I founded the "Bragging Cult" in Naruto.

Chapter 643: People who can bring you benefits will be accepted, even if they are not sincere.

"Did Konoha really experience a devastating war? But it seems even more prosperous than when we last passed through, Mr. Itachi."

Outside Konoha Village, atop a high mountain, two mysterious figures dressed in black robes and wearing straw hats gazed into the distance. One of them spoke, puzzled.

The other person was silent for a while before saying, "I'm afraid it's true that two Hokage returned from Edo Tensei, and there's another Hokage from another time and space."

"With Konoha's original strength, it wouldn't have been able to stop two tailed beasts from fighting, let alone block them without suffering any damage. This Konoha... is probably a rebuilt one."

"It's only been a day since the battle, right? Even if all the artisans in the Land of Fire happened to be in Konoha, it wouldn't be possible to rebuild so quickly. Could it be a genjutsu? Itachi-san, why don't you use your Sharingan to take a look?"

"No need to look anymore, this isn't an illusion."

"Should we still go over there? If there really are three or four Hokage here."

For a moment, the speaker forgot about the current Third Hokage. After all, compared to the First Hokage who created the ninja village, the Second Hokage who pioneered many ninja village systems, and the Fourth Hokage who came from another dimension, the Third Hokage was really insignificant.

"It's no longer a question of whether to go or not, it's a question of whether we can leave at all."

"What do you mean?"

Suddenly, a voice came from the forest, saying, "Such keen insight! I was discovered the moment I appeared."

Tatsuma slowly walked out of the forest. The two mysterious figures turned around, and the one who noticed Tatsuma said, "You didn't deliberately hide your movements, Fourth Hokage."

As he spoke, he took off his straw hat, his smooth hair flying in the wind, revealing a young yet weathered face with two prominent tear troughs. If a Konoha ninja saw him, they would surely gasp in shock, for this was the village's S-rank rogue ninja, Uchiha Itachi, who slaughtered the Uchiha clan.

The other person also took off his straw hat, revealing bluish-green skin and a fish-like human face. He grinned, revealing a mouthful of fangs. He was Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from Kirigakure, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, and the wielder of the great sword Samehada.

"Mr. Itachi, shall we make a move?"

Kisame asked, his hand already gripping the hilt of the large sword on his back. Itachi didn't answer immediately, but looked at Tatsuma. He had also found out about the Fourth Hokage; his name seemed to be Sakamoto Tatsuma, a very unfamiliar name.

"Fourth Hokage, how were we exposed?"

Itachi asked cautiously, and Tatsuma shrugged and said, "Only desperados would maintain the highest level of combat readiness at all times like you."

While most experienced ninjas maintain a certain amount of chakra in their bodies at all times for emergencies, only those like Itachi and Kisame are outlaws, except during times of war.

Therefore, as soon as the two approached Konoha, Tobirama Senju and Tatsuma sensed it and blinked immediately.

One possessed an immense amount of chakra, while the other, Tatsuma, might be difficult to distinguish from a distance, but for Tobirama Senju, he could tell it was an Uchiha simply by smelling it.

"I've heard that the Fourth Hokage's strength far surpasses that of the Third Hokage. I'd like to know more about it, or rather, if you had been there back then, would I have been able to successfully defect?"

Itachi spoke calmly, but the instant he finished speaking, Kisame used the Body Flicker Technique. As he swung his greatsword, the bandages fell away, revealing the hideous Samehada.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Flower Technique!"

Itachi instantly formed hand seals, sending fireballs flying towards Tatsuma. Tatsuma frowned and muttered, "I was still underestimated."

As he spoke, he raised his hand, catching the Samehada sword with his left hand and scattering the small fireballs with his other hand. Itachi Uchiha's pupils contracted, and his dark pupils instantly turned blood red, with the three tomoe connecting to form a shuriken shape.

Samehada!

Kisame shouted, and Samehada in his hand came to life, attempting to extract Tatsuma's chakra. Itachi instantly cast a genjutsu.

"Magic! The Art of Shackles!"

"Interesting illusions, but they must taste bitter, right?"

Tatsuma asked with a smile, while Itachi Uchiha froze on the spot, his Mangekyou Sharingan filled with disbelief. Kisame also turned around and asked, "Itachi-san, are you alright?"

Itachi didn't answer, but remained frozen in place. Kisame tried to pull away, but when he tried to pull his arm away, he found that it wouldn't budge. Samehada was completely gripped by Tatsuma, whose fingers even pierced into Samehada's body.

Tatsuma was in a good mood at the moment because Itachi was a lucky guy who triggered another effect of [Insight]: Illusion Return.

Tatsuma almost never triggered this effect because his mental energy was too weak compared to his physical abilities. It was only triggered a few times during his training with Shisui.

But now, Chenma has a feeling that the chance of the [Insight] illusion returning has increased, probably because of the large amount of [Wisdom] points he obtained from the Sage of Six Paths while learning Yin-Yang Escape from him.

However, after leaving the Sage of Six Paths, Tatsuma has not encountered anyone who has cast illusions on him. As for enemies, there is no time to cast illusions on him. As for Shisui, Tatsuma has never had time to train with him.

Uchiha Itachi was the first lucky one, and he hit the target on his first try.

Itachi hadn't expected that the Fourth Hokage's genjutsu skills would be so terrifying. Usually, it was he who used Mirror Heaven and Earth Reversal to return other people's genjutsu, but this was the first time someone had returned it to him.

Moreover, he did not see Tatsuma actively casting the spell, as if it were Tatsuma's instinct.

The Fourth Hokage must have been someone who fought his way out of the Third Shinobi World War, right? Such terrifying instincts seem understandable now.

Perhaps he shouldn't have used such childish science fiction techniques; he should have used Tsukuyomi directly, or even that technique.

Itachi Uchiha withdrew his gaze and continuously awakened the chakra within his body, attempting to break free from the genjutsu's confinement.

Samehada!

At this moment, Kisame was also trying to command Samehada, which was being held by Tatsuma. As long as Samehada transferred chakra into his body, he could unleash a super-large water-style technique. Even if he couldn't kill the Fourth Hokage, he could at least keep him away a little.

However, Samehada did not cooperate as usual, transferring the extracted chakra into his body. Kisame's confusion lasted only a moment, because after that moment, he understood.

The shark's skin had become thin, so thin that it looked like a dried fish that had been caught from the sea and thrown onto a drying net to dry for half a month.

Tatsuma finally let go, and Kisame saw that there seemed to be vines retracting from his fingertips. The loosened Samehada also instantly retracted, wrapping around Kisame and refusing to fight anymore.

Tatsuma wasn't interested in the Hidden Mist Village's ninja swords, and this was the reason. Even Samehada, which could extract the enemy's chakra, was useless to him, because Samehada's chakra extraction speed wasn't even as fast as his own.

As for the self-repairing Greatsword Tatsuma, its self-repairing speed is even faster. The exploding tags of the Exploding Blade Tatsuma are also endless, not to mention other more ordinary ninja swords.

After dealing with Samehada, Tatsuma raised his hand and swung his palm horizontally, a move commonly known as the "Big Penis Slap," towards Kisame. Kisame stood there stunned, not even having time to react.

"return!"

A thin steel cable wrapped around Kisame's waist, dragging him backward. Tatsuma's palm strike missed its target, and he struck out again out of thin air.

"Bagua! Empty palm!"

This time the speed was too fast, and even Itachi did not have time to change Kisame's direction. Instantly, the sound of bones breaking rang out. Itachi caught Kisame who was flying backward and put him down, only to find that Kisame's ribs were broken one by one and his eyes rolled back. He had obviously lost consciousness.

Itachi's hand trembled slightly. He had never seen such a powerful opponent before. In his mind, perhaps only the leader of his current organization could possess the strength of Tatsuma, but that was only a possibility.

He suddenly sensed something was wrong, and as he turned his head, his Mangekyou Sharingan began to spin rapidly, but all he could see was darkness.

"Illusion! Darkness Technique!"

This is one of the few genjutsu that Tatsuma has mastered. It must be said that this technique is extremely lethal to the Uchiha clan, especially the stronger the Uchiha, the more they will be restrained by this technique.

Although ninjas have more than one sense, sight is not only a sense but also an extremely important weapon in combat for the Uchiha clan. The loss of their weapon would result in unimaginable damage to their strength.

"Ninja Art! Crow Clone Technique!"

Itachi reacted extremely quickly, instantly transforming into a flock of black crows. As he took flight, he re-condensed in the distance, with a crow perched on his shoulder. The crow had a Mangekyou Sharingan in its eye.

At this moment, the crow's eyes kept darting around, as if searching for prey.

For Itachi, the situation was completely out of control at this point, and he could no longer care about secrets or trump cards, because he couldn't die yet.

"Is this Shisui's Sharingan? In my opinion, he's still a long way from reaching that level."

Even with Shisui's Sharingan, Itachi couldn't catch a glimpse of Tatsuma, but his voice came from all directions. Itachi's expression changed, and he asked, "Fourth Hokage, do you know Shisui-senpai?"

"Yes, he is my disciple."

Upon hearing Tatsuma's words, Itachi hesitated for a moment before saying, "Fourth Hokage, you may not believe it, but I am not the enemy of the village."

"I believe it."

"Forehead"

Hearing that sincere tone, Itachi didn't even know how to respond. If Tatsuma didn't believe him, he could have brought up the Third Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, but now... he had nothing to say.

"Isn't it just self-defamation as an undercover agent? Do you think your current organization wouldn't guess? They're keeping you around only because you pose no threat and are beneficial to them."

If I had an undercover agent like that among my own, I wouldn't expose him.

"But this..."

Itachi couldn't believe it. Even if the Fourth Hokage had started to learn about Konoha's past after arriving, and assuming the Third Hokage was equally knowledgeable, this was still incredibly surprising.

And has he really been discovered by the Akatsuki? Why wasn't he exposed? Is it because he poses no threat?

In this ninja world, is there really anyone who thinks the Mangekyou Sharingan poses no threat? But if, as he guessed, the leader of Akatsuki is on par with the Fourth Hokage in strength, then there really is no threat.

He had used almost all his trump cards, yet he couldn't even touch the hem of the Fourth Hokage's clothes. Even when he used his last trump card, Itachi was somewhat pessimistic about his chances.

He knew far too little about Tatsuma and had no idea how to target or attack him.

"Have you figured it out? Let's talk for a while once you have."

Itachi suddenly felt his vision return to normal. Looking down, he saw Tatsuma sit down with a thud, but there was nothing beneath him. Itachi thought he had fallen on his butt, but a wooden stool quickly appeared.

Tatsuma looked up at Itachi, who was looking down at him, and asked, "How far into the future can you see?"

(End of this chapter)