Freelancer in the Ninja World

For instance, he could activate his "Kāma" space-time ability right in front of Obito's face—

just flick his sleeve and teleport right out of there! Then if Obito got upset after going through all that trouble only to see Senshi escape in an instant—well, that would be Obito's problem.

But Senshi didn't do that. Instead, he strolled around the Kamui dimension, unhurriedly taking in the scenery. The Kamui dimension was a predominantly gray alternate space filled with numerous rectangular cuboid structures, giving it a somewhat artistic feel. Of course, Senshi himself wasn't much into "art"—for now, the Akatsuki's "Art Duo" hadn't fully formed; only Sasori was obsessing over art at the moment.

After observing for a while, Senshi noticed that the edges of the Kamui dimension were pitch-black emptiness, like a void where nothing could be seen. After wandering around a bit, Obito apparently finished his own preparations and also entered the Kamui dimension.

Seeing Obito, Senshi simply smiled, giving him no chance for his usual nonsense about being "Uchiha Madara" or whatever. He cut right to the chase, calling out Obito's identity:

"So, Tobi, why'd you bring me in here?"

Obito: "???"

Senshi's direct words nearly made Obito's eyes pop out. Indeed, Senshi's guess was spot on: Obito had been planning to intimidate Senshi by invoking the "I am Uchiha Madara" routine. Those words were practically on the tip of his tongue, but he forced them down. Truth be told, Obito's usual tactics in normal mode were limited to two main skills:

1. Skill #1: Claim to be Uchiha Madara.

2. Skill #2: Use Kamui.

Both of these were meaningless against Senshi. Right now, pretending to be Madara would be downright comical. More importantly, how on earth did Senshi know his true identity?

And there was another thing Obito didn't know:

If he dared to get all serious in front of Senshi and say, "I am Uchiha Madara," given Senshi's personality, Senshi would probably play along and reply, "Long time no see, son. I'm Uchiha Tajima!"—which was Madara's father.

Unfortunately, Nagato was just too earnest to see through Obito's deception.

Senshi's real reason for revealing Obito's identity so bluntly was to make Obito get on with whatever he was planning. Otherwise, if Senshi spent too long hanging around in here, the red-haired girl waiting outside might get so anxious that she'd go barreling around in "Gundam mode" to look for him.

…

Meanwhile, on another wide road…

Itachi and Kisame were traveling together on a mission. These two were often called the "Environmental Protection Ancestors" of the shinobi world—the true walking duo—because, no matter how far the mission location was, they went on foot, never even riding in a carriage. They were all about "zero emissions."

As they walked, Itachi got Kisame to share more about Senshi, especially since Kisame and Senshi had traveled together when capturing the Three-Tails Isobu. Moreover, Itachi had heard from Kisame that he and Senshi had actually fought once.

Thinking it over, with no expression on his face, Itachi asked calmly:

"When you fought Uzumaki Senshi, did he fight you seriously?"

The reason Itachi brought this up again was because there were all sorts of baffling things happening around Senshi. As someone who quietly gathered intel on every member of the Akatsuki, Itachi had been watching since the day Senshi joined—he was certain most of his observations about Senshi were accurate. But when he lined up all the data, it painted a terrifying picture.

The first time Senshi fought was against Kakuzu. According to Kakuzu, although he lost to Senshi, he could have easily escaped (though that statement might be questionable). Still, it's a fact they fought—and Kakuzu survived. Based on how strong Senshi had recently become, if he intended to kill Kakuzu now, Kakuzu would stand no chance at all. Yet only a few months prior, Senshi would have needed a significant effort to kill Kakuzu. Now he could likely do it in one move. Even in the eyes of a prodigy like Itachi, that growth was inconceivable.

Was there any shinobi left in a one-on-one who could stand against Senshi?

Itachi felt he had to take Senshi more seriously, investigating him further without revealing his own status as a spy. Senshi's growth was abnormally fast.

Kakuzu, of course, had no idea that in Itachi's mind, he had become a measuring stick for power. He could add it to his resume: "I once fought the First Hokage, Hashirama Senju, and came away with no definitive outcome! Then I fought the modern super-Kage ninja, Uzumaki Senshi, and walked away unscathed! Moreover, he didn't dare chase me!" It wouldn't be a total lie—Senshi at that time didn't have any reason to pursue him. If Senshi's reputation someday shook the entire ninja world, Kakuzu could ride that wave of notoriety, becoming the black market's MVP.

Back to Itachi and Kisame: after exchanging random chatter, Kisame answered Itachi's question about his battle with Senshi in Kirigakure:

"Honestly, Itachi-san, I don't think Senshi fought me seriously that time."

Kisame was the kind of straight-laced shark-man who'd actually weave all forty-four hand signs for the Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu—he basically didn't lie. On the vast lake in Kirigakure, their clash was more of a test of Senshi's skill than a life-or-death fight. Kisame bared his teeth in a grin:

"Kakuzu has this habit of killing his own teammates, and Senshi was a bit offbeat to begin with. Partnering on a mission with Kakuzu only caused him to adopt some of Kakuzu's ways. While we were on that mission in Kirigakure, Senshi was primarily interested in cashing in on the bounty, so he insisted that I keep the targets alive—he said dead targets are worth less."

"At the time, I wanted to see for myself what Senshi was made of, since Kakuzu claimed he was extremely powerful. But once the fight began—despite Senshi not really going all out—I still got completely crushed. I nearly died."

Remembering that encounter at Kirigakure's lake, Kisame couldn't help feeling emotional, even though it happened quite a while back. Even back then, Senshi was already very strong; now he'd grown even more formidable! If not for his own resilience and the healing from his sword, Samehada, Kisame would likely have been killed outright. He trusted Itachi enough to tell him everything truthfully. Unlike many other Akatsuki members, each harboring their own agendas, Kisame actually believed in the group's ultimate goals and stayed to see them through.

Hearing the full details of Kisame's narrow escape, Itachi concluded that Senshi was an extremely dangerous individual—his danger rating rose even further. Itachi even thought: if Senshi had been born earlier, Uzushiogakure might never have been destroyed. Under Senshi's leadership, the Uzumaki clan could have built a village to rival the Big Five, given his super-Kage-level might and strategic vision. After all, in part thanks to his ideas, Ame and Kusa had allied, both enjoying significant development.

But it was too late now—Land of Whirlpools was gone, and Uzushio was ancient history. Otherwise the ninja world would be a much livelier place.

Itachi and Kisame pressed on, only to find someone suddenly appear in the middle of the road, blocking their path. It wasn't Obito—he was still tangled up with Senshi in the Kamui dimension. The person facing them was another old acquaintance and fellow Akatsuki member: Orochimaru.

Orochimaru looked troubled. He desperately wanted a "perfect container" to possess, but that was proving far too difficult to obtain. After Senshi had left, Orochimaru stewed over it a long time and finally decided to check with Itachi.

Orochimaru had some knowledge of Itachi—he didn't consider Itachi a real threat at this point. When Orochimaru first gained fame as one of the Legendary Sannin, Itachi hadn't even been born yet. In his eyes, Itachi's performance in the Akatsuki had been fairly average; he hadn't shown any overwhelming power. So Orochimaru believed if he challenged Itachi, he stood a good chance of winning.

More importantly, Orochimaru had no desire to become a wanted traitor targeted by Senshi. The rest of the group wouldn't even need to lift a finger if they could just throw money at Senshi, who would happily hunt down and finish him off. Thus, he planned a sneak attack under the guise of a "friendly sparring session" to incapacitate Itachi, haul him away to some hidden base, and perform his Living Corpse Reincarnation. Uchiha bodies were far too perfect as vessels! If he succeeded in taking over Itachi's body, Senshi's threat would be greatly diminished.

So when he blocked Itachi and Kisame's path, Orochimaru stuck out his tongue in what he considered a "friendly" smile and said:

"Uchiha Itachi, I have a favor to ask. I've been developing a new jutsu, and I'd like you to test it with me—just a simple sparring match."

He finished, but Itachi's face remained expressionless. He had no interest in fighting Orochimaru. In his life, only two things truly mattered: the growth of his "foolish little brother," and his undercover mission. Beyond that, he couldn't care less. Meanwhile, Kisame felt curious: a battle between Konoha's two rogue-nin? He chuckled:

"Orochimaru was once labeled one of the Sannin by Hanzo the Salamander—no small feat. While Itachi-san is known as one of Konoha's top geniuses. Who's stronger? It'd be interesting to find out. How about you two spar a bit?"

As Kisame spoke, he politely cleared space for them. In the forested path, Itachi stood still, expressionless. He had zero interest in fighting, but since Orochimaru clearly wasn't going to let them go without a confrontation, Itachi resigned himself to it. Hands still tucked inside his robe, he regarded Orochimaru with a bored gaze.

"So arrogant!"

Seeing that, Orochimaru assumed Itachi was just begging for death. He planned to teach this "brat" a lesson he wouldn't forget.

"Swish, swish, swish, swish! Summoning Jutsu!"

Orochimaru's hands flew into seals, aiming to use Edo Tensei to distract Itachi—and then swoop in to snatch the "cocky little Uchiha." On the sidelines, Kisame was puzzled. After Orochimaru said "Arrogant!"—there was silence. Kisame scratched his head and muttered:

"Could Orochimaru have fallen prey…to a genjutsu?"

He found it unlikely; when he did missions with Itachi, they often encountered enemy ninja where battles went back and forth. (Although, strictly speaking, Itachi tailored his effort to avoid revealing his full potential as a spy, so Kisame hadn't truly seen Itachi go all out.) But Orochimaru was a legendary Sannin. How could he be bested like a random nobody from their usual missions?

What Kisame didn't realize was that whenever Itachi faced skilled opponents, he often held back for covert reasons. This time, against Orochimaru, there was no such need. Even before Orochimaru spoke, Itachi had already released a genjutsu on him. Now he was drawing Orochimaru into a mental illusion space.

In that blood-red dimension full of strange black cubes, crows cawed, gradually coalescing into the form of Itachi at some distance. Orochimaru's mind reeled:

"Damn it—when did he cast this genjutsu?"

He hadn't even noticed Itachi's trigger! Sharp iron spikes appeared out of nowhere, pinning Orochimaru in place. This was Itachi's Demonic Illusion: Shackling Stakes Technique, which leaves its victim completely immobile, unable to defend or counter. Itachi's illusion self stared at the immobilized Orochimaru without a word, then disintegrated back into crows. The outcome was decisive: Orochimaru had been one-shotted by Itachi's genjutsu right at the start of the fight.

When the illusion finally ended, Orochimaru collapsed to his hands and knees, panting heavily, thoroughly shaken. At that moment, one truth stood out more than ever: the Uchiha clan possessed an absolutely perfect body for his Reincarnation. If he could have just dragged Itachi away, even the threat of Senshi might be reduced. But the brutal reality was—he wasn't even Itachi's equal for a single exchange.

~~~

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