radicalducati Chapter 485 Itachi Uchiha of Akimura
Chapter 485 Itachi Uchiha of Akimura
Chapter 485 Uchiha Itachi Returns to the Village
The blades of the two ninja swords locked together in mid-air, the sharp, piercing sound of metal scraping against metal like a gash being cut into everyone's eardrums.
Sasuke and Taichi's faces were less than two palms apart, their three-tomoe Sharingan locked on at such close range, Taichi's face twisted with hatred reflected in their crimson pupils.
Naruto was the first to react.
He lunged forward, his right hand already clenched into a fist, but Neji stood in front of him, blocking his path with his back.
Naruto stopped in his tracks, his foot scraping against the stone pavement with a dull thud.
"Neji! Get out of my way!"
"Don't interfere." Neji said without turning his head.
"This is an internal matter for the Uchiha clan."
Naruto opened his mouth, then closed it again.
He looked at Sasuke.
At this moment, Sasuke's Sharingan was staring at Taichi. At the point of contact where the blades were biting, both of their hands were trembling slightly due to the extreme force of the confrontation.
Taiyi gripped the hilt of the sword with both hands, his arm muscles, visible beneath the sleeves of his tribal robe, taut like two tightly twisted steel cables.
He gritted his teeth, each word seemingly ground into powder before being spat out: "How dare you come to the Star Kingdom? How do you plan to repay the blood debt that man committed?"
Sasuke's Sharingan swept across Taichi's face, from the other's taut brows to the nostrils twitching slightly with anger, from his clenched teeth to the throbbing arteries in his neck.
He remembered that face.
Taiyi is five years older than him.
Before the night of the massacre, when the children of the clan were gathered for training in Uchiha fluid jutsu and ninjutsu, Taiichi sparred with him.
At that time, Taiichi had not yet awakened his Sharingan, but he was already recognized by the clan as "the most talented boy after Shisui and Itachi".
Sasuke remembered that when he smiled, he would reveal a slightly crooked canine tooth. He also remembered that after training, he would drape a towel around his neck, sit on a wooden post by the training field, drink cool water from a bamboo tube, and say to Sasuke, "I really envy you for having such a strong older brother."
That was a long, long time ago.
So long ago, if they hadn't met again today, Sasuke would have almost forgotten this face.
The Taiyi standing in front of him now no longer had that fang or that carefree smile on his face.
Instead, he had hardened edges for six years, tempered by hatred, and Sharingan eyes that seemed to overflow with killing intent.
For a fleeting moment, Sasuke felt a strange sense of relief.
Taiyi is still alive.
Not all members of the clan died on the night of the massacre; Shisui did not lie to him.
But this sense of relief lasted only a moment before being overwhelmed by the undisguised killing intent emanating from the opponent's blade.
Sasuke understood this murderous intent.
He was Itachi Uchiha's younger brother, and Itachi Uchiha killed many of his clansmen that night, including Taichi's closest relatives.
Taiichi hates Itachi, and by extension, he hates him too; that's only natural.
Sasuke even felt that if he were in Taiichi's position, the second round of attacks would probably have already been launched, and Taiichi wouldn't have left him with a space for confrontation like Taiichi did.
But understanding is one thing.
Sasuke is never the kind of person who would show his vulnerable side to others.
He maintained his indifferent attitude, and the three tomoe of his Sharingan slowly rotated, dissecting Taiichi's chakra flow and muscle tension frame by frame in his eyes.
"So it's Taiichi." Sasuke's voice was so soft that Shikamaru and Naruto around him had to strain their ears to hear it.
But his tone carried a hint of nonchalant provocation.
So many years have passed—
He paused, letting the metallic scraping of the blade amplify each word of his sentence.
"You only have three tomoe?"
Upon hearing this, Taiyi's pupils contracted sharply.
The three magatama trembled violently in Taiyi's eye sockets, like three maple leaves about to break in a gale.
Sasuke's words precisely struck at the most vulnerable spot in his heart.
After Shisui succeeded as clan leader, the secret of the evolution of the three-tomoe Sharingan into the Mangekyou Sharingan was conditionally revealed within the clan.
The condition for activating the Kaleidoscope is that the most important emotional bond for the holder is torn apart in extreme pain.
Losing loved ones, losing dearest friends, losing something more important than life itself.
The deeper the pain, the more complete the evolution of the Sharingan.
This is how Shisui opened his eyes, and this is also how Inahaki-san and Izumi-nee-san opened their eyes.
Itachi Uchiha, who slaughtered his parents, also awakened his Sharingan in this way.
Taiichi is seventeen years old.
His pain at losing his parents was no less than anyone else's, but for six years his Sharingan remained stuck at the three-tomoe level, not even touching the threshold of the Mangekyou Sharingan.
Having worked his way up from the grassroots level of the police department, he has received twice the training of others, his mission completion rate ranks among the top three in his rank, he never misses a step during patrols, and he never misses a single word in his reports.
But all of this cannot change one fact.
If he can't even activate the Kaleidoscope, how can he kill Itachi?
How can I avenge my parents?
No matter how many people go, they'll just be lining up to die when facing an Uchiha ninja with the Mangekyou Sharingan.
The pressure on the blade suddenly increased.
Taiyi's hands were covered in bulging veins, and his knuckles made a soft, creaking sound as they pressed against the rope wrapped around the handles.
"I thought it would take some more time to get revenge—" His voice became hoarse from excessive suppression, and the last syllable broke into a breathy sound deep in his throat.
"But I never expected—your own brother, the traitor, would deliver himself to our doorstep!"
"I'll take you today."
"Taiichi!!"
A clear shout exploded beside the two of them.
Hinata Natsu's short green hair was blown backward by the chakra flow, and her Byakugan was activated, with the veins at the corners of her eyes bulging.
She stretched out her right arm, trying to stand between Taichi and Sasuke.
"Sasuke was invited by that person; you can't touch him."
That person, sir.
These four words felt like someone had poured a bucket of ice water on Taiyi's back.
His shoulders stiffened slightly, and his fingers gripping the knife twitched for a moment.
It lasted only a moment, then tightened again.
But he did not continue to exert pressure.
Those three-tomoe Sharingan eyes were still locked on Sasuke, the killing intent in their pupils had not diminished at all, but the force on the blade had begun to slowly recede.
Just then, a white figure silently landed between the two.
Two pale white bone spikes emerged simultaneously from Kimimaro's left and right palms, their tips precisely inserting into the interlocking gap between the two ninja swords, before swinging to the sides.
The movement was small, but the angle and timing were just right. The sound of the bone spike colliding with the blade was not loud, only a short, crisp sound.
The ninja sword was forcibly separated from its locked position, and the tip of the sword drew two short arcs in the air.
Sasuke and Taichi each took a step back.
Kimimaro stood between the two, his white hair slightly ruffled by the air currents from their clashing blades.
"Private fights are prohibited." His voice was low, but his tone was cold.
Hinata Natsu let out a long sigh of relief and patted her chest twice with her palms.
"Kimimaro, the Jonin." Her tone had regained some of its usual gentleness.
Kimimaro nodded slightly to her, then glanced back and forth between Taichi and Sasuke.
Taiichi stared into Sasuke's eyes. In those three tomoe eyes that were still trembling slightly, the hatred had not subsided, but a more complex emotion was rising.
He took a deep breath and slowly sheathed his ninja sword at his waist.
The hilt collided with the metal ring at the scabbard's opening, producing a low, muffled sound, like an iron door being slammed shut.
"What are you doing in the Land of Stars?" Taiichi's voice turned cold, changing from a roar to a restrained question.
But the killing intent hidden beneath this restraint was no less than that of the roar just now.
"You're not naive enough to think that your people will still accept you, the younger brother of a traitor, are you?"
"Don't forget, how many of our loved ones have perished under that man's blade! Among them were my parents!" He practically roared the last few words, his eyes slightly red.
Sasuke slowly sheathed his ninja sword at his waist.
"My purpose in coming here is none of your business, and I don't need to explain it to anyone." His fingers paused on the hilt of the sword for a moment, then released them, and he raised his head to look directly at Taiichi.
"My father also died at his hands." Sasuke's voice suddenly rose, carrying a chilling and resolute tone that penetrated to the bone, a will forged in countless nights consumed by nightmares and hatred.
"I want to kill that man more than any of you!"
The surroundings became quiet.
Even the sound of the wind blowing through the tent canvas became exceptionally clear at this moment.
Taiichi stared at Sasuke, the three tomoe in his eye sockets no longer trembling.
He was no longer the naive boy he once was. He had experienced the night of his clan's annihilation, the escape, and the six years of rebuilding his life in a foreign land.
His experience and intuition are enough for him to distinguish whether a person's words are an act or genuine.
The hatred in Sasuke's eyes was almost exactly the same as that of himself six years ago; no verification was needed.
Every Uchiha clan member who could awaken the three-tomoe Sharingan at the age of twelve was a genius.
The genius of the Uchiha clan was never achieved solely through talent.
Each evolution of the Sharingan requires extreme pain as nourishment.
The fact that a twelve-year-old has three tomoe means that he had already suffered trauma enough to tear apart the soul of an ordinary person before the age of twelve.
Sasuke's hatred was real, and so was his pain.
Taiyi didn't say anything more.
He turned around, his back to Sasuke, raised his right hand, and gestured to the patrol behind him to "keep going."
Several Star Ninjas quickly stepped forward and followed Taiichi, continuing their patrol eastward along the main road.
Taiichi's steps were as steady as when he came, but his right hand, which was gripping the hilt of his sword, never loosened its grip from beginning to end.
Sasuke stood there, watching Taichi's figure disappear into the distance.
His expression returned to its usual cold exterior, but Naruto noticed that Sasuke's fingers trembled slightly as he sheathed his ninja sword back into his waistband.
Naruto felt a lump in his throat, something he couldn't spit out or swallow.
He took a step closer to Sasuke and asked in a low voice, "Sasuke, what exactly did that guy do to you? Why did he draw his sword the moment we met?"
Hyuga Natsu sighed, about to explain, when Neji behind her raised his hand to stop her.
Neji turned around, facing the Konoha members, with his arms crossed over his chest.
His gaze swept across Naruto, Sakura, Tenten, and Choji, one face after another.
Shikamaru's expression was thoughtful.
He had probably pieced together part of the truth, but judging from his eyes, he hadn't expected the truth to be exposed in this way.
The others, whether they were Tenten and Sakura from commoner backgrounds, or Ino, Choji, Kiba, and Shino, who were heirs of the ninja clan, all had faces filled with confusion and unease.
They heard what Taiichi said, and they heard Sasuke say, "My father also died at his hands," but all these fragments, when pieced together, could not form a complete picture.
"You don't know?" Neji's voice carried a hint of doubt.
He looked at Sakura, at Tenten, and at Kiba.
"Under the direct orders of the Konoha leadership, Itachi Uchiha massacred most of the Uchiha clan. Taichi's parents died in that massacre."
"What?!" Sakura's face drained of color in an instant, and she covered her mouth in shock.
Then he suddenly turned to look at Sasuke.
Sasuke didn't look at her; his profile was cold as he faced everyone.
"Wait!" Ya almost jumped up.
"The Uchiha clan wasn't—it wasn't that they were massacred by a traitor within the clan; all the main members were wiped out."
"That's just Konoha's official statement," Neji interrupted him.
"Konoha has never recorded that the order to exterminate the clan was directly issued by the Konoha leadership, nor that the extermination operation was tacitly approved by the Third Hokage and the advisory group. The one who carried out the order was the eldest son of the Uchiha clan leader, Sasuke's older brother."
After he finished speaking, there was a full three breaths of silence.
Sakura's fingers, which were covering her mouth, were trembling slightly.
Ino put her arm around her shoulder, her own fingers trembling.
Ya opened his mouth, as if to say something, but then swallowed his words back.
The once largest ninja clan in Konoha was almost completely wiped out overnight, a major event that shocked the entire village.
Even those from humble backgrounds like Sakura and Tenten have heard of it.
However, the specific details, the murderer, and the reasons have always been classified as top secret. Ordinary genin and the general public have no way of knowing about them and can only find snippets of information about a traitor within the clan in Konoha's own official records.
Now, in the Star Kingdom, we hear an even crueler and darker truth!
"Enough." Sasuke's voice was hoarse, carrying a fragile yet fierce quality that seemed to be on the verge of collapse.
He surveyed the various expressions on the faces of the Konoha members, his gaze finally settling on Neji's face, filled with warning and chill: "I will kill that man with my own hands! In my own way! To end all of this!"
Naruto stood there, watching Sasuke's retreating figure.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something.
But he found himself unable to utter a single word.
Sasuke's retreating figure left all his words stuck in his throat.
This is not something he can interfere with.
"This is a huge problem," Shikamaru sighed deeply.
He knew from a young age that some of the files in Konoha that were classified as "top secret" contained something dirty.
Every time my father brought up the Uchiha clan massacre, his tone would become extremely cautious, as if he were navigating a minefield filled with explosive tags.
He guessed the truth would be ugly, but when he heard Neji say with his own ears that "the Third Hokage and the advisory group tacitly approved the 13-year-old ANBU massacring his entire clan," his stomach still clenched.
Konohagakure (Hidden Leaf Village)
Night falls.
Most of the shops in the village were closed, and the streetlights cast a dim yellow glow on the empty stone-paved road.
The curtain at Ichiraku Ramen was still lit, and white steam escaped from the gaps in the curtain, spreading into a faint aroma of tonkotsu (pork bone) in the cool night breeze.
The middle-aged man was kneading dough in front of the cutting board.
The dough was repeatedly folded, pressed, and stretched under the palm, producing a rhythmic thud.
Suddenly, he heard the sound of the curtain being lifted and the bell ringing. Without turning around, he called out, "Welcome!"
Then he turned around, wiped the flour off his hands with the towel hanging around his neck, and habitually put on a smile, which then froze on his face for a moment.
There were two people standing at the door.
A man and a woman, both wearing long robes with black backgrounds and red clouds.
The red cloud pattern appeared particularly glaring under the dim yellow light, like a red-hot branding iron imprinted on a black iron plate.
The woman walked in front, her long, reddish-brown hair tied into two vertical braids on either side, the ends of which hung down to between her shoulder blades.
She has a young face with sharp features, and her lips are slightly upturned, revealing a few sharp teeth. It's not that she's smiling deliberately, but rather that she naturally has a nonchalant expression that shows a lack of interest in everything.
She was scrutinizing the small shop with her eyes, from the old curtain hanging on the door frame to the several well-worn bar stools in front of the bar, and the handwritten menu on the wall, her gaze filled with a mixture of curiosity and disdainful sneer.
"Huh? This is the ramen shop you were talking about?" Ringo Ameyuri drawled out the last syllable, then lightly traced a line on the counter with her finger.
"It doesn't look that great."
Uchiha Itachi did not answer, but simply walked past her.
He pulled out a high stool in front of the bar and sat down.
"A small bowl of tonkotsu ramen."
The middle-aged man was stunned for a moment.
It wasn't because the other person was wearing Akatsuki robes. All sorts of people come to his noodle shop, with all sorts of strange outfits. He never remembers anyone's identity; he just focuses on making each pot of soup perfectly.
He was taken aback because the young man seemed to be a regular customer.
Or at least, I've been here before.
"Alright, please wait a moment, sir!" The smile on his face returned. Without asking a single question, he turned and walked to the stove to heat the soup.
Ringo Ameyuri sat down on the high stool next to Itachi, propping her elbows on the bar and resting her chin on her hand.
She glanced at the handwritten recommendation menu on the wall near her feet, her gaze lingering on "Today's Special: Miso Chashu" for two seconds before looking away.
"Same as before," she said indifferently.
Hand-held smiled and nodded: "Alright, please wait a moment, you two."
He got busy.
The movements—scooping out the noodles, straining the broth, arranging the char siu, and sprinkling scallions—are fluid and graceful.
The pork bone broth bubbled and steamed in the pot, the white steam rising and blurring the wooden menu sign on the wall behind the bar.
Ringo Yuri looked around the small shop, which only had the two of them as customers, with a bored expression.
Her gaze lingered on the old photographs on the wall for a moment.
Those are handwritten photos and group photos of all sorts of guests, including new ninja, and a blond, blue-eyed little boy holding an empty bowl, his eyes squinting as he laughs.
Her gaze swept across the photograph without lingering.
After betraying Amegakure, she had been to too many places. The ramen shops in each place were all pretty much the same. Whether it was miso soup base or tonkotsu soup base, it was just something to fill her stomach.
Itachi's gaze fell on the corner of the bar, the spot against the wall.
That used to be Sasuke's favorite seat whenever he brought him here to eat noodles.
At that time, Sasuke was still small, and when he sat on the high stool, his feet couldn't reach the ground, and his shoes wobbled in the air.
He would hold a ramen bowl bigger than his face with both hands, and make gurgling noises when drinking the soup, which Itachi would always tell him to "behave properly."
But Sasuke wouldn't listen. After finishing his soup, he held the bowl up to him and asked, "Brother, do you think I can finish every last drop of the soup?" Itachi sat there, flipping through the images frame by frame without changing his expression.
He never showed his emotions on his face. He trained in the Anbu for several years, personally slaughtered half of his clan, and infiltrated the Akatsuki organization for six years. The ability to control his expressions was ingrained in his bones.
A moment later, the hand placed a small bowl of tonkotsu ramen in front of him, the steam rising onto his face.
Itachi looked down at the bowl of noodles, but didn't pick up his chopsticks immediately.
A thin layer of oil floats on the soup noodles, two slices of char siu are neatly stacked on the edge of the bowl, and chopped green onions are sprinkled evenly and cleanly.
Just like that year.
Just like every time I bring Sasuke to eat here.
I wonder how Sasuke is doing in the village?
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