18 Chapter 18 : A Dangerous Encounter

"Here, our search will begin in this city" Jiraiya told the twins as they were at the entrance to the city closest to Konoha. Contrary to the impression given in the manga, the five great elemental nations were big, really big. The land of fire was 1/3 the size of the USA and the nearest small town of Konoha was nearly 150 km away. 

If the ninja villages were called "hidden" it was because they were very isolated and far away from other cities. Of 100% of the continent's population, about 60% were even unaware of the existence of shinobi.

Normal cities were slightly more modernized with a larger population that blended average technology with traditional life. 

 "I would be surprised if we found your former teammate here, it's way too close but a start is still important..." Obito said holding Tobirama's journal which he was reading while Naruto walked carefreely with both hands on the back of his head.

 "That's right, it's a start that we're looking for and I've my information network here so let me handle it." Jiraiya said and guided them through the city, they arrived at "fun fun avenue".

It was an area where there were many inns, brothels and also sake parlors. As Jiraiya casually walked with the boys explaining to them that his spy network was here, they suddenly saw a beautiful black haired woman walk past them then turn around and wink at Jiraiya who grimaced by the beauty of the woman.

He quickly reserved two rooms next to each other for him and the boys before asking them to wait for him there under the pretext of going to begin his research alone.

 "Wait Jiraiya-sama..." Obito held him by the handle and closed his eyes for a few seconds. Jiraiya and Naruto looked at him, Naruto knew his brother's abilities and asked him if he had spotted any enemies with his Kagura mind eye and the answer didn't take long.

 "Gosh...after all these years...I'm picking up Itachi's signature and someone else's with a massive amount of chakra, he's trying to erase his chakra signature but I can see it...They observe us in the South." Obito said with a frown while Naruto and Jiraiya didn't look towards the south so as not to arouse the caution of their enemies.

Jiraiya was truly impressed by Obito's senses and Naruto himself confirmed to him that Obito's sensory abilities were terrifying.

They discussed a plan and They briefly entered a nearby bar before Jiraiya separated from them to follow the woman from earlier so the boys left for the inn anyway.

 Over an hour later, while Naruto and his brother were meditating while training their chakra control, they heard a knock at the door and Obito opened his eyes.

 " They're here..." Obito said, Naruto just nodded and he went to open the door to see Itachi and Kizame right in front of the entrance. Obito looked at them both while Itachi looked at him with his sharingan.

 "Kizame, you're very strong but I am gonna ask you to be particularly careful with the red-haired boy, I trained him and he was already formidable when he was much younger ." Itachi said to Kizame with a straight face as the latter looked at Obito in astonishment listening to Itachi ask him to be careful around him, a mere teenager.

 "It's been a long time since we last saw each other, Itachi-San. (to Kizame) You should be Hoshigaki Kisame, the renegade ninja of Kiri and one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. The sword you carry is Samehada, the Chakra Devouring Sword. May I know why you're here ?" Obito said as Naruto got behind him waiting.

 "See Itachi ? That's why I hate those damn bingo books that give too many details when you become famous..." Kisame moved forward and wanted to quickly grab Obito but he disappeared via Shunshin to appear in the void instantly just behind Kizame in the air at the moment when the latter wanted to capture the afterimage of Obito.

The timing was perfect and the execution so fast that even Itachi was surprised by this speed, it was Shisui's famous technique that made him famous.

"He's fiendishly fast..." Kizame thought he was totally impressed with Obito's speed. Shunshin was a complex technique to execute in the middle of a fight.

This basic technique was made to cover large distances in a short period of time, it required precise calculations, an extremely knowledge of the surrounding space and a perfect dosage of the chakra.

It was easier to use it for long distances than in the middle of a fight against an enemy, that's why very few people could use this Jutsu in such circumstances because using it continuously during a fight with precision required constant calculations and precise timing every time.

Only geniuses of Shisui's caliber could execute it and the Uzumaki twins made the technique their own, Karin could do it but not as long and with as much efficiency as them despite her good level and hard work. 

 Even though they were surprised by Obito's speed, they didn't stay static and Itachi quickly sent shuriken towards Obito who deflected them with his tanto sword before attacking Kisame with his blade while the latter still had his back turned but Kisame was far too experienced.

He wanted to block the attack with Samehada but with a quick deflection of his blade, Obito aimed at Kizame's fingers that were gripping Samehada's handle.

 In one horribly quick action, Obito severed Kizame's ring and little fingers who was shocked by the boy's speed which he had clearly underestimated despite Itachi's warning.

However, it was not over Obito still in the void stabbed his blade into Samehada before leaning on it, turning on himself to hit Kizame with a kick but the latter had already understood the lesson and blocked the kick with his free hand before sending Obito flying with a kick to the abdomen .

 Kizame had learned to no longer underestimate the boy but unfortunately for him he had fallen into another of his traps with two fingers missing, his grip on Samehada was weak during this time and Obito had grabbed the shark skin sword before being thrown by Kizame's kick, disarming him at the same time.

 "Your sword is what he was aiming for from the start…I told you to be careful with this boy." Itachi blamed Kizame's recklessness who asked Itachi to shut up with deep anger in his voice, he looked at Obito and swore to kill him then something strange happened, the walls and the floor began to have an organic texture.

 "When the old man told me that this kid was strong, I had no idea he was so skilled..." Naruto said with a smile as both his hands were placed on the ground but with an explosion of smoke , Naruto transformed into Jiraiya 'cause since they returned to this inn it was Jiraiya who had Naruto's appearance while Naruto had followed the woman in the guise of Jiraiya out of the bar .

 "Ninpo : Toad stomach trap" Jiraiya completed the technique as extremely powerful digestive juices began to be secreted from the organic walls.

Itachi told Kizame that they had fallen into a trap and that they had to get out of there but immediately, Obito appeared near him and tried to attack him but at high speed, Itachi grabbed his neck .

 Itachi: You're strong and very faste Obito but my sharingan can discern absolutely all your movements...

 "You just fell into my trap, I gave Sasuke a beating even though he has the same eyes as you now. Gai-sensei taught me how to fight without looking directly at my opponent, your footwork is enough " Obito said smiling before grabbing Itachi's wrist with his free hand and with Iraishin, he teleported with him to reappear in a forest in the Land of Waves while Jiraiya and Kizame remained surprised, especially as Obito had Samehada.

 When they reappeared, Itachi was still holding Obito by the neck and was surprised by what had just happened.

 "You can let go of me now Itachi-san, it's not a genjutsu and you would know it. I teleported us to the land of waves, away from your renegade comrade and away from the other guy who was watching you (zetsu)…" Obito said nonchalantly as Itachi looked at him frowning at first as he looked Obito's carefree face looking fearlessly into his eyes and he let him go.

 Itachi : Why are we here ?

 "Because you're acting and I don't know why you went this far. I know you well Itachi and you're too smart to come attack us knowing that a legendary Sannin was with us with only one of your teammates, especially since if things go wrong and my brother loses control it will become tricky because If I believe the books, Kyubi would be the most powerful tailed beast. Coming with so little preparation if you were serious isn't like you, you did this to show your false involvement in some dirty trick...I'm wrong ?" Obito asked him while playing with Samehada who was writhing in pain at the tanto still planted on her.

 "Shisui and I thought you would become terrifying and we were right, your intelligence is truly frightening. (sighs) You're right but I can't tell you anything specific." Itachi responded by dispelling his sharingan.

 "Besides, you are seriously ill, I was able to see it in your chakra earlier, you are hiding an atrocious illness for yourself from everyone." Obito said crossing his arms.

 Itachi:…

 "Soon after you defected, I found out that killing your clan members was a mission the hokage gave you, he admitted it with his own mouth. Itachi-san, I don't know what the issues were but there had to be another solution but through obscure or blind loyalty you massacred your own clan.

I don't know why in your madness you spared Sasuke but if it was with the aim of killing you later to prove something then your plan is cruelly stupid for someone like you. You only pushed him into the darkness that some saw in your clan. Why, Itachi-san?!"

Itachi : The clan was preparing a coup d'état, there would have been many more deaths in the village if I had let them. 

"I'm really disappointed Itachi-san, was your clan planning this plan or was it the work of Fugaku-dono and his close associates within the Uchiha clan? Did the women, children and the rest know? I know that despite your dōjutsu not all Uchiha were shinobi, some had other activities and not all of them were even aware of what Fugaku-dono was preparing in the shadows."

Itachi : It's not that simple... 

" It wouldn't have been smarter to get rid of your father and the main culprits and then take over as clan leader. You were the son of Fugaku and the most powerful Uchiha certainly after Shisui-san's death, you could take control and lead your clan back on a better path. What you did was stupid, your blind and naïve dedication trampled on your intelligence to obey such a foolish order. "

 Itachi: Do me a favor Obito, Sasuke doesn't have to-(interrupted)

 "I won't do anything for you regarding Sasuke, looking after him was your duty. Orochimaru according to his assistant desires Sasuke and this idiot has a dark power within him, a mark that spreads across his body.

That didn't stop me from giving him a beating, but this power is corrupting him little by little. If you want to save him, do it yourself but since you don't want to tell me more about your little adventure then our discussion will end there. But first, I have one last question Itachi-san…"

 Itachi looked into his eyes as Obito's expression became serious and he gave off murderous intent.

 "Were you the one who killed Shisui-san…?" Obito asked coldly as Itachi closed his eyes before opening them again to tell him that he hadn't killed him and that his death had been so painful for him that his sharingan had evolved.

"He was really like a big brother to me and I still mourn him to this day..." Obito said and returned Samehada, telling him that handing over his comrade's sword would make his loyalty more credible and left after he did a few cuts on his body to simulate the damage of a skirmish against Itachi. 

Obito reappeared on a site near the inn where there was one of his kunai with a brand and looked at the inn to see that it was completely destroyed with water everywhere.

Apparently, Kisame was beaten without Samehada against Jiraiya and even if the fight was short, there was some damage.

 He found Jiraiya who had a few scratches on him near Naruto. Jiraiya looked at Obito carefully...

 "Kid, that technique you used earlier was indeed that of your father the Yondaime, wasn't it ?" Jiraiya asked as he came closer.

 "This technique was never that of the fourth, it was the Nidaime hokage, Tobirama Senju who created this technique but according to the archives it was just the signature technique of the Yondaime which made him famous." Obito replied before asking Jiraiya what happened.

 "That weird guy, he was really, really strong. I almost killed him but he managed to escape. Regardless, I'm always surprised by your abilities and when you proposed your plan I thought it was a joke. You're even better than Kakashi at your age and he became a Jonin at 13, Naruto is also very talented but you…" Jiraiya said while massaging his jaw.

 "Itachi also almost killed me but I was able to escape. Do you have any idea why they were there? I assumed they were after my brother, or rather the nine-tailed beast inside him." Obito said crossing his arms.

 "(sighs) You're mature enough to talk about it so I'll talk to you about it later. For now, let's find another place to stay and seek information for our mission." the Sannin said before discussing with the owner of the building because of the damage to his building, Jiraiya apologized and said who he was but it was of no use against the owner who only screamed .

Seeing that Jiraiya didn't have the means to compensate the owner, Obito took out 6 million from Rio which he gave to the owner under Jiraiya's greedy gaze.

 Jiraya : *Ahem* Kid, you seem to have deep pockets. Our mission is going to require some funds so I hope you can-(interrupted)

 "You are the adult here Jiraiya-dono, it was you who asked us for this mission and not the other way around. I'll not give you a round and all expenses are your responsibility. Furthermore, I hope that at the end of this mission my brother and I will be paid as shinobis." Obito said without emotion to Jiraiya who with a disappointed look began to have headaches under Naruto's mocking laughter.