Chapter 471: Surprises and a New Plan
Kurosuki Raiga died peacefully.
...
Faced with Raiga’s desperate charge, Kakuzu simply dodged slightly, letting Raiga slice off both his arms with his blade.
"I won!" Raiga’s face lit up in surprise as he saw Kakuzu’s arms fall to the ground.
For a ninja, arms were everything. No arms meant no hand signs, no jutsu, how could he possibly fight?
But Raiga didn’t understand Kakuzu nearly well enough. Even if you cut off his arms, his legs, his whole body, Kakuzu could still fight.
Swish swish!
Just as Raiga thought this hard-fought battle would end in a stunning underdog victory, the unexpected happened.
Dark tendrils burst out of Kakuzu’s shoulder stumps, quickly binding Raiga and slamming him brutally into the ground.
"Lightning Style, False Darkness!"
The lightning mask on Kakuzu’s shoulder fired a crackling lightning spear, echoing through the silent forest. The high-voltage jutsu pierced straight through Raiga’s chest, burning a black, bloody hole.
"How...?"
Raiga stared at Kakuzu in disbelief. He had been so close, how did it end like this?
But Kakuzu wasn’t one to waste time chatting with traitors or losers. He swiftly ended Raiga’s life and shoved the body into a sack.
He then found a random village, forced some villagers to sew his arms back on, and traveled to the nearest underground bounty station, turning Raiga’s corpse into his favorite thing, money.
As the exchange was complete, Kakuzu, for once, cracked a rare smile.
"Not bad. Hopefully the next recruit is just as valuable."
he thought.
Since Akatsuki operated in pairs, the new recruit would likely be his next partner, unless the lineup changed.
Meanwhile, Itachi had been in a northern town for about a week.
He played the role of an ordinary traveler, visiting all the famous local spots. But over the last few days, he’d run into a problem, a noble girl had started clinging to him.
She was the daughter of a noble family from the area. He’d bumped into her while scouting the town, and now she wouldn’t stop following him.
"Miss Shijou, please stop following me,"
Itachi said wearily.
Her name was Shijou Kaori, and her constant tailing was ruining his ability to observe and gather intel discreetly.
A richly dressed young lady flanked by bodyguards shadowing a shinobi? Way too suspicious.
At first, Itachi gave her the cold shoulder, thinking she’d lose interest. But the opposite happened, Kaori’s enthusiasm only grew stronger.
He even thought he saw stars in her eyes.
"I’m just walking the same road as you, Itachi. Do you think everyone on this path is following you? So full of yourself, but still cute,"
Kaori said, giggling behind her fan.
Itachi, "..."
He genuinely had no idea how to respond.
If this were a discussion about war, peace, or human nature, he’d have plenty to say. But dealing with this kind of woman... he was at a loss.
Sighing, Itachi decided to return to the inn for lunch and rest, hoping to shake her off for a bit.
But he underestimated just how shameless people could be.
Kaori boldly followed him into the inn.
"Is this inn yours, Itachi? Did you book the whole thing?"
she asked sweetly.
"...No."
he replied stiffly.
"Then I can stay too,"
she said with a smile.
Itachi suddenly realized something terrifying, if your face was thick enough, there was always a "logical" excuse.
He couldn’t understand her motive. He had been nothing but cold and aloof, any normal person would’ve backed off by now.
What he didn’t know was, some people are just like that. The colder you act, the more interested they become.
Kaori wasn’t exactly one of those types, but she was close. Surrounded by sycophants all her life, flattery bored her. So when a handsome, aloof ninja ignored her? She was hooked.
Especially a Leaf Village ninja. They weren’t that common around here, making Itachi all the more intriguing.
"If you tell me a story about a Leaf ninja mission, I’ll stop following you today,"
Kaori offered.
Itachi didn’t respond. He had no mission stories, he’d never been sent on one. He was still too young.
Kaori, misreading his silence as confidentiality, made another offer,
"I’m going hunting tomorrow. Be my escort. I’ll pay you."
she grinned.
Itachi considered it. If one day of babysitting could get her off his back, it might be worth it.
But based on her behavior so far, he doubted she’d keep her word.
"I’ll pay, it’s not for free. You Leaf ninjas take jobs, right?"
Kaori smiled.
Itachi finally nodded. If she kept bothering him afterward, he’d just pack up and head to the capital early.
He wasn’t rigid, if observation became impossible, he’d cut his losses and move on.
A white figure, Zetsu, watched Kaori leave, then sank into the ground to report to Black Zetsu.
Originally, Black Zetsu planned to spark a conflict between Itachi and the Shijou family, using the family’s influence to eliminate a Leaf ninja.
According to Zetsu’s intel, the Shijou family, though fallen from glory, still had power. They used to be a prominent noble house in the Land of Fire.
Even now, they were strong enough to take on a young ninja like Itachi.
And Zetsu was an expert in manipulation. His plan was simple, make Itachi witness the Shijou family oppressing commoners. A clash would naturally follow.
To Itachi, it would just be standing up for justice. To the Shijou family, it would be an upstart meddler on their turf. The conflict would escalate.
But plans never go perfectly. Now, instead of a clash, Kaori was flirting with Itachi.
White Zetsu, seeing signs of a positive relationship forming, knew this was urgent and went to report.
Black Zetsu, having just wrapped up Akatsuki business, pondered this unexpected twist.
Based on centuries of experience, he suspected one thing, Kaori had fallen for Uchiha Itachi.
Sure, Itachi was only eight, but he was using a transformation jutsu to appear as a young adult.
This didn’t ruin the plan, but greatly increased the chance of failure. What if Kaori begged her family to back off?
Black Zetsu realized he had to revise the plan.
Still, he wasn’t discouraged.
After thousands of years working in the shadows, he was used to unpredictability. The more complex a scheme, the more likely something would go sideways.
And in fact, he didn’t even see this as a bad thing.
From now on, instead of interfering, he’d secretly encourage their relationship. Let their bond grow.
Then, when the time was right, let the "accident" happen.
After all, the Uchiha were emotional people. That was what made them so useful.
"This is a new breathing technique I developed, Moon Breathing. It’s just as powerful as Sun Breathing. You’ll be training separately from Naruto for now,"
Nagasawa told Sasuke.
Now that Moon Breathing was complete, he didn’t waste time and gave it directly to Sasuke.
Naruto had already gotten a big head start. If he delayed any longer, Sasuke might crack from frustration.
Plus, they were still young. If they trained side by side, there was a chance they’d mix things up, especially since the breathing techniques weren’t interchangeable.
To be fair, Nagasawa didn’t give one his real body and the other a clone, he created two shadow clones to teach them, while his true self moved between them.
Since Sasuke was just starting Moon Breathing, Nagasawa planned to spend more time helping him at first.
"Got it! I’ll master Moon Breathing!"
Sasuke beamed.
While Nagasawa had been developing the technique, Sasuke could only do basic training. Watching Naruto grow stronger day by day had been agony.
"Heh, just keep chasing my back, Sasuke. I’ll be waiting for you at the top,"
Naruto said smugly.
Even if Moon Breathing was equal in power, he had a serious head start. He was still Nagasawa’s number 1 student.
"Don’t get cocky, Naruto. I’ll catch up and make you cry,"
Sasuke snapped back, confidence reignited.
Nagasawa watched the banter with a proud smile.
"Excellent. Then let’s make it interesting, three months from now, we’ll have a sparring match. The loser has to wear a dress."
Naruto and Sasuke froze.
A dress?
The image reminded them of the time their mothers dragged them into a boutique for "fun."
"What’s the winner get?"
Naruto asked, hopeful.
He already had the lead, surely Nagasawa was throwing him a bone.
"The prize?"
Nagasawa thought for a second.
"You don’t have to wear the dress."
"That’s not a prize!"
Naruto’s face dropped.
"Yeah, why is not being punished the reward?"
Sasuke added, frowning.
"Fine, fine,"
Nagasawa relented.
"The winner gets a custom kunai."
Now that was more like it.
"Then I’ll definitely beat you!"
Naruto and Sasuke said at the same time, eyes blazing.
Nagasawa watched them with the satisfied smile of a proud father.
A little rivalry is good.
After all, the more they push each other, the stronger the Leaf becomes. And the more points he earns for upgrades.
Comments