Chapter 388: Secret Talk
Uchiha Itachi gazed intently at Haruno Sakura for a long time before slowly speaking.
"I see... You were hit by Tsukuyomi on purpose!" He said, as if solving a puzzle that had puzzled him for a long time.
Sakura's reaction speed was evident from his failed sneak attack earlier. With such fast reaction speed, Itachi estimated that catching the right moment to make eye contact and cast Tsukuyomi on her would not be an easy task. His Tsukuyomi succeeded immediately only because she cooperated with the eye contact and deliberately fell into the Tsukuyomi world.
"Likewise!" Sakura smiled faintly. "Didn't you also cast Tsukuyomi on me intentionally? You clearly knew that a ninjutsu like Tsukuyomi wouldn't be very effective on me!"
"Haruno Sakura, your senses are very sharp..." Itachi said noncommittally, still not answering her question directly.
It seemed he didn't fully trust Haruno Sakura yet.
"I understand your caution, but you can trust me, Uchiha Itachi..." Haruno Sakura took a few steps closer and continued, "I am the disciple of the Fifth Hokage, the grand-disciple of the Third Hokage, and one of the few ninja in Konoha who has currently stepped into the 'Kage' level. Whether by status or strength, I have the qualification and ability to handle the intelligence you've collected and personally hand it over to the Fifth and Third Hokage!"
The girl walked right up to Itachi, close enough to reach out and touch the nasolabial folds on his face. She looked up at Itachi and said faintly, "What do you think... Mr. Uchiha Itachi, the Konoha spy lurking in the Akatsuki?"
Itachi lowered his eyelids, and an obscure light flickered in those bewitching Mangekyo eyes, making it impossible to tell what he was thinking.
Regarding Haruno Sakura's intelligence, he actually knew much more than what Sakura had just introduced.
Born into an absolute civilian family, a brilliant genius in ninjutsu development who was initially not favored by others, later spotted by the Fifth Hokage and taken as a disciple, after which she began her journey of impressive battle records. More than half of the Akatsuki members had fought her, resulting in half of the Akatsuki members being killed or injured, while she only grew stronger with each fight.
In terms of identity, she was a pure Hokage lineage loyalist, with excellent relationships with the Fifth and Third. In terms of strength, she was among the top three experts in Konoha. Such a person could not be a pawn used by the Akatsuki to test him, and she was indeed qualified to access high-level village secrets.
As a contact person, unless the Third Hokage came personally, she was the most suitable candidate.
Itachi took a deep breath.
"It seems I can indeed trust you..." He finally admitted, "Indeed, I am a Konoha spy acting under the orders of the Third Hokage."
Haruno Sakura let out a long sigh of relief. After so many years, whether Itachi still recognized his own identity was an unknown variable. There were voices within the Konoha higher-ups believing that since Itachi hadn't transmitted intelligence back to Konoha for many years as a spy, he had obviously abandoned his Konoha identity. Even her master had doubts about this; only the Third Hokage went against the consensus and insisted on trusting Itachi.
Sakura had a vague impression—she couldn't remember if it was stated in the manga or seen in snippets online—that Itachi shouldn't be a bad person. However, such impressions were meaningless. Leaving aside the fact that this Naruto world had been so disrupted by her that it was completely different from the manga world, even if some basic things hadn't changed, she wouldn't decide her actions based on vague impressions.
Even clear and detailed intelligence could have omissions—she was pitted badly when fighting Kisame. How could vague impressions from a previous life serve as a basis? What if there was another plot twist in the next chapter of the manga?
She didn't truly relax until Itachi personally admitted his identity.
"The village hasn't been able to contact you for so many years. Everyone who knows your identity is very worried about you!" She said with a slight smile.
Heh... more like worried that he had already turned traitor.
"The people of 'Akatsuki' have been monitoring me closely..." Itachi explained slowly, "You should have seen Kisame and the White Zetsu hiding underground."
"En." The girl nodded.
Kisame was manageable, but White Zetsu hiding underground wouldn't be affected by Sharingan genjutsu, which was extremely tricky. What was more terrifying was their massive numbers. Under the surveillance of numerous eyes, any slight unusual movement by Itachi would be discovered, leaving absolutely no opportunity to fulfill his spy duties.
If he hadn't encountered Haruno Sakura, Itachi might have had to continue lying dormant.
"I have a few words to say to the Hokages. Do not resist my ninjutsu, Haruno Sakura." Itachi held his left hand in front of him and said solemnly.
"Uh...?" Sakura was a bit apprehensive. She hesitated for a moment but nodded and said, "Alright."
Itachi formed seals with one hand, materializing a crow out of thin air, and then... it rushed into Haruno Sakura's mouth.
"Mmph mmph mmph...!"
This was the first time Haruno Sakura had such a large bird stuffed into her mouth... Her eyes rolled back instantly, feeling like she was about to choke to death!
She didn't have the habit of brewing ninjutsu in her throat and spraying it out of her mouth. At this moment, her mouth was suddenly stretched wide, saliva was about to drool out, and when the black bird drilled into her throat, she felt like she was going to burst!
Fortunately, in the Tsukuyomi world, she was just a projection of her spirit... being treated so roughly wouldn't cause real physical harm.
"Cough, cough, cough..." It was difficult to swallow the whole crow. Haruno Sakura coughed repeatedly, feeling a birdy taste in her mouth, and tears were choked out of the corners of her eyes. She raised her head and said indignantly, "If there's intelligence... cough, just let me relay it to the Hokages! Why use this method?"
"Sorry, this is the safest way..." Itachi looked at the girl whose face was flushed red and said without apology, "This genjutsu will only activate automatically when you meet the Third Hokage. Before that, you won't get any intelligence about the Akatsuki from me..."
Haruno Sakura wiped the corner of her mouth and frowned at the young man in front of her: "Tch, you still don't fully trust me... Forget it!"
"The crow is essentially just a genjutsu and won't affect your real body..." Itachi watched her rubbing her stomach, added a sentence, and then nodded, "Then, let's leave it at this for now. I'm going to release Tsukuyomi."
"Wait! Have you thought about what to do after returning to the real world?"
"Hn..." Itachi pondered for a while and said, "In my original estimation, you and I would both be severely injured in this Tsukuyomi move. At the same time, I would take the opportunity to implant the intelligence into your body using genjutsu... and then we would each retreat safely."
"But now Tsukuyomi has only just started. It hasn't caused much burden on you, nor has it hurt me..." Haruno Sakura took over his words, "So after Tsukuyomi ends, both you and I will still be in full condition. If we retreat without fighting, it would be too abrupt..."
"Both your moves and mine are too dangerous. Once we start fighting, it's hard to hold back..." The image of that silver-white water line suddenly flashed in Itachi's mind. His brow felt cold, and he said solemnly, "Then, do you have any suggestions?"
"It's simple..."
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