Under the moonlight, a small figure darted through the forest, leaping from branch to branch.
Itachi's expression gradually shifted from curiosity and anticipation to one of utter calm, like a still pond.
The outside world gave him no time to adapt to all this.
Thus, he continued to integrate the memories of his past self, proactively accepting the former Itachi's experiences as his own.
Everything his predecessor had lived through now felt as though he had experienced it personally, pulling him deeply into those moments.
"Pretty fast for such small legs..."
As soon as Itachi sensed the enemy and stopped in his tracks to prepare for battle, a lazy voice sounded from behind him.
Itachi turned around and saw the enemy who had caught up to him.
Having fully assimilated his predecessor's memories, Itachi immediately recognized the enemy before him as a member of Root.
He understood that time was not on his side. He had to eliminate his opponent quickly.
Otherwise, reinforcements would arrive on the battlefield in no time.
---
Looking into Itachi's calm, unperturbed eyes, the enemy's pupils contracted slightly beneath his mask, an uneasy feeling creeping into his heart.
He had hoped to see panic in his prey's eyes, not this eerie serenity.
Then, for a moment, he froze. Why had he even bothered to look into this boy's eyes?
After all, the opponent before him was a prodigy of the Uchiha clan...
---
To his relief, however, the nightmare he feared didn't occur. His mask protected him from the boy's Sharingan.
And Itachi didn't immediately use genjutsu either. Instead, his hands, concealed beneath his long sleeves, were secretly forming seals.
Seeing Itachi's chest slightly heave, the Root member felt even more disdain.
Though he looked down on the boy, he still stayed somewhat cautious.
Despite his scorn, he couldn't afford to underestimate him entirely.
Even so, he thought, how talented could this bedraggled little brat truly be?
Itachi's fame was likely just because he was the eldest son of the Uchiha clan leader.
And even if he really was a prodigy, he was still just a twelve-year-old. How strong could he possibly be?
As someone who had survived the Great Ninja War, the Root operative considered himself leagues ahead of these sheltered "flowers from the greenhouse."
---
Itachi's fingers twitched as he completed a hand sign.
A massive fireball erupted from his mouth, roaring through the air with searing heat and lighting up the night sky.
Simultaneously, Itachi activated his three-tomoe Sharingan.
As the fireball hurtled toward the Root operative, Itachi abruptly halted the jutsu.
In his hand, seemingly appearing out of nowhere, was a kunai, which he unhesitatingly thrust behind him.
The sound of kunai clashing against a short sword rang out, sending sparks flying.
---
Itachi clenched his left hand into a fist, blocking a powerful kick from the Root member. The force pushed him back several steps.
Neither of them wasted any time; their movements were swift and efficient.
Clouds obscured the playful moonlight, and the dense foliage overhead plunged the area into darkness.
At this moment, a fire burned in Itachi's heart.
He relished this feeling.
The thrill of battle awakened every cell in his body, filling him with an almost uncontrollable excitement.
Yet his eyes remained calm, undisturbed by the turmoil within.
His left hand dropped back to his side, hidden beneath his long sleeve.
Standing still, he let the breeze gently rustle his clothing and tousle his slightly disheveled bangs.
---
His concealed left hand formed seals once more.
He didn't have much time to waste with this opponent.
The enemy's reinforcements could arrive at any moment.
In hindsight, he realized his earlier excitement had been impulsive—wanting to test whether his Fireball Jutsu could burn his foe alive.
Now he had failed to finish the job in the first strike and had lost track of the enemy's position, leaving himself at a disadvantage.
After rapidly completing the seals, Itachi turned calmly and began walking forward.
He didn't care about exposing a potential opening, even in front of a Root assassin whose stealth skills were fully honed.
---
One step, two steps.
The Root operative in the shadows seemed to have vanished, showing no signs of reappearing.
Itachi continued walking forward, seemingly indifferent to everything around him.
After a while, as if convinced his pursuer had left, he slightly bent his knees and leaped onto a tree using his momentum.
But just as his body was midair, hidden in the shadows, a member of Root attacked without hesitation.
The figure moved like a phantom, thrusting a short sword viciously toward Itachi in midair.
The Root operative felt the sensation of his blade hitting something, but a sense of dread immediately overwhelmed him.
Unfortunately for him, he had been lured into midair by Itachi's feint, leaving no room to fall back quickly or defend every part of his body.
All he could do was curl his body defensively and use his short sword to block the incoming attack as best as he could.
Everything happened in an instant, like a flash of lightning.
The moment he struck Itachi and sensed something was off, his body had already reacted instinctively.
At that moment, Itachi's body exploded.
In the dark night, a sudden burst of fire lit up the sky, followed by a deafening roar.
The powerful energy unleashed by the explosion consumed the Root operative instantly.
The self-detonation released an intense wave of force, blanketing the area, along with thick, unidentified gas that enveloped the Root operative.
From a thin tree branch nearby, Itachi's figure emerged, coldly watching the gas-covered area where the operative's fate remained uncertain.
"Bang!"
A faint sound came from the site of the explosion.
From within the dense smoke, another cloud of white mist appeared.
---
Itachi's Sharingan swirled slightly as he observed, but then he turned and moved swiftly along the branches, as lightly as a dragonfly skimming water.
That man was skilled. Without resorting to the immense power of the Mangekyo Sharingan, which carried severe side effects, Itachi couldn't finish the fight quickly.
The Mangekyo was a double-edged sword, one that brought him great hesitation. In the original storyline, Itachi suffered from a terminal illness, likely caused by the repeated overuse of the Mangekyo, coupled with the physical toll of countless battles. Every use of the Mangekyo also reduced his vision—a passive but devastating drawback.
Valuing his life, Itachi was unwilling to rely on the Mangekyo unless it was a life-and-death situation.
Moreover, Root operatives were experts in assassination; they wouldn't act recklessly.
Thus, there was no need to prolong the fight. After all, reinforcements could arrive for the opponent, while Itachi was fighting alone.
---
The technique Itachi had just used was an A-rank ninjutsu: Shadow Clone Explosion.
Its principle was similar to Kakashi's Lightning Release: Shadow Clone. Kakashi's technique utilized lightning-based clones that exploded, releasing electric shocks to attack opponents.
Itachi's, on the other hand, caused his shadow clone to explode instantly, generating intense heat and thick gas—a powerful and destructive technique.
The opponent's careful use of shadow clones to attack Itachi had caught him off guard. After all, shadow clones were a jutsu invented by Tobirama Senju to counter the Sharingan specifically.
Even the Sharingan couldn't easily detect flaws in shadow clones.
---
The Sharingan's strengths lay in its extraordinary perception and genjutsu capabilities, offering significant advantages in combat. However, in terms of sensory abilities, it was inferior to the Byakugan.
If only he had the Byakugan's ability to see through objects, Itachi could have easily exposed his opponent and dealt with them decisively.
Of course, the Sharingan's powerful visual perception was something the Byakugan could never replace.
Each had its own strengths and weaknesses.
---
After Itachi left, a figure emerged from the shadows.
It was the Root operative who had just fought him.
---
"Ah, I failed. As expected, his reputation is well-deserved…"
The operative gazed at Itachi's departing figure with a trace of melancholy.
He then began removing his mask and disguise, carefully burying his tools of the trade in the ground.
He was, in truth, a member of the Anbu.
Under orders from the Hokage, they had been tasked with disguising themselves as Root operatives to pursue and eliminate Uchiha Itachi.
Realizing his comrades hadn't arrived yet and having failed in his pursuit, he decided not to continue the chase.
The brief skirmish had already made it clear to him—he was no match for this young man.
An expert only needed a single move to reveal their skill.
Chasing further would only lead to self-destruction.
Holding a flare in his hand, the Anbu operative hesitated for a moment before putting it away.
The noise from the fight was already loud enough; he needed to leave this dangerous place as soon as possible.
---
In the Hokage's office, Hiruzen Sarutobi was reviewing documents.
As he rehearsed his statements for the next day and considered how to handle the remaining Uchiha survivors, his gaze occasionally drifted toward the window.
Beyond lay the outskirts of the village.
Symbolically, he had sent a relatively inexperienced team of Anbu to publicly pursue Itachi.
In secret, however, he had dispatched a skilled unit disguised as Root operatives to assassinate him.
If Itachi couldn't escape from the elite squad, then his value as a spy was negligible. It would be better to eliminate him early, along with his brother, Sasuke, to avoid future complications.
Yet as he considered this, he recalled how Itachi had chosen to bear the burden of annihilating his clan alone, all to prevent war within the village. The memory stirred a pang of sorrow for the boy.
His rational side told him the Uchiha clan needed to be completely eradicated.
But his emotional side reminded him of Itachi's unwavering love for the village, which far exceeded that of ordinary people. Itachi would never harm the village. Hiruzen felt he should honor their agreement and protect Sasuke, ensuring the boy could grow up safely and attend school without worry.
This was the promise Itachi had sought before carrying out the massacre.
Now, Hiruzen sat in silence, his office filled with swirling smoke, as his heart wrestled with conflicted emotions.
---