Staring at the man who had killed his father, Uchiha Itachi felt a surge of murderous intent rise within him.
Yet in the very next instant, another obsession buried deep in his heart forcefully suppressed that killing intent.
"Before I hand over this intelligence," Itachi said coldly, "I want to ask you something. That matter about Uchiha Obito impersonating Uchiha Madara—is it true?"
"Most of it is my own deduction," Uchiha Rokuro replied casually, "but yes. It should be true."
Rokuro looked utterly relaxed. Though he had clearly sensed the killing intent radiating from Itachi, he didn't take it seriously at all.
"If that's the case," Itachi continued, "then the masked man I encountered must have been Uchiha Obito. And that organization called Akatsuki—he must be the one who founded it. As for their objective… it's very likely the complete overthrow of the shinobi world."
"Overthrow the entire shinobi world?" Rokuro scoffed. "That's a bold claim. Even any one of the Five Great Shinobi Villages couldn't accomplish something like that. Does some unheard-of organization really have that kind of power?"
Rokuro deliberately put on an ignorant, arrogant front.
As expected, disappointment and disgust surfaced on Itachi's face.
"So you really did inherit the Uchiha clan's arrogance," Itachi said coldly. "Only someone like that could awaken those eyes. I'll tell you this now—the Mangekyō Sharingan is not invincible. There exists an eye whose power surpasses it!"
"Haha—an eye that surpasses the Mangekyō Sharingan?" Rokuro laughed. "What, the legendary Rinnegan? Don't tell me that's the intelligence you came to give me."
But the moment he finished speaking, he noticed how grave Itachi's expression had become. Rokuro immediately stopped laughing.
"…Don't tell me someone really possesses the Rinnegan?"
"One of Akatsuki's other leaders wields the legendary Rinnegan," Itachi said. "I've confronted him at close range. His ocular power… exceeds even yours."
Rokuro's expression hardened instantly as he stood up.
"Who is it? What's his name? Where is he?"
"Before I tell you," Itachi said calmly, "you must agree to one condition."
"A condition?" Rokuro sneered. "Itachi, do you really think you're in a position to bargain with me right now?"
At this moment, Rokuro looked like a thoroughly detestable, smug villain—provoking enough to invite a beating.
Yet the more he behaved like this, the more convinced Itachi became.
In his view, only two kinds of people could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
One was someone extremely kind—like Uchiha Shisui.
The other was someone extremely self-centered, like Rokuro—someone who placed himself at the center of the world and expected everyone else to submit to him.
Such people were infuriating… but the Mangekyō they awakened was terrifyingly powerful.
"The intelligence I'm offering is worth that price," Itachi said. "If you refuse to listen, you may face total annihilation in the future. Are you willing to gamble on that?"
Rokuro stared at Itachi for a full half minute.
Then he smiled.
"You've convinced me. Fine—state your condition. I'll decide whether I can accept it."
"It's simple," Itachi said. "I want you to become Sasuke's teacher. Teach him wholeheartedly. Ideally… guide him to awaken the Mangekyō as well."
Rokuro frowned, then suddenly shouted exaggeratedly:
"You're asking me to raise a tiger that will one day turn on me! Listen here, young master—do you take me for an idiot?"
"You don't need to worry," Itachi said firmly. "I guarantee Sasuke will never seek revenge against you. Our father's death—I will avenge it myself. Just not now."
"Then when?" Rokuro asked. "You even have a timetable?"
Itachi turned toward the window, gazing into the night.
"I know what you've done in the Land of Lightning and the Land of Earth. Those actions will indeed revive the Uchiha—and even allow you to expand until you swallow the entire shinobi world. As a fellow Uchiha, I won't stop that."
He turned back to Rokuro.
"But once you control the entire shinobi world, I cannot allow you to become its king. Someone like you would make a terrible ruler. When the time comes, I will kill you and let someone more suitable take your place. That is why—before the Uchiha dominate the shinobi world—I will not make a move against you."
"Heh," Rokuro chuckled. "Should I thank you for that? So your plan is to use my hand to cultivate Sasuke, then let him become king? Interesting. But is your intelligence really worth that much?"
"And one more thing," Rokuro added casually. "If I agree now, then go back on my word after you hand over the intelligence—what could you possibly do to stop me?"
Itachi took out a scroll—the intelligence itself.
"It's simple," he said. "Akatsuki is not an easy opponent. Even if you mobilized all of Konoha, you might still fail to eliminate them. And if you fail to kill the snake in one strike, it will only grow more dangerous."
"You will need me to provide long-term intelligence. That is my leverage."
"…Now," Itachi said quietly, "give me your answer."
Rokuro had already guessed what the intelligence contained—Akatsuki's members, areas of activity, and an overview of their strength.
In the original timeline, after the so-called 'fatherly mercy', Itachi had done exactly this kind of work.
Unfortunately, he had done it poorly—he hadn't even known that the Six Paths of Pain were corpses, indirectly leading to Jiraiya's death.
By that standard, he had been a thoroughly incompetent spy.
As for now
After confirming the presence of Asura's chakra within Naruto, Rokuro had already begun setting his sights on Sasuke.
If Naruto possessed Asura's chakra as a child, then Sasuke must possess Indra's chakra as well.
With Rokuro's and Uchiha Izumi's bloodlines already incorporating both Uchiha and Senju traits, they should have awakened the Rinnegan in theory.
Yet they hadn't.
Which meant what was missing… was Asura's and Indra's chakra.
Those two powers were something Rokuro was determined to obtain.
"Fine," Rokuro said decisively. "I agree. As long as your intelligence is valuable enough, I will train Sasuke with everything I have. Even if it means raising a future threat—I don't care."
"Because no matter how strong he becomes… he will never surpass me."
Rokuro's face was filled with arrogant confidence.
Itachi snorted coldly, flung the scroll toward him, and in the next instant, his body dissolved into a flock of crows that flew out through the window.
"As expected—a clone," Rokuro said calmly. "With his level of caution, there was no way he'd show his real body."
Rokuro opened the scroll.
Sure enough, it detailed Akatsuki.
"Pain… Konan… Sasori of the Red Sand… Zetsu… hm? Kisame Hoshigaki has joined as well?"
"So the Immortal Duo doesn't exist in this world," Rokuro muttered. "And Orochimaru is missing too. Akatsuki here is weaker than in the original timeline."
"But it doesn't matter," he continued. "As long as Nagato and Obito exist, Akatsuki remains a force capable of overturning the entire shinobi world."
"This intelligence should be more than enough to make Tsunade and Jiraiya panic for a while."
Rokuro casually tossed the scroll onto the table and went to sleep.
Early the next morning, Tsunade and Jiraiya were preparing to confront Rokuro about Uzumaki Naruto.
They were even ready to tear all pretenses apart if necessary.
No matter what—it was absolutely unacceptable for Naruto to follow Rokuro.
Yet before they could even send ANBU to summon him
Rokuro arrived on his own.
Tsunade glanced at Jiraiya.
His expression was extremely grave.
"It looks like he's determined to get Naruto," Jiraiya muttered. "This is going to be troublesome."
"Tsunade," Jiraiya added, "should I summon Fukasaku and Shima in advance?"
Jiraiya actually considered it for a moment—then shook his head.
"Let's hear what he has to say first. There may still be room to maneuver."
At that moment, Rokuro knocked and entered.
Without giving either of them a chance to speak, he calmly placed the intelligence scroll Itachi had brought… directly in front of them.
Tsunade took the scroll with a puzzled look and skimmed through it—her expression changed instantly.
"This is real?" she demanded. "Who provided this intelligence?"
"It came from Uchiha Itachi, who has already defected from Konoha," Uchiha Rokuro replied calmly. "Late last night, he sent a clone to meet me. We made a deal. The terms were this intelligence—and future updates—in exchange for me taking his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, as my disciple and training him wholeheartedly. Ideally, he wants Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan."
Tsunade handed the scroll to Jiraiya. The moment he finished reading, he stood up abruptly.
"The Rinnegan?! That means… no, that's impossible!"
Tsunade shot Jiraiya a long look, then turned back to Rokuro.
"Rokuro—what do you think?"
"I believe the intelligence is genuine," Rokuro said evenly. "There's a blood feud between Itachi and me over his father's death, but I understand his character well. Even if he wants revenge, he would come at me openly—he wouldn't resort to cheap tricks. Besides, this information still needs verification. It's not something that can be fabricated."
Tsunade nodded slightly.
"The Land of Rain borders Konoha. It's not hard to gather intelligence there. But if this is true… then we're in serious trouble."
"Although Uchiha Obito isn't listed by name," Rokuro continued, "Itachi first confirmed whether the information about Obito was accurate. After I verified it, he concluded that the Akatsuki was founded jointly by Obito and this 'Pain.' Their objective is to collect the nine tailed beasts and use overwhelming power as deterrence—forcing a superficial peace across the shinobi world."
Rokuro smiled faintly.
"I don't consider that real peace. But if they actually succeed, it would significantly suppress large-scale shinobi wars. Seen from that angle, Obito's actions finally make sense."
"The Nine-Tails incident back then—Obito's true goal was likely to seize the Nine-Tails. Letting it rampage and destroy Konoha was probably just acting along the way."
"And the Three-Tails incident not long ago followed the same pattern. Unfortunately for him, he failed both times. But if Akatsuki continues to grow and gains momentum, capturing tailed beasts will become far easier—especially those three I personally killed."
Tsunade and Jiraiya both realized the implication at once.
"That's right," Jiraiya said grimly. "Those three tailed beasts vanished temporarily when their jinchūriki died. According to ancient theory, they'll revive somewhere after several years. Once reborn, they'll be in a wild state. Even though tailed beasts possess massive chakra reserves, without a jinchūriki, they're no match for multiple Kage-level opponents."
"And with Mangekyō Sharingan—and even the Rinnegan—Akatsuki's ability to capture tailed beasts is terrifying."
Jiraiya was deeply troubled. Rokuro, meanwhile, sneered inwardly.
"I suggest we first verify the intelligence," Rokuro said. "After that, we convene a Konoha high-level meeting to discuss countermeasures against Akatsuki. What do you think, Fifth Hokage?"
Tsunade nodded slightly. Jiraiya then spoke up.
"I'll handle the verification."
"You're going personally, Lord Jiraiya?" Rokuro said deliberately. "Why not let me do it instead? With my strength, even against the Rinnegan, I can put up a fight. If I can't win, I can retreat using Susanoo's flight capability. As for you…"
Rokuro intentionally left the sentence hanging.
Jiraiya took the bait immediately.
"I have my own way out," he said firmly. "And I've dealt with Akatsuki before. I'm more suitable than you. Tsunade—leave this mission to me."
Seeing the seriousness on Jiraiya's face, Tsunade sighed quietly.
"…Fine. Jiraiya, you'll go. Rokuro—don't spread this information for now. We'll discuss next steps after Jiraiya returns."
"Understood. I'll take my leave."
Originally, Tsunade and Jiraiya had intended to discuss Naruto—but at this point, that issue could wait.
After Rokuro left, Tsunade turned to Jiraiya.
"Jiraiya… what exactly is going on with Akatsuki and the Rinnegan? You know something, don't you?"
Jiraiya continued reading the scroll carefully.
"I know a bit about Akatsuki. It was originally formed by a group of passionate young people who wanted to bring peace to the Land of Rain. They focused on saving lives and ending wars."
Tsunade frowned deeply.
"That already sounds unreliable. So it was a ninja organization separate from Amegakure? Would Hanzō really tolerate something like that?"
Jiraiya sighed.
"You're right. They were too naïve—and they made a fundamental mistake. One mountain cannot house two tigers. When they were weak, it wasn't an issue. But as they grew stronger and took on more responsibilities, they inevitably threatened Hanzō's interests."
"I heard Akatsuki was ultimately destroyed by Hanzō. And…"
Jiraiya glanced at Tsunade.
"I also heard that Shimura Danzō was involved in the purge. And if Danzō acted… then the one who gave the order—"
Tsunade snorted coldly.
"That's the old man's usual style. So Akatsuki was destroyed? Then does that mean this intelligence is fake? Is Rokuro using false information to distract us while he buys Naruto's loyalty?"
Jiraiya shook his head slightly.
"Unlikely. The mention of the Rinnegan alone proves this intelligence is real."
"What?" Tsunade exclaimed. "The Rinnegan actually exists? The Sage of Six Paths' eyes? You believe that?"
"I do," Jiraiya said quietly. "Because I've seen the Rinnegan with my own eyes. I was even that child's teacher."
"Tsunade—do you remember when we fought in the Land of Rain? Three orphans approached us, asking to learn ninjutsu?"
Tsunade had little impression—until Jiraiya mentioned that he had stayed behind to teach them for a time.
"…You mean," she said slowly, "one of those three children possessed the Rinnegan?"
"His name was Nagato," Jiraiya said softly. "He was gentle and kind. I once believed he was the Child of Prophecy—the one who would bring peace to the shinobi world."
"Later, I received news of his death. I was devastated. But judging from this intelligence… Nagato didn't die. Not only did he survive—he fell into darkness. The once gentle boy has become the leader of a sinister organization."
After hearing everything, Tsunade felt like storming the cemetery, digging up Danzō's corpse, and whipping it herself.
"So in the end," she said coldly, "it was Danzō and Hanzō joining forces to slaughter the original Akatsuki members, pushing a Rinnegan-bearing youth into darkness—giving birth to the current Akatsuki. And Uchiha Obito, posing as Uchiha Madara, allied himself with them. Is that correct?"
Jiraiya nodded slowly.
"That's the most likely conclusion based on what we know. But to confirm it… I still need to go to the Land of Rain myself."
END OF CHAPTER
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