Chapter 191: The Pursuit of Uchiha Itachi
Their confrontation was discovered by the Hidden Leaf Village's Anbu ninjas, and this news quickly reached Jiraiya, who was dozing off in his office.
Thinking about the things the Third Hokage had entrusted to him before his passing, he wished he could bang his head against the wall.
He had thought this matter wasn't urgent, but he hadn't expected Uchiha Itachi to arrive so quickly.
After the Uchiha clan massacre, the Third Hokage had written a personal letter detailing the events. He had secretly left the letter in the Sarutobi clan's old residence.
He hoped that his successor could use his personal letter to clear Uchiha Itachi's name. Uchiha Itachi was not a rogue ninja; he had sacrificed a great deal for the village and shouldn't suffer further condemnation and torment. The Third Hokage believed he should clarify this matter, and the rights and wrongs of the situation could be judged by future generations.
Jiraiya knew of the letter's existence, but with countless tasks at hand and his inherent laziness, he hadn't prioritized this matter.
Now that the person involved had come knocking, he was in a complete mess.
He first found Shikaku, asking him, who hadn't fully relinquished his duties as the Jonin squad leader, to take a team to support Kakashi and pursue Uchiha Itachi. Whether they used force or words, the priority was to detain him.
Shikaku hadn't been involved in the Uchiha clan massacre; he wasn't a strategist back then. He only had suspicions about the event, and the specific details and participants were unclear to him.
The Third Hokage and the other three had internally decided on all the major and minor affairs of the Hidden Leaf Village. Shikaku, as a strategist, often acted as a representative of the ninja clans. His power wasn't insignificant, but it wasn't absolute either.
Jiraiya spoke a few words in a low voice, and Shikaku's expression turned grave. This kind of damage control was the most troublesome.
"I'll go find that letter. Regardless of what that Uchiha is thinking, the village must clarify this matter. You all go ahead, I'll be there soon!"
Jiraiya sprinted towards the Sarutobi family's old residence, encountering Konohamaru on the way.
Konohamaru had his head down, carrying a cardboard box containing some of the Third Hokage's belongings.
Jiraiya immediately noticed the crystal ball in the box. Even with the current emergency, he still thought this thing was... well, very valuable!
He snatched the crystal ball and tucked it into his chest.
"Lord Fifth Hokage?" Konohamaru had emerged from the shadow of his grandfather's passing. He stuttered slightly but still greeted Jiraiya. He was quite puzzled about why this person was at his house.
Jiraiya scratched his head. "Hmm, I remember the old Third saying he left some letters for me in his study. Do you know where his study is?"
"Yes, Lord Hokage, please follow me."
Two minutes later, Jiraiya found the Third Hokage's study. He opened it and was immediately dumbfounded.
Various densely packed documents filled over fifty large cabinets. Finding a single letter among so many files was going to be incredibly difficult.
Jiraiya was extremely frustrated. His first instinct was to call Naruto to help with Shadow Clones, but the thought that this matter concerned the village's reputation and shouldn't be handled by others made him dismiss the idea. He could only create thirty Shadow Clones himself, grumbling as he searched for the crucial personal letter among the mountain of documents.
Meanwhile, Shikaku found his old comrade Choza. Their opponents were the S-rank rogue ninjas Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame. The former's Sharingan and the latter's Water Release were both incredibly powerful. His plan was still the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, but unfortunately, Inoichi was out of the village on a mission. Yamanaka Fuu was a Root member, so he could only call on Ino, who had just returned to the Yamanaka Flower Shop. The three of them formed the core of this "Uchiha Itachi Retrieval" mission.
Shikaku wasn't as optimistic as Jiraiya; he believed there was a high chance of complications.
A pursuit battle would undoubtedly involve the Inuzuka clan, so he called on Kiba Inuzuka's mother, Tsume Inuzuka.
To counter the Uchiha clan's powerful members, the Byakugan was essential, so he also called on the head of the Hyuga clan, Hiashi Hyuga.
The five of them followed the trail.
On the other side, Kakashi, relying on his Sharingan, wanted to test his skills against Itachi. He told the others to close their eyes and not look at the Sharingan, but he himself couldn't even last a second before being easily defeated by Itachi.
At the critical moment, his good friend Might Guy arrived to save the day.
Itachi and Kisame decided to retreat while they were ahead, steering the conversation towards their current goal – the Nine-Tails – before disappearing.
The "Uchiha Itachi Retrieval" squad encountered them on the road.
Might Guy wanted to join them, but Shikaku refused. Guy was too loud, and once he got fired up, he might inadvertently reveal everything. The Hidden Leaf's handling of the Uchiha clan incident was truly regrettable, and the fewer people who knew the details, the better. The clan heads had significant influence and had seen their fair share of darkness. Ino was a member of the Ino-Shika-Cho formation, and even if she knew the truth, she wouldn't spread it around. Might Guy was too straightforward, and Shikaku couldn't let him know the specifics of this matter.
Kakashi and Kurenai had both been severely injured by Uchiha Itachi's Genjutsu, and Asuma was also injured in the fight with Kisame. Shikaku ordered Guy to escort them back first, while their five-person squad continued to pursue Uchiha Itachi.
Tsume Inuzuka, a somewhat fierce-looking middle-aged woman, turned out to be a bit redundant. After defeating Kakashi, Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame hadn't run at all. They were leisurely strolling down the main road. In less than ten minutes, they were intercepted by the five-person team.
"Mr. Itachi, the people from your village are truly persistent. However, it seems like only old guys have come," Hoshigaki Kisame revealed a mouth full of shark-like teeth, looking menacingly at Ino. "But, there's a young fish mixed in. Were you from that bookstore earlier? What? Judging by your expression, do you want to have a go with your great Uncle Kisame?"
Kisame's strength lay in his Taijutsu, immense strength, Samehada, and chakra. Purely in terms of Water Release ninjutsu, Ino wasn't afraid of him.
"Uchiha Itachi, I want to talk to you," Shikaku said.
Before his words could even finish, Uchiha Itachi tilted his head slightly. Hiashi Hyuga immediately warned the others, "Close your eyes! His chakra is flowing; he's going to use Genjutsu."
Apart from Hiashi, the owner of the Byakugan, everyone else, including Ino, closed their eyes.
Uchiha Itachi didn't quite understand their intentions. "Mr. Shikaku, Head of the Hyuga clan, I don't believe I have anything to discuss with you."
"It's not us. The Fifth Hokage is on his way. He wants to talk to you."
Uchiha Itachi said nonchalantly, "No interest."
Shikaku, using Ino's sensory transmission, gave Choza the order to "attack." He wanted to eliminate Kisame, the rogue ninja who was likely acting as a watchdog, first.
Choza's right hand rapidly enlarged. With his eyes closed, his massive palm ferociously slammed down towards Kisame's direction.
This palm strike was powerful and heavy, as if possessing the force of a thousand pounds. Even Kisame didn't choose to take it head-on.
He pushed off the ground with his feet, leaping back more than ten meters to escape the attack range of Choza's palm.
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