Chapter 53: The Boy Who Sealed His Eyes
"Boy, what's your name?"
The voice came from behind him, calm as still water.
After the shadow clone dispersed, Uchiha Itachi's real body had appeared at Ryuzen's back. A kunai extended from his Akatsuki robe sleeve, pressing against Ryuzen's lower back. His tone remained gentle, almost curious.
"Ryuzen, behind you!" Kurenai's urgent warning cut through the tense air.
FWOOSH—
Ryuzen didn't hesitate. He spun and swung his blade directly at Itachi, completely ignoring the kunai that could pierce his spine at any moment.
The desperate move—trading his life for an attack—made even Uchiha Itachi pause for a fraction of a second.
In that instant, he chose to abandon the attack. He leaped backward, creating distance as Ryuzen's blade whistled past where he had been standing.
Landing several meters away, Itachi raised two fingers to his mouth without hesitation.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique."
A wisp of flame expanded explosively, becoming a massive fireball that roared toward Ryuzen. The technique was fundamental Uchiha training—but delivered with Itachi's characteristic speed.
I couldn't even see his hand seals. Kurenai's expression darkened. This is the差距 between jōnin and S-rank missing-nin.
Ryuzen's eyes remained firmly closed. He charged directly at the incoming fireball, sword raised.
"Kurenai-sensei! Help that jōnin—he's struggling against the shark-faced one!"
Kurenai hesitated for only a moment. Then she nodded and turned toward Asuma's position, where Kisame's overwhelming strength was clearly pushing the Sarutobi heir onto the defensive.
Before leaving, she called out one last warning: "Ryuzen! Be careful! Your opponent is the genius who became ANBU captain at thirteen! The one who destroyed the Uchiha clan! S-rank missing-nin Uchiha Itachi!"
Ryuzen gave no indication he had heard.
His blade met the fireball—
And cut.
The Great Fireball, a technique known for its destructive power rather than subtlety, split cleanly down the middle. The two halves roared past Ryuzen on either side, leaving him completely unharmed as he emerged through the gap and continued his charge toward Itachi.
Uchiha Itachi watched the approaching boy—eyes still closed, expression utterly focused—and made an observation that carried hidden weight.
"At your age, you already understand Uchiha's reputation."
Ryuzen's voice came cold and certain: "Genjutsu users are the most disgusting type of ninja in this world. Especially you. I don't dare underestimate you at all."
It was true. Ordinary genjutsu, Ryuzen could ignore simply by closing his eyes. Even if he was caught in an illusion, his Kenbunshoku Haki could still track the opponent's real body through intent and presence.
But the two ultimate illusions—Tsukuyomi and Kotoamatsukami—were different. He had no defense against those. Not yet.
And Uchiha Itachi possessed one of them. Uchiha Shisui's eye, with Kotoamatsukami's absolute mind control, also resided somewhere in Itachi's possession.
From the moment he engaged, Ryuzen had kept his eyes firmly shut.
He raised his blade and slashed at Itachi.
Itachi sidestepped the strike with economical movement, his Sharingan tracking every nuance of the attack. "Your swordsmanship is remarkable. Speed, ruthlessness, precision—all perfectly demonstrated."
He pivoted and kicked toward Ryuzen's head.
"But the Uchiha Sharingan sees through everything. Before my eyes, your sword is too slow."
Ryuzen's left hand—coated in black Armament Haki—rose and blocked the kick. At the same time, he countered with a side kick of his own.
Itachi crossed his arms to block, using the force of Ryuzen's kick to propel himself backward.
Ryuzen didn't pursue immediately. Instead, he resheathed his sword and settled into the drawing stance.
"Then try dodging this sword."
"Armament Drawing Slash!"
An overwhelming sense of crisis locked onto Uchiha Itachi. Cold washed through him as Ryuzen's blade flashed forward.
Silver-white light mixed with darkness transformed into dark red sword energy five or six meters high, roaring toward Itachi like a living thing. The distance between them—several meters—vanished in an instant.
For the first time, Uchiha Itachi's eternally calm expression flickered.
BOOM!
The sword energy consumed him completely. The familiar sound of a substitution technique echoed—
POOF.
A split log fell to the ground, cut cleanly in two.
Itachi reappeared on a treetop some distance away, looking down at the ravine Ryuzen's attack had carved into the earth. More than ten meters of destruction, carved in an instant.
Before he could speak—
CRACKLE—
The sound of a thousand birds singing filled the air.
Kakashi Hatake appeared behind Itachi, his Raikiri crackling with lightning, already thrusting toward the Akatsuki member's heart.
Itachi turned calmly, meeting Kakashi's visible eye with his Sharingan.
Kakashi's expression shifted. He aborted his thrust mid-motion, twisted in midair, and launched himself toward a nearby tree.
BOOM!
The moment his back turned to Itachi, a powerful blast of air—the aftermath of some unseen technique—hurled him forward like a hurricane. He crashed heavily into a tree trunk.
"Using the substitution immediately followed by a shadow clone," Ryuzen observed, not turning around. His perception had already tracked Itachi's real body moving to stand beside Kisame at the riverbank. "Detonating that clone... enduring that kind of pain. You really are a terrifying man, Uchiha Itachi."
Itachi regarded him with those dark, Sharingan-active eyes. For the third time, he asked:
"Boy. What is your name?"
Ryuzen finally turned to face him, eyes still closed.
"Yagyu Ryuzen. Genin of Konoha. Same class as your brother."
At the mention of Sasuke's name, Itachi's expression didn't change. But Ryuzen's Kenbunshoku Haki sensed the subtle shift in his emotional state—something complex and deeply buried.
Kisame grinned, Samehada resting on his shoulder. "A brat who can swing a slash like that, and he's only a genin? Are Konoha's leadership blind?"
Ryuzen pointed his blade at Kisame and returned the grin. "I can hear your sword breathing."
"Oh?" Kisame's grin widened. "You're right about that. My sword is alive."
He studied Ryuzen with new appreciation, then glanced at Itachi. "Itachi-san. Konoha really is the cradle of geniuses. Not only did they produce someone like you, but even in peacetime, they birth monsters like this boy. I'm seeing a new generation's White Fang in the making."
Itachi's response was characteristically calm: "That commotion will attract others soon. This boy's perception neutralizes my Sharingan. Unless I use that technique, killing him in one strike would be difficult. There's no need to waste time here."
He turned away.
"Kisame. We're leaving."
In an instant, both Akatsuki members vanished.
Ryuzen stood alone in the clearing for a long moment, his Kenbunshoku Haki tracking their retreating signatures until they faded beyond his range.
Only then did he slowly open his eyes.
A quiet sigh escaped him.
Guarding the darkness, unseen...
He had expected to face killers. Monsters. People whose emotions radiated malice and bloodlust.
Instead, Uchiha Itachi's emotional signature had been... gentle. Sad. Complex beyond simple measurement.
The first time I've met an enemy with such a gentle heart.
He shook off the thought and turned to check on Kurenai and Asuma. Kakashi was already pulling himself out of the shattered tree, looking worse for wear but alive.
The Akatsuki had come and gone.
And Ryuzen had survived his first encounter with one of the ninja world's true monsters.
Next time, he thought, I'll need to be faster. Stronger. Better.
Because next time, he might not hold back.
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