Land of Earth, an underground exchange point.
A man in a black cloak with red clouds entered, face covered, wearing a slashed Hidden Waterfall Village headband—marking him as a rogue ninja.
He greeted the manager and placed a severed head on the table. "Here's the target."
"It's him, all right. Kakuzu, you're as efficient as ever."
The manager grinned, signaling for someone to bring the payment. Kakuzu's reputation preceded him—he was famous among bounty hunters: efficient, ruthless, and lethal.
Whenever there was a high bounty, those without strong escorts didn't last long—they'd soon lose their heads to Kakuzu.
Kakuzu counted the five million ryo, satisfied, and closed the case. "Got any big targets?"
"You came at the right time! There's a major new bounty—though it's a tough one."
The manager spread out the bounty notices, pushing one forward. Gusion's face stared back.
"Sixty million? Didn't the Hokage's son only fetch thirty million?"
Kakuzu's eyes lit up at the sum, but he voiced his confusion.
"Check the details, Kakuzu. You may not know his name, but you've heard his title—he's 'Calamity'."
Kakuzu recognized the title—though he didn't remember the real name. He'd lived a long time, but hadn't been active during the Third War. Most battlefield prodigies were flashes in the pan.
But the file said this "Calamity" had even injured the Fourth Raikage. That piqued Kakuzu's interest—this was a worthy hunt.
Sixty million could fund plenty of Akatsuki's future operations.
Kakuzu, as Akatsuki's treasurer, loved money but also focused on building up the group's funds.
He took the bounty notice and headed straight for the Land of Lightning to investigate leads on "Calamity."
Compared to the little jobs, he wanted to hit it big—sixty million in one go.
…
Three days after Gusion's breakout from Kumogakure—Konoha Village, Uchiha District.
On the training grounds, a young boy held a kunai, focusing hard before hurling it at a target.
Thunk—
The kunai struck the outer rim, and disappointment flashed in his eyes.
But the sadness only lasted a moment. A large hand landed on his head, making him smile.
Standing behind him, a teenage boy gently ruffled his hair. "Sasuke, that's better than yesterday."
"Onii-chan!"
Sasuke called out with affection. He admired his brother and cherished their rare time together—Itachi was always busy, harder to see lately.
Itachi, still in his Anbu uniform but with his mask tucked away, saw the messy training ground and Sasuke's dusty, scraped knees—clearly, Sasuke had trained hard.
"Can you still walk?"
"I'm fine!" Sasuke straightened up.
He took a step forward, but his legs wobbled. Itachi caught him before he fell.
Sasuke blushed, but Itachi crouched to give him a piggyback. "Let's go home for dinner."
Sasuke, soothed by his brother's gentle voice, rested his chin on Itachi's shoulder. "Okay."
The brothers walked the sunset path, wildflowers at their feet. Sasuke's face was all happiness, but Itachi's expression, unseen by his brother, was heavy.
"Onii-chan, you said you'd be off tomorrow and teach me shurikenjutsu. I was really looking forward to it."
Sasuke hoped for his brother's guidance—not just to get stronger, but to spend time with him.
"Something came up. Sorry, Sasuke. Next time."
Itachi gave his usual reply—not that he didn't want to, but there was always an urgent mission.
Lately, too much was happening. His mind was a mess, and he couldn't relax with his brother.
Tomorrow's mission was especially dangerous—he might not even survive.
"Oh…" Sasuke was disappointed but didn't complain. Exhausted from training, he soon fell asleep on Itachi's back.
Itachi carried Sasuke along the path, sunset fading into darkness, his Sharingan spinning into new shapes.
He wasn't in the mood for fun. Just days ago, his most respected elder and closest friend, Shisui Uchiha, had died.
Shisui's death opened Itachi's eyes to Konoha's darkness and filled him with despair. The pain and turmoil awakened his new power.
Itachi saw things were heading for the worst. Shisui failed to persuade Danzo and even lost an eye. The situation was now out of control.
With Shisui dead, the clan was agitated. The hawks were secretly mobilizing for a coup.
Itachi loved the village and his family—he was torn and in pain.
The night Shisui died, the Third Hokage summoned him for a seemingly peaceful conversation—a test of loyalty.
Itachi answered perfectly, expressing his true feelings. He didn't want war. If necessary, he'd use his new power to suppress a revolt.
The Third promised that Sasuke would be spared, and taken care of. That brought Itachi some comfort.
But he was suffocating under the pressure. After all, he was only thirteen—being forced to massacre his own clan was too cruel.
Luckily, international events had shifted—the legendary Konoha hero "Calamity" wasn't dead, but had caused chaos in Kumogakure. This shocked all five great shinobi villages.
Kumogakure publicly condemned Konoha for letting a rogue ninja wreak havoc, demanding an explanation.
Anyone who knew the truth would call this shameless—Kumogakure secretly captured and imprisoned Gusion for eight years. But with no evidence, it was just politics.
Konoha knew the rough story, but could only accept the blame—Gusion was, after all, their defector.
With Konoha needing to reassert strength after the Fourth's death, the "Calamity" affair had to be handled carefully.
But Gusion was already a powerful ninja, and now had injured the Fourth Raikage. Ordinary Anbu squads couldn't hope to handle him.
So the task fell to Hokage's elite Anbu—Itachi himself.
Itachi was smart. He saw that the Third didn't fully trust him. After all, his claim he'd kill his entire clan wasn't that credible.
Now, with the "Calamity" incident, the Third was clearly testing him.
If he could kill or capture Gusion, Konoha's international standing would rise, and they could answer Kumogakure's demand. Huge political gain.
If he failed and died, the Uchiha would lose a major asset—if they did rebel, it would be easy to suppress.
Itachi saw through the Third's calculations, but felt he had no choice. The clan had no chance in open conflict—even with the Mangekyo Sharingan.
A friend in Anbu hinted that the Third had already summoned Jiraiya back to the village. If it came to a fight, Itachi couldn't hope to beat one of the legendary Sannin.
The clan crisis weighed on Itachi, but this mission was also a chance to breathe.
At least he could leave the village for a while, get some fresh air, and leave the family mess behind.
"Calamity" Gusion… once Konoha's hero—why did he defect?
…
Gusion moved fast these days, ignoring distractions as he rushed toward the border of the Land of Fire.
He wasn't heading for dangerous Konoha—he'd left the Land of Lightning, and to reach Amegakure from there, he had to cross the Land of Fire's border.
The area where many small countries met: the borders of Land of Fields, Land of Frost, Land of Waterfalls, Land of Grass.
The Land of Fire owned the central, prime land; the smaller border countries survived at its whim. In war, these small countries became Konoha's buffer zone.
Weak nations had no real sovereignty. The Second and Third Great Ninja Wars had been fought in these territories—the five great villages wouldn't let war touch their own lands.
That's why Nagato and his friends hated the big nations—their wars destroyed the small countries' homes, leaving them destitute.
As Gusion passed through these small countries, he saw other explorers—some from Endspace, some from Divinespace—but no one made a move.
Clearly, it was early days. Once alliances solidified, future meetings would be deadly—killing hostile explorers had double the chance to get a Deadman's Chest—a huge temptation.
Crossing the border between Land of Fields and Land of Fire, Gusion was heading through a forested gorge toward the Land of Waterfalls, when several kunai flew at him, thudding into nearby trees.
He stopped, eyeing the four masked figures surrounding him. Judging by their gear and masks, they were Konoha Anbu—cold and silent, they'd clearly set a trap to take him out.