Chương 115

This guy was hopeless. Even Sasuke didn't understand how could the mind of Naruto could be so off sometimes, while at times, especially during battles, his brain would be the sharpest one. But of course, none of them could also speak about it in the open as the contract prohibited any of them to talk or reveal the contract details to anyone. Jiraya meanwhile was beyond happy to know that Rei had learnt the Hiraishin to such a high degree. This would mean that Rei was just following the footsteps of the 4th Hokage.

All he needed was Rasengan and it would be cpmplete. Maybe teach him Senjutsu too later. Naruto was happy to know that Rei would be able to find them and not lose himself, as he felt he might lose his way back.

"It also means you don't have to wait for me." Rei said.

"Just continue the journey normally. I'll catch up when I'm finished." Jiraiya gave a small nod.

"Don't disappear for too long."

"I won't." With that, Rei vanished in a flash, leaving behind nothing but gently swaying leaves, while Naruto instinctively looked down at his own shoulder as though expecting to somehow find the invisible mark hidden beneath his jacket.

The Valley of the End stood exactly as it had for decades, untouched by time. Two colossal statues towered over the roaring waterfall below, forever frozen in the moment the greatest rivalry in shinobi history had reached its conclusion. Water thundered endlessly between them while the evening wind carried a cool mist across the valley. Perched calmly atop Hashirama Senju's stone head sat a lone figure clad in dark armor whose sleek helmet completely concealed every trace of his identity.

Not even a strand of hair escaped the adaptive suit Tony had painstakingly designed. The mysterious man simply looked down toward the valley in complete silence, as though waiting for someone he already knew would arrive. Several minutes passed before another presence quietly entered the valley. A lone figure wearing the familiar black cloak decorated with crimson clouds landed effortlessly atop the head of Madara Uchiha's statue.

The straw hat had already been discarded somewhere along the journey, allowing the evening breeze to brush against his dark hair. Crimson eyes immediately settled upon the armored stranger across the waterfall. Neither of them moved. The only sound between them was the endless roar of rushing water crashing against the rocks far below. Rei remained seated exactly where he was before letting out a quiet chuckle that echoed faintly across the valley.

"I'm surprised you actually came."

"I am curious of why you called me, and me, specifically." Itachi replied.

"Is it because we both are from Konoha?"

"Partially yes, but there are other reasons too, for calling you here."

"Oh what other reasons? To kill me?" Itachi asked, with the same dead pan look he always carried. Not a bit of intimidation at all.

"Did you choose to sit on Hashirama's statue because you wished to recreate history? Atop Hashirama's head... for an Uchiha to arrive." For a brief second silence filled the valley. Then Rei burst into genuine laughter.

"Hahaha..." Even Itachi blinked once, mildly surprised by the reaction.

"That's actually a good one." Rei slowly stood up before dusting imaginary dirt from the armored plating covering his legs. Find this and other great novels on the author's preferred platform. Support original creators!

"If I wanted to kill you, Itachi..." his voice gradually lost its amusement, "... I would've done it the day Kisame called for your help." The laughter vanished completely.

"When the two of you fought me together. I had more than enough opportunities. You know that, right?" He remembered every exchange from that battle with perfect clarity. The masked man had repeatedly bypassed opportunities that could easily have become killing blows. Instead, every decisive attack had been directed toward Kisame, while Itachi himself had merely been delayed. His Sharingan had kept up with the pace of Rei, and he saw how he deliberately avoided Itachi.

And also went a bit easy on both of them for some reason and that was also the reason why Itachi showed up today. Because he was sure that he saw it right that Rei here deliberately played with them and even left Kisame alive. So he wanted to know the reason why. KIsame was still recovering and he had already alerted the organization. A part of him also wanted to know the identity of this person from Konoha, which he never heard anything about, so it meant he was hiding in Konoha too.

He came here also because he wanted to know if he was an enemy of Konoha, and if he was, he would do anything to kill him right here.

"... Perhaps." Itachi replied.

"You even considered using Susanoo." Rei spoke those words so casually that they almost disappeared beneath the waterfall.

"... But it wouldn't have changed anything. It would've ended exactly the same." Everything became silent. For the first time since arriving, Itachi's expression visibly changed. His pupils narrowed ever so slightly.

"... What... did you just say?"

"I said even Susanoo wouldn't have changed the outcome." Itachi's heartbeat instinctively quickened. Nobody, for sure nobody, knew of this technique of his. Him having a Mangekyo sharingan was known, but the Susanoo was his secret. So how come he knew. He had spoken with complete certainty.

"... Who are you?" Itachi finally asked, far more seriously than before. Rei simply tilted his helmet slightly.

"I could ask you the same question."

"No." Itachi answered immediately.

"Names don't interest me anymore." His crimson Sharingan never left the masked figure.

"What interests me... is how someone I've never met knows secrets that even the closest person to me doesn't know."

"Closest person? Who? Kisame? At best he is your partner and both of you admire each other. Kisame more so than you. I think he would probably marry you if you had been a girl. Others? They only hate you to the bones." Rei replied. Itachi was speechless. The way this person was talking was something he had never encountered before.

The way he spoke of secrets while also mocking him, and the fact that he was so nonchalant as if he was talking to a friend, while he had just recently sent his friend to extensive medical care, made him all the more cautious. What did this person want?

"The opinions of others have never dictated the path I walk." Itachi replied.

"True. You have never been the one to follow the rules." Rei admitted.

"I have investigated. The Uzumaki blood runs through your veins, as does the bloodline of the clan that naturally drew upon senjutsu. A gifted clan... but one consumed by its own violent instincts. Both were eradicated years ago. By all accounts, no survivor should possess both inheritances, especially not in Konoha. So tell me... who are you, really?" The helmet didn't even move when Itachi spilt what he had read and found out.

It was his own research which Rei was sure that he had done before he took the pain of arriving here to meet.

"The same goes for your leader. An Uzumaki clan lineage who has Rinnegan. By all accounts this shouldn't have been possible either but here we are." Rei replied and these words threw Itachi off by at least a mile. He knew that Akatsuki leader, Pain, had Rinnegan, but someone from Uzumaki clan? What the hell was going on? He had been under cover there for years now and he didn't know this information at all. If what this unknown person said was true, than his spying was a failure by all means.

Itachi was speechless for a moment.

"Is that what you called me here for? To speak about our leader?" Itachi asked, trying to steer the conversation into the origins of their leader, and see if this unknown person knew more?

"No Itachi. I came to ask for your help." Rei said.

"Help? You? Why will I help you?" Itachi asked.

"Because if you don't help me, I can just kill you here. Neither your Susanoo nor your Totsuka blade or your favorite Amaterasu can stop me. Oh yes, I am pretty sure you won't use Izanagi or Izanami, since your end goal is to keep your eyes in working condition before your fast approaching death." Rei replied.

"You want to die but you want to die at the right time. I can make that wish vanish forever. If you want to use Shisui's left eye with you on me, you wouldn't have any contingency left for the supposed alive Madara, so it leaves you with no choice but to help me." Itachi's body trembled when he heard that. This man, knew all of his secrets, all of his plans, everything that he had never spoken, everything that he had made contingencies about for the future. Shishui? Check. Susanoo? Check. Izanagi? Check.

Even Izanami too. Who the hell was this guy? Could he read minds of others? Only that explanation made perfect sense, because in no way a person could know somebody's secrets that deeply until one could just read minds. Did that kind of jutsu/kekkei genkai exist?