At first, Sasuke gained the advantage, relying on his peculiar eye technique.
When Itachi Uchiha analyzed Sasuke's dōjutsu and judged that his brother seemed unable to use chakra, he had originally planned to give Sasuke a chance to beat him for once. However, as the fight continued, even holding back massively was no longer an option.
Itachi could only wait for an opening. When Sasuke got close, he seized his ninja sword, kicked his younger brother to the ground, and firmly re-established the unbreakable rule: the older brother is always stronger. Once again, it was a crushing victory.
To be honest, Itachi Uchiha was in a pretty good mood today.
First, he had completed the mission Naruto Uzumaki gave him and believed he had solved the Orochimaru problem. He had also achieved his own goal of pushing Sasuke to awaken the Mangekyo Sharingan.
Now that he knew the nature of Sasuke's dōjutsu, Itachi relaxed slightly. Although they hadn't yet discovered the most effective way to use it, space-time jutsu were generally quite powerful.
Itachi looked down at the defeated Sasuke and frowned. If the two brothers were to exchange their Mangekyo Sharingan, he would need a ninja with truly superb medical skills. Without a doubt, the strongest medical ninja in the entire world was Naruto Uzumaki.
"Itachi Uchiha!" A fierce look flashed across Sasuke's face, his eyes cold. "If you don't kill me today, I will definitely kill you next time!"
"..."
Itachi was silent for a moment before an elbow strike to Sasuke's neck sent the black-haired boy into unconsciousness.
Outside the cave, Kisame Hoshigaki turned his head and saw Itachi carrying Sasuke on his shoulder. He instinctively reached out to help. "Mr. Itachi, let me!"
"No need." Itachi shook his head, wanting to send Kisame on his way. "Kisame, you go kill the daimyo of the Land of Rice Fields first. I'll meet up with you tomorrow."
After he found Naruto, he would perform the Mangekyo Sharingan exchange with Sasuke. This had to be done as soon as possible to prevent Sasuke from overusing his visual prowess, though that didn't seem to be an immediate worry. It was just that after awakening the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, he and Sasuke would both gain the ability to use the complete form of Susanoo, which would be a great help to them.
At that time, whether facing Obito Uchiha or Nagato, he would have the power to contend with them.
"But doesn't the organization require us to operate in pairs?" Kisame disagreed. Besides being ordered to monitor Itachi, he was also a little worried something might happen to him. "And that young Hokage of Konoha will be arriving in the Land of Rice Fields soon. Mr. Itachi, you won't run into any danger, will you?"
After all, the real Naruto Uzumaki wasn't dead. That was the most powerful Hokage in history, and he was on his way to the Land of Rice Fields. He might just run into Mr. Itachi.
"I will find a safe place." Itachi shook his head. He couldn't very well tell Kisame that he was actually going to find Naruto Uzumaki.
Kisame's small eyes blinked. He suddenly grinned and nodded. "In that case... be careful, Mr. Itachi."
"..."
Itachi didn't answer, just carried Sasuke and left. Facing a teammate like Kisame, who was so dedicated—even if it was partly to monitor him—Itachi ultimately couldn't bring himself to kill him.
He still had one Kotoamatsukami Sharingan left. Maybe he should just leave that jutsu for Kisame?
Everything was proceeding according to plan.
-----
Itachi wasn't the only one who thought so. Naruto Uzumaki felt the same way, especially after he met with Kabuto Yakushi, who had come to surrender. The Hokage Guard ninjas moved to stand guard in the distance, leaving only Naruto and Kabuto to discuss top-secret village intelligence.
"Lord Orochimaru sent me." A meaningful smile appeared on Kabuto's face as he calmly looked at the young Hokage. "He was hit by the Kotoamatsukami jutsu named 'Protect Konoha,' and he has sent me to serve you, Lord Fifth Hokage."
"I see." Naruto nodded thoughtfully. This matched his expectations. It seemed Itachi had completed his mission, so there was no need to worry about Orochimaru.
Kabuto smiled and continued, "It's just that even Lord Orochimaru never imagined that the famous Itachi of the Sharingan was actually your spy, Lord Hokage."
"Well, it's all for the sake of Konoha." Naruto casually offered the reason. The words hung in the air, and both his and Kabuto's faces darkened slightly. Wasn't that Danzo Shimura's catchphrase?
Naruto slapped his forehead and said softly, "Itachi is a spy for the village. Kabuto, this matter must absolutely not be leaked."
"Understood." Kabuto pushed up his glasses.
Naruto nodded in satisfaction, then looked at him and said, "Kabuto, first come with me to handle things in the Land of Rice Fields. After we return to Konoha, I will lift your wanted status... From now on, Kabuto, you can be the head of the Konoha Orphanage!"
"...The head?"
The white-haired young man's expression froze. His fingers slowly touched his glasses as he thought of the woman who had given them to him. That person, known as the "Walking Miko," was Konoha's best spy, the head of the Konoha Orphanage, and the woman who had adopted him.
Nono Yakushi.
Because of Danzo Shimura's manipulation, the two of them had been led to kill each other. In the end, Nono died at Kabuto's hands. Before dying, she held a fake photograph, completely unaware of the truth. If Orochimaru hadn't revealed Danzo's scheme to him, Kabuto himself would have fallen into darkness.
Just as Kabuto was lost in memories of the warmth of the orphanage, Naruto looked at him with confusion. "I just thought that since you came from an orphanage, Senior Kabuto, you would probably approve of working there... It seems now, you are unwilling?"
That couldn't be right. In the future, Kabuto Yakushi was the happy head of the orphanage, smiling every day as he led a group of children. He would occasionally take the children to the hospital to help out and sometimes go to the Hokage's office to request funding.
"No." Kabuto quickly shook his head. After pondering for a moment, he said softly, "The position of head of the orphanage is the most suitable for me."
It was even more suitable than being Lord Orochimaru's lab assistant.
All this time, he had been searching for the meaning of his existence. Even Lord Orochimaru hadn't given him an answer. Now, the young Hokage had straightforwardly placed him in the one position he most desired. He hadn't even thought of this role for himself before.
Now that Naruto mentioned it, Kabuto felt that being the head of the Konoha Orphanage, inheriting Headmistress Nono's will, was what he most wanted to do.
To be honest, if it weren't for the great debt he owed Orochimaru for his teachings, Kabuto would be tempted right now to tell Naruto the secret of how Orochimaru broke the Kotoamatsukami. He was a person who repays his debts of gratitude.
"It's settled then." Naruto was very satisfied with his choice. "There are many children left behind by the war who need to be gathered. If the orphanage is short on staff, you can request support from the Medical Department."
"Yes, thank you, Lord Hokage." Kabuto nodded respectfully, but then he spoke again. "There is one more thing... does Lord Hokage need intelligence?"
Encountering such an understanding Hokage, Kabuto was tempted to be a double agent. Even if he didn't betray Lord Orochimaru, he could still offer some intelligence.
"No need." The young Hokage refused his offer. When it came to intelligence, who in the entire ninja world had more information than he did?
"Alright." Kabuto pushed up his glasses.
He remembered thinking back during the Chunin Exams that Naruto Uzumaki could achieve great things. Now it seemed that although Naruto was still young, with his ability to recognize people and put them to good use, if he wasn't qualified to be Hokage, then who was?