________________________________________________________________________________________________________
The moment he thought about dumplings, a certain image popped into his head. Uchiha Izumi smiling as she treated him to dango.
Then another memory surfaced, one from his past life. On the night of the clan's massacre, there had been a scene where Uchiha Obito killed Izumi.
Of course, thanks to him, the original storyline had already gone so far off the rails that who knew what it looked like now.
Still, was tonight really the night of the massacre? Would Obito show up?
Just to be safe, it would be better to get Izumi out of there first. No way he was letting such a sweet girl get taken out because of a careless mistake.
Whoosh!
Akira's figure vanished from the rooftop.
He sprinted straight toward Izumi's house.
…
Uchiha clan compound.Izumi's home.
"Mom, I'm heading out for a bit."
At the entryway, Izumi called into the house after changing her shoes.
"So late at night? Where are you going?" a middle-aged woman asked as she walked out, puzzled.
"I made a lot of dango, and I want to thank Little Akira properly. He helped me a ton today!"
Izumi lifted the dessert box, smiling brightly.
"Oh. Alright then, but come back quickly. Things have been tense between the clan and the village lately. Be careful."
Her mother reminded her, but didn't stop her.
"It's fine, Mom. This is inside the clan grounds, and Akira's place isn't far. Besides, I'm a ninja too. Nothing's going to happen."
With that, Izumi slipped out the door, dessert box in hand.
"Sigh… she's grown up, but she still won't let me relax," her mother muttered, shaking her head helplessly.
…
It's been so long since I last saw Itachi-kun.
What mission could he be on that's taken this long? He hasn't come back at all.
I really hope I'll run into Itachi-kun when I get to Akira's place.
Walking through the quiet streets, the girl's heart was full of anticipation.
As she rounded a corner, she suddenly noticed a familiar figure standing beneath a streetlamp in the distance.
That is…?
Her heartbeat sped up on its own, and her steps grew quicker.
When she got closer, she could finally see clearly.
It really was the person she had been thinking about.
"Itachi-kun! It's you! You're finally back from your mission!"
Izumi greeted him excitedly, the joy on her face impossible to hide.
"Itachi-kun, that mission must've been exhausting, right?
Here! I just made your favorite, three-color dango. Try some!"
She held out the dessert box toward him.
As for the fact that the dango was originally meant for Akira, well… she had completely forgotten about that now.
Looking at the smiling girl in front of him, pain spread through Itachi's chest.
Because this girl was about to die, by his own hand.
But for Konoha's peace, this was suffering he had to endure.
He forced his heart to grow cold, numb.
His face remained expressionless.
"Huh? What's wrong, Itachi-kun? You seem a bit strange today. Are you just worn out from the mission?"
Izumi noticed something was off and couldn't hide her concern.
She widened her eyes and leaned closer, carefully studying his expression.
Under the streetlamp's light, she caught a fleeting trace of pain at the corner of his brow.
"Itachi-kun! What's wrong? Did something happen?"
Her worry deepened. She reached out with her slender hand, wanting to touch his face, to comfort him somehow.
But before her fingers could reach him, a pair of crimson eyes filled her vision.
Her consciousness plunged into darkness.
"I'm sorry, Izumi."
Itachi caught her hand frozen in midair and pulled her into his arms. Bitterness filled his expression.
He didn't want to kill her. But for the village's peace, he had no choice.
He planned to trap her in a gentle illusion, a happy dream, and let her pass quietly that way. That was the only mercy he could offer.
Just as he was about to act, a mocking voice suddenly sounded behind him.
"Tsk, tsk. How heartless. You can feel it, can't you? How much this girl likes you. And you can still bring yourself to kill her."
Who?!
Someone appeared behind him without a sound, and he hadn't sensed a thing.
Itachi's heart jolted. His body reacted on instinct, and he flashed away in an instant.
Whoosh!
Cradling the unconscious Izumi, Itachi reappeared over ten meters away.
Only after confirming a safe distance did he turn to face the person who had spoken.
"Hm? You… you're Akira? Why are you here?"
Recognizing him, Itachi was visibly surprised.
"Oh? You recognized me that easily? Guess these sunglasses really don't do much for disguises after all."
Akira adjusted the sunglasses on his nose, looking a little disappointed.
He'd thought they might help hide his identity at least a bit. Clearly not.
So Itachi is already inside the clan compound. That means my guess was right. That old man, the Third Hokage, really did lose his temper. Tonight's the night they move against the Uchiha.
Akira narrowed his eyes at Itachi in the distance, silently praising himself for his foresight.
Right then, a series of system notifications rang out in his head.
[Ding… Event "Night of the Massacre" activated. Generating mission list.]
[Ding… Mission 1: Slap Uchiha Itachi hard across the face. Reward: +2 check-in chances.]
[Ding… Mission 2: Slap Shimura Danzo hard across the face. Reward: +3 check-in chances.]
[Ding… Mission 3: Slap Sarutobi Hiruzen hard across the face. Reward: +4 check-in chances.]
Staring at the three missions the system suddenly spat out, Akira went on an internal rant.
You call yourself a "God-Tier System"? You might as well rename yourself the "Face-Slapping System." Every mission is about smacking someone across the face.
Last time with Hyuga Hiashi was the same thing. Another face-slapping quest.
And this time, the rewards are check-in chances again. Couldn't you at least add one more? Are you trying to torture people with OCD?
He counted it up. If he completed all the missions, he'd get nine check-in chances total.
Couldn't you just make it ten and give me a nice clean ten-pull?
He was pretty sure the system was messing with him on purpose. He just didn't have any proof.
"..."
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________