Echoes of the Sharingan in Soul Land (Itachi in Douluo Dalu Fic)

Chapter 5:

…..

Itachi's expression remained calm, his mind analyzing every detail with methodical precision.

'It seems my assumption was correct—this Martial Soul sharingan is far more complex than it initially appeared'

The conclusion was cold and calculated, yet necessary. The Spirit Beast had made a fatal mistake in attempting to force a fusion, aiming to extract both his current and past memories. Though a faint sense of regret lingered for its fate, Itachi couldn't ignore the magnitude of what he had gained.

'Its death wasn't my intention, but I've acquired more than I could have imagined. My spirit power jumped drastically—from level 2 to 12... A leap this significant should be impossible. On top of that, I now possess a million-year ring'

Every spirit master requires a Spirit Ring to breakthrough to the next level of cultivation, and each breakthrough happens at the next rank after a multiple of ten.

To break towards eleven, the first spirit ring is needed. Then at twenty-one, thirty-one, forty-one, and so on.

Itachi manifested his sharingan and one golden ring floate around him.

For each ring obtained, a corresponding title is earned. The first ring earns one the right to call himself a Spirit Master, then Grandmaster like the father of Uchi Ha, then Elder, Ancestor, King, Emperor, Sage, Douluo, and finally as Titled Douluo.

'But to reach the absolute pinnacle of Spirit Masters is still a long way away for me... For now, I should focus first on getting to rank twenty'

'Now I also a possess a spiritual bone, and even a new Martial Soul. Though it's not a martial soul particularly powerful, it still gives me a significant advantage'

Closing his eyes briefly, he reflected on the events that had just transpired. Though the creature's intentions hadn't seemed malicious, its recklessness had sealed its fate.

He felt a slight sympathy for the spirit beast since he had seen part of his memories and knew what had happened to him as well as the intentions behind all this... to make Itachi reach level 100. And no one in written history has ever reached the mythical rank one hundred.

'Perhaps if it had acted with more patience, things might have ended differently. Still, its demise isn't my doing'

A faint wave of gratitude passed through him. If he had been forced to climb even to level 10 on his own, it could have taken years.

However, Itachi wasn't the type to allow fortune to make him complacent. The sudden surge of power had left his body in a precarious state.

'My spirit power is dangerously unstable. I'll need time to stabilize it—time I can't afford to waste…' he reasoned knowing that now there was a lot of work ahead for him to control the sudden 10 levels of spirit power that suddenly increased in his body in a very forced way.

His thoughts turned to his training. The meditative and chakra control techniques he had mastered as a shinobi were proving invaluable.

'Spirit power and chakra may not be identical, but the similarities allow me to manipulate its flow with precision'

As his mind worked through the possibilities, Itachi began adapting his prior knowledge to this new system of cultivation. Prodigies like him didn't earn their reputation by only clinging to old methods—they innovated. And he hadn't just taken the ANBU captain's position by accident.

'The more I practice, the more control I'll gain. Not just over my spirit power, but over my techniques'

Itachi could create new techniques using spirit power, or even replicate some of the fire and mental techniques he already knew… He knew it would take time—each step required careful experimentation and unwavering focus. But for someone like Itachi, this was just like another mission waiting to be completed.

…..

Instead of rushing to the city as he had originally planned, Itachi decided to stay near the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest.

Stabilizing his cultivation was now his top priority.

He knew better than to linger inside the forest itself, so he positioned himself just a few kilometers away from the nearest village. Until he could get his spirit power under control, he preferred to avoid others, understanding that exposing himself in his current state would be a grave mistake.

Furthermore, although he had collected as much money as he could from the ruined village, it was still far too little to waste. It would be better to subsist on his own for now without resorting to unnecessary expenses.

The money here works with four denominations: copper pieces, silver pieces, gold pieces, and purple jade tablets, and they are valued at a hundred of the lower serial denomination.

So one hundred copper pieces is one silver, and one hundred silver pieces is one gold, then a hundred gold is one purple jade.

...

For several days, Itachi dedicated himself to meditation and training. Gradually, he began to feel his spirit power settle. While the unstable energy within his body had calmed somewhat, Itachi was fully aware that he was still a mess internally and that it would take far more time to truly stabilize. At least now, he could exert a degree of control over his spirit power—something that had been virtually impossible before.

One morning, as he meditated, his sharp eyes caught something unusual.

A girl.

She couldn't have been much older than he was—about 9 or 10 years old. She wore a pink dress and had a bunny-shaped hairpin in her black hair, which was tied into a scorpion braid that fell past her hips. Her small, round face was slightly chubby, and her large eyes sparkled with curiosity, though they still carried a hint of innocence.

It was a peculiar sight.

Itachi was surprised to find someone so young wandering alone in a place like this. Even though the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest weren't particularly dangerous, they weren't exactly safe for a normal girl. But with a closer look, using his Sharingan and the abilities granted by his first Spirit Ring, he noticed something strange.

'She's not what she seems…'

The girl wasn't just human. She was something else entirely.

'A Spirit Beast… no, a hybrid'

She was human, yet also a Spirit Beast—a rabbit, to be precise.

The discovery piqued his interest. It was as though the essence of a Spirit Beast had been transformed into a human body, but the transformation seemed incomplete. It was a curious state, akin to the Jinchūriki of his old world, but without the internal conflict caused by a Bijū. Here, the Bijū itself had become human.

A powerful Spirit Beast now reduced to a human form… and a much weaker one at that.

'A Spirit Beast that chose to become human? Why would it do that? And how?'

The girl also possessed a Spirit Bone formed from her essence—an item both powerful and undeniably tempting to obtain. Her spirit power was low, barely level 10, but her potential was undeniable.

Determined to study her further and gain more information about her and the process her body had undergone, Itachi completely suppressed his presence using the ability of his Spirit Bone. Moving through the shadows, he approached the rabbit girl silently. While she didn't appear to pose a significant threat in her current human form, caution was second nature to him.

When he was close enough, Itachi used his Sharingan. The girl finally noticed him, but before she could react, he activated a weak genjutsu—not as powerful as he would have liked but functional enough.

The illusion lasted only a second before it crumbled. Itachi could feel her extraordinarily high mental power disrupting the genjutsu almost instantly. That wasn't surprising, considering she had once been a powerful Spirit Beast, even if she was now a relatively weak human.

Despite the illusion breaking so quickly, Itachi wasn't concerned—he had already closed the distance. Before the girl could react further, he swiftly knocked her unconscious with a precise movement and carefully bound her with ropes. His bindings were meticulous, restricting her every muscle with surgical precision.

Now, Itachi intended to conduct a more thorough inspection. He had too many questions, and only a closer analysis of this anomaly would provide the answers he sought.

….

….

By the time the girl opened her eyes again, Itachi had practically finished studying the rabbit-human hybrid.

He discovered that she wasn't a threat, as she seemed incapable of reverting to her Spirit Beast form—a conclusion he had already suspected but wanted to confirm.

Her human body appeared to be developing and carried immense potential.

Still, the Spirit Bone she possessed was undeniably fascinating and tempting. Even though he couldn't absorb a Spirit Ring as powerful as hers, obtaining a Spirit Bone of such caliber would be a significant boon.

But taking it would mean killing the girl.

Though Itachi wouldn't hesitate to kill if it were his duty, he wasn't personally inclined to bloody his hands in this new world without a compelling reason. Especially since, from what he could tell, the girl was now at least partially human. To his eyes, she was effectively an innocent human. No longer merely a Spirit Beast.

…..

When the girl finally regained consciousness, it took her a few moments to process what had happened. Naturally, the first thing she felt was panic. She struggled futilely against the ropes, her small body trembling as she tried to break free.

She clenched her teeth, her pink cheeks puffing out in frustration. Finally, her large eyes locked onto Itachi, filled with a mix of fear and defiance.

"You... how dare you attack this adorable bunny!" she protested, her voice trembling but carrying a hint of indignation.

Itachi raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised by her reaction.

'Adorable bunny?'

He had expected her to act very differently in this situation, especially considering she had once been such a powerful Spirit Beast.

For a moment, he wondered if she didn't fully grasp the gravity of her predicament. Or perhaps this was some kind of instinctive reaction—an attempt to shield herself behind a childish facade.

'And… Isn't she practically giving herself away?'

Shaking off the thought, as her behavior didn't seem to follow any logical reasoning he could discern, Itachi decided to proceed with his questioning.

"You're a rabbit-type Spirit Beast, aren't you?" he asked bluntly.

The girl's eyes widened, her expression shifting from indignation to pure horror.

"I-Impossible... Y-You... How do you know? That shouldn't... shouldn't even be possible!" she stammered, trembling with fear at the revelation of her identity.

It had been only a few days since she had undergone Spirit Beast Evolution to become human. She had left Da Ming and Er Ming to explore the human world while advancing her cultivation—a process that required being surrounded by humans. That was one of the reasons she had chosen to embrace humanity.

She was confident that only Spirit Douluo-level experts or higher could detect her Spirit Beast origins.

And it was inconceivable that the boy standing in front of her, someone her age, could be a Spirit Douluo. Even for them, recognizing her would have been no easy feat.

"Let's just say I have my methods," Itachi replied calmly. "But we can set that aside for now"

The girl stared at him with growing worry. Her identity was her most guarded secret, and now someone had uncovered it. She was completely defenseless and had no idea what to expect.

"Tell me, how is it possible for you to be human?" Itachi asked, his tone calm but carrying a weight that made it clear lying wasn't an option. He was deeply intrigued. Even though he now understood the current state of her body, he wanted to know more about the process that had transformed her into what she was now.

She gritted her teeth, her small body still trembling.

"I'd rather die than be used by you!" she suddenly shouted, displaying unexpected bravery despite her fear.

Itachi observed her silently. He'd heard those words before, from others in desperate situations. None had lasted long under his interrogation. Yet something about her wide, innocent eyes and unwavering conviction brought back memories he had no intention of revisiting.

Besides, he had already decided that he only wanted to learn more about the girl's unusual constitution.

"I'm not going to kill you," he finally said, his voice steady but firm. "But if you keep yelling, I might reconsider"

The indirect threat had the desired effect. The girl stopped struggling, though her gaze remained wary.

"You're… not going to kill me?" she asked, tears welling up in her eyes, her lips quivering in a pout.

"Only if you cooperate," Itachi replied, his tone softening slightly. "Answer my questions, and I'll let you go. Simple as that."

"Really?" she asked, still hesitant.

"Hn. Why would I lie?" Itachi countered, leaning slightly closer. "Besides, if I wanted to kill you, it would've already been done."

The girl swallowed hard and nodded slowly, though her body continued to tremble.

"Okay..." she whispered at last.

Itachi allowed himself a faint smile. He had managed to earn a bit of her trust.

"Good. Let's begin…"

He felt a slight twinge of guilt for intimidating such an innocent-seeming girl, but considering she had once been a powerful Spirit Beast, he reasoned it wasn't entirely uncalled for.

In fact, it intrigued him further. Why was she acting so much like a little girl if she had once been such a formidable Spirit Beast?

Curious...