Chapter 295: Big Trouble

Chapter 295: Chapter 295: Big Trouble

Orochimaru’s demand that Itachi trade Uchiha En for Uchiha Sasuke had been a spur-of-the-moment idea. He had never forgotten the way Uchiha En had once treated him with contempt and humiliated him.

"Uchiha En!?"

Itachi frowned slightly, his expression darkening.

He had never even heard of anyone named Uchiha En. But he quickly realized that the "Uchiha En" Orochimaru was referring to was most likely none other than Senpai En, the person who had been sparring with him every few days lately.

At that moment, Sasuke, who had taken a heavy punch to the abdomen, finally recovered enough to cry out loudly at Itachi, "Big Brother, save me!"

Hearing Sasuke’s plea for help, anxiety surged through Itachi’s heart. Yet his expression remained as calm as ever, while the three tomoe within his scarlet eyes slowly revolved, poised to strike at any moment!

The corner of Orochimaru’s mouth curled upward into a sinister smile.

He made no attempt to stop Sasuke from calling out.

As far as Orochimaru was concerned, a single plea from Sasuke was worth ten—no, a hundred—words of urging from himself. He could already sense the anxious heart hidden beneath Itachi’s perfectly composed expression.

Off to the side, Shinno stood with his arms folded across his chest, scrutinizing Uchiha Itachi before him.

Like a spectator watching a show unfold, he eagerly waited to see what choice Itachi would make.

Itachi did not deliberate for long. He gently shook his head. "I’m sorry, but I don’t know anyone named Uchiha En. As long as you release Sasuke, I’m willing to go with you."

Having tested just how important Sasuke was to Itachi, Orochimaru pulled out a kunai and pressed it against Sasuke’s throat.

"I’ve changed my mind. I want both you and Uchiha En!"

Itachi stared fixedly at the kunai pressed against Sasuke’s throat. The three tomoe in his Sharingan spun faster and faster, while the fluctuations of chakra around his body grew increasingly violent.

Orochimaru’s heart tightened, but the smile on his face remained.

"What? Do you want him to die?"

As he spoke, Orochimaru pushed the kunai slightly into Sasuke’s throat.

In an instant, crimson blood began trickling down the razor-sharp edge of the blade.

Tears welled in Sasuke’s eyes as he looked pitifully at Itachi across from him.

He desperately restrained himself from crying out loud. He was afraid others would look down on him, and even more afraid that because of him, they would look down on the Uchiha clan.

But the overwhelming fear was beyond his control, and large tears still rolled down his cheeks one after another.

Itachi forced a smile for Sasuke and said gently, "Sasuke, don’t be afraid. I promise I’ll save you!"

Meeting Itachi’s gaze, Sasuke nodded firmly. He clenched his teeth and stopped crying out for help.

"What a touching bond between brothers!"

Orochimaru gave a mocking laugh before continuing, "Itachi, my patience is limited. Give me your answer. Now!"

Itachi replied coldly, "I truly don’t know Uchiha En. There is no one named ’Uchiha En’ in the Uchiha clan at all. You can verify that through other channels."

Orochimaru’s expression darkened.

Danzo had previously told Orochimaru that there was no one named "Uchiha En" in the Uchiha clan, and now Itachi was saying the exact same thing.

This made Orochimaru realize that "Uchiha En" might simply be an alias. So he described Uchiha En’s appearance and physical features to Itachi, then asked, "This is the person I’m looking for. Don’t tell me you have no impression of her?"

"So he really is after En-senpai!"

Despite thinking this, Itachi still shook his head. "Among the female members of the Uchiha clan around fifteen or sixteen years old, no one matches your description."

Orochimaru was beginning to lose his patience. "If you want your little brother back, bring Uchiha En to me!"

With that, Orochimaru grabbed Sasuke and vanished from the courtyard in a blur.

Itachi paid no attention to Shinno, who remained where he was. With a leap, he immediately gave chase after Orochimaru.

As Itachi brushed past him, Shinno noticed that the three tomoe within Itachi’s Sharingan were spinning at an astonishing speed.

They were rotating so quickly that they almost seemed to connect with one another. At first glance, it looked as though a dark ring of ink had formed within those scarlet eyes.

And beyond that, Shinno could sense an indescribable aura emanating from Itachi.

"Orochimaru seems to have gotten himself into big trouble..."

The thought suddenly surfaced in Shinno’s mind.

But he quickly shook his head and dismissed the absurd notion.

As far as he was concerned, no matter how talented he might be, an eleven-year-old Uchiha could never possibly be a match for Orochimaru, one of the Legendary Sannin.

After collecting his thoughts, Shinno closed his eyes and sensed his surroundings for a moment.

Then, slowly, he turned his head...

...and looked in the direction of Hyuga Kagami’s home.

"Is she over there?"

Shinno had infiltrated Konoha this time not only to repay the favor he owed Orochimaru and assist him in hunting down the Uchiha, but also for an even more important objective—

to devour Shion, who possessed the Priestess’s power.

After obtaining part of Orochimaru’s Living Corpse Reincarnation technique and Hiruko’s Chimera Technique, Shinno had taken an entirely different approach. By combining them with some of the techniques recorded in the Artificial Tailed Beast scroll, he had successfully devoured the demon Mōryō, becoming a jinchūriki of Mōryō capable of suppressing the demon’s will.

After becoming Mōryō’s jinchūriki, a wealth of information concerning Mōryō and the Priestess appeared within his mind.

Only then did he learn that the demon Mōryō and the Priestess of the Land of Demons were actually two sides of the same existence.

The demon Mōryō represented darkness, while the Priestess represented light!

As long as he completely devoured both the demon Mōryō and the Priestess who possessed the Priestess’s power, he would obtain the powers of both opposing sides and become an existence surpassing even the Tailed Beasts.

However, what Shinno had never expected was that by the time he breached the Priestess’s palace, she had already passed her Priestess power down to her young daughter, Shion, and sent Shion away ahead of time.

She had even placed a temporary sealing technique on Shion, obstructing Shinno’s ability to sense her.

But as time passed, the effects of the temporary seal the Priestess had placed on Shion were gradually fading.

Because of this, Shinno could now sense that Shion was somewhere within Konoha. He could even vaguely determine her general location.

The reason the Priestess had not simply given Shion the bell artifact to carry with her, and had instead placed a temporary sealing technique on her, was because she had considered the possibility that Shion might encounter danger on the journey to Konoha.

The temporary seal could not completely suppress the Priestess power within Shion.

Therefore, if Shion encountered a life-threatening crisis, she would be able to break through the seal and unleash her own Priestess power to protect herself.

If the bell artifact had been given directly to Shion, however, the Priestess power within her would have been suppressed by the artifact. In that case, if she encountered danger, Shion would not even have the ability to fight back.

After sensing Shion’s approximate location, Shinno wasted no time and immediately rushed in that direction.

As for his plan to devour the Priestess power, he had told no one about it.

Not even his collaborator Orochimaru, nor his Akatsuki partner Hiruko...