Before Itachi could finish speaking, Sasuke raised his hand and unleashed a Chidori Sharp Spear!!
"Shu!!"
The Lightning Release chakra pierced straight through Itachi's body!
"Flutter!"
Itachi's body dissolved into a flock of crows once again!
Sasuke's eyes turned cold.
"Itachi, I will kill you!"
"Everyone, stay close to me!"
...
On the way to the Uchiha hideout.
Suigetsu started complaining.
"Sasuke invited me into the team with the condition that he'd help me collect the swords of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen. But so far, I haven't gotten a single sword. Instead, I'm stuck following him all over the world."
"When it comes to making empty promises, he's a master. --003d_--003d"
Karin nodded in agreement.
"Tell me about it. He said I'd get to see the Shinju if I joined him."
"But in the end, I only caught a glimpse of the Shinju back during the battle at Amegakure…"
"The Shinju's been back in the village for more than half a month now, and there's been no news since. Õ_Õ"
"If I can see the Shinju again later, I'll do anything…"
Just as Karin said this, a vibrant red aura suddenly appeared ahead!
Karin: ⊙▽⊙??
No mistake about it!
That was the chakra of the Shinju!
Did her words just come true?!
"Hey, we meet again."
Shinju walked forward with Naruto, greeting Sasuke's team.
The weight pressing on Sasuke's heart immediately lifted when he saw Shinju arrive.
Facing Itachi… he honestly wasn't confident at all.
But with Shinju willing to help, things were completely different! ( ˝ᗢ̈˝ )
Shinju was the one who destroyed Amegakure and killed Pain single-handedly. Protecting him was no problem!
"Have you found any trace of Itachi?" Naruto asked.
Sasuke nodded.
"Just before you came, he appeared. He asked me to meet him at the Uchiha hideout, saying he'd end everything with his own hands."
Shinju muttered, "The Uchiha hideout…"
Sasuke nodded again.
"Yeah. It's a secret place, known only to the Uchiha clan."
"Come with me."
...
The group set off in search of Itachi.
On the way, Shinju had a sudden idea. He wanted to try using the Three-Tails for travel.
So, he released the giant turtle from its seal and called everyone to ride on its back.
He knew the Three-Tails' true form was a turtle, so it would probably be slow. But it was a tailed beast—it couldn't possibly be as slow as a normal turtle, right?
Yet to his dismay… the Three-Tails moved even slower than an ordinary turtle.
"As expected, a turtle is still a turtle."
Shinju was speechless.
But sitting on its shell, Karin was thrilled.
"So this is the legendary Three-Tails Isobu? It's so tame, letting people ride it! ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)"
At that moment, tears of humiliation welled up in Isobu's single eye: (* ˘⌓꒦ີ)
Meanwhile, inside Naruto's seal, Kurama burst out laughing.
"Hahahahaha! The mighty Three-Tails reduced to being someone's mount—there's nothing more humiliating than this! I'm dying of laughter… ꉂ(ˊᗜˋ*)"
Beside him, Shinju realized the Three-Tails was far too slow to be used as transport. So his thoughts turned to the Nine-Tails inside Naruto.
"Hey Naruto, how about letting the Nine-Tails out? It's got long limbs, a fierce look… riding it would be epic. վ--0027ᴗ--0027 ի"
Kurama: Σ(っ °Д °;)っ
Isobu: (´∇ﾉ｀*)ノ
Done laughing, huh? Now it's my turn!
But in the end, thanks to Minato's seal, Naruto couldn't release Kurama.
And Shinju felt that tampering with the already completed Reaper Death Seal would be far too troublesome.
So the idea of riding the Nine-Tails was abandoned.
...
After several hours, the group arrived near a small city.
Sasuke pointed toward a barren mountain ahead.
"About ten kilometers that way is the Uchiha hideout."
Naruto's face lit up with excitement.
"Then what are we waiting for? Let's go! ୧⍢⃝୨"
But just as they were about to move out, both Karin and Shinju—who had sensory abilities—suddenly froze.
Karin frowned.
"Such massive chakra… don't tell me another tailed beast is here?!"
Shinju shook his head. That chakra was all too familiar.
"It's Kisame."
Sure enough, moments after Shinju spoke, Kisame appeared on a rooftop ahead, Samehada slung over his shoulder.
Suigetsu's eyes lit up: (´◊ω◊｀)
"Samehada! I want it so badly!"
But Karin immediately shot him down.
"Don't even think about it. His chakra reserves are way beyond yours. (ー_ー)!!"
Across from them, Kisame struck a dramatic pose, gripping Samehada tightly—yet his hand trembled.
Itachi had asked him to block everyone except Sasuke.
But he hadn't said anything about Shinju being here!!!
!!!∑(°Д°ノ)ノ
This was the guy who had just killed Pain!
How could he possibly hold someone like that back?!
His heart was in a panic, but Kisame, being a real man, still forced out a bold declaration.
"Sorry, everyone. You can't go any further."
"Itachi asked me to stop everyone except Sasuke!!"
Shinju slowly raised his head, meeting Kisame's small eyes with his own.
That single glance made Kisame even more uneasy!
Sure, he was Itachi's comrade and genuinely liked him.
But was it really worth throwing his life away for this mission?
"You sure you want to block me?"
Shinju smirked playfully.
Kisame: "…"
"T-Then… everyone except Shinju and Sasuke can't pass!"
Kisame silently congratulated himself on his cleverness. (◔◡◔)
Good thing he was smart, or else he would've been finished right here.
Naruto frowned in irritation.
"That's insulting! Just because you can't beat Shinju, you're letting him through?!"
Kisame was left speechless, embarrassed but unable to argue.
"You guys wait here. Sasuke and I will be back soon," Shinju said.
Naruto was unhappy with Kisame's unfair treatment, but he didn't insist on tagging along either.
After all, with Shinju by Sasuke's side…
Right now, there wasn't a single ninja alive who could threaten Shinju.
"Alright."
...
Shinju and Sasuke headed into the mountains.
Along the way, Sasuke suddenly asked,
"Shinju, I remember you only transplanted Danzo's Sharingan."
"How did you get the second one?"
Shinju replied mysteriously,
"That's something you'll have to ask your brother about."
In truth, Shinju's second Sharingan went back to the mission to retrieve the Kazekage, when he crossed paths with Itachi again.
At the time, Itachi had told him he was giving him a gift, and placed a crow inside his body.
Later, after Jiraiya's death, in the depths of grief and rage, Shinju awakened his second eye.
And since then, his eyes had continued to undergo strange changes.
Sasuke seemed to realize something, muttering to himself.
"Itachi… Back then, Shisui Uchiha was closest to him. After Shisui died, he probably entrusted his eye—the one with the strongest genjutsu—to Itachi."
He looked up at Shinju.
"In a way, you received his gift."
"In this fated battle between me and him… whose side will you take?"