Splash.
Rain poured down over the Hidden Rain.
Deep inside one of its steel towers, cold water seeped through cracks in the walls, sliding along metal seams.
Drip.
Drip.
In the pipe-choked darkness, the sound echoed softly.
From the shadows, a pair of pale-yellow slit pupils opened—silent, predatory.
He stared hard at the figure ahead: a man in a black cloak with red clouds, walking forward with a crow perched on his shoulder.
Greed flashed in those snake-like eyes.
"Sharingan…" Orochimaru rasped, tongue sliding out long and thin, his voice trembling with a sickly fanatic heat. "Those eyes… will be mine eventually."
Shhk.
Without a sound, a Kusanagi sword slid from his sleeve—cold, murderous light glinting off the blade.
He crept closer.
Step.
At almost the exact same moment, Itachi slowly turned.
Rain soaked his dark bangs and ran down along the line beneath his eyes like tears.
Beneath that wet hair were crimson eyes—calm, emotionless.
Three black tomoe rotated steadily.
And the instant he saw Orochimaru, those three tomoe spun faster, linking together like three scythes.
"Tsukuyomi."
No seals. No warning.
Just two words, exhaled like a sigh.
Riiip—
Orochimaru's feverish smile froze.
He felt his soul seized by an irresistible will and dragged into a blood-red hell.
Time stretched—endlessly.
Stab.
Stab.
Pain without escape.
Seventy-two hours of being pierced—he finally tasted it.
"GAAH—!"
In reality, Orochimaru's body convulsed violently.
The Kusanagi sword clattered from his grip.
Blood burst from his mouth and nose in thin streaks.
"Kh… khh…"
He struggled, choking out suppressed sounds.
In that moment, the pale-gold snake eyes were nothing but red-veined bloodshot rage.
Opposite him, a single blood-tear slid down from Itachi's left eye.
"So it really is getting worse…"
He murmured, stepping forward.
On his shoulder, the crow shifted slightly, its eye trembling as if about to open fully.
But at the instant the crow's eyelid was about to lift—
Orochimaru suddenly wrenched the blade's direction and cut himself.
Slash!
The shock of losing his right arm nearly broke him.
But the pain snapped him out of the torturous space.
Both eyes were bloodshot now—
Redder than Itachi's, more monstrous to look at.
For a moment, you could barely tell who the real Uchiha was.
"Hisss…"
Orochimaru licked the corner of his mouth, not angry—delighted.
"Heh… truly powerful eyes. I will—AAGH!"
Fwoosh—
Before he could finish—
Amaterasu.
Black flames erupted on his left shoulder out of thin air, devouring cloth and flesh in an instant.
Sizzle…
The stench of burning meat rose into the air—thick, nauseating.
"AAAH!!"
His scream tore through the tower.
Orochimaru made the decision instantly.
His neck stretched, jaws opening wide—
—and he bit down hard on his own left arm.
RIP!
He tore it off with brute force.
The severed limb was consumed by black fire, turning quickly to ash.
"Ehehe… Itachi-kun. I'll be back."
Even in absolute disgrace, he still smiled at Itachi.
A truly sunshine-bright young man—if sunshine were poisonous.
Then his body went PFF—
Exploding into countless white snakes that scattered into the pipes and cracks, vanishing without a trace.
All that remained was a pool of stinking blood and a charred, severed arm.
Drip.
Silence returned.
Itachi's Mangekyō slowed… and stopped.
His eyes settled back into that deep, still calm.
He lifted a hand and wiped the blood under his left eye, sighing softly.
"Shame… If his mind had fully collapsed before I used Kotoamatsukami, Orochimaru wouldn't have escaped."
"If Kai finds out, he'll probably clutch his head and laugh at me…"
At the thought of Kai, Itachi unconsciously pressed his fingers against the kunai in his pocket.
Kai had slipped it to him when he left.
Complex formulas were carved into it.
Itachi didn't know exactly what it was—only that he could guess the outline of its purpose.
And using Kotoamatsukami to influence Orochimaru…
That had been one of Kai's orders.
"Zetsu."
A low voice—deep, distorted with strange ripples—spread through the empty tower.
Itachi halted and glanced left.
The ground there rippled like water.
Then a black-and-white figure rose out, a pitcher plant clamped around its head.
The White half appeared first, wearing an exaggerated look of panic.
"Terrible news, Madara-sama! Orochimaru tried to steal Itachi's eyes, and Itachi just glared—he lost one arm, got one arm burned off, and ran!"
"Madara?"
Itachi's gaze flickered. He turned slightly toward the other side.
"As expected."
At the same time, a calm, emotionless voice answered.
Woom.
A man stepped out—also in a black cloak with red clouds, wearing an orange spiral mask.
His voice was hoarse.
"Orochimaru's ambition will destroy him."
Then he looked at Itachi with one eye, expression unreadable.
"You did well, Itachi. Don't burden yourself."
Itachi nodded.
Right. No burden.
Only regret that he didn't finish the job.
The masked man paused, then continued.
"Good timing. Your new partner should be arriving. Kisame should be waiting on the village outskirts—have him—"
"Madara-sama!" White Zetsu cut in abruptly. "Kisame went to catch two little mice."
"Little mice?"
"Yes. Two little mice showed up outside the village. My spores didn't even have time to transmit the information before they were killed."
Little mice…
Hearing that phrase, something shifted in Itachi's chest.
The masked man, however, waved it off.
"Then we'll go take a look. Itachi's new partner's first battle."
As he spoke, he instinctively opened the Kamui space—something he hadn't used in a long time.
Woom—woom.
From the trembling vortex, a yellow-brown, sticky mess suddenly blasted out.
Caught completely off guard, the masked man was sprayed head to toe.
Greasy. Warm.
And faintly… fishy.
"What the hell is this?! Damn it!!"
He snapped—borderline losing his mind.
"What has KAKASHI been doing in the Kamui space?!"
He couldn't take it.
His mentality cracked on the spot, leaving him with only one thought:
Kakashi!
I'm going to kill you!
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