"Leave me alone... and kill the entire clan?"
"That's right, it's recorded in the files, and Itachi himself told the Third Hokage."
"He... how could he do that? Why would he do that?!"
"I'm also very curious. I always thought he had a problem with his brain. Danzo isn't the Hokage, and what could Danzo change about something the Third Hokage had already agreed to?"
"..."
"Just like your father, when the Nine-Tails incident happened, Danzo stopped him alone and ordered the entire clan not to act, but at that time, the Hokage was the Fourth Hokage."
"..."
"So, this was a private action by Danzo and Itachi. It seems Itachi's goal was to let you live, but I cannot understand it."
Takemi and Sasuke's conversation took place a year or two ago, but after these words, both of them fell silent.
Because neither of them could understand what Itachi was thinking.
Takemi was a transmigrator, so he had seen all sorts of abstract protagonists. But even he couldn't comprehend his thought process.
If it was to stimulate Sasuke's Mangekyo, while extreme, it could still be understood.
But just to protect Sasuke, especially when the Hokage had clearly stated his stance, he still trusted Danzo...
Couldn't he tell the difference between the important and the unimportant?
And Sasuke had always been well-behaved in Konoha, plus he had the closeness of the Konoha 12, and Naruto's constant entanglement.
At the same time, he also had the 'guidance' of Takemi, Kakashi, Jiraiya, and even Tobirama.
Most importantly, he wasn't stimulated by Itachi's Tsukuyomi, so his mind was very clear, and his horizons had broadened considerably.
And this broadened horizon and clarity made him utterly unable to accept Itachi's actions and thoughts.
"How dare he think he's right?! What right does he have to make decisions? Why did he have to kill the entire family?!"
"Who knows? Anyway, according to intelligence, he always firmly believed he was right and said he joined a mysterious organization as an undercover agent, but then..."
"Damn it, is he even human?!"
"You'll have to ask him. Oh, and one more thing. According to intelligence, he wasn't the only one acting at the time, and the other one was very likely Obito."
For the current Sasuke, there were only two people he hated the most.
One was naturally Itachi. In his eyes, this guy was an animal.
The other was Obito. He was involved in the Nine-Tails incident, and he was also involved in the Uchiha massacre. How could he be let go?
"Don't worry, we'll run into them eventually."
Takemi smiled, looking at Kakashi and Jiraiya, and said earnestly, "You have to believe that with Kakashi-sensei and Pervy Sage here, we're bound to encounter some special things."
"Hey, are you slandering us?"
Jiraiya and Kakashi collectively rolled their eyes, but Takemi didn't mind and continued with a smile, "Sasuke, have you heard of Konoha's special laws?"
"Uh? What laws?"
"First, first time Kakashi-sensei leads a mission, he'll definitely encounter big trouble. Think about my first mission and your first mission."
"..."
"Second, the probability of encountering the Akatsuki on an outdoor mission is very high. Think about my first mission and your first mission."
"..."
"Third, after every mission, someone ends up in the hospital, either the people on the mission or people inside Konoha. For reference..."
"That's enough, Takemi!"
Kakashi and Jiraiya really couldn't hold back. Although Takemi was stating facts, was it really appropriate to pin everything on them?
"Naruto, don't learn this from Takemi."
In Naruto's mind, Kushina and Minato had both become 'Jinchuriki.'
They could know what was happening outside through Naruto, and hearing Takemi's words, Kushina said, "He's good at everything, so why is he not so good at this? And he himself said that Konoha's education has problems, but I feel like..."
"Uh... I don't know either..."
Minato was a bit embarrassed. He also found Takemi extremely excellent, but sometimes he just...
Highlighted the failure of Konoha's education?
"Sigh, it's a pity you left early, Minato, otherwise Takemi wouldn't be like this."
Kushina sighed, speaking helplessly, which made Minato stroke his chin.
"Although it might be disrespectful to the Third Hokage, it might have been better, right?"
"Ha..."
Naruto listened to his parents' conversation in his mind and could only laugh awkwardly.
He remembered that when Takemi was little, his personality was already quite bad.
Otherwise, would his subsidies have been so much less back then?
"And this bastard said he would open some 'Odd Jobs' and marry a wife to live a normal life, but then he turns around and wants to take my Hokage position?"
"Damn it! As expected, you can't trust any of these white-haired guys..."
Naruto muttered to himself, but he was still quite cheerful.
The group chatted and laughed along the way, and soon they arrived at the outskirts of Takigakure.
At the same time, on the other side of Takigakure.
As space twisted, a group of figures in black robes with red clouds quietly appeared.
"We're here."
Obito looked at the village in the distance and spoke faintly, "Is the plan for this operation clear? And have you all thoroughly familiarized yourselves with your powers?"
After Nagato made his decision, he didn't act immediately.
Sometimes, being stubborn doesn't work, because they really could run into those Konoha people every time they moved out.
They had also suspected whether there was an internal spy on their side. But after investigation, especially after Black Zetsu's investigation within Konoha, they understood one thing.
"Konoha's actions are all recorded. Every encounter is an accident..."
Such an absurd thing, if it were anyone else, their mentality might have collapsed, but these Akatsuki members were all strong-willed.
No matter how absurd and bizarre it was, they wouldn't give up easily. At most, they would make more preparations. Besides that, they would see if they could avoid 'fate.'
For example, this time, they deliberately used 'the Edo Tensei adapting to their own powers' as an excuse to delay their departure for some time.
"No problem. Those Konoha people aren't that Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki."
Although Hidan had already been shattered into human slag, he wasn't very polite when he spoke.
"Last time, I was interrupted and couldn't fight the Konoha people." Hiruko snorted coldly and shook his head indifferently.
"If I really encounter them, I'll be happy."
"You're truly confident, sir."
Kisame 'sincerely' praised him when he heard this.
"I just wonder if you can really handle Takemi if you encounter him?"
"Takemi is not simple."
Jūzō and Raiga both nodded. Although they were both in the Edo Tensei state, they were both aware of that kid's strength.
Even if one of them encountered his 'child form,' that level was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.
"Instead of talking about that, I think we should consider whether we'll encounter Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki."
Itachi saw everyone talking, and after a long silence, he finally spoke.
This one sentence immediately plunged everyone present into silence.
Except for Jūzō and Raiga, Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki treated them all equally. He equally looked down on every single one of them, and equally made all of them victims...
"Let's move first."
After a long silence, Nagato spoke in a low voice, "It's been three years. I'm no longer the person I was then..."
"If I really encounter him, I might be even happier!"
"Whether it's that Konoha guy or that Ōtsutsuki Takeshiki..."
(End of Chapter)
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