Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master

Page 186

He skillfully loaded the tobacco, lit it with a "click," and took two deep drags. His aged face appeared even more serene behind the bluish-white smoke of the tobacco.

Itachi did not sit down, but stood half a step in front of the table, waiting silently.

He knew that Hiruzen Sarutobi had summoned people because he wanted a key figure to listen to his intelligence.

Who could it be?

Fifth Hokage Tsunade?

Or is it Danzo who just left?

Just as Itachi was pondering, there was a sudden knock on the study door.

Hiruzen Sarutobi, with his pipe in his mouth, looked up and said, "Come in."

The door opened with a click, and a tall, slender figure stepped into the room: "Third Hokage, you wanted to see me—"

Before Kakashi could finish speaking, he saw Itachi Uchiha.

"!!!"

Kakashi felt a jolt in his heart, and his pupils suddenly contracted.

He could hardly believe his eyes—

What is Itachi Uchiha doing here?!

Kakashi instinctively became alert, his right hand reaching towards his headband, while his other hand gripped the kunai pouch on his trouser leg, his fingertips trembling slightly, poised to strike.

The atmosphere inside the room suddenly became tense.

Itachi Uchiha sensed the hostility of the newcomer and slowly turned to face Kakashi, his expression remaining calm.

As the two faced off, Hiruzen Sarutobi remained seated behind the table, leisurely smoking his pipe, seemingly oblivious to the tense atmosphere.

Kakashi glanced at his old leader out of the corner of his eye and paused slightly.

Suppress the urge to take action.

He blinked, gently lowered his right hand, and slowly walked to the table.

"Third Hokage... what exactly is going on?"

Kakashi asked in a low voice, somewhat bewildered, his eyes darting back and forth between Hiruzen Sarutobi and Itachi Uchiha, his mind filled with disbelief and confusion.

This scene caught him completely off guard.

What's even more outrageous is that, judging from Hiruzen Sarutobi's expression, he doesn't seem worried at all that the talks might fall apart or a fight might break out!

Countless thoughts flashed through Kakashi's mind.

Regarding the tragedy that befell Itachi Uchiha, the Konoha leadership has always remained tight-lipped about it, and there are no written records of it. Apart from a very small number of people involved in the decision-making process, almost no one knows the truth.

Even he, a Jonin from the Anbu, didn't know much more about this than Sasuke—

However, unlike Sasuke, he did not believe that the real Itachi Uchiha was a fake.

In fact, when Itachi Uchiha first joined the Anbu, he joined a squad under his command.

He knew a fair amount about Itachi Uchiha.

Upon seeing him, Kakashi instantly realized that the person standing before him was the real Itachi Uchiha, not some genjutsu clone or someone else in disguise.

Itachi's eyes, so cold and lifeless as if they were frozen solid for a thousand years, cannot be faked by anything!

Moreover, compared to when they parted years ago, Itachi Uchiha now has dark circles under his eyes, his face is as pale as paper, and he exudes an undeniable aura of weakness and death.

Kakashi just couldn't understand: why would Itachi Uchiha, a rogue ninja of Konoha, suddenly appear before the Third Hokage? And why did the Third Hokage seem to have anticipated this and even summon him here specifically... Could there be some hidden reason behind this?

Two light coughs from Hiruzen Sarutobi brought Kakashi back to reality.

The old man pointed at Uchiha Itachi and said slowly to Kakashi, "Don't be nervous, Kakashi. He's not an enemy... Itachi's true identity is actually a spy planted by Konoha within Akatsuki."

"An undercover agent?!"

The tense atmosphere suddenly turned eerie.

Kakashi turned to look at the serious-looking Hiruzen Sarutobi, then turned to look at the silent Itachi Uchiha standing beside him, and felt as if a thunderbolt had struck his mind.

Itachi Uchiha, who murdered his entire clan and defected from the village, was actually... a spy for Konoha?!

Seeing the lingering shock on Kakashi's face, Hiruzen Sarutobi sighed inwardly.

He had originally intended to tell Kakashi some of the secrets from back then—

After all, Kakashi is not only an elite Jonin of Konoha, but now, because of the dream, his importance is extraordinary, and he has the right to know the inside story.

However, when the words were about to come out, he suddenly paused, unsure of how to begin.

You can't just say outright, "Itachi killed his entire clan on orders from the Konoha higher-ups, and then he was put in charge of infiltrating the village," can you?

Faced with such a bloody truth, even with his thick skin, he simply couldn't bring himself to say it for a moment.

What's more, the person in front of him is the son of Konoha's White Fang...

After a moment's deliberation, Hiruzen Sarutobi decided to retain the most brutal details for the time being and only briefly state Itachi Uchiha's position.

Seeing Kakashi struggling with his thoughts, Hiruzen Sarutobi coughed lightly to draw his attention back to the present: "Ahem... Kakashi, now is not the time to dwell on the past. Itachi has returned with extremely important information—related to that 'masked man'!"

Upon hearing the mention of the masked man, Kakashi's expression changed drastically. He couldn't help but step forward and stand in front of Itachi: "The masked man? That man with the tiger-striped mask?"

Itachi actually brought back information about Obito?

Seeing Kakashi's solemn expression, Itachi nodded seriously and said in a deep voice, "That's right. And that masked man... he is actually the true leader of the Akatsuki organization!"

"what?!"

Chapter 170 Tsunade: If you can't cure me, just wait to die!

Kakashi felt a chill run down his spine.

"Isn't Pain the leader of Akatsuki? How come he's turned into a masked man?!"

Uchiha Itachi was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, a look of surprise flashing in his dark eyes: "You actually know Pain?"

He originally thought that only members of the Akatsuki organization knew the name "Pain," but he didn't expect that Konoha also had this information.

Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slowly, his deep gaze appearing and disappearing behind the bluish-white smoke from his pipe: "We actually have quite a bit of information about the Akatsuki."

Under the dim light, the Third Hokage's face was full of the composure of someone who had been through it all.

Itachi pondered for a moment before explaining, "Pain was only the leader in name. In reality, many decisions within the Akatsuki organization... were made behind the scenes by that masked man."

Upon hearing this, Kakashi felt as if a storm was brewing in his heart.

He gasped, his mind flashing back to the events of his dream.

"So... the attacks on Konoha in the dream were actually all Obito's doing?!"

"Obito?" Itachi keenly caught the name in Kakashi's words and raised his eyebrows in confusion.

He didn't recognize the name, but judging from their reactions, it was clearly related to the masked man.

Hiruzen Sarutobi exhaled a smoke ring and explained in a deep voice, "Obito Uchiha, that masked man!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his sharp gaze swept over Itachi, observing the other's reaction.

"I see!" Itachi nodded thoughtfully.

No wonder the masked man could use the Sharingan; it turns out he was also from the Uchiha clan... and was even an old friend of Kakashi's.

At that moment, all sorts of clues quickly connected in Itachi's mind, and a look of sudden realization flashed in his eyes.

Kakashi was deeply troubled.

He couldn't help but think of Obito in his dream, who had gone mad—his single red eye filled with madness.

A chill ran down Kakashi's spine, causing him to break out in a cold sweat.

It turns out that the mastermind behind the attack on Konoha and the endless slaughter in the dream was actually Obito!

Fortunately, the real Obito hasn't turned into the crazy version of himself in the dream...

Thinking of this, Kakashi felt slightly relieved and became even more certain of one thing: Konoha in reality should not be subjected to a direct attack by the Akatsuki organization in the short term.

After calming down a bit, Kakashi and Itachi exchanged a glance, both reading more questions in each other's eyes.

However, the most urgent task is to take advantage of Itachi's rare return to the village and exchange as much information as possible between the two sides.

Over the next period of time, Itachi and Kakashi each revealed all the information they knew about the Akatsuki organization, asking and answering questions in turn, leaving no detail unexamined.

Kakashi pulled out paper and pen from his pocket and quickly jotted down the key points of the conversation.

In reality, Itachi didn't bring back much information this time, much of which Konoha already knew about through his dreams.

However, reality does not always perfectly match dreams: some things that happen in dreams are not the same in reality.

For example, Itachi mentioned that Orochimaru in reality had defected from Akatsuki several years ago, while in his dream, Orochimaru seemed to have been working under Pain for even longer; another example is that in reality, the rogue ninja Kirigakure, Juzo Biwa, had already died in battle, but he appeared in his dream...

These differences, both large and small, combined make the value of Itachi's intelligence exchange still considerable.

Based on Itachi's description, Kakashi meticulously noted down the key differences between the dream and the actual dream, his expression focused and earnest.

After a thorough discussion, Kakashi and Hiruzen Sarutobi compared the information from the dream and reality, and both breathed a sigh of relief.

In summary, the Akatsuki organization's overall strength in reality is significantly weaker than what is shown in the dream world.

After confirming this, the tension in their hearts eased a little.

"Hoo—" Kakashi gently exhaled the breath he had been holding in his chest, and Hiruzen Sarutobi also showed a rare look of relief.

In contrast, Itachi, who had been listening silently to the side, was experiencing a new wave of emotions.

He originally thought that as a member of the Akatsuki, he would have a better understanding of the organization's intelligence.

But now, through this exchange, he discovered that Konoha possessed far more knowledge than he had imagined!

Not only did Konoha know the identities of most of the Akatsuki members, but they also knew the details of Pain's abilities!

—It should be noted that even Itachi himself, who had been in Akatsuki for many years, did not know much about Pain's true power. Hearing that Konoha was aware of such a secret, even he was slightly shocked.

For a moment, his gaze toward Hiruzen Sarutobi and Kakashi held a more complex expression.

The conversation came to an end, and the study fell silent again.

The lamplight flickered, illuminating the thoughtful expressions on everyone's faces.