Chapter 23: "Uchiha Itachi… A Pleasure to Meet You"

"Schlick!"

A blade punched through his heart before he could react.

"Taka, White Wolf—we’re extracting the target!"

Yoru’s voice cut through the chaos. While the other Kirigakure ANBU were pinned down, their squad—dismissed due to their youth—had been ignored.

"Roger!"

Though they resented taking orders from him, the mission came first. The three moved in sync.

"Stop them! That leader isn’t ordinary!"

Kakashi’s command rang out—his warning aimed squarely at Yoru.

"On it!"

A squad of Konoha ANBU gave chase: one Special Jōnin (Ibiki Morino) and two Chūnin.

"I’ll hold them off. You two—get the target out!"

Yoru spun on his heel, kunai drawn.

"You little brat—you’re dead!"

One Chūnin sneered, hands already weaving signs. "Fire Style: Dragon—"

"Multi-Strike Falcon Flash!"

Three streaks of silver light sliced through the mist.

Ibiki barely dodged, earning a gash across his chest.

The two Chūnin? They collapsed, clutching their throats, eyes wide with terror.

"Tch."

Konoha shinobi nearby froze. Even Ibiki’s breath hitched—a hair slower, and that would’ve been my neck.

"Frostfang, target secured!"

Taka and White Wolf’s voices echoed from behind.

"Good! Fall back—now!"

Yoru backflipped, landing between his teammates. "I’ll cover you. Move!"

Konoha’s forces roared in frustration. "Don’t let them escape!"

But Kirigakure’s ANBU grinned. "Oh no you don’t!"

They locked the enemy down.

Kakashi’s visible eye narrowed. "To think Kirigakure bred a monster like you…"

For a moment, he saw his younger self in Yoru.

"But your plan ends here."

Tenkō’s triumphant smirk vanished.

"Clang! Clang! Clang!"

Steel shrieked as Yoru’s team was cut off—a new Konoha squad materializing before them.

The leader’s chakra flared at Jōnin-level, his two subordinates at Special Jōnin.

Danger.

Then Yoru saw them:

Three Tomoe Sharingan.

Youthful face, etched with premature lines.

His stomach dropped.

Uchiha Itachi.

Konoha’s prodigy. The pride of the Uchiha.

"Transfer the intel now," Yoru hissed. "If we don’t, we fail."

Taka and White Wolf stiffened. "Understood."

"I’ll buy time. Hurry—this enemy’s on another level."

Without hand signs, Yoru exhaled: "Water Style: Hidden Mist!"

A thick fog swallowed the battlefield.

Itachi’s Sharingan whirled. "No hand seals?!"

Even his Three Tomoe struggled to track the technique’s origin.

"Hah! You think mist will stop us?"

"Know your place, brat. Unless you’re Zabuza, this won’t—"

The two Special Jōnin scoffed, oblivious that Yoru’s warning was for Itachi alone.

Itachi frowned. "Don’t underestimate him."

But the Uchiha name held little weight in Konoha now. They ignored him.

"Yamashiro, combo!"

"Fire Style: Flame Bullet!"

"Wind Style: Gale!"

"BOOM!"

Fire and wind merged, superheating the mist into a scalding inferno. The ground cracked under the heat.

"Water Style: Water Wall."

Yoru’s condensed barrier snuffed the flames instantly. Steam billowed, thickening the fog.

"Damn it! How?!"

The duo’s rage turned to panic as shadows loomed behind them.

"Multi-Strike Falcon Flash."

Two more throats split open.

Against Jōnin, Yoru needed strategy.

Against lesser foes? The mist was his slaughterhouse.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower!"

Itachi’s counterattack came the instant Yoru relaxed—flame blossoms forcing him to dodge.

"Shuriken Shadow Clone!"

A barrage of kunai followed, each trajectory calculated to kill.

So this is the genius they call "Itachi of the Sharingan."

Yoru barely weaved through, melting back into the fog.

"As expected of Uchiha Itachi. Impressive."

Itachi’s breath hitched. "You know my name?"

No introductions. No prior encounters.

"How?"

Yoru’s chuckle echoed eerily through the mist.

"Let’s just say… I’ve read the script."