The scene shifted, and the world before him brightened under the blazing sun.
Itachi felt a wave of discomfort wash over him.
At this moment, he had returned to his original form, the overwhelming power he once wielded now gone.
His left eye, however, felt incredibly fatigued, as if he had just spent hours watching countless action movies. When he looked out into the world, his vision blurred.
The key point was that this sensation only affected his left eye, creating a stark contrast in sensory experience between his left and right eyes.
It was disorienting, to say the least.
Looking at Akai Sanjin, who lay motionless on the ground, Itachi shook his head, attempting to dispel the discomfort.
Unfortunately, it seemed to be of no use.
...
Seeing this, Itachi didn't wait any longer. He took two kunai from his ninja tool pouch and hurled them at Akai Sanjin.
Earlier, during lunch, Itachi had subconsciously stuck his sword into the ground next to him. When he sensed the enemy in the trees, he hadn't retrieved it but instead hurried over immediately.
The anticipated scene of his opponent springing up to deflect the kunai didn't occur. For the first time, using Tsukuyomi had successfully shattered his enemy's spirit.
This realization brightened Itachi's mood a bit.
After waiting a few seconds with no further movement, Itachi cautiously approached.
His steps exuded a casual nonchalance.
Confident and at ease.
...
He bent down slightly, pulled the blood-stained kunai from his opponent's body, wiped them clean on his clothes, and returned them to his pouch.
Then came the exhilarating treasure-hunting moment.
"1,000 ryo, seven kunai?"
He emptied his opponent's belongings and placed them neatly to the side.
Itachi picked up his spoils, counted them, and muttered to himself.
But his brows quickly furrowed.
The scene fell silent as Itachi froze in place, stunned for a moment.
A few seconds later, he felt a chill wind sweep past, sending shivers down his spine.
Instinctively, he dropped the ryo and kunai to the ground.
"What the heck? So creepy!"
The scene shifted again, and Itachi's figure vanished from the spot, reappearing atop a tree, basking in the holy sunlight.
"…"
Standing on the treetop, Itachi muttered prayer in his heart.
After a few recitations, he reconsidered, realizing that such beliefs might not apply in this world. Without hesitation, he began sprinting along the treetops, heading back.
"It wasn't me who killed you—it was Jūzō. Don't come after me…"
Itachi extended a finger and pointed toward Jūzō, who was snoring loudly against a tree. He chattered on endlessly.
The shadow clone on guard below looked up at Itachi with a strange expression.
This made Itachi blush slightly. Embarrassed, he quickly canceled the shadow clone to destroy the evidence.
These rapid actions helped ease the unease in his heart slightly, though he had no intention of coming down. Instead, he silently bathed in the sunlight.
That's right, our dear Itachi is afraid of ghosts...
...
Jūzō's nap lasted far longer than Itachi expected. The sunlight Itachi enjoyed gradually receded as the sun set, leaving only the final glimmers of dusk.
Itachi quickly gathered some branches and used the Fireball Jutsu to ignite a campfire.
For once, he sat down close to Jūzō.
Normally, they would maintain at least a meter's distance from each other.
This time, the gap was less than 20 centimeters...
The warmth of the flames put Itachi in a much better mood.
Jūzō remained asleep even as night fell.
Itachi, feeling drowsy, summoned four shadow clones to surround and guard him. Protected in the middle, he allowed himself to drift into a light sleep.
The details were meticulous.
...
In the middle of the night, Jūzō slowly opened his eyes, stirred by a sense of unease.
He saw four copies of Itachi sitting around the campfire, chatting animatedly about spooky topics like Sadako and ghostly writing games.
One of the clones leaned against a tree nearby, sound asleep.
Listening for a while, Jūzō gradually pieced together what they were discussing.
The four clones were so engrossed in their conversation that they didn't notice Jūzō watching them from behind.
Finding the situation amusing, Jūzō had no intention of interrupting. Shadow clones were a familiar technique to him.
However, he noticed that Itachi's clones seemed... oddly entertaining.
"Are you guys talking about me?"
As the clones reached a climactic moment in their ghost story, Jūzō, prepared in advance, made a scary face and spoke suddenly.
"Whoa, what the heck!"
...
Chaos erupted.
Afterward, Jūzō found a distant tree to relieve himself, whistling a cheerful tune.
Itachi, meanwhile, scolded his shadow clones.
The commotion had, of course, successfully woken the lightly sleeping Itachi.
He never expected the shadow clone he summoned to protect himself to be so unreliable...
It was even more unreliable than the shadow clones he used to fight Naruto for the bathroom.
...
By the time Jūzō returned, Itachi had already dispelled the shadow clone.
After revisiting the memories of the four shadow clones telling ghost stories at midnight, his fear of ghosts had largely dissipated.
He wasn't really scared; it was just a natural sense of awe for the unknown.
"Not bad with the shadow clone, kid," Jūzō teased cheerfully after relieving himself.
"Want to learn it? Call me 'big brother,' and I'll teach you..."
Itachi, unfazed by Jūzō's teasing, replied calmly.
...
"Uh..." Jūzō, caught off guard by Itachi's response, was momentarily speechless.
This brat was getting more and more insolent...
Jūzō grumbled internally, annoyed.
But since he couldn't think of a way to counter Itachi's words, he could only complain to himself.
Jūzō's silence left Itachi a bit frustrated.
He had wanted to teach this bodyguard some survival skills, but who knew Jūzō would be so thin-skinned?
Itachi had been serious about his offer; he didn't have that "hoard knowledge" mindset others seemed to have.
Still, considering that Jūzō could wield the Executioner's Blade to withstand a Tailed Beast Bomb, teaching him shadow clones might not actually be of much use...
...
Watching Itachi grow drowsy again after just a few exchanges, Jūzō decided not to suggest continuing their journey.
He silently added more branches to the campfire, keeping watch through the night.
When Itachi woke again, daylight had already broken.
Nearby, Jūzō sat idly carving a piece of wood with a kunai.
"Awake?"
Before Itachi could speak, Jūzō tucked his carving into his pocket and casually broke the silence.
He seemed as emotionless as a cold-blooded assassin.
"Yeah, I'm awake. Another day has passed," Itachi replied softly, conjuring some water to wash his face.
...
"By this evening, we should be back at the organization. Is there anywhere you'd like to stop and have some fun?" Jūzō asked lightly, updating Itachi on their progress.
Although they had been dragging their feet on the way back, their pace on the initial journey hadn't been much better. Their leisurely travel time was about to come to an end.
"Nowhere in particular. Not interested," Itachi replied, clearly unimpressed by Jūzō's attempts to slack off together.
"We're not too far from Konoha. Want to visit?" Jūzō suggested casually, fully aware of Itachi's indifference.
"No, thanks. I may not have the best sense of direction, but I know roughly where we are," Itachi answered, unmoved by Jūzō's attempt to trick him.
The distance to Konoha was farther than their journey back to the organization. Besides, even if he went, there wasn't much he could do, so it wasn't worth the effort.
"I see..."
Seeing that Itachi wouldn't take the bait, Jūzō sighed softly.
To be honest, he wasn't in a rush to return either, but he couldn't come up with a good excuse to delay.
If he could have tricked Itachi, he'd at least have a decent reason to stall...
...
---