The sudden encounter caused the air to freeze for a moment.
The once peaceful and harmonious mountain forest seemed to have been invaded by a ferocious beast, as several small birds frantically flapped their wings to escape.
"Isn't this Itachi?"
Obito, whose face was hidden under the mask, spoke with a smile. His tone was cheerful, yet devoid of any genuine emotion, "What are you doing here? And judging by the direction you came from..."
He pretended to peer into the distance, "Where in the Land of Fire did you go?"
Itachi stared coldly at the other man and remained silent.
This impolite reaction was within Obito's expectations. He let out a light chuckle, his demeanor darkening slightly as he quietly returned the gaze.
Itachi and Obito… two individuals who were both exceptionally unique within the Akatsuki organization. From the moment they formally met, their relationship had been one of reluctant cooperation and mutual wariness.
Itachi didn't know Obito's true identity and harbored doubts about his claim of being 'Uchiha Madara'. Yet, after all these years, he still hadn't uncovered the other's secrets or weaknesses.
On the other hand, Obito knew everything about Itachi but was restrained by the fear of his strength, as Obito only had one Mangekyo Sharingan, while Itachi had two.
So now, despite being members of the same organization, neither showed the other any courtesy.
More importantly, there was no one else around.
A faint, dangerous killing intent quietly seeped into the air.
A long time passed, and the forest seemed to grow still. Just before a fluttering leaf could touch the ground, Itachi finally spoke, breaking the stalemate.
"I went to the Land of Fire. Why are you here?"
Itachi remained vigilant, his mind racing, 'This unplanned encounter was definitely no coincidence. The other party had arranged it deliberately… Had they discovered something?'
'The shadow clone I had left with Kisame was still intact, meaning there had been no slip-ups. So, had this guy been monitoring me all along? At this level, as expected...'
According to Itachi's preparations, this private operation wouldn't be discovered until tonight at the earliest. But in reality, if he hadn't left ahead of time, the situation would have been dire.
"Of course, I noticed that an important member of the organization seemed to have disappeared, so I came to check on you."
The tension that had been on the verge of erupting dissipated, and Obito secretly sighed in relief, speaking in a casual tone.
He crossed his arms and took a few steps back and forth on the tree branch, "So, what were you doing in the Land of Fire? I don't recall the organization assigning any related missions."
"You're asking too much. The organization doesn't restrict its members' personal activities."
"Hiding it from your teammate is different, isn't it?" Obito snorted coldly.
"..."
Itachi kept his eyes fixed on the masked man, his expression unchanging, 'This guy had indeed discovered the tricks I had pulled, but I wasn't sure how. With his tracking abilities, especially with Zetsu's assistance, it would be easy to follow up.'
Thinking of Zetsu, Itachi frowned slightly.
'Right now, I needed to find a way out.'
Suddenly, Itachi sighed, clasped his hands behind his back, and said with an air of seriousness, "Honestly, I went to clear my mind."
'Huh?'
Obito was momentarily stunned, 'What? Who even is this guy?'
After a moment, it registered to his mind, 'Clear his mind? You're lying to a fool?'
But the Itachi before him... really did put on the act of a brooding, melancholic artist.
'Melancholic, my ass! Even if the whole world was mourning, someone like you would just coldly carry out your objectives without a second thought, wouldn't you?!' Obito couldn't stop himself from mentally cursing, 'Something was off… since when did Uchiha Itachi resort to such shameless tactics?'
"Can you say that again…"
Obito's lips twitched beneath his mask as he spoke, half-convinced he'd fallen into the other party's Genjutsu.
"Honestly, I went to clear my mind."
Itachi repeated the performance, this time with a hint of impatience.
Silence. Obito's expression was hidden behind his mask, but it was undoubtedly grim, 'Not only had he given a blatantly fake excuse, but the second delivery was even more half-hearted... Couldn't he at least come up with something slightly believable and put in a bit more effort?'
Obito's sudden appearance had been outside Itachi's plans, but now Itachi's response was equally outside Obito's expectations. For a moment, he was at a loss for how to proceed.
"You... I see." Obito struggled to stay calm, steadying his breathing, 'Stay composed, stay composed.'
"I'll be leaving now." Itachi said coldly, ignoring Obito's discomfort, and jumped over.
'I need to find a way to relay the message to Senpai...'
"Wait!"
Obito called out. After calming himself, he managed to regain his usual composure.
He realized that trying to get a straight answer out of Itachi, someone who was clearly hiding something, was pointless. Even if he dismissed the 'clearing his mind' excuse, there'd just be another lie.
He had only caught a glimpse of the truth, while the full picture still needed to be uncovered by himself.
"What?" Itachi turned slightly.
"Heh, heh..." Obito clapped his hands together, "No need to rush off. I didn't come alone."
As soon as he spoke, a shift in Chakra signaled movement in the ground. A mound of earth slowly rose, and a massive pitcher plant unfurled, revealing a figure split into black and white halves.
White Zetsu: "Hello, everyone!"
Itachi felt Black Zetsu's malicious gaze and his expression grew more serious.
"I still have some business to attend to. You two head back first." Obito said casually, as if this had been planned all along.
"Come on, Itachi-kun, if something's troubling you enough to go 'clear your mind', you can talk to me..." White Zetsu chattered as soon as he hopped to Itachi's side.
'With Zetsu around, any attempt to secretly pass on information would be difficult.' Itachi maintained his calm exterior, but inwardly, he was troubled.
Closing his eyes briefly before reopening them, he knew exactly what the masked man was investigating. Now, he could only hope that Logan would handle things safely…
"Oh, right, Itachi." Obito suddenly spoke up, as if remembering something, "I heard some news, Orochimaru was apparently killed by Sasuke. That means it won't be long before Sasuke comes for you, right?"
"Who knows, Sasuke might even be strong now. Do you need the organization to help you deal with this little problem?"
Itachi's steps faltered for a split second. Countless thoughts flashed through his mind, but in the end, he only responded with indifference, "My foolish little brother... Let him come. The organization doesn't need to interfere."
After saying that, without waiting for White Zetsu's continued chatter, he stepped onto a tree branch and abruptly increased his speed.
"Slow down, Itachi-kun." Zetsu hurried after him.
Behind the swirling mask, Obito's eye watched them leave before he silently smirked and turned in the opposite direction.
…
At this moment, Logan had just left the city.
After resting briefly at the inn, he packed his belongings and set off.
Logan had no idea about the encounter at the border, nor did he know that Sasuke had already annexed Orochimaru, which is far ahead of the original timeline.
After leaving the city, he also headed to the north. This was the shortest road away from the Land of Fire.
'First, I'll check the underground black markets in the minor nations to see what's been happening recently.' Logan thought.
Having spent a long time with Sasori and in the Paulownia Forest, he needed updated intel before seeking out Sasuke. Even if the average black market didn't offer much useful information, comparing it with his memories of the original events would still be helpful.
Half a day into his journey, an unexpected event occurred.
Boom!
A sudden explosion erupted. The mountain range marking the border was faintly visible in the distance, and just as Logan stepped onto a tree, the Explosive Tag trap set in it exploded.