Evil Uchiha Itsuki

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

"That's intense!"

"Sigh, I never would've imagined this happening, not even in my wildest dreams."

"First Hokage, Second Hokage, you should be thanking me. If it weren't for me, you'd probably be rolling in your graves by now."

Konoha's shopping district.

Uchiha Funeral Parlor.

Itsuki sat lazily on the roof, rocking in a lounge chair, sipping tea, and quietly watching the chaos unfold below.

Orochimaru appeared beside him, his face grim.

"Orochimaru-sensei, any thoughts?" Itsuki asked with a hint of amusement.

Orochimaru coldly spat out two words: "So ugly!"

"Heh."

Itsuki could sense the anger in Orochimaru's voice.

Konoha, as it was now, enraged him. 

This Konoha was far too ugly, completely shattering Orochimaru's cherished memories of the village. In his mind, Orochimaru was probably thinking about his plan to destroy Konoha once again.

Such a Konoha didn't deserve to exist.

The real Konoha was the one in Orochimaru's memories, a beauty that only remained in the past.

Itsuki chuckled softly. Orochimaru wasn't qualified either.

If he had already decided to transcend, then why imprison himself?

"Konoha reaching this point was always inevitable," Itsuki said indifferently. "The only surprise is the sheer intensity of the outbreak. But even that's no big deal. I'm more curious about how Jiraiya will act."

"That fool?" Orochimaru sneered. "Itsuki, you're not still sentimental, are you?"

The relationship between Jiraiya and Itsuki was complex—part mentor, part friend.

Among the Three Sannin, and in the entire village, Jiraiya was easily one of the top three people closest to Itsuki.

Orochimaru could tell from Itsuki's words that he cared a lot about Jiraiya.

He was still angry, still bitter over Jiraiya's betrayal.

Orochimaru smirked.

"If you've already decided to stand apart, Itsuki, why are you putting yourself back in the game?"

"Itsuki, are you going to make a move against Konoha?"

"No!" Itsuki's response was firm. "The Village of Fire needs time right now. It needs to develop, not wage war. No matter how weakened Konoha is, it was still once the greatest of the Five Great Shinobi Villages, the most powerful ninja village in the world."

"Is that so?"

Orochimaru's voice was laced with disappointment.

He had hoped that Itsuki would destroy Konoha.

But!

Orochimaru was no fool either. He knew that Itsuki needed Konoha to divert attention away from the Village of Fire. If Konoha were destroyed in one blow, the other villages' focus would likely shift to the Village of Fire.

So if Konoha were truly in danger of being wiped out, Itsuki might just step in to help.

"Tell me..." Orochimaru said suddenly, "Are they idiots? They know so many are eyeing Konoha hungrily, yet they still start a civil war. Aren't they afraid Konoha will be destroyed?"

Itsuki remained calm. "Isn't the world full of idiots? There are many fools in this world—some genuinely stupid, others pretending to be."

The ninja world was full of extremists.

People who would kill their fathers, mothers, and entire clans—even themselves when pushed.

Often, even when they knew the consequences of their actions, they still went ahead with it anyway.

Who could understand their minds?

Did Hashirama Senju not realize the benefits of unifying the ninja world?

His brother and Uchiha Madara hated each other deeply, yet they agreed on this point. And Hashirama? No matter how foolish he was, he knew the value of unification.

But he still didn't do it.

Why!?

He couldn't bear to see more bloodshed in the ninja world, so he chose to balance power through the tailed beasts, allowing all forces to develop together.

Foolish!

The death of White Fang!

Did no one at the time understand the consequences of letting Danzo slander Sakumo Hatake?

It wasn't just because of Sakumo's popularity, strength, or reputation.

It was because the method used to deal with him was far too dangerous. If it went wrong, it could've led to Konoha's downfall.

It threatened the very foundation of Konoha—the Will of Fire!

Without the Will of Fire, would Konoha still be Konoha?

See!

Many things, many people, even when they know their actions will have severe consequences, still choose to do them.

In his previous life, Itsuki had seen the same in ancient empires. Even when the enemy was at their gates, they still engaged in civil war.

Perhaps that's just human nature.

"Heh."

Orochimaru let out a low chuckle and turned to leave.

Itsuki glanced at him. He knew that Orochimaru was preparing to leave Konoha for good.

He no longer had any attachment to this village.

The next time he returned might very well be when Konoha was being destroyed.

"It's time for me to act as well."

Itsuki stood up slowly. Konoha still held great value.

After all, it was the first shinobi village and the most powerful one. Even looting a little from here would accelerate the Village of Fire's development by several years.

Without hesitation, Itsuki headed towards Konoha's weapon and treasury storage.

He figured that area would be relatively calm.

The remaining Konoha shinobi certainly wouldn't let the three warring factions touch that place.

But who would've thought—

Just as Itsuki turned to leave, he was surprised to see Jiraiya had joined the battle.

He stood by Hiruzen Sarutobi, helping him fight against the Ino-Shika-Cho trio and Danzo Shimura.

In his youth, Jiraiya's strength had ranked lowest among the Three Sannin.

But!

As time passed, while other ninjas weakened with age, Jiraiya grew stronger.

Most ninjas in their fifties saw their power decline, but Jiraiya had reached his peak.

This was the power of Sage Mode!

At this moment, the sage-powered Kage-level Jiraiya entered the battle and immediately tipped the scales.

Hardly any ninja could withstand more than three moves from him.

Against Danzo's forces, Jiraiya showed no hesitation in going for the kill.

With the summoning of the toad sages from Mount Myoboku, Jiraiya was practically unstoppable, mowing down everything in his path.

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

Itsuki chuckled. "So, this civil war has only strengthened Jiraiya's resolve? How interesting."

Swish!

With a flicker, Itsuki disappeared from the scene.

He arrived beside a massive building.

It was now heavily guarded.

Konoha's shinobi weren't stupid. They knew that with Hiruzen and the others waging a civil war, the entire ninja world was watching them.

So, aside from the combatants, Konoha had halted all unnecessary missions, with many ninjas now stationed at the borders.

The rest were guarding Konoha's most critical locations.

For example, the armory.

Or the prison!

But unfortunately for them—

For someone like Itsuki, who wielded the Flying Thunder God technique, these defenses were hardly adequate.

After observing for a while, Itsuki used Flying Thunder God to instantly enter the armory.

The shinobi outside were still staring wide-eyed, scanning the area.

Barrier?

Sorry!

My Flying Thunder God level is too high—it bypasses barriers like yours with ease.

"Tsk tsk tsk!"

Seeing the contents of the armory, Itsuki clicked his tongue.

It was dazzling!

The neatly arranged kunai, shuriken...

Itsuki sighed once more. The Village of Fire still had a long way to go.

When the Uchiha clan left Konoha, they didn't take much with them, and the Village of Fire's supplies were barely enough for basic living needs.

Even though they traded with the Ninja Cats clan and had gained many weapons, reaching Konoha's level would still take time.

"Guess I hit the jackpot!"

Itsuki pulled out a scroll and began sealing the weapons inside.

But after sealing only a few, a piercing alarm suddenly rang out.

The alarm had been triggered!

"Damn, I shouldn't have underestimated Konoha!"

"They spotted me this quickly? Tsk tsk!"

"You know, Konoha really brought this on themselves. Otherwise, how could things have gotten this bad?"

"Sigh, I wonder if they'll even have a tomorrow."

"If they do, they better pick a better Hokage next time. The future..."

While Itsuki was busy packing weapons, he muttered under his breath.

"Escape? What are you thinking?! Do you think it was easy for me to get in here?"

"I used the Flying Thunder God technique! I spent so much chakra. If you don't give me something to replenish it, how can I leave?"

Suddenly, whoosh! A large group of ninjas rushed in and surrounded Itsuki.

But none of them attacked.

Why? Because this was Uchiha Itsuki.

They circled around him, watching cautiously, with fear in their eyes.

"Why does it always have to be this monster again?!"

"Yo, Kakashi! Long time no see!" Itsuki waved at the man leading the group. "Konoha's getting pretty lively. Aren't you gonna join the fun? Push yourself hard enough, and who knows? Maybe you'll become the Fifth Hokage."

The younger Kakashi remained silent, simply staring at Itsuki as he packed more things without a care in the world.

"Uchiha Itsuki, stop!" one ninja couldn't hold back and shouted in a low voice.

Did he think they didn't exist? This was too humiliating!

"Hm?" Itsuki glanced at the ninja.

The man immediately shrank back, fearfully taking a step backward.

"You talking to me?" Itsuki snorted. "Listen, I'm just grabbing some weapons. I'm not wreaking havoc all over Konoha. Shouldn't you guys be thanking me for that?"

"Thank you?!" Kakashi nearly burst out laughing from anger.

You're stealing our stuff, and we're supposed to thank you?

Itsuki rolled his eyes. "Don't agree with me? Fine, let me ask you. You don't want me here, right? Well, if I leave, who knows what I might do out there? Don't blame me later."

The ninjas suddenly fell silent.

"Ever heard of the Summoning Technique? Do you know how many giant snakes I can summon? Do you have any idea what'll happen to Konoha?"

"I'm so powerful, and yet I'm not doing any of that. Shouldn't you guys be grateful?"

"Huh?"

The ninjas were speechless.

What he said was so outrageous.

But...

When they thought about it, he had a point.

Wouldn't it be better to let him steal some weapons rather than cause trouble outside?

In the first case, they'd just lose some weapons.

In the second case, Konoha would be damaged, and many of them would die as well.

Which one made more sense?

"Get it now?" Itsuki scoffed as the ninjas fell silent. "Now that you understand, why don't you come help me pack these weapons? None of you have any common sense, do you?"

Seriously?!

Kakashi's forehead was throbbing with veins of anger.

This was going too far!

A thief stealing your stuff is one thing, but getting you to help them carry it?

Do you think we have no pride?!

Uchiha Itsuki, you're a super invincible jerk!

"So, are you going to help or not?" Itsuki glanced at a few of them. "If you don't help, I'm leaving. And once I'm out there, I can't guarantee what I might do. Hmph!"

He snorted lightly. "It's not like I really care about these weapons anyway."

"…"

Kakashi was trembling.

The Konoha ninjas around him were trembling too.

Before, they could still fool themselves into turning a blind eye.

But now? There was no more hiding it.

Uchiha Itsuki, are you mocking us all?!

The Konoha ninjas' fury had reached its peak.

"Arghhhh!!" Finally, Kakashi let out a roar and charged at Itsuki.

...

"Expansion Jutsu!"

"Mind Transfer Jutsu!"

"Fire Style!"

"Wind Style!"

On the battlefield, the three factions were still fighting fiercely.

They had a mutual understanding: whoever surrendered would move to the outskirts.

Their goal was the Hokage; it wasn't to kill each other.

Everyone knew that if they went all out to kill each other, barely anyone would be left standing.

So, they launched the fiercest attacks, hoping their opponents would surrender quickly and submit to them.

As for what would happen after that, they'd deal with it later. Right now, they couldn't worry about those details.

They couldn't afford to fight to the death.

"Shikaku, you're Konoha's Jonin Commander. I thought you were wise, yet you're acting so recklessly," Hiruzen Sarutobi said coldly as he watched Shikaku.

"Hokage, enough with the useless talk. It doesn't matter now." Shikaku's shadow shot forward like a spear, aiming at both Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura.

On the battlefield, the current generation of the Ino-Shika-Cho trio faced off against Hiruzen Sarutobi and Danzo Shimura together.

Meanwhile, Torifu Akimichi was up against Jiraiya!

As for the others, it was all chaos.

If someone was injured, they'd crawl away if they were lucky. If they died, they were dead on the spot.

Thwack!

Torifu Akimichi swung his staff and slammed it toward Danzo Shimura.

Just moments ago, Danzo's summoning technique had been smacked away by Torifu staff.

"You're all so foolish!" Hiruzen Sarutobi shouted. "Two years! All I needed was two more years! Couldn't you even wait that long?"

Shikaku rolled his eyes.

A lot can happen in two years.

The Uchiha Clan was nearly wiped out. The Ino-Shika-Cho trio together weren't even as powerful as the Uchiha.

If Hiruzen threw a kunai at them right before the two years were up, who would they complain to?

Didn't he realize how much of a power-hungry maniac he was?

Danzo sneered inwardly as well.

Two years?

He had heard that excuse from Hiruzen twenty years ago.

Two years, two years, and then two more years.

The old man nearly outlived him. If Danzo believed him now, he'd be an idiot.

Even if Hiruzen only needed two more years, what about Torifu Akimichi?

Was he only going to need two years too?

Four years from now, if Konoha was back to stability, who among the nobles and high-ranking officials would agree to let a seventy-something, one-eyed old man be Hokage?

And Torifu Akimichi surely wouldn't step down after two years!

No matter how you looked at it, there was no chance for him!

So, Hiruzen, you can take your two years and keep it to yourself.

Danzo was now a man with no time to waste!

(End of Chapter)