As the potion entered his body, Itachi felt a wave of fatigue wash over him and quickly drifted into a deep sleep.
"How have you been doing in Konoha?"
Orochimaru glanced at the now-sleeping Itachi, his curiosity piqued, and directed the question at Kakashi.
"Uh…"
Hearing Orochimaru's question, Kakashi hesitated, finding it difficult to sum up in words.
Countless memories flashed through his mind—scenes from the past six months. Among them, the image of a certain maid's striking beauty stood out vividly. Other memories were either of him lying here or there, engrossed in "Icha Icha Violence," or struggling with the monotonous process of learning Wood Release techniques.
"Heh."
Seeing Kakashi's slightly embarrassed demeanor, Orochimaru chuckled faintly and refrained from probing further.
---
"How long do you think it'll take for Itachi to wake up, Lord Orochimaru?"
The atmosphere was somewhat quiet, with only the crackling of the campfire breaking the silence. After a moment of contemplation, Kakashi spoke, inquiring about Itachi's condition.
At some point, Itachi had become his anchor. Without Itachi's guidance, Kakashi felt adrift, unsure of what to do next.
"It depends. From what he mentioned, the fusion with Hashirama cells hasn't gone too well. That's why I thought using this extraordinary Shikotsumyaku might accelerate the absorption process."
Orochimaru responded plainly, not bothering to conceal anything.
---
"Have you figured it out?"
In the Land of Rain.
Inside a somewhat ancient manor, Obito's terrifying visage was exposed, his mask absent.
Standing across from him was Zetsu from the Akatsuki organization.
"Yes, I have. Itachi has been keeping a low profile recently because he altered his appearance. He's now traveling with that Kakashi. They left Konoha yesterday and seem to be heading toward the Land of Wind."
In response to Obito's inquiry, Zetsu replied in a calm tone.
Half a year ago, Obito had ordered Zetsu to start gathering intel on Itachi.
But Itachi had seemingly vanished into thin air.
It wasn't until Orochimaru made his move that Zetsu was able to detect some subtle clues.
Unlike Obito's wariness, Zetsu understood that standard approaches wouldn't work. Itachi's Totsuka Blade was too formidable, leaving no room for error.
Thus, gathering intelligence on Itachi was part of a calculated effort to neutralize this extraordinary young man.
After all, strength is only one aspect; strategy requires wit and cunning.
Even Uchiha Madara, powerful as he was during the Warring States Period, had been manipulated by Zetsu.
That's the essence of wisdom…
---
"The Land of Wind? What are they doing there?"
After hearing Zetsu's report, Obito muttered, stroking his chin as he pondered the connections.
"Recently, Orochimaru has been searching for something called Roran. There's a mystical object there known as the Dragon Vein, which is said to contain infinite chakra energy."
Hearing Tobi's murmurs, Zetsu casually replied, "Gathering intelligence is child's play for me. It's as easy as lifting a finger."
"The Dragon Vein… limitless chakra…"
Tobi fell silent after hearing Zetsu's words. He had never heard of such a thing before.
After all, back then, Minato wasn't the Hokage yet, Kakashi hadn't been promoted to Jonin, and everyone was still working hard to prove themselves. As for Tobi, he was just the dead last at the ninja academy. How could he possibly have come across such information?
---
"It's probably just exaggerated nonsense. If it were really that powerful, how could it have remained undiscovered for so long? While the Flying Thunder God sealing technique is a bit troublesome, it's not unsolvable."
Zetsu's voice carried a trace of disdain as he dismissed Tobi's concern.
After living for thousands of years, Zetsu thought, if this Dragon Vein thing were really as formidable as claimed, he would have sought it out long ago. After all, even someone like him needed power. Who wouldn't want to step out of the shadows if they had the strength to do so?
"Exaggerated or not, I don't know. But if Uchiha Itachi is involved, then this is no simple matter," Tobi replied calmly, cutting through Zetsu's dismissive attitude. "His strength is growing way too fast. We can't afford to wait any longer. If we do, our chances of success might drop to zero…"
Tobi's calm tone barely concealed his dissatisfaction with Zetsu's nonchalant attitude. He thought, If you're this careless, you won't even know how you died.
---
Tobi understood Uchiha Itachi far better than this half-man, half-monster ever could. After all, he had managed to personally gouge out Itachi's eyes—a feat few could claim.
Even Pain, wielding the powers of the Six Paths, could only retreat in defeat when facing Itachi.
---
"Compared to Itachi, the others are nothing…"
"They should be arriving soon. Are we going to intercept them?" Zetsu asked seriously, though his disdain for Tobi's rudeness lingered. After all, Tobi was nothing more than a pawn, one he manipulated with ease.
"Let's inform Nagato about this intelligence and see what he decides," Tobi said after a moment of thought, recalling Itachi's extraordinary skills and feeling a hint of unease.
He decided it would be safer to involve someone else. After all, if Itachi obtained the so-called infinite chakra of the Dragon Vein, how could anyone stop him? Tobi's real goal wasn't to obtain the Dragon Vein but to destroy it—to ensure Itachi could never wield that power.
Deep down, Tobi was already reluctant to face Itachi directly. Subconsciously, he preferred to scheme from the shadows instead of engaging in a direct confrontation.
---
"How should I approach Nagato about this? Maybe we should consider reviving Madara Uchiha instead," Zetsu suggested cautiously. "That way, we could deal with this troublesome brat early on. Calling Nagato is risky—if something goes wrong and we lose the Rinnegan, our entire plan will fall apart…"
Zetsu voiced his concern, his mind flashing with the image of Nagato being defeated by the Ten Fists Sword. If that happened, there would be no recovering from it. The ominous thought grew stronger in his mind.
---
"You think reviving Madara is that simple? The Tailed Beasts haven't even been collected yet! How are we supposed to convince him to listen to us? We don't have any jutsu to control him. Why would he sacrifice himself just to revive Madara? He's not an idiot," Tobi snapped in frustration.
Still, the fact that Zetsu referred to Madara as "Uchiha Madara" instead of "Lord Madara" gave Tobi a small sense of satisfaction.
---
"What about Konan…" Zetsu gestured with a hand mimicking a knife across his throat, signaling his intent.
"Konan might be important to Nagato, but he's already lost one close companion, hasn't he? And it's not like he tried to revive them. Besides, if you kill Konan, the only one Nagato will revive is her, not Madara. What does that solve? If we handle this recklessly, we'll lose Nagato before we even start collecting the Tailed Beasts, turning him into an enemy instead of an ally."
Tobi dismissed Zetsu's suggestion with irritation, shutting down the idea immediately.
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