A new arrival and it's about Itachi God. So, do give it a go.
And, If you're enjoying the story, please consider giving it a power stone!
Your support helps the book grow and lets me know you're excited for the next chapter.
Thank you for readingđ
***
"Itachi's own method?"
Izumi raised her beautiful brow and murmured.
"If you learn this method, it should save you a lot of training time."
Itachi clenched a kunai in his right hand, his wrist trembling.
At the age of thirteen, his Shurikenjutsu surpassed his father, the clan leader, in skill.
A significant reason for this was that he had found a more efficient training method.
Every powerful and renowned ninja in the ninja world possesses their own unique combat system, constantly refining it and developing techniques that suit them.
But what sets Itachi apart from them is that he was born with an advantage not possessed by ordinary people: his bloodline.
The Uchiha clan's Sharingan.
However, this doesn't mean that Itachi's strength comes solely from the Sharingan.
Even a bloodline limit, like a weapon in a ninja's wield, depends entirely on the wielder.
So, while Itachi didn't invent powerful Ninjutsu or even forbidden techniques like the Fourth Hokage, Kakashi, or the Sannin, Orochimaru and Tsunade, he did develop many of his own training methods.
Training wrist force techniques was one of them.
"Teach me, really?"
Izumi's eyes were filled with unconcealed joy, yet also with hesitation.
She felt this method was precious to Itachi, so she was hesitant to accept it.
"It's okay. Didn't you say we were friends?"
Itachi chuckled softly, a fleeting glint of melancholy beneath his joyful eyes.
In truth, if it weren't for what happened earlier, he would have shared this training method with more of his clan.
"Yes!"
Izumi nodded vigorously, a smile spreading across her face.
"Training wrist force techniques is about increasing flexibility and strength."
"Both of these training methods require some small tools. I don't bring many today, so you can try them out first."
Itachi pulled out some not-so-rare items from his bag, including a jump rope for children.
Itachi then began explaining the different uses of these tools.
Time flies during training, and soon it was noon.
"Swish, swish!"
Izumi swung her arms, launching several kunai, which landed right on the bull's-eye of the target.
"Well done,"
Itachi chuckled in praise.
It was just the simplest straight-line kunai throw, but after a whole morning of practice, being able to do it accurately was quite impressive.
Izumi had a solid foundation and considerable talent, but most importantly, Itachi's guidance.
As the saying goes, a master's skill produces a master's pupil.
In the art of shuriken throwing, Itachi was undoubtedly a master at the top of the ninja world.
He looked up at the sun nearing midday, then said to Izumi, "It's about time I go home. Mom and Sasuke are waiting for me at home for dinner."
"Yeah,"
Izumi replied, her wide eyes fixed on Itachi, a smile etched in her lips.
"Itachi, thank you so much for what you did today."
Itachi smiled back at her.
Then, the two of them left the training ground together,
in the corridor of Konoha Hospital.
"After this incident is safely over, I want to take Shizune with me to continue traveling. Is that okay?"
Tsunade folded her arms, leaned against the wall with her right side, and looked at Minato in front of her and said.
"As long as Shizune herself has no objection," Minato said.
"Then I will come to see this guy again in two days."
Tsunade straightened up, glanced at Jiraiya in the open ward opposite, and left.
Minato also looked into the ward, at Jiraiya lying on the bed, and his brows gradually frowned.
"Ah."
He sighed lightly, walked into the ward, and closed the door.
"Teacher, are you okay?"
Minato walked to Jiraiya, who now looked a little solemn.
Jiraiya shook his head and said, "It's all my fault. To this day, I haven't been able to unravel the knot in her heart."
"Her longing for the deceased hasn't changed at all."
"Shizune is indeed extremely talented in medical Ninjutsu. Lady Tsunade is taking her to study, and she's also cultivating talent for the village,"
Minato said.
It was precisely for this reason that he arranged for Shizune to be assigned to the Konoha Hospital.
"I know, you underestimate your teacher a little, don't you? I'm not holding any grudge," Jiraiya said with a hearty laugh.
"Teacher, you misunderstood. That's not what I meant," Minato said with a wave of his hand.
Shizune's uncle, Kato Dan, was once a highly skilled JĆnin in Konoha and Tsunade's lover.
However, Dan died in the war, and his death dealt a heavy blow to Tsunade.
Jiraiya stared at Minato, frowning, "Tsunade's current condition means she won't be able to effectively participate in the fight if the village is attacked, and it could even be dangerous."
After Dan's death, Tsunade, known as the ninja world's most powerful medical ninja, developed a supposedly impossible illness: hemophobia.
Her illness, for a time, impacted Konoha's wartime prospects.
"Of course I know that. I never intended for Lady Tsunade to participate in direct combat."
Minato knew of Tsunade's condition, so he had other plans from the start.
"The best solution in my mind is to accompany you and Lady Tsunade back to the village, and ideally, to prevent this battle from happening at all," he said in a low voice, slowly clenching his fists.
"You think so?"
Jiraiya nodded.
Though both he and Minato were battle-hardened warriors, they had done so to safeguard the safety and well-being of their villages, their nations, and their people.
Deep down, they disliked strife and abhorred war.
Seeing the unprecedented solemnity on Minato's face, Jiraiya patted his arm and laughed.
"Minato, don't worry. Whether or not this battle actually takes place, Sensei will help you protect everything."
"After all, I'm the one who gave your unborn child his name. I won't let his mother be harmed the moment he's born."
His expression suddenly grew serious.
"As Hokage, Kushina's husband, and Naruto's father, your resolve must be stronger than anyone else's!"
"Yes, Sensei, I understand!"
Minato clenched his fists even harder.
He carried many heavy burdens, so failure was absolutely impossible!
In a dense forest within the Land of Fire.
In a cave deep in the jungle, a man wearing a loose black robe and a brown, one-eyed mask sat on a boulder.
On the wall beside him, a figure enveloped in a giant pitcher plant peeked out.
The scarlet eyes beneath the mask flickered slightly.
"Have Tsunade and Jiraiya suddenly returned to Konoha Village?"
...
"Jiraiya left Konoha not long ago, and Tsunade has been traveling for years. How could they suddenly rush back to Konoha Village?"
The masked man's voice was surprised, his single exposed eye narrowing slightly.
"Could it be that the Fourth Hokage has discovered my plan?"
"That's impossible."
In this ninja world, no one should know of his existence, let alone his plans.
"Did your trip to Konoha a few days ago lead to some kind of loophole?"
The figure on the wall, wrapped in a giant pitcher plant, was half black and half white, a rather strange sight.
"This..."
The masked man pondered.
He hadn't seen the few people in Konoha who might have discovered him that day.
"Wait."
He suddenly remembered the Uchiha boy who had acted strangely in the Konoha cemetery that day.
"Impossible."
But the masked man immediately rejected this idea in his mind.
How could a child who looked only five or six years old have discovered him?
He raised his eyes to look at the person in front of him and said, "The people of Konoha probably don't know about my plan yet."
"Zetsu, didn't you say that apart from Tsunade and Jiraiya, everything else in Konoha Village is the same as usual?"
"I think so."
Zetsu asked, "Then do you plan to continue with the plan?"
"Of course, if we miss this opportunity, it will be difficult to carry out the subsequent plans."
In the dark cave, the masked man stared at his right hand, which was slowly clenching.
"Even if you successfully released the Nine-Tails and held back the Fourth Hokage, Tsunade could not participate in the battle, and Jiraiya and the Third Hokage added, the effect of this plan would be difficult to achieve," Zetsu said.
"Or, could you try to use that guy's power?"
The masked man shook his head.
"Although the death of his companions was a huge blow to him, he only has less than a month left. Suddenly suggesting he attack Konoha and Jiraiya? Jiraiya was his former teacher, and I can't fully trust his power yet."
"Besides, that would easily expose all our hidden cards, hindering our future plans."
"After all, the people of Konoha probably don't know our plan right now. Just adding Jiraiya wouldn't be enough."
He took a deep breath and said, "Go get Tobi."
"Tobi?"
Zetsu was stunned for a moment, then suddenly laughed.
"It seems you're planning to do the same thing again."
He hadn't finished his words when the masked man glanced over, his eyes fluttering beneath the mask.
"Haha, it seems you're very concerned about this."
Zetsu smiled, and the giant pitcher plant on the wall gradually closed up, disappearing as if diving into the water.
Time passed, and soon, it was October.
October 7th, just three days until Kushina's due date.
Itachi once again asked Shisui to find the Fourth Hokage.
Swish!
Minato brought Itachi back to the cabin.
Seeing the solemn expression on the boy's face, Minato said solemnly, "Itachi, since you've summoned me so urgently, feel free to tell me whatever you have to say."
Itachi nodded and said, "Hokage-sama, you need to keep an eye on the Root on the night your wife gives birth."
"I certainly hope you can stop Madara's plan, but if you fail, the village will be attacked by the Nine-Tails. At that time, the villagers will need the protection of ninja."
"Are you trying to tell me that during the Nine-Tails attack you know about, the leader of the Root remained silent?"
The usually gentle Minato's face suddenly turned furious.
The Root is a special unit within Konoha, originally a special mobile unit of the Anbu, the training ground for the Anbu.
"This Danzo!"
Minato gritted his teeth and said in a low voice.
Among the other three elders of the village besides the Third Hokage, the only one that Minato felt a little disgusted with was Danzo.
The Root was founded by Danzo himself.
The members of the "Root" organization were not under the control of the Hokage, but were directly under the orders of Danzo.
Over the years, Danzo manipulated the Root to do many things in secret.
During the Third Shinobi World War, he interfered in the internal affairs of the Rain Country and assisted Hanzo of the Salamander to eliminate an organization called "Akatsuki".
The leader of that organization was an orphan who was rescued by Jiraiya during the Second Shinobi World War.
But that was still the time of the Third Hokage.
After Minato became Hokage, Danzo and the Root were relatively well-behaved.
Minato originally thought that Danzo's ideas were just a little extreme, but in the end it was all for the good of the village.
But if Danzo remained silent during such a crisis, it would cross Minato's line.
Hearing Danzo's name, Itachi's brow furrowed.
He told Minato this solely for the safety of the village and its inhabitants, without any ulterior motive.
"I understand,"
Minato said, looking at Itachi.
He had, until now, maintained normalcy within the village, not wanting the enemy to know of their advance knowledge of the plan and cause any unforeseen consequences.
While Itachi didn't know all the details of the Fourth Hokage's plan, out of a desire to protect the village and his family, he naturally prepared everything to the utmost.
Three days passed quickly.
Today wasn't a day off, so Itachi remained at the ninja academy.
"Class, that's all for today. See you tomorrow,"
Kanhara Junpei said, closing his book and exiting the classroom.
The quiet classroom suddenly became noisy.
"What's your mother cooking for you tonight?"
"After dinner, let's go out and play together?"
"Let's go for a walk!"
In the classroom, the boys and girls gathered separately, packing their things while laughing and discussing how to spend the evening.
Just like usual, it was a relaxing and happy time.
However, what they didn't know was that after tonight, they might never see the friends around them again.
On this day, even though he had made all the preparations, how could Itachi feel at ease?
"Itachi, what's wrong with you today?"
Izumi frowned slightly.
She had been observing Itachi all day, and his face was tense.
"Is there something on your mind?" she asked with concern.
"Nothing, let's go."
Itachi stood up from his seat and walked out of the classroom.
The two walked out of the school gate.
At this time, the sky was gradually darkening.
Looking out, the mountains outside Konoha Village rose and fell like waves, one after another, stretching endlessly.
The setting sun, emitting a dim yellow light, hung on the horizon, gradually setting, and was covered by the mountains, as red as blood.
....
By the way, don't forget to throw power stones and leave a review to motivate me :)