"Menma, you're finally here. Any later and a conflict would have broken out."
Kisame greeted him with practiced ease. As soon as Menma appeared, Samehada, the sword on Kisame's back, seemed to sense something. The weapon began to tremble slightly, pressing the exposed tip of its blade against the back of Kisame's thigh as if trying to hide itself. However, Kisame remained oblivious.
After cautiously finishing his greeting, he asked Itachi, "Itachi Uchiha, shall we go in as guests? Or should Menma bring the fake information directly, and we can go cause some trouble in the town outside?"
Having seen that even the gatekeepers possessed a considerable amount of Tailed Beast chakra, Kisame felt a sense of danger and was reluctant to enter the Four-Star Village. If Menma really intended to do something to them, they would be sitting ducks. However, his opinion didn't matter; it was up to Itachi to decide whether to go in.
"Let's go in and take a look," Itachi Uchiha uttered. He stepped forward and quickly entered the gate.
"Then let's go in," Kisame said, shaking his head. He suppressed his slight unease and followed Itachi through the gate.
After entering with Menma, Kisame quickly realized that this place was very different from other ninja villages. The population here was sparse; he saw very few people along the way, and almost all of them were ninjas wearing headbands. As for ordinary villagers who weren't ninjas, he didn't see a single one.
However, Kisame could roughly guess that these ninjas were probably the lucky ones who had been granted the chakra of Tailed Beasts. Their strength was generally at the level of Elite Jōnin. With so many Elite Jōnin, their raw strength was no less than that of the Five Great Villages, which had accumulated power over many years!
Just as Kisame was silently reflecting on his situation, Itachi, walking ahead of him, slowly turned crimson beneath his straw hat. At the same time, a surge of orange-red ocular power slowly emanated, making the surrounding environment appear somewhat illusory.
But this illusion had barely begun when Menma stopped in his tracks. Turning back, jet-black ocular power surged from the holes in his mask, instantly dispelling the illusion and making it real.
"This is... the Sharingan!" Itachi turned, frowning, staring incredulously at the crimson light beneath the mask's holes.
Menma smiled slightly, his tone tinged with disdain. "That level of genjutsu won't work on me. Besides, there's no need to rush. After all, the place I'm taking you to is where Sasuke is... and also your burial ground."
"Is that so?" Itachi stared intently at Menma, the tomoe in his eyes swirling into the shape of a three-bladed windmill. "But this shouldn't be the mission, right? I remember Pain's mission was to retrieve false information for Iwagakure..."
Whoosh—
The moment the word "right" landed, orange-red eye energy shot straight into Menma's eyes. Tsukuyomi! Sensing something was wrong, Itachi decisively struck first. He planned to pull Menma into the Tsukuyomi dimension to interrogate him and extract relevant information!
But the next second, Itachi's pupils contracted sharply, and his eyes trembled.
He couldn't pull him in? No, it's the Mangekyō Sharingan?!
The only thing that could prevent him from being drawn into Tsukuyomi and render it ineffective was a Sharingan that had also awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"I didn't expect that besides that guy, there would be someone else who has awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan..." Although Itachi's heart was in turmoil, his face quickly regained its composure, and the crimson in his eyes faded.
"Mangekyō Sharingan?" Kisame, upon hearing this, looked on with fear and confusion, quickly gripping Samehada on his back. Although he didn't know what had just happened, he was certain that Itachi had secretly fought with Menma. And the masked man also possessed the Mangekyō Sharingan, and had even managed to defeat Itachi! This was incredibly terrifying!
Menma didn't reply but turned around and continued leading the way.
"Save your energy. Sasuke has been preparing for this day for a long time. At least let your weakened body hold on, so Sasuke can finally unleash his pent-up hatred..."
"..." Itachi silently followed quickly. His mind raced, pondering the information about Sasuke gleaned from Menma's words.
Meanwhile, Kisame's legs felt like lead. He felt a bottomless abyss lay ahead, a great danger lurking within. But after only a moment's hesitation, Kisame quickly followed with a serious expression. He still had to complete the surveillance mission Obito had given him. Besides, before Itachi's betrayal, he was still his partner and comrade, someone he respected. Disgusted by his own fabricated past, Kisame naturally wouldn't repeat the actions of abandoning or killing his comrades.
Soon, Menma led the two to an open space. In the middle of the open space stood Sasuke, coldly indifferent!
Menma stopped. But Itachi didn't; he continued at his speed toward where Sasuke stood.
Kisame was about to follow, but Menma blocked his way.
"What happens ahead is none of your business. But I have something I'd like to discuss with you."
Kisame's heart sank when he was stopped. He instantly drew Samehada from his back and gripped it in his hand.
"Discuss something with me? But I don't recall ever having any dealings with you."
Knowing that Menma possessed the same eyes as Itachi and Obito, Kisame unconsciously began to use polite language. While remaining extremely vigilant, he also communicated with Samehada, instructing it to be ready to use chakra to help him dispel the Sharingan's genjutsu!
"Just because it's not happening now doesn't mean it won't happen later. Let's talk from a distance, so we don't get caught in the crossfire with those two brothers."
As he spoke, Menma appeared directly in front of Kisame and patted him on the shoulder.
Kisame was startled by Menma's astonishing speed and quickly retreated. However, he only took two steps back before realizing something was wrong. He had inexplicably found himself in an unfamiliar environment, not the huge open space he had just been in!
"What did you do?!" Kisame felt that Menma was becoming increasingly mysterious and unfathomable. He even possessed such a terrifying ability to teleport! Could it be a Mangekyō Sharingan eye technique?
"Don't be nervous, it's just a more comfortable place to talk," Menma's calm voice rang out.
"What exactly do you want to say?" Kisame's hand, gripping Samehada, was sweating, and he sensed Samehada's fear.
Menma looked at the wary Kisame and spoke slowly. "You are a true ninja, and I admire your loyalty and fearlessness. Therefore, I want you to join the Four-Star Village, to join my ranks, and I will give you a real place to belong."
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