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"Uchiha Itachi, aren't you going to report to your superior?"
Yami picked up his special kunai and looked at the expressionless Uchiha Itachi with a half-smile. "Meeting with a suspicious stranger in secret like this… looks shady no matter how you explain it."
Yami didn't expect to catch the masked man—Uchiha Obito.
Kamui's ability was far too elusive. With just one eye, he had masqueraded as Uchiha Madara for over a decade, and barely anyone questioned his identity.
Yami had no way to crack Kamui for now.
He had only come to annoy him. Two birds, one stone.
Facing Yami's questioning, Uchiha Itachi furrowed his brow slightly, his tone colder than ever.
"Captain Yami, I now serve directly under the Hokage. The masked man I met is part of my current assignment. I will report to the Hokage, but you're not authorized to know the details."
Perhaps it was the impact of Shisui's death at Danzō's hands, but this was the most confrontational Uchiha Itachi had ever been toward Yami.
It could also be the confidence granted by awakening his Mangekyō.
After years of pressure, Uchiha Itachi now believed he had surpassed Yami.
The playful smile on Yami's face faded slightly. "Seems like you've grown a lot. Even your tone's got some edge to it now."
"So those rumors in the Uchiha clan are true? That to gain power, you killed Shisui in secret and awakened the Mangekyō?"
Itachi didn't believe for a second that Yami was unaware of Danzō's ambush on Shisui. Even if he didn't know in advance, he certainly knew now.
This man had once been their teacher in swordsmanship and ninjutsu. If he wasn't mourning, fine—but to use Shisui's death to slander him?
Itachi trembled with rage, the three tomoe in his eyes beginning to spin.
But in the end, he held it in.
"Yami, I have nothing to say to you. Think what you like. I still have to report to the Hokage."
With that, Itachi used the Body Flicker Technique and vanished without waiting for Yami's reply.
Hokage Building
Itachi knelt on one knee before Hiruzen and reported everything that had occurred.
He had considered hiding the encounter with the masked man. After all, if he told the truth and confirmed that the Nine-Tails incident was orchestrated by someone of Uchiha descent, it would only fuel the higher-ups' hostility.
But since Yami had shown up out of nowhere, if he didn't report it, it would eventually come back to bite him.
He had no choice but to speak—and to tell the full truth.
"Uchiha Madara…"
Hiruzen stood at the window, gazing out at the streets of Konoha in silence for a long time before slowly speaking.
"I can't confirm his identity either," Itachi added quietly.
"If he calls himself that, then let's refer to him as Madara. A name is just a codename."
Hiruzen turned to face Itachi. "You said he wants revenge against the Uchiha?"
"That's what he claimed."
Hiruzen nodded. "If he truly is Madara, that reasoning is plausible."
"Madara co-founded Konoha with the First Hokage. But when their ideals clashed, he left the village in anger. The Uchiha clan, accustomed to life in the village, refused to follow him."
"That could certainly be considered abandonment."
"And he had the power to control the Nine-Tails. In their final battle, it's said Madara used the Nine-Tails against the First Hokage. Though the exact details are unknown…"
"If this is all true, then his identity is not entirely impossible."
"Hokage-sama, should we send a team to capture him?" Itachi asked.
"No."
Hiruzen shook his head. "Our top priority is to uncover his identity. If he really is Madara, we can't be sure how much of his strength remains after all these years."
"If he contacts you again, continue the act. Try to uncover his power and true goals."
"I trust you won't be misled by him. But still, remain cautious."
"Thank you for your trust, Hokage-sama."
Itachi bowed deeply, then hesitated. "About Yami—"
"It's all for Konoha," Hiruzen interrupted. "I'll speak with him. I'll make sure he stops interfering with your missions."
With Hiruzen's assurance, Itachi finally felt at ease.
Compared to the mysterious "Madara," it was Yami who gave him more headaches. This guy didn't follow logic or rules—if he got annoyed, he might just flip the table.
"Madara, Uchiha Itachi has gone to see the Hokage."
A White Zetsu relayed the report to the masked man—Uchiha Obito.
"As expected."
Obito didn't show a trace of anger. He had anticipated this. "Uchiha Itachi is still clinging to the delusion of this filthy village."
"But that was part of the plan. Even if everything about me is exposed, what then? The village will just destroy Uchiha faster to prevent them from aligning with me."
Perhaps unable to stomach this smug tone, Black Zetsu rose slowly from the ground.
"But you haven't achieved your main objective yet. Shimura interrupted you before you could."
Obito's masked expression darkened. His aura turned cold.
"Shimura…"
"Relying on the Flying Thunder God to act so arrogant. Even Namikaze Minato wasn't this cocky!"
"I told you to get rid of him, but you didn't listen," Black Zetsu muttered with disdain. "You let him grow too big, and now you're paying the price."
"If you'd followed my advice during the Chūnin Exams, we wouldn't be in this mess."
"He doesn't conflict with us directly."
Obito still tried to justify himself. "That brat's the grandson of Danzō. He's hostile to Uchiha too. Why not use him?"
A glint of murder flashed in his eyes. "When everything's done and I've gotten what I want, I'll kill him immediately."
"Yami, what happened just now?"
Yami returned to Anbu, where Kurenai had been anxiously waiting in the office. She relaxed when she saw him safe.
"We detected an outsider sneaking into Konoha. He's strong, but he fled."
Yami warned her, "If anything unusual happens or you spot an enemy, use the Flying Thunder God mark immediately. I'll be there in a flash."
"Yes." Kurenai nodded firmly.
Anyone who could be considered dangerous by Yami was definitely beyond her ability to handle.
"Come on, let's not waste time. We'll start with taijutsu today."
Yami brought her to the training ground. Though Kurenai specialized in genjutsu, this training wasn't about fighting—just increasing her speed so she could react quickly and escape.
Yami also passed on Tsunade's super strength technique to her.
As a genjutsu user, Kurenai's chakra control was exceptionally precise—similar to that of a medical ninja.
Super strength would give her better burst speed when retreating.
Naturally, the other girls would be learning it too. Yami was also working on acquiring the Hundred Healings Mark technique from Tsunade.
That thing was a miracle for women. Once he had it, and he offered it as a "gift"…
Heh. With that temptation, there was nothing he couldn't do.
By evening, Yami was carrying an exhausted Kurenai back home.
On the way, she bit his shoulder several times in protest over being soaked in sweat. When they arrived, she bolted for the bathroom.
Izumi and Yugao returned from their mission that day as well, but something seemed off.
Izumi's usually slender oval face had become a full-on pouty face.
Yami sat next to her, puzzled. "What's wrong? Who upset you?"
When it came to women, the only thing Yami didn't study was what couldn't be studied. He preferred to just ask directly.
"Hey…"
Izumi looked at him, then slowly laid her head on his lap. "Was Shisui-senpai really killed by Uchiha Itachi?"
Yami had learned swordsmanship from Shisui, and Izumi had often accompanied him. Unlike other clan members, Shisui had never looked down on her for being a half-blood.
Izumi had always seen him as a good person.
But now, while on a mission, she had heard that he "committed suicide." The prime suspect was… Uchiha Itachi.
"Eh… forget it. I'll tell you."
Yami didn't intend to lie. He told her the truth, leaving out only the part about hiding Shisui's survival.
Izumi's mouth slowly opened in shock.
"Mangekyō Sharingan… Kotoamatsukami?"
This was the first time someone like Izumi, born into Uchiha, learned that there was an even greater power beyond the Three Tomoe Sharingan.
"Damn…"
She sighed. "I get it now. If you have to blame someone, blame Shisui's eye technique for being too terrifying. Don't blame Grandpa."
After the engagement, Izumi's thinking had fully shifted toward Yami's interests.
"Heh."
Yami kissed her soft cheek. "Our Izumi really is understanding."
She buried her face in his arms, too shy to look at him.
Shisui's death had been like a stone tossed into a still lake. At first, it stirred waves—but eventually, calm returned.
Before long, the village had all but forgotten about him. His name was rarely mentioned again.
Without Shisui, Uchiha's plans were stalled. Their ambitions cooled, but the pressure kept building… until it would one day boil over.
Yami was also summoned by Hiruzen for a talk—mostly just to ask him not to target Itachi anymore. From now on, Itachi was working under Hiruzen's authority alone.
In other words, Itachi had become Hiruzen's stand-in.
Yami readily agreed. He had more important things to deal with.
Uzumaki Naruto's House
"It hurts! Oww! Yami-nii, it hurts!"
Naruto clutched his bruised head and cried. "I can't do it, I just can't! Even if you beat me to death, I won't be able to learn it!"
Behind Yami, Karin trembled. Though she was doing better than Naruto, it wasn't by much.
In class, other than Naruto and Kiba, she was always at the bottom in written subjects.
"You can't learn it? You're not even trying!"
Yami smacked Naruto on the head with a ruler, visibly annoyed.
"You don't even remember the twelve hand seals! You're going to be a Genin forever! You won't even graduate!"
"Karin, don't think you're safe either. You forgot the first ten points of the mission code? What did you even do in class?!"
Yami suspected the Uzumaki bloodline came with an idiot gene. The more of them he met, the worse their grades seemed.
If that were the only issue, he'd let it go. But Iruka wanted to have a parent meeting.
Yami didn't mind fighting. But being scolded as a "guardian" over school grades? That was truly humiliating.
He had never suffered this kind of embarrassment, not even in front of the Hokage.
"Karin, I don't need you to be top of the class. Just pass the exams and I'll be satisfied."
"I'll do my best!" Karin clung to his arm tearfully. "Please don't be mad!"
"Always the same old act." Yami flicked her forehead. "If you fail any subject in the finals, I won't take you out with us. You'll be left home to study alone."
"No! Please don't!"
"As for you, Naruto…"
Naruto grinned awkwardly. "Yami-nii, it's fine. I don't like going out anyway."
Yami: "...."
You little brat.
"Then I won't treat you to ramen."
Naruto froze. He didn't really care about the ramen—it was about having someone to eat with.
"…But I really can't do it. It's too hard. Even if you add up my scores, I still fail."
Yami sighed. "Fine. Naruto, I don't care about your grades. But you must master the Clone Technique by graduation."
"If you can graduate, I'll tell you who your parents are."
"Yami-nii! You know who my parents are?!"
Naruto jumped to his feet in excitement.
The leaves rustled outside the window.
Yami glanced toward them but ignored it. He looked Naruto in the eye and said, "I know them."
"I'm not bragging. I know them better than you do."
Naruto had seen his parents maybe once at birth and once again in a memory.
Yami?
Yeah, he definitely knew them better.
(To be continued.)