Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master

Page 184

For a time, Jiraiya's offensive was like a raging storm.

Itachi retreated repeatedly, not daring to take the hit head-on, and was completely on the defensive.

"Bang!" After exchanging only a few blows, Jiraiya seized the opportunity and struck Itachi on the shoulder with a palm strike.

Itachi couldn't dodge in time, and the moment he was hit, his whole body exploded into clouds of white mist with a "bang"!

"Shadow clone?!"

Jiraiya stopped his attack, his eyes widening in surprise.

The enemy before us was just a clone?!

Jiraiya stood still, his brow furrowed, his doubts deepening.

Encountering Itachi Uchiha here was already strange, but it turned out that the other party was just a shadow clone... So, where is the real person?

He looked up at the quiet town not far away, his eyes gleaming: since his clone could appear here, his real body couldn't possibly be too far away.

It seems that the Land of Grass is indeed hiding some secret!

Thinking of this, his eyes sharpened.

……

Meanwhile, outside the small hotel—

Uchiha Itachi, who was outside pondering his next move, suddenly opened his eyes and took a slight breath.

In that instant, the memories of the shadow clone had already returned to his mind.

"Jiraiya?"

Itachi muttered to himself, a look of undisguised surprise on his face, "At this time... why is Jiraiya in the Land of Grass?"

After a brief moment of surprise, Itachi quickly calmed down and began to organize the information in his mind.

He clearly understood Jiraiya's significance to Konoha—

The opponent was not only one of the powerful "Three Legendary Sannin", but also a key link in Konoha's intelligence network.

If I can manage to communicate with Jiraiya, it might greatly benefit my next steps.

Thinking of this, Itachi couldn't help but sigh softly.

Unfortunately, apart from the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi, almost no one in Konoha knew the truth about his infiltration of the Akatsuki organization.

Therefore, even if he had tried to explain to Jiraiya just now, the latter would never have believed him easily.

As a result, half of their chakra was wasted.

Itachi shook his head inwardly, a look of annoyance flashing in his eyes.

He had to admit that his previous attempt to infiltrate Konoha had been rather reckless.

If it weren't for that incident, when he met Jiraiya today, he might have had a chance to say a few words, or at least express his attitude.

This was after his appearance in Konoha and the attack on Naruto and Sasuke.

Nowadays, the Jonin of Konoha would only see him as an enemy and probably wouldn't give him a chance to explain before launching an attack.

Nevertheless, he still absolutely had to go to Konoha.

Itachi pondered for a moment, then his eyes hardened once more.

Some things can only be resolved by personally going to Konoha.

Moreover, the situation is quite complicated, and it is impossible to explain clearly by relying solely on letters or spirit beasts to transmit information.

Perhaps we could ask the Third Hokage for a token that could prove our identity?

With this in mind, Itachi quickly devised a plan of action.

He immediately formed hand seals and used the Shadow Clone Technique once again.

With a soft sound, the smoke dissipated, and a "Uchiha Itachi" appeared in the spot.

Itachi stared at his shadow clone and slowly nodded, saying, "You stay."

The shadow clone understood immediately and turned back to its room.

After arranging everything, Itachi nodded, turned around, and disappeared into the hazy streets in the early morning.

Considering that it's currently a holiday, it's unlikely that a sudden battle would force the clones to dissipate, so Itachi is relatively confident about the plan.

After leaving the small inn, he deliberately chose to detour out of the town in the opposite direction from before, so as to avoid running into Jiraiya again.

Before leaving, Itachi took off his overly conspicuous black robe with red clouds and changed into a gray-blue kimono casual outfit that he had bought in town.

Immediately afterwards, he clasped his hands together in a mudra and whispered, "Transformation Technique!"

In an instant, he transformed his appearance into that of an ordinary-looking, middle-aged man with black hair.

Now at least people won't recognize them as members of the Akatsuki organization at a glance.

……

The Land of Grass is adjacent to the Land of Fire.

Crossing the Kamibi Bridge leads to the Land of Fire.

As dawn broke, Itachi strode swiftly across the famous stone bridge and soon entered the Land of Fire.

Gazing at the faint outline of the village hidden in the lush forest ahead, Itachi took a deep breath and quickened his pace toward the familiar direction he remembered.

He kept a low profile throughout the journey, and almost no one noticed him as he quietly sneaked into Konoha Village.

Upon returning to the land he had been away from for so long, Itachi dared not relax for a moment.

Instead of revealing himself, he concealed himself and walked along secluded alleys, avoiding crowds and patrolling sentries.

After confirming that the surrounding area was temporarily safe, Itachi waved one hand and released several crows, which silently flew in different directions from the village.

He was well aware that his identity was highly sensitive, and only by ensuring that his whereabouts were kept secret could he play his greatest role.

Over the years, his investigations have not been entirely fruitless.

He knew that the masked man had a secret force that had long been lurking throughout the ninja world, monitoring all the major ninja villages, including Konoha.

Therefore, this meeting with the Third Hokage must not take place in the open; a completely safe and secluded opportunity must be found to avoid revealing one's identity.

Guided by his senses, a crow swiftly flew to the windowsill outside the Hokage Building.

Itachi remotely controlled the crows using his Sharingan, peering into the office—

In the spacious and bright Hokage's office, the figure sitting behind the desk reviewing documents was not Hiruzen Sarutobi, but a young woman with blonde hair and blue eyes.

"Tsunade?!"

Itachi was startled, almost thinking he had misread it.

Just then, Tsunade, who was engrossed in reviewing documents inside the room, seemed to sense something, abruptly stopped, and looked up sharply towards the window!

Her amber eyes were sharp and alert, as if she had noticed the uninvited guest outside the window.

not good!

Itachi sensed something was wrong and immediately severed his mental connection with the crow.

On the windowsill of the Hokage's office, the jet-black crow cawed and flapped its wings, then hurriedly flew away.

Hiding in the shadows some distance away, Itachi braced himself against the wall, a few beads of cold sweat already forming on his forehead.

That was close! Tsunade almost found out!

After catching his breath, Itachi wiped the cold sweat from his forehead with lingering fear, and thought to himself: As expected of one of the legendary Sannin, Tsunade's senses are so sharp!

Itachi couldn't help but feel a little puzzled.

Why are Jiraiya and Tsunade, both legendary Sannin, so much more difficult to deal with?

Orochimaru, that guy, I dealt with him so easily back then...

After a brief outburst, Itachi quickly composed himself and began to consider the current situation.

"When did Tsunade return to Konoha? She's still in the Hokage's office..."

He frowned slightly and walked quickly toward the bulletin board on the street with a puzzled look in his eyes.

Before long, a newly posted notice on the wooden bulletin board came into view—

The Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, officially stepped down, passing the Hokage position to Tsunade, one of the "Legendary Sannin" of Konoha!

It turned out to be the case.

After reading the notice, Itachi couldn't help but take a deep breath.

Tsunade had returned to the village and directly succeeded as Hokage... This news was truly unexpected.

He slowly raised his head, looking at the Hokage Building with a complex expression.

At this moment, he was filled with mixed feelings of joy and worry: he was happy that Tsunade, who had long since left Konoha, had actually returned to the village; he was worried that she was now the Hokage and he wondered if he could still ask her to treat him.

Thinking of this, Itachi sighed softly, but quickly cheered up again.

The most urgent task now is to find the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi.

He summoned several crows again to circle overhead and scout.

Not long after, Hiruzen Sarutobi appeared in the transmitted image.

The weasel perked up and immediately followed the direction indicated by the crow.

A few minutes later, Itachi quietly appeared outside a courtyard in the Sarutobi clan's residence.

He peered out from the shadows of the trees and saw two figures standing in the courtyard—one of whom was none other than the gray-haired Hiruzen Sarutobi, with a little boy who looked about eight or nine years old beside him.

Sarutobi was patiently instructing the child on how to wield his chakra dagger. The old man had a kind smile on his face, while the little boy was sweating profusely and wielding the dagger with an extremely serious expression.

Around the courtyard, several Konoha ninjas could be vaguely seen patrolling and guarding the area, while several ANBU figures, concealing their presence, lurked nearby, protecting the Sarutobi residence thoroughly.

However, these defenses, which seemed impregnable to others, were rendered useless in the face of Itachi Uchiha's Sharingan and genjutsu.

Itachi closed his eyes, and when he opened them again, his dark pupils had transformed into crimson Sharingan with three tomoe.

He took a deep breath and easily dodged two groups of patrolling ninjas with a swift movement.

Whenever a guard looks this way, they will inadvertently fall into Itachi's illusion, brushing past him without even realizing it.