Chapter 21 - Itachi Uchiha

''Be careful! This guy was made a Division Chief of ANBU Black Ops at the age of 13'' Kakashi said sternly while sweat was dripping down his face.

Itachi looked at Kakashi with a cold expression and said, ''I didn't expect that you who is not a member of the Uchiha Clan could master the Sharingan to such an extent.... However, your body isn't one that fit those eyes...''

His eyes sprung open as he took a step back and warned frantically, ''Don't look into his eyes!''

However.... It was already too late.

His vision began to warp as Itachi brought him into a world with a red sky and translucent floor that looked like a lake yet reflected everything like a mirror. His body hung from a cross as Itachi stood in front of him with an impassive gaze as if he was taking a stroll.

Satori merely looked from the back like Sukuna had instructed as he had 'accidently' let their students overhear that one of the men might be Uchiha Itachi.

As Sukuna expected, Sasuke was the first to dash towards where Kakashi and the rest were while Naruto, Sakura, Hinata, Shin, Shikamaru followed closely behind as they were the only ones around their Jonin-Sensei's around that time.

However, only a few minutes later would Guy be informed to make sure Sukuna's plan came to fruition.

He had anticipated that Obito or Pain would make sure someone would scout the Hidden Leaf after they heard the turmoil regarding Tsunade's soon arrival who would arrive in a few days and the Senju Clan's massacring people who were thought to be going extinct.

And like he expected, they came earlier than he originally thought.

''Kakashi! What happened!'' Asuma replied with a worried tone as Kakashi knelt on the ground while sweat was pouring down his face while taking deep breaths.

Itachi looked at them with an emotionless face as a voice suddenly rang out behind him, ''A watered-down version of the Izanagi, truly a scary ability''

Kurenai heard the voice and hastily turned around, Sukuna stood there in a pair of sweatpants and a wide T-shirt like he was taking a stroll.

''Get out of here! What are you doing here?'' Kurenai hastily said as Kakashi said, ''Quickly inform the others...''

Sumure soon landed besides Sukuna as Satori also stood next to him. Sukuna paid them no mind as he looked at Itachi and the fishhe-… Kisame.

''Itachi, I want him....'' Kisame said with a frenzied look which piqued Itachi's interest as he plainly asked, ''Why?''

''The sword on my back feels insanely hungry since it laid eyes on the brat'' Kisame replied as his eyes grew red.

Sukuna saw Kisame's look and frowned before looking at Kakashi, Kurenai and Asuma, ''Can you three with Satori handle Kisame? Me and Sumure will keep Itachi busy''

The three of them were shocked by his confidence as Kurenai replied, ''Absolutely not! That's too dangerous!''

''I'm a Senju, their ancestor was stomped into the ground by mine, you think we have no counters for the Sharingan?'' Sukuna asked with a sarcastic grin while making sure Itachi could heard his words which caused a light frown to appear on his face.

''Still, I don't ag-….'' Kurenai was cut off by their students that arrived at a frenzied pace with Sasuke leading the group who looked at the two men before laying his eyes on Itachi.

'Sasuke...' Itachi's brain sprung before his genuis mind soon came to a conclusion as he looked at Sumure and Satori who stood beside Sukuna.

'How much does he know...' Itachi's eyes squinted as his eyes spun to a 3 Tomoe Sharingan.

''Kisame, I will take care of the kid and his guards. You take care of these three. If anyone else arrives, run. We did not come here to wage war'' Itachi coldly said as Kisame objected,

"I need that kid's body!''

Itachi didn't bat an eye to Kisame as he looked at Sukuna who looked him into his eyes which confused him even more, the kid had no fear regarding the Sharingan. Did he truly have a counter-meassure?

''ITACHIII!''

Everyone looked at Sasuke who came running in with his 2 Tomoes in his eyes, Sukuna nonchalantly said, ''Satori, restrain the child and make sure none of them come close''

Satori nodded and arrived behind Sasuke before grabbing the back of his collar as he held him in the air.

Sasuke tried to struggle free by wildly kicking his feet, Naruto and Sakura wanted to interfere, but Satori merely gave them a cold glance before they quieted down.

Luckily the other three weren't so stupid. Shino and Shikamaru silently stood at the side while Hinata grabbed the edge of her clothes and bit her bottom lip.

Again, she was too weak to help anyone. She had already increased her abilities by leaps and bounds compared to a month ago, Sukuna would occasionally send a clone to spend time with her and Kurenai while also bringing them amazing food which Sukuna said was part of their training, so they just accepted it.

However, whenever they sparred, she couldn't even touch the edge of his clothes. When she would be dripping of sweat and out of breath, Sukuna would simply stand there with a nonchalant expression.

As for Sukuna, when he saw Itachi's gaze on him, he grinned and dashed away with Sumure following closely behind.

Itachi didn't hesitate and gave chase as he noticed Sukuna was running further from the village. Itachi knew the kid wasn't stupid, yet he went to this direction which perplexed him.

''Kakashi! We have to help him!'' Kurenai said while biting her nails.

''I wish we could, but we have our hands full'' Kakashi said with a serious expression as he looked at Kisame who came walking towards them.

''This is why I hate teaming up with him, he doesn't talk and he never cares about anyone but himself'' Kisame grumbled as he grabbed his sword and looked at the three before licking his lips, ''Atleast I will make you into a fine meal then!''

…

Itachi came to a stop in the middle of a plowed field as Sukuna stood in front of him with a light smile with Sumure behind him.

''You truly are interesting Itachi Uchiha, if I didn't know any better than I truly would have thought you betrayed the village'' Sukuna said with a nod which made Itachi squint his eyes at him.

'He knows...' Itachi's mind spun as he connected the dots.

''What is your goal'' Itachi said with a cold expression to which Sukuna smiled and said,

''Ofcourse, to get you to my side''

Itachi frowned and asked, ''Aren't you part of the Leaf?''

''Indeed, I am. I am the leader of the Clan that created the village alongside your ancestor. But I'm sure you already knew that'' Sukuna grinned as he looked at Itachi.

''Then what do you mean 'your side'-…..'' Itachi's voice got softer the moment he laid eyes on Sukuna's eyes who had slowly turned red as 3 Tomoes appeared.

Itachi looked at Sukuna with a cold expression as his 3 Tomoes started spinning, but Sukuna replied, ''I wouldn't do that if I were you''

Itachi's eyes stopped spinning as he asked, ''What do you mean?''

''I'm trying to persuade you nicely because I respect you. You sacrificed your own happiness, killed the people you care about for the village. You can be considered a Hero, But I'm the opposite'' Sukuna said as his voice dropped to an icy cold tone,

''A hero would sacrifice their loved ones for the 'greater good'. I would rather sacrifice the world... Scrap that, I would do it myself if I had to. Since you can't seem to grasp how much I know, let me explain this. Do you know why I let one of my people next to Sasuke?''

Upon hearing Sukuna's words, Itachi's expression remained the same but internally he was in turmoil. He couldn't understand how Sukuna seemingly knew everything. He used Sasuke as a weapon against him while nobody should've known of his choice back then.

''Itachi, it's not like I'm not offering you anything. I need someone in the Akatsuki for my plans. If you come to my side, I will promise you three things'' Sukuna said coldly.

''It seems that you give me choice, but in reality, I don't have much of a choice huh'' Itachi replied coldly to which Sukuna smiled lightly.

''That is because of your own foolish loyalty to Hiruzen and Danzo, because they are the leaders of the village. You think that is the only way to protect this village, but in reality... the only way to protect something is to have everyone fear it that they don't dare to make a move against it''

Itachi looked at Sukuna for a short moment before his eyes turned to its usual black color, ''What promises are you talking about''

Sukuna smiled confidently as he pointed behind him, Akai was carrying Rin who seemed to be trembling which confused Sukuna a little.

As Itachi saw Rin, he was confused before his mind remembered Kakashi's story. He had shown him a picture of his team and told him what happened.... He pierced her heart, he killed her himself!

As Itachi was trying to connect the dots, Sukuna looked at Akai that had a distressed expression on her face.

''What happened?'' Sukuna appeared before them and asked with a worried expression, letting Itachi do his own thing for now.

Akai put Rin softly on the ground who instantly sank to the ground, clearly not able to stand as tears fell down her face before replying,

''I don't know, we ran past Kurenai, Asuma and Kakashi fighting that shark head guy. The moment she laid eyes on Kakashi she started screaming 'please, not again'...''

Sukuna sighed and looked at her with a pitiful look before crouching next to her and tapped her shoulders.

Rin turned towards Sukuna with a pale expression as tears streamed down her face while holding her hands on top of her heart. She was trembling so much that Sukuna thought that she was being electrocuted.

As Rin looked at Sukuna, she hastily grabbed hold of his waist and buried her head in his stomach before she started crying loudly.

Sukuna opened his mouth, but in the end just sighed and looked at her with a warm expression before getting on his knees so she could bury her head in his chest while stroking her hair.

It was clear that only now everything started to make sense to her that she was actually alive again.

''Itachi, just come over here for a second. We are both not stupid enough to make a mistake we will regret'' Sukuna said as he turned to Itachi after Rin lost consciousness in his arms.

Itachi hesitated for a moment before walking over, but stood a few meters away from him.

''The promises I make you is simple, I will revive the Uchiha Clan and lead it. Ofcourse, Including Shisui. I will protect your little brother like he was my own kin. I will make sure you get the honor and respect you deserve while helping you remove the regret in your heart'' Sukuna replied while not even looking at Itachi, he just kept stroking Rin's hair with a look of pity.

Another child that sacrificed their lives because they were used as a weapon.

Itachi's eyes constricted for a moment before saying, ''You want to tell me that you can revive people like her infinitely?''

''No, I need to have an equal amount of Chakra is theirs without external factors and living sacrifices. I know what you think, but I don't touch innocent people'' Sukuna shook his head and answered.

Itachi's mind was calculating and processing everything Sukuna had said as he eventually answered, ''I don't have long, if I agree I want you to promise me that you will look after Sasuke''

''Sumure, give it to him'' Sukuna answered nonchalantly.

Sumure nodded and grabbed a sealing scroll, as he put his hand on it, a glass tube appeared.

However, upon seeing that tube... Itachi's eyes finally shown genuine shock.

A pair of Mangekyo Sharingan were floating in liquid, a pair of Mangekyo Sharingan that Itachi knew all too well.... His father's.

Originally, Sukuna had thought Obito had taken them. But when they raided the research institute of Danzo, they had been implanted in a child that clearly couldn't handle the burden of the Mangekyo Sharingan and was nothing more than a shriveled-up corpse when they found the child.

Sukuna's thought of why Danzo didn't implant them himself was because he might have wanted to control the 9-Tails through that child so he doesn't have to carry the burden himself instead.

''Back then, you didn't take them because you didn't care for power, you were planning to die at the hands of your brother. However, Itachi, back then you had a choice. It was either complete annihilation for the Uchiha or only your brother surviving, I will give you a new choice'' Sukuna said with a cold tone as he looked at Itachi with his Sharingan,

''Come to my side and have your clan revived, your best friend revived, the ones you love. But for that, you need to cure your sickness. The only reason to do that, is to awaken your Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan''

Itachi's expression was quite pale as Sukuna imagined his memories of the past were raging through his mind.

''Itachi.... How much more are you planning to sacrifice yourself for the happiness of others. Do you truly expect Sasuke to be happier if he knew the truth after killing you? That child will merely try to avenge you, no matter the cost. Instead of letting him walk onto a path like that, join me and I will make sure that one day you can go back to the old days where you had a family'' Sukuna asked as he looked at him.

Itachi sighed as he remembered him and Sasuke sitting at the pool where they always practiced their Fireball Jutsu.

Sasuke would tell him how good his mother's food was, or how Izumi played tag with him, or how he wanted to play with him and yet, everytime he had to say sorry because the village and the clan never gave him any rest.

As the memories of his past flooded in, he finally said, ''What do you want me to do...''

Sukuna's eyes went back to its original color as he smiled lightly, ''After you awaken your Eternal Mangekyo's, focus on recovering first. I can imagine that right now, you're not even at 50% of your original power. After that, return to Akatsuki alone. I will make sure that Kisame dies. If you receive any intel on one of the Tailed Beasts Jinchuuriki, tell me.''

''Kisame has many powerful Jutsu, be wary of his sword. It's alive'' Itachi nodded as he took the glass tube from Sumure.

His eyes laid on the eyes of his father, he couldn't help but bite his bottom lip as he steeled his mind and put the tube in his outfit.

''Seems like they are coming'' Itachi said as he looked into the distance. Sukuna nodded and activated his Sharingan as the world around them grew black.

Not just someone's vision, the entire area of 20 meters around them grew black!

Itachi felt his vision go black as well and couldn't help but marvel that this technique truly felt like it was made to go against the Uchiha's eyes.

''Akai, take Rin and leave. Sumure, I'm sorry but it seems like this will hurt a bit'' Sukuna said with a bitter smile who they could only hear.

''Don't worry about me, I can handle it'' Sumure's voice rang out to Itachi's confusion.

…..

''What is that??'' Guy asked as his eyes fell on a black dome.

''I don't know but it looks like that is where Sukuna and Sumure are'' Anko replied as she sped up.

The black dome slowly disappeared, revealing the 'situation' inside the dome.

Itachi had blood dripping down his left arm, but that was it. Compared to him, Sumure and Sukuna were in a worse state.

Sumure had a kunai in his left leg while blood dripped from his mouth. Sukuna however, had blood flowing from his eyes and his right arm hang limply next to his body.

Itachi looked at Sukuna with a deep look and couldn't help but feel a little sad that someone so young had such a scheming mind. At his age, he was a leader of a clan similar to his own...

''Uchiha Itachi!'' Guy's expression turned into rage as he saw Sukuna barely standing straight.

What he didn't know, was that Sukuna had purposefully tired out his eyes to its limits, he only needed a little rest. As for his arm? He could fix it within a minute at most.

''It seems that it is my time to go huh...'' Itachi's voice fell as he disappeared.

''Oh no you don't!'' Guy said in rage as he was going to open multiple gates until a soft thud was heard.

Guy looked over and saw Sukuna had collapsed onto the ground, he didn't hesitate and appeared at Sukuna's side as Sumure sat down while being out of breath and cold sweat trickling down his face.

''Anko! Can you heal him?'' Guy said in a worried tone and appeared at Sukuna's side as Anko shook her head in frustration, "Healing is not my strong suit, we should bring him to the doctors real quick. Sumure, should we take you too?''

''No, I will manage'' Sumure said with a light smile.

''I'm fine too....'' Sukuna's low voice rang out as he turned onto his back, internally smiling as he gave himself an A+ for acting.

''What do you mean you're fine! Look at the state you are in!'' Guy responded fiercely as Sukuna answered, ''We need to kill that fish-head. He is alone right now!''

''But what about you?'' Guy asked in a worried tone.

''I will manage, don't worry about me. One of my people should be here soon'' Sukuna responded in a weak voice as he stood up.

''...Alright, but please take care of yourself'' Guy gritted his teeth and answered before disappearing after leaving one reluctant look.

''You did well kid, we might be able to take one of them down now'' Anko praised him with a light smile as she disappeared.

As the two departed, Sukuna looked at Sumure with an evil grin. Sumure smiled lightly as they gave each other a small fist bump before standing up.

''Lets walk slowly towards them, let them tire each other out for a while'' Sukuna said as he started walking in a slow pace.

Sumure healed the wound on his leg and walked behind him with a proud smile on his face. He truly didn't let the Senju's down!

He had no doubt that with Sukuna leading the Clan, they would once more reach the top.