Chapter 40: Uchiha Itachi's Purpose, Akatsuki Makes Its Move!
"Ding~"
"Ding~"
Under the cover of thick fog, Itachi and Kisame slipped into the village.
They walked slowly along the road.
Observing everything around them.
"The village really got wrecked badly, huh~"
Kisame commented casually. "The people here are gonna be pretty busy cleaning up~"
Itachi's expression remained calm. He said nothing.
The real reason he came back to Konoha this time was personal.
He wanted to put pressure on the village's higher-ups.
He'd heard the Third Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen, was nearing the end of his life.
Once the Third was gone, there would be no one left in Konoha to protect Sasuke.
That was why.
He made this special trip — to remind the upper echelon that he was still alive… and that his strength was terrifying.
Of course.
That was private business.
On top of that private matter, there was also some "official" business.
Confirming the identity of the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki.
The Third Hokage hadn't lied — the fact that Naruto was the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki had been thoroughly sealed away.
To the world, he was only known as the "demon fox brat."
No one knew he was actually the container of the Nine-Tails.
That was exactly why Akatsuki was carrying out this probe.
In the original timeline, even Orochimaru — who knew a frightening amount of Konoha's secrets — only discovered Naruto's true identity when the boy lost control in rage and the Nine-Tails chakra burst out.
Perhaps.
To prevent Akatsuki from finding out too early, indirectly protecting Naruto.
Perhaps.
To ensure Naruto wouldn't interfere with his own "Konoha collapse" plan.
Or perhaps.
For some other reason entirely.
Someone had added an extra layer of seal on top of Naruto's Nine-Tails seal.
Making it so the Nine-Tails chakra no longer leaked out.
Originally.
The only mission Itachi and Kisame had was this one.
But recently, a mysterious Black-Robed Organization had suddenly appeared.
So.
The two of them were also given a secondary task — investigate anything related to the Black-Robed Organization while they were in Konoha.
Of course.
That was just something to do on the side.
If they didn't find anything useful, they'd drop it without hesitation.
"Itachi, where do we go first?"
"Search for traces of the Nine-Tails."
The two strolled through the streets of Konoha.
Using genjutsu to subtly extract information from passersby.
Casually wandering.
Not long after.
Once the thick fog finally began to lift, they managed to gather some solid intel.
"After questioning several survivors of the Nine-Tails attack back then…
We can confirm it."
Itachi slightly raised his head and spoke in a low, calm voice.
"Uzumaki Naruto is indeed the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki."
"Heh~"
Kisame gave a lazy chuckle. "Didn't expect old man Third to play it this dirty.
Who'd have thought the kid everyone curses as the demon fox brat was actually the real Jinchūriki?
Revealing the top-secret information in such a way that it becomes the perfect misdirection.
If it wasn't for your ridiculous genjutsu skill, Itachi, we wouldn't have gotten this intel at all.
Impressive stuff."
"Speaking of which… we didn't really get anything useful about that Black-Robed Organization."
"Want some dango?"
Itachi suddenly looked toward a familiar dango shop not far away.
He knew that place very well.
He used to go there often when he was little.
Together with Sasuke.
The memories made his chest feel strangely tight.
Then he secretly glanced behind them.
Hatake Kakashi.
In that instant, he decided — they would go inside the dango shop and eat slowly… deliberately delaying the moment they would have to capture Naruto.
"Dango?"
Kisame blinked, clearly caught off guard.
He never expected Itachi to have this kind of leisurely mood during a mission.
But after thinking about their overwhelming strength…
He just shrugged.
"Sure, why not~"
And so the two walked into the dango shop and quietly began eating.
...
Not far from the entrance.
Kakashi suddenly noticed two men dressed in very conspicuous black cloaks with red clouds.
His instincts immediately screamed danger.
He quickened his pace and followed.
"Could they be… Akatsuki?
Yes!
No doubt about it — it's Akatsuki!"
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed seriously.
Just a few days ago, Jiraiya had suddenly come looking for him, telling him some information about an organization called Akatsuki.
He had also wanted to take Naruto away for training and protection.
But when Kakashi casually mentioned that Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura were all currently training under a certain genius chūnin named Byakuya, Jiraiya was stunned.
He never imagined such a monstrously talented lower-rank ninja had appeared in the village.
So Jiraiya went straight to Byakuya and asked to take Naruto.
Byakuya agreed without hesitation.
Afterward, Kakashi also went to Byakuya and asked for Sasuke — this time for the purpose of training the boy's Sharingan.
And today.
Kakashi had arranged to meet Sasuke at this very dango shop before heading out to train.
But he never expected…
To run straight into members of Akatsuki here!
"What's their goal?
Are they really after Naruto?!"
Kakashi quietly approached the entrance of the dango shop, hoping to eavesdrop on their conversation.
Unfortunately.
Both Itachi and Kisame were extremely vigilant.
In a public place like this, they spoke only about trivial things.
No important information whatsoever.
Kakashi waited and waited, growing more and more impatient.
"This won't do…"
Just then.
Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai slowly walked over.
"Yo~
You two~"
Kakashi closed his little orange book and greeted them casually.
He planned to use this chance to lure Itachi and Kisame outside for a confrontation — and hopefully gather more intel.
"You two sure are getting along nicely~
Starting your date this early in the morning?"
"Idiot!"
Kurenai immediately shot back, cheeks faintly red. "I was just asked by Anko to buy some dango!"
"Kakashi, what are you doing here?"
Asuma asked.
"Nothing much~"
Kakashi shook his head. "Just buying some offerings… and waiting for someone."
As he spoke, his eyes flicked toward the inside of the dango shop.
Then he deliberately said aloud:
"Waiting for Sasuke."
"You? Waiting for someone?"
Asuma looked surprised. "That's pretty rare!
The offerings are for Obito, right?"
"Something like that~"
Kakashi kept his gaze fixed on the shop.
Right at that moment.
Sasuke walked over with a puzzled look on his face.
"Kakashi?
You actually arrived early?
That's really unusual."
"I get early once in a while, you know~"
But Sasuke immediately sensed the strange atmosphere.
Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai were all staring intently toward the dango shop.
So he also turned to look.
At the table near the entrance, there were half-eaten dango sticks and a still-steaming bowl of red-bean soup.
But no one was sitting there anymore.
"I hate natto and sweet stuff," Sasuke muttered, assuming the food was Kakashi's.
"Hm? Is that so?"
Kakashi replied absentmindedly, then glanced at Asuma.
Asuma gave a small nod.
Then, together with Kurenai, they immediately moved to chase after Itachi and Kisame.