchanged—the same mountains, the same lakes. She'd even occasionally overheard nearby villagers discussing the Six Paths Sage's recent founding of the ninja sect.
How peculiar.
"And she believes I absorbed her power and… took her virginity. Essentially, I stole everything from her." Ying wiped Kaguya clean with a towel and tucked her in.
"No wonder she's so clingy now, but…" The entity that absorbed her power seemed to be this mysterious 'dream space,' while his own physical strength appeared linked to the action points required to enter each simulation. It had been two points, then three, and now four. With each increase, his strength and stamina multiplied. No wonder Kaguya was complaining.
The increase in points was likely due to the growth of his chakra and the completion of simulation tasks.
"So, the more simulations and ninja fragments I acquire, the more… potent I become?" It seemed he was being compelled to 'revive' his clan, in more ways than one.
---
---
"Itachi-san, we seem to have a knack for encountering Konoha ninja."
They were in a relatively bustling civilian village. Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki, stopping for a rest during their travels, were enjoying dango at a small shop. Just as their dango arrived, they noticed a commotion outside.
Three ninja wearing Hidden Cloud Village headbands were pursuing a Hyuga girl with the Byakugan. They were then swiftly defeated and captured by Konoha ninja lying in ambush.
"It's her…" Amidst the chaos, Itachi spotted a familiar kunoichi: Kurenai Yuhi. What was she doing here?
And that boy…
Simultaneously, Itachi noticed the young man beside Kurenai, wearing a shirt emblazoned with the Uchiha clan crest. Seeing the familiar symbol, Itachi was momentarily transported back to the night of the massacre.
"An acquaintance?" Kisame's interest was piqued.
"A former senior from the village." Having been seen, Itachi knew he couldn't ignore the situation. However, was Kurenai alone? It would be difficult to feign defeat if that were the case…
"What a coincidence!" Kisame, crunching his dango, excitedly burst out of the shop, Samehada, his massive bandaged sword, in hand.
---
Crash!
The shop window shattered as Kisame barreled through, charging towards the Konoha ninja. Kurenai, though she hadn't yet seen her attacker, sensed the killing intent. She had a kunai at the ready before the attack connected.
Clang!
Kurenai barely parried the bandaged sword with her kunai. Such force… Her arm strained under the pressure.
"His sword is strange! Maintain your distance, Sensei!"
The Konoha ninja who had ambushed the Hidden Cloud ninja were, of course, Ying and his team. Relaxed on their journey back to the village, Hinata, scouting ahead, had been targeted by a Hidden Cloud ninja squad on an unknown mission. Though not particularly strong, they persistently pursued Hinata, even venturing into Fire Country territory. Ying and his team had been left with no choice but to set a trap.
What Ying hadn't anticipated was detecting Itachi and Kisame entering the village just as he and Shino finished preparing the ambush. Hinata was already acting as bait, with Kurenai as her escort. He had no way to warn them.
"Understood." Though uncertain of the source of Ying's information, Kurenai deftly evaded Kisame's sword, opting not to engage directly.
But he doesn't seem to be from Hidden Cloud… She'd expected Hidden Cloud reinforcements, but the headband signified a Kiri ninja. More accurately, a Kiri missing-nin, judging by the scratch across the headband.
"Itachi-san, there appears to be another Uchiha here. Could this be your younger brother?" Kisame, unperturbed by Kurenai's retreat, focused on the Uchiha boy beside her.
"No, merely a surviving clansman." Itachi, emerging from the dango shop, calmly removed his Akatsuki cloak and the conical hat concealing his face.
"Uchiha… Itachi!?" The Kiri missing-nin had startled Kurenai, but the sight of Itachi filled her with dread. She glanced at him repeatedly, then back at Ying with apprehension. This was bad. Seeing the man who slaughtered his clan, would Ying do something reckless?
"Uchiha Itachi?" Shino, securing the captured Hidden Cloud ninja, also glanced back and forth between Ying and Itachi in surprise.
"Ying…" Hinata, worried, stood by Ying's side, kunai drawn.
"It's been a while, Kurenai-senpai." Itachi politely greeted Kurenai, even as he mentally condemned them all to death. The lives of one jonin and three genin were less valuable than preserving his cover within Akatsuki to gather intelligence. It was all for the village. He was sorry, Kurenai-senpai.
"All three of you! Get out of here! Run in separate directions back to the village, and don't look back! That's an order!" It truly was Itachi, and beside him, a formidable missing-nin. This desperate situation… Kurenai hoped to buy her students enough time to escape.
"Hinata, especially you, go!" The Hyuga clan's Byakugan couldn't fall into enemy hands.
"Sensei, although the enemy is strong, our chances of survival are slim if we simply flee. We might as well fight." Shino assessed the situation. He couldn't abandon his teacher.
"I…" Hinata's hand trembled around her kunai, but she couldn't abandon Ying and Kurenai.
"I will fight alongside Ying… and Sensei!"
"A wise decision. It would be impolite to flee without a proper conversation after such a reunion." Kisame, brandishing Samehada, blocked Ying's path. He wasn't interested in the Byakugan, but another Uchiha… Besides Itachi's brother, another survivor?
"Itachi-san, what's this kid's name?"
"Shouldn't you introduce yourself before inquiring about someone else's name?" Both Itachi and Kisame exuded killing intent, both seemingly fixated on him. Escape was impossible. Ying wanted to gauge the extent of his current strength.
"My apologies. I got carried away." Kisame was taken aback by Ying's composure. Most genin would be paralyzed by his killing intent, yet this boy remained calm and conversational. Truly an Uchiha.
"I am Kisame Hoshigaki. I look forward to our duel."
"Uchiha Ying. I've heard shark meat is rather unpalatable." Both Itachi and Kisame were formidable opponents. Ying had to maintain utmost vigilance.
"Is that so? But sharks are quite fond of human flesh." Kisame lowered Samehada slightly, regarding Ying with a newfound seriousness.
"Kisame Hoshigaki? I believe that's the name of the man who assassinated the Mizukage and slaughtered his comrades." Kurenai recalled the name from the Bingo Book. A former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist. That sword must be one of the seven, emanating a sinister chakra. Like Itachi, he was an S-rank missing-nin.
"What is your objective here, at the edge of Fire Country?" Since conversation seemed feasible, Kurenai attempted to glean information while subtly urging her students to escape. But neither Ying, Hinata, nor Shino budged. She was both touched and frustrated.
"Our target is not you. It's Konoha." As a double agent, Itachi had no qualms about divulging this. "However, to avoid alerting anyone, we'll have to eliminate you all here."
"Konoha?" Kurenai was stunned, but even more so by Itachi's astonishingly swift hand seals. Too fast to follow… What kind of jutsu?
"Get away!" Even without his Sharingan activated, Ying's Byakugan allowed him to perceive Itachi's chakra and intent. That volume of chakra indicated a large-scale jutsu!
---
Fire Style: Great Fire Annihilation! Seemingly recognizing Ying from their prior encounter, Itachi unleashed the same jutsu. The entire street was consumed by orange flames.
"Even larger than the one Ying used that day!" Kurenai, retreating to the rooftops with her students, watched in astonishment as the flames blackened the street below.
"He's not finished! Look out behind you!"
Wind Style: Great Breakthrough!
Fire Style: Fire Dragon Flame Bomb!
Itachi's rapid hand seals allowed him to chain jutsus, combining wind and fire for amplified destructive power.
Boom!
The Fire Dragon Flame Bomb pulverized the roof beneath them, and the subsequent wind jutsu sent tiles scattering like leaves.
"Hinata!" Hinata, caught in the gale, was swept away.
"Looking for someone?" Shino, about to go to Hinata's aid, found Kisame's bandaged sword looming over him. He dodged, but the spikes protruding from the bandages grazed his chest, disrupting his chakra network and killing the insects he was amassing.
"Wh-what!?" Shino, about to counter with his insects, was shocked to find his chakra reserves depleted.
Thud!
Kisame's swift kick sent him crashing into a wall.
"Just a genin, but those bugs are a nuisance." Kisame flicked dead insects from Samehada, which had absorbed Shino's chakra.
"Shino…" Kurenai, having narrowly avoided Itachi's combined attack, could only charge at Kisame. She had to protect her students, even if it cost her her life. But specializing in genjutsu, she was outmatched by Kisame in taijutsu, quickly losing ground. And Itachi still lurked nearby.
"It appears this is the end." Without even fully unwrapping Samehada, Kisame sent Kurenai plummeting from the rooftop. He'd expected more from a Konoha jonin. He was almost disappointed.
"The end? Not quite."
Rasengan!
Exploding through the debris of a building, Ying appeared beneath Kisame, a spiraling blue sphere of chakra in his hand. After rescuing Hinata, he'd been biding his time.
"That jutsu?" Itachi, observing from a nearby rooftop, recognized the Rasengan. This boy, who'd appeared at the Uchiha compound that day… he was no ordinary ninja.
"Unexpected. I thought you had fled." Kisame instinctively raised Samehada to intercept the Rasengan.
"With a jutsu like that… what!?"
Itachi began to warn Kisame, then hesitated.
Boom!
The Rasengan slammed into Samehada, and a ferocious, rotating force tore through the sword, impacting Kisame directly.
*Spurt!*
Kisame coughed up blood as he was sent flying.