“Fewer than five people know that I awakened the Mangekyō. How exactly did you know?”
“That isn’t important. I came to you this time because I hope you can do me a favor.”
Itachi furrowed his brows tightly.
Instead of answering directly, he released a murderous aura.
“This is my Tsukuyomi world. Time, space, quality—everything here is under my control. Do you think you are qualified to threaten me?”
No one would doubt the sincerity of Itachi’s killing intent at this moment, because as soon as his words fell, Kakashi had already been tied to a cross.
However, Kakashi remained completely calm.
“It seems you’ve misunderstood. I’m not planning to threaten you. I merely want to make a deal with you.”
“A deal? What kind of deal?”
“I need your eyes to suppress the Nine-Tails for a while. In return, I can help you with something.”
Itachi’s brows, which had just relaxed, furrowed again.
He stood in front of Kakashi and pondered for a long time before finally speaking.
“Do you think you have the ability to help me?”
“Of course. There will always come a day when you need me. My eyes can see much farther than you imagine. Uchiha Itachi, you’re having a hard time choosing between the village and your clan, aren’t you? You’re still hesitating, but I have already seen your choice. I believe that when the time comes, you will need me.”
Itachi’s expression changed drastically.
The Tsukuyomi space instantly disappeared, and the two returned to their seats in the shop.
Itachi’s eyes were no longer Mangekyō, as though everything that had just happened had never occurred.
“When?”
“You’ll be picking Sasuke up from school today, right? This will be an encounter by chance. No one will suspect anything. This is our secret. What do you think?”
Itachi took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.
When he opened them again, they had returned to normal.
He said nothing more, but Kakashi already knew that the agreement had been reached.
With a light chuckle, he stood up and left.
After hesitating for a moment, Itachi still picked up a dango.
The dismissal bell rang, and Naruto, who had been drowsy just moments ago, instantly woke up.
There wasn’t much content in the first class to begin with, so Iruka didn’t delay the class.
After greeting the students, he left the classroom.
Because the Third Hokage had given a speech, it was already lunchtime when class ended.
Most of the students took out their lunch boxes, but Naruto had not prepared one.
It wasn’t only because he had no money.
During the past two months, he had been training with Kakashi and had barely eaten lunch, so he had lost the habit of eating at noon.
Accordingly, he would eat a lot for dinner.
At this moment, Hinata was holding her lunch box.
She looked at the food inside, then at Naruto not far away.
After hesitating several times, she stood up and walked over to Naruto.
She opened her mouth, but her face turned bright red, and she couldn’t say a single word.
Naruto had already seen what Hinata was like before.
The fact that she had taken the initiative to come to him was already beyond his expectations.
“Yo, Hinata. Is something wrong?”
“N-Naruto-kun, y-you didn’t bring a lunch?”
“No. I’m used to not eating lunch.”
As Naruto spoke, he yawned, looking drowsy.
Seeing this, Hinata’s eyes dimmed slightly.
Her fingers turned white from gripping the lunch box too tightly.
“Um, if it’s okay… if it’s okay!”
In the end, Hinata still couldn’t bring herself to say what she wanted, but she stretched out both hands and placed the lunch box in front of Naruto.
Naruto was stunned for a moment, somewhat surprised by Hinata’s boldness.
But the next moment, a delighted expression appeared on his face.
“Really? Then, in return, how about I treat you to barbecue after school?”
“Eh? B-but… o-okay!”
“Then it’s settled!”
Naruto immediately settled the matter.
Although Hinata was clearly still hesitant, she did not object.
The two sat together and ate the lunch.
After finishing the lunch, Naruto happily took a nap.
He didn’t open his eyes until the afternoon class bell rang.
This class was still taught by Iruka and was still theoretical knowledge.
Naruto originally wanted to continue sleeping, but because he had taken a nap at noon, he couldn’t fall asleep now.
So, at the very least, he kept his eyes open throughout the theoretical class, which he found extremely boring.
After school, Naruto and Hinata left the academy side by side, preparing to eat barbecue.
A barbecue meal wasn’t cheap, but the Third Hokage had raised Naruto’s living expenses from one thousand to three thousand.
Moreover, during this period, Naruto had been freeloading off Kakashi’s meals, so he had saved quite a bit of money.
At the very least, he could afford several barbecue meals.
The moment they stepped out of the school gate, Naruto saw Kakashi already waiting there.
Uchiha Itachi stood beside him.
The two appeared to have nothing to do with each other and weren’t speaking.
[Damn! How did I forget about this? That bastard Kakashi still wants to drag me off to train. No! I have to think of something.]
On the surface, Kakashi and Itachi seemed to be ignoring each other, but in reality, all of Kakashi’s attention was focused on Itachi.
Since he needed Itachi to perform the technique, he had to keep a close eye on him to prevent any problems.
Therefore, it wasn’t until he heard Naruto’s inner voice that he noticed Naruto had come out.
Think of something?
Think of what?
What is Naruto planning this time?
Kakashi was confused by Naruto’s seemingly random thoughts, and at that moment, Itachi also noticed Naruto.
Naruto noticed Itachi looking at him and instinctively looked back.
The moment their gazes met, Itachi’s eyes turned into Mangekyō Sharingan.
Naruto was dazed for a brief moment, while Itachi tightly closed his right eye.
Even though his eye was closed, crimson blood still flowed from the corner of it like a bloody tear.
[Damn! What just happened? Mangekyō? That wasn’t an illusion, right? Itachi’s right eye is bleeding? Did he use Tsukuyomi on me?]
Naruto felt a chill surge from the soles of his feet straight to the top of his head.
Every hair on his body stood on end, and an enormous fear rose uncontrollably within him.
“Brother! What happened to your eye?”
Sasuke’s slightly anxious voice woke Naruto.
At some point, Sasuke had already run up to Itachi.
Seeing blood coming from Itachi’s eye, Sasuke was very worried, but Itachi revealed a gentle smile, crouched down, and lightly tapped Sasuke’s forehead with his finger.
“It’s nothing. I was just injured a little during a mission before. Come on, let’s go home.”
“Are you really okay?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve already seen a doctor.”
Itachi stood up, took Sasuke’s small hand, and turned to leave.
Naruto remained standing where he was, checking his own body.
Itachi’s Tsukuyomi was no joke.
If something went wrong, he might not even know how he died.
[Damn it, why did I have to look at Itachi? Now I’ve been hit by Tsukuyomi, and I don’t even know what he did to me. What if he planted some kind of bomb on me? Wouldn’t I be screwed?]
Naruto showed nothing on the surface, but inwardly, he was already frantic.
Hinata, who knew nothing, looked at Naruto in confusion, while Kakashi took the initiative to walk over.