Chapter 281: Assessment

Chapter 281: Chapter 281: Assessment

After hearing the implication behind Hyuga Kagami’s words, Itachi fell into deep thought.

Compared to the original timeline, Itachi in this timeline was much more cheerful, and his understanding of the conflict between the Uchiha and the village was nowhere near as deep.

In the original timeline, Itachi had awakened his Sharingan after being traumatized by the death of his teammate at Obito’s hands. But in this timeline, Obito’s attention had been tied up by Shinichi, and he had almost no interaction with Itachi at all. As a result, Itachi had awakened his Sharingan entirely through his own talent.

Because of this, compared to his counterpart in the original timeline, Itachi was also slightly weaker.

Even so, at only eleven years old, Itachi already possessed the strength of a Special Jōnin. Compared to Shisui when he was eleven, there was virtually no noticeable gap between them in terms of fundamentals. What Itachi lacked was merely a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan.

Looking at the conflicted expression on Itachi’s face, Hyuga Kagami sighed inwardly, "The Uchiha really do have extreme personalities..."

Some of the more arrogant Uchiha could completely disregard the feelings of others, doing whatever they pleased without the slightest restraint.

Yet Uchiha like Shisui and Itachi were the exact opposite. They could place the feelings of others above their own, constantly thinking about the bigger picture while completely neglecting their own wishes and emotions.

In Hyuga Kagami’s eyes, both extremes went too far.

The former were too self-centered, while the latter had lost their sense of self.

Perhaps the very concept of moderation was fundamentally incompatible with the Uchiha!

A moment later, Itachi seemed to come to a decision. He looked earnestly at Hyuga Kagami and said, "Senpai, I want to save the Uchiha!"

Hyuga Kagami frowned at first, but his expression quickly relaxed.

When Shisui had revealed to Itachi that he was Kamigami’s "Homura," Hyuga Kagami had already known that even if Shisui never mentioned him, with Itachi’s intelligence, it was only a matter of time before he figured out that Kamigami was connected to Hyuga Kagami.

And Itachi’s words clearly meant that he wanted to join the small circle formed by Hyuga Kagami and Shisui, using another method to save the Uchiha from their fate.

Hyuga Kagami seemingly had no reason to refuse.

With Itachi’s extraordinary talent, it would only take him a few years to effortlessly grow into a powerful ninja whom no one could afford to ignore. His addition would undoubtedly greatly increase Kamigami’s strength.

But after carefully considering it for a while, Hyuga Kagami shook his head and said indifferently, "You’re too weak. You’re not strong enough to get involved in something like this yet!"

Itachi looked somewhat disappointed. "I’m sorry. I was too impulsive."

Opportunities to mock Uchiha Itachi like this didn’t come around often. After secretly chuckling to himself, Hyuga Kagami deliberately put on a serious expression and said, "Itachi, there’s no need to be too discouraged. I can make an exception and arrange an assessment for you. If you can pass, I’ll consider your request."

"An assessment?" Itachi’s face lit up. "Thank you for going through the trouble, Senpai!"

Hyuga Kagami folded his arms across his chest. "You should understand that not just anyone can join Kamigami. If you aren’t strong enough, you’ll only end up dragging everyone else down."

Itachi nodded repeatedly. "Mm. Compared to you and Brother Shisui, Senpai, I still have many shortcomings."

Now that everything had been laid out in the open, the distance between Hyuga Kagami and Itachi immediately narrowed considerably. After casually chatting for a while, Hyuga Kagami finally asked Itachi a question that had been lingering in his mind for a long time.

"Itachi, have you ever heard of the ’Totsuka Blade’ and the ’Yata Mirror’?"

Itachi shook his head. "I’m sorry, I haven’t."

Hyuga Kagami rubbed his chin and thought, "As expected, Itachi doesn’t have those two divine weapons at this point in time!"

Hyuga Kagami had coveted the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror for a very long time.

He had gone through countless ancient texts, quite a few of which mentioned the two divine weapons. Yet when it came to their whereabouts, those ancient texts contained not even the slightest clue. As a result, despite searching for a long time, Hyuga Kagami had still found nothing.

He had previously suspected that the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror might simply be abilities that came with Itachi’s Susanoo—a unique manifestation of Itachi’s chakra.

But after personally activating Susanoo himself, he became certain that these two divine weapons were neither innate abilities of Itachi’s Susanoo nor unique manifestations of Itachi’s chakra.

The weapons wielded by Hyuga Kagami’s own Susanoo were two long swords formed from condensed golden flames.

Yet Hyuga Kagami had searched through countless ancient texts without finding a single record of those two golden-flame swords. There wasn’t even the slightest mention of the golden flames covering his Susanoo.

The Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror, however, were mentioned in numerous ancient texts.

Throughout history, the two divine weapons had appeared in the shinobi world several times, and every time they surfaced, they inevitably sparked bloody struggles for possession.

This was also why Orochimaru had already known about the Totsuka Blade before ever seeing Itachi’s Susanoo, and why he had been secretly searching for it all along.

"Looking at it this way, there’s a very high possibility that the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror are spiritual divine weapons!"

At this thought, a theory gradually formed in Hyuga Kagami’s mind.

In the original timeline, Naruto, as Asura’s reincarnation, had the Nine-Tails protecting him from within and Konoha protecting him from without. His safety was more or less guaranteed, so there was little need for the Sage of Six Paths to intervene.

But Sasuke, as Indra’s reincarnation, was different.

After the Uchiha Clan Massacre, the only person left protecting him was his elder brother, Uchiha Itachi. Compared to the forces protecting Naruto, Itachi was undoubtedly rather isolated and alone.

Perhaps it was precisely because of this that the Sage of Six Paths, whose soul wandered throughout the shinobi world, had somehow guided Itachi toward the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror without leaving any obvious traces.

In doing so, he had indirectly strengthened the forces protecting Sasuke, ensuring that Sasuke, as Indra’s reincarnation, could safely grow into adulthood.

After all, the whereabouts of the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror might be a secret to ordinary people, but to the Sage of Six Paths, who had watched over the shinobi world for a thousand years, they could hardly be considered a secret.

If Hyuga Kagami’s theory was correct, then it meant that as long as the Uchiha Clan wasn’t massacred, the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror would most likely never appear in the world.

And even if the Uchiha Clan were massacred, only someone who protected Sasuke would be able to obtain the Totsuka Blade and Yata Mirror once they appeared. No one else would have any chance of laying their hands on them.

"Whew..."

Letting out a breath, Hyuga Kagami suppressed his greed and quickly calmed himself.

The next day.

In accordance with the assessment he had arranged with Hyuga Kagami, Itachi arrived alone in a dense forest outside the village.

Standing quietly among the trees, Itachi looked around and thought, "Kagami-senpai isn’t here yet? I wonder who the examiner will be. Will it be Senpai Kagami, or Brother Shisui?

Just then, a figure began walking toward Itachi.

Immediately alert, Itachi turned his gaze toward the approaching figure.

The newcomer wore a mask patterned with flames, a cloak draped over their body, and a longsword sheathed at their waist...