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A few days later.
Obito suddenly spoke to Kagaya.
"Next, I'm heading into Konoha to take care of some things. Want to come with me?"
"Take care of some things? Like what?"
"You don't need to know that. If you don't come with me, we'll have to split up for a while. Don't go dying on me. But even if you do come, once we're in Konoha, we'll need to act separately and meet up once a day."
"Konoha, huh? What about the missions assigned by the leader? If I go to Konoha, I won't be able to complete them."
"Don't worry about that. I've already cleared it with the leader. We won't have any missions for the next six months."
"Then I'll come with you. It'd be nice to take a look back."
Obito was surprised. He had assumed that after everything Kagaya went through in Konoha, he wouldn't want to return.
"Alright, put this on."
Obito activated his Sharingan under the mask, a vortex appearing. From it, he pulled out a conical hat and handed it to Kagaya.
"You just defected not long ago. Plenty of people in Konoha could recognize you. Wear this—it'll make things easier."
Kagaya took the hat and put it on. The fabric strips around its brim easily concealed his face.
"Let's go."
"Mm."
A vortex appeared, sucking Obito and Kagaya inside.
---
Uchiha Clan Grounds.
A girl who looked to be in her mid-teens stood by the river, eating tri-colored dango. She had a charming tear mole by her eye and an overall cute appearance.
"Lately, I've been seeing Itachi less and less," she murmured.
Her name was Uchiha Izumi, a classmate of Itachi's and his close friend—or perhaps something more. Though neither had said it outright, the feelings were there.
After finishing her dango, Izumi stood, turning to head home. She had come here hoping to catch a glimpse of Itachi.
"What a strange kid."
As she turned, she noticed a child wearing a black robe with red clouds, their face hidden under a conical hat.
At this point, Akatsuki was far from its future infamy, so most people wouldn't recognize the robe. To them, it was just an odd piece of clothing.
Seeing the figure standing motionless, Izumi found it strange and approached to ask, "Are you okay? Are you in some kind of trouble?"
Kagaya wasn't particularly short for his age, looking perhaps a bit over ten years old. But to Izumi, he still seemed like a child.
Kagaya's eyes shifted slightly to glance at Izumi. He hadn't expected that the first person to approach him in Konoha after parting with Obito would be a young girl.
"I'm fine," he replied coldly, not recognizing her, assuming she was just an ordinary Uchiha clan member.
Izumi smiled gently.
"Good to know."
She paused, then asked curiously, "But why are you covering your face?"
As she spoke, Izumi leaned closer, trying to get a look at Kagaya's face.
Kagaya remained silent. Under the hat, his black pupils turned crimson. He couldn't afford to be recognized. If this girl kept getting closer, he'd have to act.
But Izumi suddenly stopped, her smile still bright, as if she'd remembered something.
"Well, never mind. Just be careful walking with that hat on, okay?"
Kagaya was momentarily taken aback. His eyes returned to black, and he replied faintly, "Mm."
With that, he walked forward, slowly disappearing from Izumi's sight.
Once Kagaya was gone, Izumi's smile vanished, replaced by unconcealed shock.
Just moments ago, she had felt that if she kept approaching, she would die. Truly die!
This child, as she thought of him, had eyes that reminded her of the terrifying gaze of the Nine-Tails from years ago. There was no mistake—this person definitely had a Sharingan, and its power was terrifying!
Izumi herself had a three-tomoe Sharingan, but this child's Sharingan was undoubtedly stronger than hers.
'I have to tell Itachi about this.'
The sudden appearance of a child with such fearsome ocular power made Izumi certain this was no small matter.
She chose to tell Itachi instead of anyone else because, to her, Itachi was an absolute genius, the person she trusted most.
---
Much later, still clad in his Akatsuki robe, Kagaya arrived at the training ground where he and Shisui used to spend so much time—the place where he had buried Shisui.
Looking at the tombstone he had made for Shisui, Kagaya couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow.
Everything had changed. The once-renowned Shisui of the Body Flicker was gone. The Uchiha's genius, Kagaya, had defected and become a member of Akatsuki.
"Will you blame me, Brother Shisui?" Kagaya asked the tombstone, but no answer came.
After a long, long time, he let out a soft, "Heh."
With an unclear mix of emotions, Kagaya gave a faint laugh, then vanished using the Body Flicker Technique.
---
Ninja Academy.
On the training field, Sasuke cleanly defeated Naruto with taijutsu.
Naruto, unconvinced, shouted, "That was a fluke! One more time—I'll definitely beat you!"
"This is already the third time, idiot," Sasuke retorted.
"Ugh, next time I'll win for sure!"
"You'll never beat me."
From the rooftop of a tall building nearby, Kagaya silently watched the scene at the academy, a faint smile on his lips. 'They haven't changed. If possible, I hope they can keep living this happily.'
On the street below, Kakashi walked with his nose in a book. Suddenly, he sensed something and looked up sharply toward a rooftop. But it was empty—nothing there.
"An illusion?" he muttered.
---
That afternoon, Izumi hurriedly found Itachi and recounted her encounter.
Itachi grew agitated. "You said a child?"
Izumi nodded honestly. "Yeah, looked about ten years old, but wearing a hat that covered their face, so I couldn't tell who it was."
'Could it be him?' Itachi strongly suspected it was Kagaya.
He then instructed Izumi, "If you see him again, don't approach him, got it? And don't tell anyone about this except me."
"Okay," Izumi agreed.
Itachi knew Kagaya was now a rogue ninja. Returning to the village, he wouldn't want to be discovered. The best course was to avoid contact with others.
Itachi had no intention of seeking Kagaya out either. As an Anbu, his position was sensitive. Contacting Kagaya could risk exposing him.
Kagaya knew this too. Both he and Itachi tacitly avoided each other, pretending not to know the other was in the Uchiha clan grounds, despite suspecting it.