Chapter 572: Itachi: My Foolish Little Brother!
"Mr. Amado, your scientific talent really is astonishing."
Kenichi looked over the experimental report in his hands and could not help praising him.
Frankly, he had not expected Amado to uncover this much information.
And the most impressive part was that Amado had accomplished all of it without dismantling the machine.
He had already examined practically every component that could be studied from the outside.
Its material composition.
Its biological characteristics.
Its mechanical properties.
Whether certain external stimuli produced a reaction.
Amado had thoroughly tested almost everything available to him.
Even Kenichi was somewhat surprised by the results.
No wonder Isshiki had recruited Amado into Kara.
Thinking about that, Kenichi suddenly remembered something else.
He looked at Amado and cautiously asked a question.
"Mr. Amado, before I recruited you, did any other organization approach you?"
Kenichi narrowed his eyes slightly.
"For example... an organization called Kara?"
Amado froze for a moment.
Seeing that reaction, Kenichi immediately understood.
Amado had definitely received an invitation from Kara.
The only question was whether he had already joined.
In Kenichi's original timeline, Amado had become part of Kara.
But this world was different, so Kenichi could not be certain how far things had progressed here.
If Amado had already joined, perhaps Kenichi could obtain information about Kara and Isshiki from him.
"Yes."
Amado answered honestly.
"I was approached by an organization with that name, and I did agree to join them. But right now, I'm only a peripheral member."
Kenichi nodded.
That was roughly what he expected.
Amado possessed far too much scientific talent for Isshiki to simply overlook him.
What surprised Kenichi was that Amado had not yet become a core member.
Still, after thinking about it, that made sense.
Before Kenichi had personally encountered Amado, even he had known almost nothing about the man.
Unfortunately, being only a peripheral member meant Amado probably possessed very little useful intelligence.
Kenichi questioned him further and soon confirmed that suspicion.
Amado knew almost nothing about Kara's internal affairs.
He knew the organization's name.
He knew what its leader looked like.
Beyond that, his information was extremely limited.
Since there was nothing more to gain, Kenichi stopped pressing the matter.
Instead, he placed one hand on the turtle-shaped time machine.
Then he circulated the chakra within his body.
A stream of purified chakra slowly entered the device.
Buzz!
The machine suddenly vibrated.
Immediately afterward, a strange pillar of light rose from the center of its shell.
Kenichi's eyes widened slightly.
Even though he had expected some kind of reaction after completing his Otsutsuki transformation, seeing it happen was still shocking.
A creature that looked like a turtle had suddenly transformed into something straight out of science fiction.
And inside that light...
"This is..."
Excitement appeared in Kenichi's eyes.
His Rinnegan activated immediately.
He began analyzing the energy before him.
Very quickly, he discovered something unusual.
The energy did not simply rise in a straight line.
It formed a spiraling structure.
The spiral continuously emerged from the bottom of the turtle-shaped machine, climbed upward, and then disappeared into empty space.
And at the exact point where it vanished...
"How did you activate it?"
Amado's attention was focused on a different question.
He had no idea what the device actually did.
Seeing the strange phenomenon, he instinctively reached out to touch the pillar of light.
Kenichi immediately stopped him.
What kind of joke was that?
What if Amado touched the energy and vanished together with the machine?
Where was Kenichi supposed to find another time machine?
Ask Hagoromo?
Whether the Sage of Six Paths possessed another one was already uncertain.
And even if he did, whether he would willingly hand it over was another matter entirely.
Kenichi's Rinnegan remained fixed on the strange energy.
He could see things within it.
Patterns.
Structures.
Something that seemed to exist and not exist at the same time.
Kenichi could not even properly describe what he was observing.
Even when his analytical dojutsu attempted to break it down, those structures remained strangely elusive.
At least with his current understanding, Kenichi could not fully grasp them.
Fortunately, he had time.
The Chunin Exams were already over.
For the moment, Kenichi had no urgent responsibilities.
"Then let's research it."
Kenichi rubbed his hands together.
The machine had finally activated.
But merely turning it on was nowhere near enough.
That was not his real objective.
Kenichi wanted to completely understand the principle behind time travel.
He wanted to reproduce it himself.
If he could reach that level...
Then he would have much more confidence the next time he faced Isshiki.
After all, time itself was an absurdly powerful force.
Anyone who could truly control it would become extraordinarily dangerous.
Of course, mishandling time was equally likely to create catastrophic problems.
"But... did I forget something?"
Kenichi scratched his head.
He thought for a moment.
Nothing came to mind.
Eventually, he shrugged.
It probably was not important.
If it had truly mattered, surely he would have remembered.
Since he could not recall it, that meant his own memory had already judged it to be unimportant.
At that same moment, on the outskirts of Konoha...
"Itachi-san, did you come here this time to see your little brother?"
Kisame stood beside Itachi and quietly looked toward the peaceful village ahead.
Itachi did not answer.
He simply stared at Konoha.
The village was familiar.
Yet somehow, it also felt distant.
A faint mixture of indifference and longing flickered within his eyes.
Sasuke...
It had been a long time.
How much had his foolish little brother grown?
Sasuke needed to become stronger.
Much stronger.
Only then would he be able to receive the final gift Itachi intended to leave him.
"Cough... cough..."
Itachi suddenly coughed.
His complexion looked terrible.
His remaining time was becoming shorter.
At most, he probably had only a few years left.
If Sasuke failed to grow strong enough before then...
Itachi genuinely did not know what he would do.
That was one reason he had come to Konoha now.
He wanted to personally examine Sasuke's progress.
If necessary, he would stimulate him further and force him to grow faster.
At the very least, Sasuke needed to catch up to the level Itachi expected of him.
Otherwise, how could Itachi leave this world with peace of mind?
Kisame glanced at his partner with concern.
He also understood how poor Itachi's physical condition had become.
Despite that, Kisame respected him greatly.
Itachi was a ninja worthy of respect.
And terrifyingly powerful.
Suddenly, Kisame's expression sharpened.
He had sensed chakra nearby.
"Hey, Sasuke, why didn't we become chunin?"
Naruto's confused voice came from around the corner.
"Didn't we win?"
He walked beside Sasuke while casually pulling Hinata along with him.
Hinata obediently followed behind, her hands held behind her back as she listened.
"How would I know?"
Sasuke sounded irritated.
"We clearly won our matches, but only Shikamaru got promoted."
He frowned.
"Maybe it was because of the written exam."
Sasuke was genuinely annoyed.
Team 7 had defeated their opponents without much difficulty.
Yet Hiruzen had still refused to promote any of them.
Still, Sasuke did not care deeply about the rank itself.
There was only one thing he truly cared about.
Revenge.
The moment Sasuke thought about Itachi, rage surged through his chest.
He wanted nothing more than to find his older brother right now.
And then beat him down with his own hands.
As if responding to that thought, Sasuke turned the corner on the way to the training ground.
Then he stopped.
Two men stood ahead.
Both wore black cloaks patterned with red clouds.
Their fingernails were painted.
But Sasuke barely noticed any of that.
His eyes locked onto one face.
That face was impossible to forget.
Even after all these years, Sasuke recognized him instantly.
Itachi.
"Long time no see, Sasuke."
Itachi's voice was cold.
His gaze briefly swept over his younger brother.
He had overheard the conversation from moments earlier.
Sasuke had failed to become a chunin?
How disappointing.
At Sasuke's current age, both Itachi and Shisui had already achieved far more.
Yet Sasuke was still only a genin.
Had his foolish little brother spent all these years wasting time?
Had he forgotten his hatred?
Had he forgotten the revenge he owed their parents?
"..."
Sasuke said nothing.
His entire body trembled.
Kisame barely paid attention to the children.
Instead, his gaze shifted behind them.
"Rogue ninja of Kirigakure, Kisame Hoshigaki."
A calm but vigilant voice sounded.
"And... Uchiha Itachi."
Kakashi stepped forward.
"What are the two of you doing in Konoha?"
He had been following Team 7 from behind.
Normally, Kakashi would have been walking around with Make-Out Tactics in his hand without caring what anyone thought.
But Hinata complicated things.
Whenever Kakashi tried to casually read the book around the young heiress of the Hyuga main family, her innocent expression made him feel strangely guilty.
Eventually, he had simply stopped reading Make-Out Tactics whenever Hinata was nearby.
He certainly had not expected that following his students today would lead him directly into Itachi and Kisame.
Kakashi instantly became alert.
Without changing his expression, he quietly sent out an Anbu warning signal.
"It seems there's no opportunity today, Sasuke."
Itachi spoke indifferently.
He had originally intended to test how much his brother had improved.
But Kakashi's arrival changed the situation.
If only Kakashi were present, Kisame could hold him off while Itachi tested Sasuke.
But they were standing on the edge of Konoha.
The alert had already been sent.
Jonin and Anbu could arrive at any moment.
Itachi had no intention of starting a serious battle here.
After all, he was still fundamentally an undercover operative.
He had not truly betrayed Konoha.
"Uchiha Itachi!"
Sasuke roared.
Three tomoe immediately appeared in each of his eyes.
Itachi froze for the briefest instant.
Then a faint softness appeared deep within his gaze.
Three tomoe already?
Good.
If Sasuke had reached the three-tomoe Sharingan at this age, then awakening the Mangekyo Sharingan in the future should not be impossible.
Itachi's mood immediately improved.
But another problem remained.
How would he force Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyo?
Itachi glanced toward Naruto and Hinata.
These two children seemed to be Sasuke's companions.
If Sasuke eventually failed to awaken the Mangekyo naturally...
Then Itachi might need to find another way to push him.
"Let's go, Kisame."
Without further hesitation, Itachi and Kisame withdrew from Konoha.
Kakashi considered pursuing them.
Then he looked at Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata beside him.
He abandoned the idea.
Leaving three genin behind while chasing two S-rank missing-nin would be reckless.
Unfortunately, Sasuke was already furious.
Naruto and Hinata looked ready to chase after the two Akatsuki members as well.
Kakashi's head immediately began to hurt.
He really should never have agreed to Hiruzen's request to lead Team 7.
This team attracted trouble far too easily.
Powerful enemies seemed to appear around them one after another.
The pressure was ridiculous.
Anbu reinforcements soon arrived.
With that, the immediate crisis was considered resolved.
Afterward, Hiruzen issued a strict order.
For the time being, Team 7 was forbidden from leaving Konoha on missions.
Naruto, Sasuke, and Hinata were to remain inside the village until further notice.
No one objected.
Later, inside the Hokage's office, Hiruzen sat alone while rubbing his temples.
Several reports lay on the desk before him.
His expression was complicated.
Itachi had once reached an agreement with Konoha.
He had become an undercover operative inside Akatsuki.
But up until now, the intelligence he had sent back could almost be described as nonexistent.
That deeply dissatisfied Hiruzen.
He was genuinely concerned about Akatsuki.
Something about that organization made him feel it could eventually become a serious threat to Konoha.
That was one reason Hiruzen had agreed to let Itachi infiltrate it.
He had even allowed the Uchiha Clan Massacre to proceed, giving Itachi the perfect circumstances to convincingly defect from the village.
Yet judging by the lack of intelligence being returned, Itachi clearly still held resentment toward Konoha.
Otherwise, why had he provided so little useful information?
"But fortunately..."
Hiruzen slowly gathered the reports together.
"Konoha has Kenichi now."
As long as Kenichi remained in the village, most threats were no longer worth worrying about.
Hiruzen remembered the scene during the Chunin Exams.
Kenichi had restrained a Tailed Beast with overwhelming ease.
Then he had killed the One-Tail.
With someone that powerful protecting Konoha, whatever conspiracy Akatsuki might be planning suddenly seemed far less frightening.
Kenichi himself was now Konoha's greatest deterrent.
That thought improved Hiruzen's mood considerably.
Then his gaze fell upon his own aging hands.
Silence settled over the room.
Perhaps...
It really was time for him to retire.
Perhaps Konoha needed its next Hokage.
When Shukaku had appeared during the Chunin Exams, Hiruzen had actually felt a strange sense of excitement.
If necessary, he had been prepared to sacrifice his life for the village.
But Kenichi's intervention had completely destroyed that opportunity.
Hiruzen had not even been given the chance to die heroically.
....
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