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***
"I'm sorry, Rin, it's been so long since I last visited you."
A white-haired boy dressed in Anbu attire placed the bouquet in front of the tombstone.
Kakashi not only wore a black mask that obscured half of his face but also had his forehead protector tilted down, obscuring his left eye.
With his strength, he should have immediately spotted Itachi at the cemetery entrance.
Instead, he stood there motionless, his right eyelid lowered, a look of profound sadness in his eyes.
"Is that the tombstone of Kakashi's deceased companion?"
Itachi stood still, not moving to disturb Kakashi.
Before the tombstone, the thin boy stood blankly, his head lowered, his back appearing lonely and forlorn.
Itachi had worked with Kakashi in the Anbu, carrying out numerous missions together, but he had never imagined that the ruthless and decisive Kakashi would seem so alone.
Kakashi stood there for a long moment before gradually regaining consciousness.
He murmured softly, "Rin, I'll come see you soon. Before I leave, I have something happy to tell you."
A strong wind suddenly blew through the cemetery, rustling the surrounding flowers and trees.
Itachi's bouquet also rustled. Kakashi immediately identified Itachi's location from the sound.
He turned around and only then noticed Itachi at the cemetery entrance.
Itachi smiled at him and then walked towards the cemetery.
What Kakashi wanted to tell Rin was confidential, so he nodded gently at Itachi as a response.
Turning, he looked at Rin's tombstone and said, "I'll tell you what I just said someday when I have the chance."
"Before I leave, I have to go see him," Kakashi bowed to the tombstone and walked to another one.
He paused before it, then walked out of the cemetery, brushing shoulders with Itachi, who was passing by.
As Kakashi left, Itachi walked to the tombstone where he had first stopped.
"Nohara Rin," Itachi said, gazing at the name on the tombstone.
He crouched slightly.
A photograph was on the stone platform in front of the tombstone.
The photo showed a girl, about twelve years old, with short hair and a lovely face.
The girl smiled brightly.
Although it was only a photo, seeing her smile brought a warm feeling to one's heart.
Itachi couldn't help but frown, feeling a pang of regret.
Countless children of Rin's age had lost their lives due to war.
He understood this truth at a very young age.
It was precisely for this reason that Itachi had chosen to accept the mission entrusted to him by the village leaders.
He didn't want to see the conflict between the village and the Uchiha clan become the spark for another war.
Regardless of the outcome, more innocent lives would ultimately be harmed.
Who knew how many girls like Rin would end up with their lives cut short at a time when they should be innocent and carefree?
Outside the cemetery, a figure draped in a black robe appeared in the treetops.
He wore a brown, one-eyed mask with black markings, revealing only his right eye.
The masked man's gaze was also directed towards Rin's tombstone.
"Nohara Rin," he thought.
The masked man's eyes narrowed slightly as he saw Itachi pause at Rin's tombstone.
"That boy, is he from the Uchiha clan?" he pondered, looking at the fan-shaped family crest.
As far as he knew, apart from himself, Rin had no contact with any other Uchiha during her lifetime.
Just as his attention was focused on Itachi, he suddenly felt something amiss at Rin's tombstone.
He couldn't quite put his finger on it, but it felt like eyes were staring at him.
With a strange feeling, Itachi slowly turned.
The masked man in the distance saw his movement, and his crimson eyes flickered beneath his mask.
"How could a brat like that possibly find me?"
He immediately chuckled playfully inwardly and glanced at Rin's tombstone again.
Beneath the mask, the look in his eyes suddenly became resolute.
"Anyway, everything here will soon vanish," he thought.
"This village, this world, it doesn't matter anymore."
With that, the space in front of the masked man's right eye distorted, quickly engulfing his entire body.
At this moment, Itachi, who had just turned around, also raised his eyes, following his inner feeling.
The leaves at the top of the tree swayed gently, but otherwise, everything remained normal.
"A strange feeling!"
Itachi narrowed his eyes, the sudden feeling in his heart subsiding.
He murmured inwardly, shook his head, and turned, walking towards another tombstone where Kakashi had stopped.
On the tombstone, a dark-haired boy was holding his goggles with one hand, his expression remarkably confident.
"He looks so much like someone else," Itachi chuckled. The blond boy he suddenly remembered wasn't born yet.
However, there was only a month left.
"I hope this time, the tragedy that happened that night won't happen again!"
At the time of Itachi's rebirth, he had already done everything he could.
All that remained was to trust in the Fourth Hokage's abilities.
Although, based on his understanding of Madara Uchiha, if the Fourth Hokage knew he would take action on the day of Kushina Uzumaki's birth, Madara's plan would likely fail.
But that man was Madara Uchiha, after all.
He had deceived the First Hokage and even everyone in the ninja world and survived.
What methods did he possess, and what was his purpose?
Despite lurking within the Akatsuki for years, Itachi still hadn't found the final answer.
So, a month later, on the night of Naruto's birth, he still couldn't be completely reassured.
Once again, Itachi felt powerless, but after experiencing so much, his mind had become extremely peaceful.
He lingered for a moment at Obito Uchiha's grave, then placed the lily in his hand on the grave, bowed, and left.
Swish!
To get home quickly, Itachi leaped onto the rooftop, leaping repeatedly.
Konoha was a ninja village, and the villagers were already accustomed to the actions of many ninjas.
After leaping a long distance, Itachi temporarily landed on a rooftop.
Just as he was about to take a moment to relax before leaving, he stumbled across the window of the house opposite.
A tall figure, sheltered by a tree, was scrambling against it.
Though the figure concealed himself, Itachi still caught sight of the man's long, white hair.
...
Itachi's gaze dropped to the sign on the house across from him: [Konoha Hot Springs]
He paused, his brows raised slightly.
"Peeping?"
Itachi chuckled softly, having never expected to encounter such a situation.
He was usually aloof, but the man hiding behind the tree seemed familiar to Itachi.
With a single bound, Itachi landed on the house next to the hot springs and approached the tree.
He quickly reached the tree, but the white-haired man, his attention focused on the scene through the window, hadn't noticed Itachi.
At this distance, Itachi was finally certain the man peeping into the women's hot springs was none other than Jiraiya, one of the legendary Sannin!
"Jiraiya-sama?!" he instinctively called out.
Jiraiya, who was peeping, instinctively glanced in Itachi's direction.
"Who called me?" he muttered, his voice echoing too close to the window.
So, someone in the hot spring heard the noise, looked toward the window, and spotted him.
"Ah! There's a pervert!!"
The woman near the window screamed, causing everyone in the hot spring to look over.
The noise coming from the hot spring startled the pedestrians on the street outside.
At that moment, a beautiful woman carrying a gray travel bag on the street heard the noise and rushed directly into the hot spring shop.
"Oh no!"
Jiraiya, who was standing in front of the window, cried out inwardly.
He glanced at Itachi, who had exposed his whereabouts by making a noise, then moved his body, leaped onto the top of the tree, and then leaped again, landing on the roof of the house next to him.
Swish!
At this time, the beautiful woman on the street was even faster than the hot spring staff and had already reached the women's hot spring.
She looked at a nearby woman, who was covering herself, and asked, "What happened?"
The woman immediately pointed to the window and said, "There was a pervert peeping through the window."
The woman frowned slightly and followed the direction of her finger, spotting a figure on the rooftop.
Though she could only see a sliver of a leg, she instantly recognized the figure.
"Jiraiya!" she shouted, and then the wooden wall of the hot spring was shattered by the sheer force of her movement.
"Tsunade!?"
Jiraiya, who had just been about to flee, paused at the woman's voice.
He turned to see Tsunade, who had broken through the wall and was now standing below the house, gazing at him with a sullen expression.
"Tsunade-sama."
Faced with the sudden change, Itachi glanced at the wall Tsunade had destroyed.
The women in the hot springs screamed even louder.
Now, from the rooftop, Jiraiya could see them more clearly.
His eyes were lewd, his face had a lewd expression.
Suddenly, Itachi's hair stood on end as he sensed a startling presence nearby.
He swallowed, then raised his eyelids at Tsunade, whose face was as gloomy as water.
"What a coincidence!"
Itachi was slightly surprised.
He had previously met with the Fourth Hokage and learned that two of the Sannin were not in the village at the time.
Jiraiya had recently left the village, while Tsunade, for some reason, had been traveling for years.
Apparently, the Fourth Hokage had summoned both Jiraiya and Tsunade to prepare for something that would happen a month later.
Tsunade's travel bag indicated she had recently returned to the village.
Coincidentally, she had just encountered Jiraiya, who had been caught peeping.
The startling aura emanating from Tsunade intensified the chill Jiraiya felt.
He immediately averted his gaze from the hot spring to look at Tsunade, sweat instantly breaking out on his forehead.
"Hehe, Tsunade, long time no see," Jiraiya scratched his hair, his voice trembling.
"It's been a long time."
Tsunade put down the travel bag in her hand, gritted her teeth and squeezed out these words, while clasping her hands together, making a clearly audible sound of bones rubbing against each other.
"You really are such a stubborn person! You never change!"
She suddenly raised her eyes and uttered an angry cry, simultaneously casting a cold gaze at Jiraiya.
"Tsunade, calm down!"
Jiraiya, horrified by her appearance, turned and ran, sweeping backward at full speed.
His speed was so fast that Itachi couldn't keep up.
However, Tsunade had already grabbed her travel bag and flung it with all her might in the direction of Jiraiya's escape.
Swish!
The gray travel bag flew like a cannonball, its speed just as exaggerated.
Sensing the movement behind him, Jiraiya's eyes flickered to the side, his pupils shrinking slightly.
He quickly turned sideways, dodging the cannonball-like travel bag.
Just as Jiraiya paused to dodge, Tsunade's beautiful, gloomy face came into view.
"Listen to me!"
Jiraiya waved his hands hastily.
But before he could even begin to explain, Tsunade launched a punch, striking him hard in the chest.
Then, like the travel bag, Jiraiya flew backward through the air, tracing a long, parabolic arc until he had traveled a hundred meters before landing heavily on the ground.
Itachi, standing nearby, exclaimed in horror, "What a terrifying power!"
Boom!
A moment later, Jiraiya landed on a Konoha street, crashing right in front of a pedestrian, embedding himself in the ground.
As Jiraiya flew, Tsunade and Itachi quickly followed.
While peeping was strictly forbidden, the force of Tsunade's punch was so incredible that even Jiraiya might not have been able to withstand it unscathed.
Itachi's current speed was certainly no match for Tsunade's.
By the time Itachi reached the street where Jiraiya had landed, pedestrians had already fled in panic.
In the pit in the ground, Jiraiya, who had just opened his eyes, saw Tsunade again, his eyes filled with extreme fear.
"Cough!"
He coughed twice, coughing up blood.
Itachi followed him out onto the street, where Tsunade slowly approached Jiraiya, as if unwilling to give up.
But he was powerless to stop her.
Suddenly, a figure appeared between Jiraiya and Tsunade.
"Minato!?"
It wasn't until the figure froze and Tsunade's voice rang out that Itachi saw who it was.
The person standing in Jiraiya's way was none other than the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.
Tsunade's previous attack had made a loud noise, alerting him to his position in the Hokage's office.
Minato's face froze slightly as he saw Jiraiya lying in the pit.
"Teacher, are you alright?"
Seeing his disciple appear, Jiraiya's nervous expression eased slightly.
With a sense of relief, he fainted.
Tsunade, seeing this, quickly approached.
Just as Minato was about to stop her, Tsunade said, "If you don't want this guy to die, get out of the way!"
The former nodded and made way.
The latter walked to Jiraiya's side, forming hand seals with both hands.
A soft green light shone from his palms.
Seeing Tsunade treating Jiraiya, Minato looked to the side with relief and immediately noticed Itachi's figure.
"Why are you here?" His golden eyebrows raised slightly.
"Hehe," Itachi looked at Minato, his smile extremely awkward.
"Coincidence, just a coincidence."
.....
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