"The entire village will be Naruto's solid backing... A little more than a year ago, Naruto was still just a monster cursed and hated by the villagers. Comparing it to now, the change really isn't small..."
After delivering the Third Hokage's message, Itachi consciously closed his mouth. With a smile in his eyes, he watched Naruto stand there dumbfounded and remained silent, allowing him to slowly digest the meaning behind the message. At the same time, his thoughts wandered.
Remembering the strange image he had glimpsed from deep within Naruto's heart during the Ninja Academy entrance exam, he muttered inwardly.
"But the harm caused during those three years really isn't so easy to make up for... After killing the greatest enemy responsible for your miserable childhood, do you no longer have any attachment to the village at all...? Could that monster really be your future self, Naruto?"
However, just as Itachi secretly wondered whether he should forcibly keep Naruto in the village right now, Naruto, whose gaze had been dull, gradually came back to himself. The response that followed left Itachi feeling both amused and stunned.
"Hahahaha! Hey, hey, brat, look at what you did... Hahahaha! Serves you right for acting all mysterious and cool. This misunderstanding has gotten huge~"
"...Huh? Uh... wait... wait a second. Let me sort out my thoughts... He won't ask why I want to leave the village, but he wants me to know Grandpa Third Hokage and the village will always support me from behind..."
After his consciousness returned from its shocked state, Naruto had no time to respond to Kurama, who was already rolling on the ground inside him, clutching his belly with laughter.
The corner of Naruto's mouth twitched as he waved repeatedly, drawing the attention of the two in front of him while muttering to himself. After a brief pause, he slowly raised his head.
His gaze met Itachi's directly, and as if he was desperately holding back laughter, his tone trembled and his expression grew stranger as he stammered on.
"Uh... um... tell me... you... you two... didn't think I... was planning to defect, did you...?"
Seeing Naruto's strange reaction, as if he wanted to laugh but did not dare laugh out loud, Itachi's heart instinctively sank. After a moment of surprise, he suddenly realized that he and the Third Hokage had probably misunderstood.
Facing Naruto's expression, which was growing harder and harder to suppress until his whole face twisted into something especially ridiculous, Itachi could not help feeling guilty and awkward.
"Don't tell me... this brat really only wanted to go out and travel? No, that's not right. He's clearly only... Oh, I almost forgot again. In terms of mental age, Naruto hasn't been a child for a long time..."
Sweat faintly appeared on his forehead. Itachi raised a hand, trying to hide the embarrassment on his face, and guiltily turned his head away, avoiding Naruto's smiling eyes.
"...Ah? Well... more or less... that was... the idea."
"Hahaha! I didn't expect that to really be it... Pfft... Hahaha! I swear, I can't with you people. What are you all wildly imagining all day? Why would I abandon the life that has already begun improving and gradually getting better?
If I was truly fed up with the unfair treatment I accumulated over those three years and wanted to defect, I could have left the moment training ended. Why would I spend so much effort designing this year's entrance exam questions and waste time personally participating in them?"
After confirming from Itachi's reaction and words that his guess was true, Naruto finally could not hold back the laughter swelling in his heart. He laughed openly and without caring about his image, while slowly rolling up the map in his hands and putting it back into his backpack.
Continuing forward naturally, he took advantage of the height difference created by his Transformation Jutsu and reached out to cover and rub the head of Itachi, whose face was full of awkwardness and even a faint blush.
The corner of Naruto's mouth rose as he lowered his voice slightly, speaking gently with an implied meaning.
"Looks like even with the same ability to 'know the future,' you still couldn't keep your head calm and steady at all times like the man who carried darkness his entire life... But in a certain sense, that's something worth being happy about for me."
"Itachi-san, I'm glad you aren't him... Or rather, I'm glad that because of my interference, you didn't directly become him."
"..."
Hearing Naruto's final sentence, Itachi's mind could not help conjuring the image of himself dying with a smile on his face—or rather, the other version of himself who would have walked along the original path of fate. His lips parted slightly, but he could not say a single word in rebuttal.
After Naruto withdrew his hand, he could only turn his head slightly to hide his discomfort. His face faintly red, he clicked his tongue and complained in annoyance.
"Tch. The reason we misunderstood is because of you, you know... You suddenly started saying you wanted to leave the village for the Hidden Sand Village without a word of explanation. Anyone would misunderstand that, okay? And don't pat my head.
In terms of real age, I'm still more or less your older brother. Don't you think it's strange for the younger brother to pat the older brother's head?"
"Huh...? Pfft... Hahaha! So that's it! So you kept quiet this whole time because you were bothered by that? Hahaha!"
Taking advantage of Itachi's brief daze and successfully ruffling the head of the future Itachi God, this big Uchiha fan, Naruto felt a deep sense of accomplishment. Without hiding his smugness at all, he clutched his stomach and laughed while passing through the gap between Itachi and Shisui.
Under Itachi's glare, whose face was growing redder and who was almost entering an embarrassed rage, Naruto finally forced down the hearty laughter rising to his throat. His whole body trembled as he waved a hand and spoke one word at a time without looking back.
"Well, now that you know the truth, there should be no need to continue this job of acting as guards while actually supervising and 'defecting' with me, right? In that case, I'm going to continue setting out...
In other words, whether you want to follow me to the Hidden Sand Village or return to the organization to keep training is up to you~"
"...Tsk. At this point, how are we supposed to back out... The Hidden Sand Village, huh? Sounds like a decent idea. It wouldn't hurt to take a trip and broaden our horizons."
"Agreed... Besides, we only just accepted Third Hokage-sama's commission. Going back this quickly would be somewhat inappropriate."
Seeing Naruto stroll forward in high spirits with a carefree attitude, Itachi and Shisui looked at each other and, with a tacit understanding, decided what they would do next.
While they complained back and forth in an annoyed tone, deliberately raising their voices so Naruto could hear, the heavy stone hanging in their hearts temporarily settled. Then both Itachi and Shisui stepped forward at the same time, closely following Naruto.
"Oh? Are you sure? You should think carefully about this decision~"
Hearing the footsteps and complaints behind him, Naruto, who had been playing hard to get, knew the two big fish had already taken the bait. He turned around while desperately holding back laughter, putting on a serious expression as he looked over their fully prepared appearances.
Then he spread his hands and spoke with solemn seriousness, as if provoking them.
"What I'm going to do this time may not necessarily be a peaceful sightseeing trip... And because I originally planned to travel alone, I didn't have time to prepare supplies for the two of you."
"Ah, I thought it was something serious... Don't worry. When we accepted Third Hokage-sama's commission, we had already mentally prepared for a long trip. Medical supplies, food and water, ration pills, camping equipment—we brought everything. Relax."
Naturally, Naruto's question posed no difficulty for Itachi and Shisui, who had prepared thoroughly in advance.
At the same time, perhaps to regain the dignity of an elder, Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly and looked up and down at Naruto's shriveled-looking backpack, which clearly held very little. Folding his arms, he teased Naruto with a smile.
"You, on the other hand, Naruto... judging from the look of you, forget camping equipment, I'm afraid you only grabbed a day's worth of food supplies in a hurry before planning to leave the village, right? Instead of worrying about us, you should worry about yourself.
After all, no matter how fast you move, getting from the village to the Hidden Sand Village will take several days at the quickest. With that little preparation, you probably won't get far before you have to turn back."
"Oh? Is that so? Sounds like you really did make full preparations... In that case, are you set on following me to the Hidden Sand Village?"
Unexpectedly for Itachi, after hearing his answer, Naruto did not look troubled at all. Quite the opposite, the smile on his lips only grew brighter. Even the way Naruto looked at him made Itachi feel uncomfortable all over. A thick, ominous sense of regret toward the reply he had just blurted out faintly settled over his heart.
"Well, I've kindly warned you anyway... Don't worry, I have my own way to solve my supply problem. But if you regret this halfway, don't blame me for not warning you~"
A strangely sarcastic tone. An extremely punchable, sly grin.
Based on past lessons, if Itachi guessed correctly, this brat Naruto had definitely dug another pit and was waiting for him and Shisui to jump into it.
"...Mm. Of course. Since this is a mission personally entrusted to us by Third Hokage-sama, naturally we must complete it properly."
Unfortunately, even though his instincts sensed that something was wrong, no matter how hard Itachi racked his brain, he could not imagine how Naruto could prank them when all the supplies had been personally prepared by him. He could only reassure himself half-doubtfully and stiffen his neck as he forced himself to nod.
"Let's go. What are we waiting for? The distance between the village and the Hidden Sand Village is fairly long... and along the way, we have to cross a desert where there won't be anywhere to buy supplies. If we don't hurry, with the little supplies you have, no matter how much you ration them, you definitely won't make it there."
"Hehe, I know that, of course... Well, since you've decided, I won't stop you. All I can say is, good luck~"
While suppressing his laughter, Naruto knew after hearing Itachi's reply that his prank had already mostly succeeded. A little light of a successful plan openly flowed through his eyes. Itachi, who watched Naruto's every move at all times, felt as if he were facing a great enemy.
Sweat began to faintly appear on his forehead, and he could not help doubting more and more whether the decision he had made was truly correct.
"Then, let's set off."
...
Naruto had acted as a bridge, allowing the village higher-ups' wariness and deliberate suppression of the Uchiha Clan to gradually fade over time. Because of that, the Uchiha Clan's status in the village had steadily risen, and their days had become much easier.
Even so, the matter of moving the entire Uchiha Clan from the outskirts of the village back to their original territory in the core area had not been fully prepared yet. As a result, the Uchiha Clan still lived in the most remote corner of the village.
For Naruto, who set off from the Uchiha Clan territory, reaching the only gate he had to pass through to leave the village still required a fairly long walk.
Add in the small delay caused by Itachi and Shisui joining midway, and by the time Naruto handed over the departure procedures to the Konoha guards at the gate and stepped outside the Hidden Leaf Village for the first time since transmigrating into this world, the sun was already high in the sky.
At the same time, because the season was gradually approaching midsummer, the temperature was steadily climbing. Facing the scorching sun, even Naruto, who was traveling light, felt a bit of stifling heat that made his mouth dry. Itachi and Shisui, who were carrying fully packed luggage and were also still young, had it even worse.
Because of this, not long after leaving the village, the difference between the three became increasingly obvious.
Compared with Naruto, who still had the leisure to hum a little tune and curiously look around at scenery he had never seen before, as if he really were going on a soul-cleansing hike, the bulging luggage placed a heavy burden on Shisui and Itachi.
Worse still, because of the waterproof, non-breathable material, their backs were already completely soaked with sweat.
Helplessly, they could only circulate chakra to maintain their body temperature as much as possible, giving themselves faint traces of coolness while using it to support themselves and reduce the heavy burden of the luggage.
But because of that, the two Uchiha boys, who were naturally not blessed with abundant chakra reserves, gradually began to struggle.
All of this was part of Naruto's plan. His sensory ability quietly spread around them, observing silently. Naruto never said anything, nor did he share his chakra with them like he had done for Hinata during the entrance exam to reduce their consumption.
First, because Naruto planned to use the moment when they were exhausted, just as he had done with the Ino-Shika-Chō trio, to seize the best chance to strengthen their bodies and restore them at the same time.
Second, because...
This was Shisui of the Body Flicker, the man who would become powerful enough at thirteen to frighten villains in all directions and be known as Konoha's strongest genjutsu ninja, and the future Itachi God, who would easily defeat Orochimaru, force Kabuto to release Edo Tensei, and reverse the entire war situation in one move!
Being able to see them looking defeated, silently enduring grievances they could not voice, a side of them rare even before their families, was an extremely precious experience Naruto could brag about for a lifetime.
And in Naruto's memories, Itachi and Shisui had both been precocious, calm, and reliable elders.
Since heaven had rarely opened its eyes and given him such a perfect chance for the three of them to travel together, allowing Naruto to openly enjoy the ultimate experience of teasing Itachi and Shisui while their personalities had not yet fully formed and they were still much younger and cuter...
to Naruto, this could be considered double the experience and double the joy.
So Naruto, who had originally been worried that the journey to his destination would be monotonous and boring, naturally would not let these two little cuties, still completely in the dark, off so easily.