Escape From Konoha

Early July.

Forest Country, North.

The figures were moving, and only the afterimages of people speeding by could be seen on the road, as well as the slightly shaking tree branches and leaves. The figures had already flashed dozens of meters away, running straight forward.

"Sasuke-sama, it's just ahead."

Miko Hoshino, who was at the back of the team, pointed forward.

Among the mottled leaves, one could see through the gaps that there was an extremely huge building that suddenly appeared in the center of the forest, blocking everyone's view.

It's late afternoon, dusk is approaching.

The flying people were dyed with the brilliant colors of the sunset.

"I see it, speed up."

Sasuke blinked and flew out at lightning speed, directly distancing himself from the people behind him.

Not to be outdone, Jugo and the others also quickened their pace, following closely behind Sasuke for fear of falling behind.

They came all the way from the Kingdom of Birds with almost no rest. They only took soldier food pills and marching rations on the way to restore their lost chakra and physical strength.

The huge high wall surrounding the forest forms a circle, forming a territory isolated from the outside world.

A huge ruined building rises from the ground among weeds and trees. The traces on the building are very old, and it seems to have been damaged by war. Some places have been destroyed, which is quite dated.

Judging from the remnants around the building, no one has been here for at least ten years.

Under the high wall, a straight path with an open door extends to the inside of the high wall.

Sasuke and the others flashed to the center of the path, looking up and forward.

Remnants are all over the high walls, and leaves are falling on the ground. With dusk as the background, it looks even more desolate and desolate.

Sasuke took the lead and without any hesitation, passed this path and entered the high wall.

The huge dome building in front is even more conspicuous.

Entering inside the high wall, the path is flanked by pools of green leaves.

The water in the pool is very clear and maintains its original natural atmosphere.

In the center of the path passing through the dome building, a tall figure stood majestically.

At first glance, it looks like a human-shaped shark.

The skin color, facial features, and exposed fangs are all very similar to those of sharks.

He carried a bandage sword that was taller than the portrait on his back, and he stood in front of everyone openly, staring at everyone with a very cruel smile.

"Haha, it's just like Itachi said, it's really here."

Kisame's eyes fell on Sasuke and his smile became even wider.

"I remember you were in the same group as Itachi."

Sasuke took a deep breath and felt the unusual chakra on Kisame's body. He knew that this was an extremely powerful ninja and he should not be careless.

"It seems that That Itachi guy is indeed here."

After confirming something, Sasuke stopped waiting and rushed towards Kisame without waiting for the people behind him to catch up.

Intertwined with his figure, passed by him, and rushed towards the domed building.

"Sasuke, wait-"

Jugo and others also followed, intending to break through Kisame's blockade in the same way.

boom!

When Kisame waved it with one hand, the Great Sword Shark immediately smashed the road ahead, causing an explosion and forcing back the charging Jugo and others.

"Hey, what's going on with you?"

Kidomaru moved his mouth, moved his six arms towards his mouth, pulled out a golden metal monitor, strung the bow, and shot the arrow to Kisame's heart.

Tayuya also held the flute to her lips, ready to attack at any time.

Jirobo stood in front, using his strong body as a shield to stare at Kisame solemnly.

"It might be a bit troublesome to use this guy as an opponent. His chakra is scary."

Jugo's voice was low, a hint of darkness appeared in his eyes, and he glanced at Kisame sharply.

"Haha, don't be so impatient. I won't do anything to you. I just hope you stay here obediently."

Kisame didn't care about these people's vigilance and said with a smile.

"What's the meaning?"

Jugo noticed that Kisame had no fighting spirit at all and didn't understand what he was doing.

"It means that this battle is between their brothers. Outsiders like us, please don't bother us. This is also Itachi's request. As a companion, I can only respect his beliefs."

Kisame said so.

Putting Samehada behind him again, the tense atmosphere dissipated between the two parties.

"are you serious?"

Tayuya asked with a frown.

"How else."

Kisame casually sat down cross-legged, letting go of his guard as if he wasn't worried about Jugo's surprise attack at all.

"I don't want to get involved in any troublesome things. You know, fighting is very tiring. After all, no matter what the outcome is, this is a fight between their brothers. If outsiders interfere, they will be killed by the two of them. We all hate it."

Kisame stated this again.

Jugo and others looked at each other and put away their fighting posture, but they did not relax their vigilance and monitored Kisame's every move anytime and anywhere.

◎

There were no curves in the road in front of him, only a dark corridor leading forward. Although there were flickering candles, there were still very few places that could be illuminated.

Sasuke kept walking forward along this road, his steps steady and orderly, his dark pupils shining forward with a deep gaze, with the light of flickering candles dancing in them.

Maybe it was as long as an hour, a day, a year, or a century. With Sasuke's constant footsteps, this corridor finally came to an end.

Connected to the end of the corridor is an extremely wide hall.

The candlestick was damaged, and there were a lot of uneven scratches on the walls and floors, as well as kunai and shurikens scattered on the ground, which were already rusty. The east wall was completely damaged, and there was only a pile of rubble. Stacked there.

It is not difficult to see that this place has experienced a great war.

On a stone chair at the front of the hall, a thin figure sat quietly.

This figure's eyebrows are somewhat similar to Sasuke's, and the nasolabial folds on both sides of his nose make him look older than he actually is.

The slightly thin body was wrapped under a black red cloud coat. Blood and darkness, and a cold breath rushed towards his face.

He closed his eyes tightly, as if he was taking a rest and could not bear any disturbance.

It wasn't until the footsteps in his ears came within ten meters of him that he slowly opened a pair of scarlet eyes, and three black magatama slowly rotated, mysterious and cold.

His gaze was directed towards Sasuke's body, and his already scarlet eyes contained unimaginable darkness.

Sasuke did not hide the traces of his arrival. He looked at the young man in front of him who was only a few years older than he actually was. He thought he would be very excited to see this person again, but in the end, he showed no signs of it on his face or in his heart. Very peaceful.

Only a pair of pitch-black pupils began to turn bright red, and similarly, three pitch-black magatama emerged, connecting with the man's gaze in the serious air.

"Itachi..."

After calling the young man's name, Sasuke's tone was quite calm, without any agitation.

He stopped and silently estimated that the distance between himself and Itachi was only eight meters.

Itachi looked at Sasuke who had stopped, still sitting peacefully on the stone chair. His Sharingan eyes were the same as Sasuke's, without any fluctuations. He just whispered: "Sasuke, long time no see."

"It's been a long time indeed. It must have been almost four years since we last met."

Sasuke replied calmly.

Itachi stared at Sasuke for a while and found that the other party showed no signs of taking action. He still said in a slightly indifferent voice: "It seems that you have grown a lot in the past few years and you no longer rush over like you did last time. It's just that I I remember I told you before that it would be best to come to me after you have the same eyes."

"Mangekyo Sharingan? You don't need that kind of thing. I have made all preparations before coming. Unlike last time, I have already seen your future clearly with this pair of Sharingan."

Sasuke placed his right hand on the hilt of the Kusanagi sword. Thin and silky electric snakes flowed on the sword, shining slightly in the dim light. Even though the light was very low, it was still eye-catching.

"Seeing? Instead of deciding? You know, people will use their known knowledge to interpret the world in front of them and insist that it is reality, but this kind of understanding is actually extremely ridiculous. You said you saw it with your Sharingan My future, it seems you don’t understand the real gap between us.”

Itachi sat there peacefully, his eyes dim.

"The real gap?"

Sasuke raised a brow.

"You should have learned about it from the Kingdom of Oni. The Mangekyo Sharingan, the power of these eyes is very special, so special that if it is not the same level of eyes, it cannot compete with it. Although it is a pity that your eyes are not Evolution, but if the eyes are nourished by magic, they may also be able to exert unique effects."

"what are you talking about?"

Sasuke felt suddenly uneasy.

Itachi's appearance is really a bit weird.

"I have said that people will use their own limited knowledge to determine the truth of the world. Whether it is you, me, or others, they are just such ordinary people. And I want to start from this limited 'hope' ', find a new path. For this, your strength is essential."

Itachi raised his arm, stretched out his index finger, and pointed it at Sasuke's eyes like a sharp sword.

"A new road?"

Sasuke tilted his head, and then a hint of sarcasm emerged from the corner of his mouth.

The figure twisted, and Sasuke, who was originally standing in the center of the hall, suddenly turned into a burst of black smoke and melted into the air.

laugh!

The sword blade pierced the rock, and also pierced Itachi's body from behind the stone chair, passing through the chest.

Itachi, who was sitting on the stone chair, felt violently.

He lowered his head and looked down. The Kusanagi sword that penetrated the chest from behind was covered with a layer of shining thunder. It sounded like a bird chirping, resounding throughout the hall.

"you……"

"I just want to ask you...when the Uchiha clan attempted a coup in Konoha, why did you side with the top leaders of Konoha?"

Sasuke squatted down behind the stone chair, holding the hilt of the sword with his right hand, and resting his left hand on the top of the hilt. He turned chakra into Chidori, paralyzing Itachi's body and making him unable to move.

Itachi slowly raised his head. Strangely, there was no blood flowing out from the corners of his mouth or chest.

As if he had reached his limit, Itachi looked at the candlelight on the candlestick on the wall in front of him, his eyes dazed for a moment.

"For peace and justice..."

He was only halfway through his words when he was interrupted by a cold and murderous aura.

The Kusanagi sword in Sasuke's hand suddenly turned, and the lightning spurted out even more violently.

And Itachi's body, stimulated by the thunder and lightning, seemed to have reached its limit, suddenly expanded into a huge balloon, and exploded with a bang.

quack.

Itachi's exploded body turned into countless crows, making hoarse and unpleasant cries that drowned out the sound of the thousand birds.

Where Sasuke originally stood, a figure stood there at some point.

Wearing a black coat with red clouds, a pair of scarlet eyes stared at him indifferently, without any wavering in his eyes, as if there was nothing in this world that could cause his mood to fluctuate.

This person is Itachi.

Sasuke stood up slowly and came to the front of the stone chair. The lightning on the Kusanagi sword bloomed. It did not stop, but became more and more intense.

Sasuke wasn't surprised at all that Itachi was unharmed.

Rather, it was truly incredible that he could directly defeat Itachi with his sneak attack just now.

He knew that the man in front of him was a perfect ninja without any flaws, whether it was illusion, ninjutsu or taijutsu.

"Itachi, you are still as arrogant as before. In your eyes, I am afraid that I will always be the child who is babbling behind you and unable to truly grow up. But don't forget, there is also blood flowing in your body. With the blood of the Uchiha clan."

Sasuke said as if he had read Itachi's mind.

Sasuke's words made Itachi seem a little silent.

Arrogant? Maybe.

As Sasuke said, no matter whether he loves the Uchiha family or not, the source of his power can never escape the word 'Uchiha'.

This will not be denied by others as he betrays his family.

Uchiha Itachi, Sharingan Itachi, Clan Destroyer Itachi... all titles are closely related to the Uchiha clan.

And he himself had destroyed all of this with his own hands.

"At this point, it's meaningless to say this."

"No, just because I am still alive, there is a need to bring this matter up again." Sasuke's voice was slightly cold, "Honestly, whether it is Orochimaru, Kakashi, the Kingdom of Oni, or Konoha, I only believe half of the information leaked from them. I need to personally prove the truth of the matter from you, the person who has experienced it!"

"Even if all this is proven, so what? Your personal power is insignificant in the face of the general trend of the world. Chasing the so-called truth too much will only repeat my past 'arrogance'."

"Really? But I think my power is enough to destroy Konoha."

Sasuke's tone was decisive, his eyes burning, brewing a dark aura of destruction.

His remarks made Itachi silent again.

After a long time, he finally spoke:

"That's the truth."

"Why do you do this?"

"For peace——"

Itachi responded with the sudden figure of Sasuke, the Kusanagi sword in his hand stabbing Itachi's chest almost uncontrollably.

Obviously, this answer did not satisfy Sasuke.

"See, this is the consequence of pursuing the so-called 'truth' too much, and you start to lose confidence in even the ironclad evidence you see."

A kunai appeared in his right hand, and after attaching chakra, he easily blocked the Kusanagi sword's attack.

Then, Itachi's left hand immediately stretched out his sleeve, holding three shurikens between his fingers. The moment he blocked the Kusanagi sword, the three shurikens flew out like black swifts and shot directly towards Sasuke's chest.

Sasuke stepped back, distanced himself from Itachi, swung his sword blade, and chopped down three shurikens on the spot.

"Art fire escape ho fireball!"

There was no flaw in Itachi's attack, and the connection was seamless.

The scorching fireball engulfed Sasuke's figure. With the terrifying high temperature, the rocks on the ground seemed to have been melted, leaving a big crater.

However, Sasuke was not found in the pothole.

And such an attack would not be able to burn Sasuke to ashes.

I saw Itachi, who was standing on the ground, suddenly dodged to the side.

A ray of sword light struck from behind, only striking the residual image of Itachi left in place.

Sasuke made a cut, put force on his feet, turned his body sharply, and rushed straight to Itachi's direction, not giving him a chance to breathe.

Facing Sasuke's fierce pursuit, Itachi's expression remained calm, as if all the battle situations in front of him were within his control.

The sound of metal clashing was heard again, sparks and electric light sputtering out.

The kunai and the Kusanagi sword attacked each other, not giving in to each other, and their figures were almost to the extreme, unable to distinguish each other.

Click!

The kunai in Itachi's hand finally couldn't withstand the attack and cracked.

No matter how strong the kunai is, it will be difficult to last under the sharp edge of the Kusanagi sword.

So, Itachi stepped back and threw the kunai in his right hand, flying straight towards Sasuke.

Sasuke turned his head slightly, causing the flying kunai to pass through the air and insert into the wall behind him, creating a long and narrow crack in the wall, which was shocking.

Itachi, who retreated, reached for his ninja bag with both hands. In the blink of an eye, three shurikens on the left and right sides were ready in Itachi's hands.

However, just when Itachi was about to launch the shuriken in his hand, his eyes were in a trance.

Seeing this, Sasuke felt happy and was about to exert force on his feet when suddenly the scene in front of him began to distort and he became dizzy.

Sasuke was frightened and bit his tongue with his teeth. The pain hit him and his brain suddenly regained its composure. He jumped back, kept a safe distance from Itachi, and gave him a wary look.

Illusion!

The two of them were in a state of awe.

He knew that the blurry scene in front of him was proof of an illusion.

"I see. When you took out the shuriken, did you activate the genjutsu?"

Sasuke looked at the six shurikens in Itachi's hand and suddenly realized.

"So, your genjutsu was activated by the touch of the Kusanagi sword before. It seems that you have grown in more than just physical skills over the years."

Although it was doubtful, Itachi confirmed this.

"If it can't succeed, it's meaningless. But, how are you going to defend the next move?"

Sasuke put the Kusanagi sword into the scabbard, opened his mouth slightly, swallowed the air around him, his chest swelled, and in his breathing passages and mouth, there was condensed a strong gaze of senjutsu chakra. With a look on his face, the energy accumulated in his body was poured forward without hesitation in one breath:

"The Immortal Technique: The Great Fire is extinguished!"

◎

The pitter patter.

The blue-haired woman was listening to the sound of falling raindrops on the balcony of the high tower.

There was a blur in front of her eyes, and there seemed to be unbreakable sadness in the woman's eyes, and her brows were furrowed.

However, her sad and distressed expression did not last long before she was disturbed by the sound of slight footsteps.

Subconsciously, the blue-haired woman put away her melancholy expression and turned it into an inhumane cold and indifferent expression.

The person who came was half black and half white, sharing the same body. It was a mixture of black Zetsu and white Zetsu.

It is also an important legacy left by Uchiha Madara for Akatsuki.

Among them, Black Zetsu is the embodiment of Uchiha Madara's will.

Therefore, the blue-haired woman was always wary of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.

For her, who had experienced all kinds of betrayal and suffering, the only person in the world she could trust was Nagato.

"Didn't you go out to collect intelligence?"

The woman asked coldly.

"Xonan, there's a problem with Deidara."

Hei Jue knew that Xiaonan didn't like him, so he didn't care about the other party's extremely indifferent tone and said directly.

"Deidara? What happened to him?"

Konan looked at Black Zetsu and White Zetsu.

They have always been responsible for Akatsuki's intelligence work, so Konan currently doesn't know anything about Deidara.

Bai Jue, who was quick to talk to each other, interjected: "He and A Fei were ambushed by people from the Kingdom of Ghosts. Deidara doesn't know whether he is alive or dead at the moment. He is probably captured or already dead."

"Ghost country? Why are they again?"

After Xiaonan heard this, her brows furrowed even deeper.

When Ichibi was captured half a year ago, the Demon Country was also involved.

This directly caused them to lose two cadres, Xia and Hidan.

Not long ago, Orochimaru and Otogakure were harmed again. It can be said that the relationship between the two parties has dropped to a freezing point.

"They came prepared. They had already cleared the battlefield for Uchiha Sasuke in the Kingdom of Forest to prevent outsiders from disturbing them. Deidara and A Fei were more unlucky, and were directly ambushed by their people."

Black Zetsu explained.

"Who's taking the lead?"

"Kazuhime Chiba, the daughter of Chiba Shiraishi and Uchiha Ruri."

"He's a troublesome guy."

"It's really troublesome. A Fei is no match for her, so the Lin Kingdom needs support."

Hei Jue explained his intention.

Although Nagato left Akatsuki's affairs to him and Shiro Zetsu for the time being, Black definitely knew that Konan's status in Nagato's mind and some matters needed to be discussed with the other party before taking any action.

"Beiliuhu? But his stronghold is relatively far away from the Kingdom of Lin."

Xiaonan began to seriously consider this matter.

"No, with Beilihu's strength, even if you join forces with Ah Fei, I'm afraid it won't be enough to deal with Chiba Kazuhime. That is a real monster."

Black Zetsu's voice was low.

"Then what do you mean..."

Xiaonan's mind suddenly moved, and her face stiffened slightly.

Hei Jue stared at Xiaonan's increasingly ugly face and said quietly:

"Deploy Pain. Only Pain can deal with her now. After all, Xiaonan, you don't want Nagato-sama to see an extremely broken Akatsuki after he 'wakes up', right?"

Xiao Nan took a deep breath, took a deep look at Black Jue and White Jue, and then nodded slowly.

Following the footsteps of Black Zetsu and White Zetsu, they stepped into the darkness and disappeared.