Feeling the emptiness left by his drained spiritual power, Kai let out a wry smile. "Looks like I'd better go easy on Kagura: Soul Disintegration from now on."
Unlike Kagura: Consciousness Obliteration, Kagura: Soul Disintegration was simply too ruthless.
If a soul was like a sheet of paper covered in words, the former merely erased the writing, while the latter shredded the entire page to dust. The difference was night and day.
Eradicating the problem at its root—knowing he'd never again have to worry about Danzo brought Kai a rare sense of relief.
The Mitarashi estate lay in ruins. The Uchiha shinobi who had attacked hadn't managed to escape yet. As Kai approached, they raised their kunai, forming a protective wall around Uchiha Fugaku.
"Kai Mitarashi! What are you trying to do? We're Konoha ninja too—are you planning to betray the village?" one Uchiha, mustering his courage, barked at Kai.
Kai sneered, contempt clear on his face. Now they wanted to play the "fellow Leaf shinobi" card? Too late!
Wood Release: Hundred-Mile Root Coffin!
There were barely a hundred Uchiha involved in the attack. In such a concentrated area, the Hundred-Mile Root Coffin's binding power was overwhelming.
Tough, living roots shot out, wrapping around the Uchiha ninja and dragging them deep underground. Kai instantly severed the roots' life force. Within minutes, every Uchiha present had suffocated beneath the earth.
Kai showed not a shred of mercy to his enemies.
"Kai Mitarashi, what are you—ahhh!"
He grabbed the limp Uchiha Fugaku off the ground. Ignoring Fugaku's agonized screams, Kai plucked out both of his eyes and, together with Uchiha Shisui's eye, sealed them away in a scroll.
He then knocked Fugaku out cold and tossed him aside. After all, he was Itachi's father—Kai couldn't quite bring himself to kill him with his own hands.
The entire battle was over in just a few minutes. At that moment, the Third Hokage rushed to the scene.
Staring at the charred remains of the Mitarashi estate, the Third asked anxiously, "Kai, what happened here?"
Kai didn't bother hiding his murderous aura. "Danzo and the Uchiha teamed up to come after me. I killed them all."
He didn't believe for a second that the Third was unaware of Danzo's resurrection via Edo Tensei.
The only reason he hadn't been told was because Danzo was once the Third's comrade.
Understandable, but not forgivable. The thought that Danzo had been lurking in the village all this time sent a chill down Kai's spine.
If it had been Anko or Kurenai facing Danzo, they wouldn't have stood a chance.
The Third was silent for a long time. At last, he said, "I understand. I'll take care of the aftermath."
Of course the Third knew about Danzo'sEdo Tensei resurrection.
Without the Third's cover, Danzo could never have hidden in Konoha for so many years without being discovered by Shishio Mitarashi, the ANBU commander.
Kai couldn't be bothered with the old man anymore. With a flicker, he vanished from sight.
…
For Kai, rebuilding the entire Mitarashi estate was just a matter of a single jutsu—he'd just have to buy some new furniture.
The next day, news shook all of Konoha—and the entire shinobi world.
The Uchiha clan had been wiped out. The one responsible? None other than the clan leader's own son—Uchiha Itachi.
When Kai heard the news, he was momentarily stunned.
But a heartbeat later, he pieced it all together. It was just another of Danzo's schemes: on one hand, promising the Hokage seat to lure the Uchiha into attacking him; on the other, manipulating Itachi into slaughtering his entire clan.
It was a clever plan—eliminate the Uchiha, seize their Sharingan, and get rid of Kai. If Danzo had succeeded, he could have forced the Third to abdicate and taken the Hokage's seat for himself.
But Danzo's fatal mistake was underestimating Kai's strength. In this era, there was simply no one in the shinobi world who could threaten him.
"…Still, that disciple of mine really isn't very lovable."
Kai murmured, then expanded his Kagura Mind's Eye to its maximum range. Every chakra signature within a hundred kilometers was etched into his mind.
"Found him." Kai was intimately familiar with Itachi's chakra.
In a dense forest dozens of kilometers from the village, Itachi leapt from branch to branch. Though his face was expressionless after killing his entire clan, the sorrow in his eyes was impossible to hide.
Suddenly, Itachi paused, coming to rest atop a branch.
Spotting the figure ahead, Itachi spoke: "Kai-sensei, have you come to arrest me?"
His tone was calm; he didn't even consider resisting. As Kai's student, he knew better than anyone how terrifying his master was. Even with the Mangekyō Sharingan, he didn't stand a chance.
"Leaving without saying goodbye—shouldn't you at least let your teacher know?" Kai said with a faint smile.
A flicker of surprise crossed Itachi's eyes. After a long pause, he finally managed, "Kai-sensei, I…" He opened his mouth, but all he tasted was bitterness.
"S-rank mission: Infiltrate the Akatsuki. Mission term: ten years. Assigned to: Uchiha Itachi. Direct supervisor: Kai Mitarashi." Kai recited, almost to himself.
"Kai-sensei, how… how did you know?" Itachi's face was full of shock.
"Itachi, your understanding of the shinobi world is still too shallow. And you have no idea what I'm truly capable of." Kai shook his head.
To Kai, if the Akatsuki didn't still serve a purpose, he'd have wiped them out long ago. The Ten-Tails, the God Tree, the chakra fruit—these were all things he had plans for.
Otherwise, even with Black Zetsu'sMayfly Technique and its absurd stealth, it couldn't possibly evade Kai's detection forever.
"Is that so?" Itachi's expression softened, and he nodded. "Thank you, Kai-sensei."
After a moment, Itachi looked at Kai with pleading eyes. "Kai-sensei, please… take care of Sasuke for me."
Kai didn't have a great impression of Sasuke, but he didn't refuse Itachi outright. Instead, he replied, "I can—but I'll need something in return."
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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