Life as Uchiha Itachi

A torrent of ferocious energy surged violently toward Itachi. 

His once-bright eyes had now become clouded. 

Facing a Tailed Beast Bomb, he could only push himself to the limit, squeezing out every last ounce of chakra. 

Even though he wielded a divine weapon in his hands, and even though he was cloaked in the supposedly impenetrable Susanoo, his figure seemed as fragile as a leaf drifting in the wind when confronted with the immense power of the Tailed Beast Bomb. 

Juzo sensed the intense chakra waves erupting behind him, but the energy fluctuations were so overwhelming that he couldn't discern what was happening back there. 

All he could do was focus on dealing with the two pesky adversaries in front of him. 

... 

Juzo charged toward one of them with unwavering determination, casting aside all hesitation. 

He needed to defeat his current foes quickly and join Itachi in battle. 

After all, while Itachi was strong, he wasn't invincible. 

Juzo recalled how, six months ago, when Itachi activated that power, he could only sustain it for a short time before nearly depleting all his chakra. 

It had only been half a year since then—how much stronger could he have become? 

Not far away, Obito stood silently atop a tree, gazing blankly at the massive silhouette wielding a shield. 

His feelings were conflicted, yet a strange sense of relief lingered in his heart. 

"So this is your weakness, huh? But why are you pushing yourself so hard...?" 

"You weren't like this before." 

Obito murmured softly to himself, his voice tinged with confusion. 

... 

Elsewhere, another figure slowly emerged from the ground. 

"Itachi Uchiha..." 

Zetsu muttered Itachi's name with a heavy tone as he stared at the shield in Susanoo's hands. 

After glancing briefly in Obito's direction, Zetsu sank back into the earth. 

On the battlefield, a dazzling light suddenly appeared. 

Attack and defense collided. 

"It seems like Juzo isn't the only one with a thick skull." 

The Tailed Beast Bomb struck the Yata Mirror, causing no ripples on its surface. 

The bomb then detonated, sending shockwaves across the battlefield. 

The ground shook violently as if an earthquake had struck. 

... 

Watching the explosion of the Tailed Beast Bomb, Itachi's expression turned grim. 

The Yata Mirror in Susanoo's hands now appeared somewhat faint and illusory. 

Though the Yata Mirror boasted formidable defensive power, it required an enormous amount of chakra to sustain. 

While it blocked damage, it simultaneously consumed chakra to activate its special properties. 

After all, the Yata Mirror was a spiritual artifact, lacking a physical form. 

Itachi absorbed the immense energy of the explosion entirely. 

The Yata Mirror in his hands reverted to its spiritual form, hanging at Susanoo's translucent and almost ethereal waist. 

Though his body seemed unscathed, Itachi's eyelids drooped further, and his surroundings grew increasingly blurry. 

Two streaks of blood-tears streamed down his face, giving him a ferocious and unsettling appearance. 

... 

Sensing Itachi's dire condition, Yagura dropped to all fours and charged toward him with alarming speed. 

It seemed he was intent on delivering a fatal blow to shatter Susanoo's illusory form and kill the troublesome young man before him. 

Itachi calmly watched as Yagura, his eyes bloodshot and beast-like, devoid of reason, drew closer. 

His Mangekyō Sharingan began to rotate—slowly, but with the resilience of grinding gears. 

Inside him, his life force was rapidly draining away. 

This would be his final gambit. Yagura, having lost his mind, couldn't possibly be controlled with Tsukuyomi. 

Moreover, the dense, tangible chakra enveloping his body posed an additional barrier. 

Itachi moved, like a gentle breeze. 

Susanoo, cloaking his body moments ago, dissipated into fragments like scattered foam. 

... 

In the Mangekyō's heightened perception, Yagura's movements weren't fast. 

The distance between them closed rapidly. 

As the gap narrowed, Itachi's eyes grew increasingly serene, though his inner turmoil surged with ferocity. 

Even the surrounding winds seemed to halt; falling leaves hung frozen mid-air. 

In a fleeting moment, his rotating Mangekyō Sharingan came to a stop. 

The environment shifted abruptly. 

Itachi entered Yagura's body—it was as if he had stepped into a spiritual realm, or perhaps an entirely distinct space. 

In the boundless darkness, a colossal red lantern ignited. 

Itachi exhaled a sigh of relief. He understood with absolute clarity: he had succeeded. 

Following a classic strategy rooted in ancient wisdom, Itachi's move was a decisive "strike the leader to subdue the bandits" tactic—a textbook method to turn the tide of battle. 

Had he failed, Yagura could have crushed him with a single blow. 

... 

"If you're so against me altering the future, then let the storm rage even fiercer!" 

With an explosive surge of life force, Itachi unleashed a burst of ocular power. The giant red lantern manifested the pattern of his Mangekyō Sharingan. 

In the real world, Itachi froze in place. 

Yagura's movements halted as if someone had pressed a pause button. 

The dark-red chakra coating his body receded like a tide, revealing his skin, burned and scarred. 

Yagura's eyes, now dazed, reflected his confusion as he struggled to comprehend what had just happened. 

Itachi took slow steps toward Yagura, an invisible pressure enveloping the latter. 

His actions earlier had been perilous. Yagura, already under Mangekyō's influence, was further consumed by the Tailed Beast Cloak. His mind had been reduced to madness and rage. 

The Tailed Beast Cloak carried with it all manner of negative energy. The fact that Itachi managed to enter Yagura's mind so quickly seemed almost miraculous. 

Yet, with the success of his maneuver, it all appeared effortless. 

"I've won. And I don't just mean the battle..." 

Standing before Yagura, Itachi's legs trembled slightly.

---

His hand rested on Yagura's abdomen as he spoke softly... 

... 

Obito, hidden in the shadows, was puzzled about what Itachi had just done. Why had Yagura suddenly been defeated? 

When he came to his senses, he noticed Itachi's elegant hand already placed on Yagura's stomach. 

At that moment, he knew exactly what was about to happen. 

Instinctively, he activated his Mangekyō Sharingan, preparing to reveal himself and eliminate this unexpected individual, Itachi. 

But as a vortex began forming beside him, he hesitated... 

The ninja, who had initially gathered due to Yagura's frenzy, had scattered earlier. Now that the chaos had subsided, they started to gather again. 

Obito calmed himself. He knew this wasn't the time to expose his identity; doing so would make his future plans tens of times more difficult. 

Like a last-ditch effort, he attempted to regain control over Yagura... 

Even though he knew the situation was beyond salvage, he still wanted to try... 

He wasn't ready to give up control over the Mist Village, especially this village—the one responsible for Rin's death. He didn't want it to slip out of his grasp so quickly. 

In Yagura's eyes, the illusion of the Mangekyō Sharingan appeared once again. But with a close-range glare from Itachi, Yagura fell back into a daze... 

Itachi reached into Yagura's stomach... 

It was as though he had plunged his hand into another dimension... 

He pulled out a miniature turtle, its entire body covered in thorn-like spikes and sporting three flat tails, all wrapped in a mass of vibrant blue chakra. 

Firmly suppressing its form with his own chakra, Itachi was momentarily at a loss. 

"How does something like this even fit inside a stomach...?" 

Eat it? Just shove it back in? 

This absurd thought only lasted for a moment. Itachi quickly formed a hand seal with his free hand. 

"Sealing Technique: Transcription Seal!" 

Dense, tadpole-like runes appeared on Yagura's body, encasing the turtle. 

Then Itachi lifted his inner garment, bringing the turtle closer to his abdomen. The runes morphed into chain-like seals, binding the turtle and pulling it inside... 

The runes disappeared, and his stomach returned to its smooth, fair, and pristine state, with only a faint trace of his navel remaining... 

... 

"Lord Mizukage..." 

The Mist ninja arrived late, like the stereotypical police in a movie. 

At this moment, Yagura stood motionless, staring blankly at the ground. Life was quickly draining from his body... 

He had regained his senses. Prostrate on the ground, he looked at the young man before him, standing against the backdrop of the setting sun, bathed in golden light. 

"Thank you..." 

Memories of the past flashed through his mind, and he didn't know how to face the village he loved so dearly. 

Even though he had been under the control of genjutsu, it was unforgivable... 

After all, the position of Mizukage wasn't just a title; it symbolized the trust of the people. 

Yagura's words made Itachi pause for a moment. 

Glancing at the Sanbi (Three-Tails) trapped in his inner space, Itachi released the genjutsu. 

"You've been taken from him. Your old friend is dying... Do you want to do something for him?" 

Itachi spoke softly to the Sanbi. 

The Sanbi stared coldly at the spectral form of the young man before it, recalling the events that had just unfolded, along with everything that had come before. 

"Let him die an honorable death. If he survives, all that awaits him is an endless shadow of despair." 

The Three-Tails spoke in a voice so soft it seemed gentle, yet it resounded like thunder across the mental space. 

... 

Itachi gazed at the Three-Tails before him, then silently nodded. His form faded into nothingness... 

"No need to thank me..." 

Itachi had initially intended to have the Three-Tails lend some of its chakra to save the baby-faced Yagura. 

After all, it had only just been extracted. There was still a short window of time to save him... 

But Itachi wasn't doing this out of pity. It was because of someone else—a bloodied, disheveled figure walking toward him: Juzo. 

Covered in wounds, Juzo stared at the fallen Yagura with a complex expression. 

"Juzo, you've returned..." 

Itachi's words brought Yagura back to reality. He turned his gaze to the slowly approaching Juzo and spoke softly. 

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