Chapter 141 : Tsukuyomi!!

[After Itachi joined the Akatsuki, he teamed up with Biwa Juzo, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist and a traitor from the Hidden Mist Village.]

[During a mission in the Land of Water, they were pursued by the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura.]

[Juzo was seriously injured while protecting Itachi, and then he died.]

[Itachi used his Mangekyō Sharingan's technique: Amaterasu, and unexpectedly killed the tailed beast transformed Fourth Mizukage, successfully escaping from the Hidden Mist Village.]

[Next, while on a solo mission, Itachi caught the attention of Orochimaru, who was still serving as the Akatsuki's technical advisor at the time.]

[Due to Orochimaru's obsession with Itachi's beauty, he attempted to take over Itachi's body. However, Itachi forcefully rejected him, forcing Orochimaru to leave the Akatsuki.]

"Pfft, Orochimaru? Still obsessed with Itachi's beauty? No way, does that mean I'm in danger?" 

The Fifth Hokage, Jiraiya, almost choked.

He had already known that Orochimaru didn't care much about gender, but he hadn't realized that the guy was this "dangerous."

As Orochimaru's old partner, Jiraiya felt his body tense up and stared at Orochimaru with fear in his eyes.

He had expected Orochimaru to deny it.

But to his surprise, Orochimaru didn't contradict the screen at all. Instead, he stuck out his tongue and licked his lips, leering at Jiraiya in a creepy manner.

Seeing this, Jiraiya shivered and quickly turned his head, staring seriously at the Third Hokage. He said, "Old man, please protect me, don't let Orochimaru defile my pure chastity!"

Third Hokage: ???

Turning his gaze away, Orochimaru noticed Sasuke looking at him with a mocking expression. He immediately spoke, "Sasuke-kun, you wouldn't be this shallow, would you?"

Sasuke shook his head and said, "I just didn't expect that the infamous cold-hearted Orochimaru left the Akatsuki because he was driven out by Itachi. I really don't know where you get the confidence to think that I, who you've taught, could defeat Itachi, who you've never been able to beat."

Orochimaru chuckled and didn't hold it against Sasuke for being disrespectful. 

"There are many reasons for me leaving the Akatsuki, and my defeat by Itachi was just a trigger. As for whether you can defeat Itachi, it's not about me having confidence in myself, but in you. Don't you have confidence in yourself?"

"I am, of course, confident in myself."

"Then what's the problem?"

".Hmph!"

Sasuke couldn't argue with Orochimaru, so he snorted coldly to save face.

Orochimaru: "You little brat, do you think I can't handle you? I've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice."

Sasuke: "Wow, that's quite the strong taste."

Orochimaru: .....

[In the following days, Itachi participated in recruiting other members and teamed up with Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from the Mist Village and one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen.]

[Under the leader's orders, the rare pets, from the One-Tailed to the Nine-Tailed beasts, still had to be captured, so Itachi and Kisame were assigned the task of capturing the Nine-Tails in Konoha.]

[In Orochimaru's plan to destroy Konoha, the Third Hokage had already sacrificed himself, so Itachi's identity as a spy was virtually unknown.]

[However, Itachi is still Itachi Uchiha of Konoha, and he would never act on behalf of Akatsuki to harm the village or its people.]

The Uchiha clan: "Do you even hear yourself when you speak?"

[On the contrary, Itachi would still use Akatsuki's funds to shop in Konoha.]

[Thus, Itachi and Kisame entered Konoha under the pretext of gathering intelligence on the village.]

"Here, it should be talking about Itachi and Kisame coming to the village six months ago, right?"

"That should be it."

Upon hearing Kakashi's words, Asuma, who had leaned over, let out a sigh of relief.

The situation back then had been quite dangerous. During his fight with the one with the shark face, he had been overwhelmed.

Kurenai wasn't sure if it was because she was too nervous or if her mind had short-circuited, but she had used genjutsu on Itachi, who had activated his Sharingan.

The result was obvious—Itachi successfully countered it.

If it weren't for Kakashi, his father, Jiraiya-sama, and Orochimaru-sama coming to the rescue, his and Kurenai's situation would have been really bad.

Even though Itachi is secretly a Konoha spy, Kisame isn't.

Itachi might hold back against Kurenai, but Kisame wouldn't hold back against him.

"In the light screen, the Third Hokage has already sacrificed himself, and Orochimaru-sama has probably escaped. The only high-level force left is Jiraiya-sama. I'm not sure how this crisis will be resolved." 

Soon, the light screen answered Kakashi's words.

[After successfully entering Konoha, Itachi went straight to a snack shop and had his long-missed three-colored dumplings.]

[That day, the sales of three-colored dumplings were excellent.]

[Before long, their whereabouts were discovered by Asuma and others.]

[In his first fight with his former subordinate from the Anbu, Kakashi, Itachi used the ultra-realistic VR technique, as a way of showing his appreciation for the old mentor who had trained him in the Anbu, which caused Kakashi to get so excited he ended up in the hospital.]

"What's going on? Did Itachi just take me out in an instant?"

Kakashi stared in disbelief at the scene on the light screen.

Itachi gave Kakashi a glare, and it was as if Kakashi had stayed up for ten straight nights without rest. His energy immediately drained, and he collapsed.

After the Konoha Beast, Might Guy, came to help and chased Itachi and Kisame away, Kakashi couldn't hold on anymore and fell unconscious.

"Hahaha, Kakashi, you're really Kakakshi. You got knocked over by just one of Itachi's genjutsu."

"What do you mean knocked over by just one genjutsu? That move is obviously not a regular genjutsu. Would a normal genjutsu even need the Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"An explanation is just a cover-up, and cover-ups mean there's truth to it. Kakakshi, just accept the reality."

"Sorry, I won't accept it."

Kakashi covered his face. He wasn't happy with his performance on the light screen.

In his view, after all these years of slacking, he had indeed fallen behind Itachi.

But the gap couldn't have been that big.

The moment the guy glared at him, he just collapsed. It was too ridiculous.

"Itachi must have used Tsukuyomi."

As someone who was also once cared for by Tsukuyomi, Orochimaru deeply understood the pain and helplessness that came with it.

"Tsukuyomi?"

Asuma and Kakashi both looked at Orochimaru at the same time.

"Tsukuyomi is Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan technique. It's an extremely powerful genjutsu. In this genjutsu, all factors like time, place, and even mass are controlled by Itachi. Anyone trapped in it will experience intense physical and mental pain. What's even worse is that no matter how much time passes in the genjutsu world, it only lasts for a moment in the real world."

At this point, Orochimaru looked at Kakashi and continued, "I guess this is why you collapsed right after he stared at you."

"Lord Orochimaru knows so much about this. Could it be that you've fallen victim to it as well?"

"..." 

Orochimaru: I was trying to help you understand, and you're asking me this kind of question?

Kakashi: Who told you to say that I collapsed? I'll say it again: I'm Kakashi, not Kakashi 'the weak.'

Asuma: Alright, Kakashi 'the weak.' Got it, Kakashi 'the weak.'

Kakashi:

After re-reading the manga, I just realized that when Orochimaru tried to take Itachi's body, he wasn't affected by Tsukuyomi but by some kind of Binding Jutsu.

This feels a bit ridiculous.

Later, Sasuke also used it on Orochimaru, but Orochimaru only hesitated for a second before quickly recovering.

But when Itachi used it on him, he was frozen in place for a long time.

Even with the Sharingan's ocular power, the difference shouldn't be that huge.

Adding to the earlier parts, I've already written that Orochimaru was affected by Tsukuyomi back then, so it's too late to change it now.

So, let's just say that Orochimaru was affected by Tsukuyomi back then...

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