[Flash Back]
Kiyomi and Izumi were walking along the forest path, tired but satisfied after completing another mission outside Konoha. Ever since Izumi officially took Kiyomi as her apprentice, they had been taking missions together nonstop. On the surface, they worked like any teacher–student pair. But Izumi had another motive behind these trips.
She was tracking down Itachi, of course.
Taking on a student gave her that freedom. She wasn't required to rush missions, and she wasn't questioned when she chose routes that led far from where they were supposed to be.
Small perks for Jonin sensei's who decide to put their time in to train the next generation.
The usual excuses go along the lines of "Delay due to training genin."
As a result, every mission doubled as a chance to search for the one person she had been chasing for years.
Ninjas were strong individuals, strong enough to overthrow a small nation if the shinobi was capable enough. So, it's very important to monitor them. Villages do that by calculating the time a mission would usually take.
Outside missions, a shinobi isn't allowed to leave the village without proper documentation and permission.
So, even when she became a Jonin, she didn't have much freedom to chase after Itachi. Only now was she able to track him down.
Definitely, the intel Sukuna provided also helped.
Kiyomi didn't know every detail, but she knew enough. Due to the binding vow, she couldn't open her mouth about Sukuna's real identity to anyone. But as much as she had seen, the boy wasn't like the Ryomen Sukuna she knew of her past life.
So, she didn't pay him much attention, even though Sasuke was pretty good friends with him.
Part of her wished to just avoid the trouble altogether, however, another part nagged at her to let him help her.
She wanted strength.
Lacking chakra and incapable of using most of the shinobi techniques which required chakra, she was helpless. Her curse technique was so inefficient that even making a bullet in her past life used to make her bleed from her nose.
It's slightly better here, but only slightly.
Her technique was broken, to the point she can't use it. So all she could do was rely on her unusually strong body, which reminded her of Maki, her sister, and Genjutsu, which she could cast due to being an Uchiha and having a Sharingan.
She was glad she was born an Uchiha or else she didn't know what she would have done.
She knew Itachi was important to Izumi. She knew Izumi wanted answers. She knew Izumi wanted something more than revenge—she wanted the truth.
She also knew that Sukuna knew more than he showed. However, Kiyomi herself wasn't that interested.
While growing up in this world, Itachi was always there; she didn't exactly consider him that important.
She was mad at him for killing their parents, especially her mother.
However, she didn't possess that extreme hatred Sasuke had towards their big brother. Still, she knew that one day the conflict between them was inevitable, and when that day came, she had to be ready, and thus she needed strength.
Strength, which she had no idea how to achieve. She felt like she had exhausted all her avenues to gain it.
Well… not all avenues… the thought of the pink-haired menace came to her head and she shook it away almost instantly. She really didn't wish to contact him for anything. The boy was dangerous.
Even if he didn't use his powers or terror, he was dangerous. If it was in her power, she wouldn't let Sasuke close to him either, but alas, she couldn't do anything about her stupid little brother.
Well, technically Sasuke was slightly older, like a few minutes gap, but there was no way she was accepting that to his face.
Anyway, things had fallen into a predictable pattern: she mostly trained with Izumi, they went on missions, and while she learned from real missions, Izumi went around gathering intel on Itachi in the free time.
This mission also felt much similar. The mission itself went on without a hitch...
But today wasn't like the rest...
Because they found him.
Izumi's casual asking around and intel gathering really brought them in front of the man they both seemed to be chasing after.
Itachi stood there in the clearing, eyes half-lidded, face pale, and one arm missing. He looked like a ghost of the man they used to know.
There was another shark-like looking man standing beside him, both wearing similar cloaks, telling they were somehow related.
It was of course Kisame who stood beside Itachi, leaning casually on Samehada, watching them with a shark-like grin.
"Kiyomi... Izumi." Itachi's voice came out cold and uncaring, like he had spotted strangers. But internally, he looked a bit shaken. Of all people, he wasn't expecting to meet his little sister and... well, a girl he used to know.
Kiyomi on the other hand froze. "We really found him."
She repeatedly found herself asking 'What now?' and always came up with no answer.
Izumi's heart dropped.
He looked so different. So worn out. So broken.
But he was still Itachi.
Izumi stepped forward, trying to speak before fear or anger clouded the moment.
"Itachi, wait—let me talk to you."
The moment her lips moved, her world twisted. The sky cracked. The ground melted. Colour drained from everything.
Itachi had pulled her into a Genjutsu instantly.
She didn't fight it. She let him show whatever he wanted to show. But she spoke through the illusion.
"It wasn't you. Danzo made you do it. I know the truth. He forced your hand. He's dead now. You don't have to run anymore." Before Itachi could say anything, Izumi went on and revealed the truth.
Itachi for a second was baffled, he knew something happened after he left Konoha but he didn't kenw this much.
However, that didn't mattered right now. Danzo was past, whether he exist or not didn't matter.
They said Izumi's said though were dangerous, especially if Kisame were to know of it. That's why Itachi trapped her in the illusion almost immediately, isolating their conversation.
After leaving, he wasn't completely in the blank about what was going on in Konoha. While it took him some time to establish direct contact, he did it eventually with the Third Hokage from long distance, still fully planning to be loyal to the Leaf.
Establishing contact with Hiruzen became even more urgent when he learned Danzo was dead. His real deal was with Danzo. If Danzo were to die, then there wouldn't be many who could safeguard his siblings' safety.
He didn't trust Danzo, however, he had enough dirt on the old man to force him.
But now that Danzo was out of the picture, he had to contact Hiruzen.
He of course notified the Third Hokage that a masked man was involved in what happened back at the Uchiha massacre.
And since then he had been playing secret agent in the Akatsuki, trying to find more about the masked man and the organization as a whole.
Izumi reached toward him inside the Genjutsu world.
Come home. I can help you. We can fix this. You're not alone.
But Itachi's expression didn't change. His eyes tightened.
"You shouldn't have come here, Izumi..." Itachi hardened his expression. The girl knew too much; this was bad for his plans.
Before she could say more, he stabbed through the illusion and shattered it. The real world snapped back. His Mangekyo spun.
He attacked.
Kisame moved to join the fight, but Itachi raised his hand.
"No. I'll handle this. Both of them."
"Tsk... boring." Kisame clicked his tongue but didn't interfere after that.
Kiyomi swallowed hard. She knew she couldn't match Itachi. Not yet. But she also refused to run away.
Izumi stepped in front of her.
"Stay behind me. No matter what."
The fight began instantly.
Itachi's first strike was a wave of shuriken layered with explosive tags. Izumi cut through them with her black energy claws, then countered with a surge of compressed chakra. Kiyomi supported from behind, throwing perfectly timed kunai, forcing Itachi to stay alert.
Itachi was fast—faster than either of them remembered. Even with one arm gone, he fought with terrifying precision. His Genjutsu slipped into the fight naturally, trying to blind them, halt them, twist their perception.
But Izumi's Mangekyo broke through the normal illusion instantly.
"Mangekyo..." For a second, Itachi's eyes flickered with recognition and then he got more serious.
He tried to cast Tsukiyomi on her.
But she broke it instantly.
Itachi's eyes widened a fraction.
"Even my Tsukiyomi..." He was left baffled for a second. The only person who ever countered his Tsukiyomi was that masked man who took his hand.
That alone showed how serious things had become.
Then Itachi's Mangekyo spun again. Flames burst into existence—black, hungry, unstoppable. Amaterasu roared toward Izumi and Kiyomi.
Kiyomi panicked.
Izumi did not.
Her Mangekyo flared. The space in front of her twisted into a swirling void.
A black hole.
The flames were sucked in instantly, swallowed whole like they never existed.
Kisame's eyes narrowed a bit. Even Itachi was stunned for half a second.
"You sure you don't want help, Itachi-san?" Kisame offered with a bit of a smirk on his face.
"No need." Itachi's reply was cold as ever.
Izumi's ability countered his perfectly. He also felt like she awakened powers specifically to counter him.
Kiyomi launched her own Mangekyo ability—a weaker version of Tsukiyomi—trying to distract him. Surprisingly, Itachi felt it. Even if he broke it instantly, the fact that she had it at all startled him.
Izumi didn't let him finish. She rushed forward, clashing with him at full speed. The force cracked the ground under their feet.
They fought through Genjutsu, Taijutsu, and Ninjutsu all at once. Two Mangekyo users pushing each other harder than either expected.
Izumi wasn't trying to kill him.
But Itachi…
He couldn't let her speak the truth.
xXx
A/N : Ah, the lovers' quarrel.
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