XX-level Hokage

Hayakawa Yukikaze, a former member of the "Root Investigation Department," was adopted by "Root" at a young age. She possesses a special bloodline that allows her to communicate with animals and has an exceptional talent for medical evasion. Due to the existence of the Aburame clan, she was not particularly prominent in "Root" under Danzo's rule. Later, after Mashiro took over, she was entrusted with important responsibilities and became Mashiro's assistant.

Sasuke looked at the somewhat timid girl in front of him; she was indeed a suitable candidate. "I would like to ask you to come with me for a while," Sasuke said calmly.

"Going out? On a mission?" Yukikaze asked curiously, as she had never gone on a mission with Sasuke before. "It's not a mission, it's a personal matter," Sasuke replied.

"Um, um, I'm on vacation right now, sorry." Yukikaze politely declined. "Alright, sorry to bother you." Sasuke turned and left, having already guessed this outcome. Seeing Sasuke leave, Yukikaze breathed a sigh of relief and prepared to go back to her dorm to catch up on sleep. Just then, Sai walked over.

"Sai, is something the matter?" Yukikaze asked, looking at Sai.

The few missions she carried out were all with Sai, and the two were quite familiar with each other.

"Lord Mashiro asked me to pass on this superstition to you," Sasuke said softly, then handed a scroll to Yukikaze.

Upon hearing Mashiro's name, Yukikaze's expression became incredibly serious. He gently took the scroll, opened it, and began reading its contents. "Yukikaze, if Sasuke asks for your help, don't refuse. I have a task for you."

After reading the contents of the scroll, Yukikaze instantly wilted like a frostbitten eggplant, becoming exhausted in an instant. With a pout, she ran in the direction Sasuke had just left.

Sai stood there for a moment, scratched his head, and then turned and left. "So? Did she agree?" Jugo asked after Sasuke returned. "No," Sasuke shook his head and said.

“That was within my expectations. After all, we’re not that close. I originally thought you could charm her with your looks, Sasuke, but it seems you’re not falling for that,” Suigetsu said with a smile.

Sasuke glanced at Suigetsu but said nothing.

"It's alright, even without a medical ninja, it doesn't matter. None of the three of us are the type to get injured easily," Jugo reassured him.

"Let's go then," Sasuke said. Suigetsu and Jugo nodded.

Just as the three were about to turn and leave, a frantic female voice called out, "Wait, please wait!"

Upon hearing this, Sasuke and the other two stopped and turned to look in the direction of the sound.

Turning Sasuke and the others around, Yukikaze finally stopped, panting heavily, and bent over to breathe deeply. "Is something the matter?" Sasuke asked.

"I agree, I'll go out with you." Yukikaze said, blushing slightly. It felt strange that she had just refused and then suddenly agreed. Hearing this, Suigetsu glanced at Jugo with a grin, then turned to look at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at Yukikaze with some confusion, not understanding why she had suddenly agreed.

"Ahem, well, I've thought about it carefully. As fellow members of the Root, we should help each other out," Yukikaze said, clearing his throat.

Sasuke didn't suspect anything, turned around and said, "Thank you, we're leaving now." Seeing this, Yukikaze breathed a slight sigh of relief and followed.

Meanwhile, at a Uchiha clan outpost outside Konoha, Itachi was waiting for Sasuke's arrival.

He had been secretly observing Sasuke all along, and his decision to confront Sasuke in a formal confrontation was due to his own health condition. After discovering that Sasuke had no intention of defecting and was consistently carrying out missions for Konoha, his worries gradually dissipated.

Just a week ago, when he secretly went to Konoha, he encountered that person, Hyuga Mashiro, someone even he couldn't see through at all. In the Uchiha clan compound, Sasuke had just returned from a mission and was eating in the courtyard.

He didn't notice that a black crow was silently observing him from a pine tree outside the courtyard. A moment later, a blond-haired boy walked in.

"Sasuke, come and try the chocolate I snagged! It's a limited edition from Yukiori-ya, only 50 boxes are sold a week, and I had a hard time getting my hands on it." Naruto laughed as he tossed a magnificent box of chocolates onto Sasuke's dining table.

"boring."

Sasuke pushed the chocolate box away and continued eating.

"You say it's boring?! This is a limited edition, and it even has your favorite tomato flavor." Naruto sat down opposite Sasuke quite naturally, picked up the box, and said.

“I hate sweets,” Sasuke said softly.

"Then why did you steal my cream bread last time?" Naruto asked with great suspicion.

Sasuke didn't say anything. He had been on a mission and hadn't eaten for three days. When he returned to the village, he happened to run into Naruto eating cream bread, and then he snatched it from him.

But of course he couldn't say that.

"I don't care, you have to eat this today." Naruto opened the box, grabbed a piece of chocolate, and attacked Sasuke. Sasuke sighed helplessly, didn't dodge, and ate it.

"How is it? Isn't it delicious?" Naruto asked proudly, having queued for three hours for this chocolate.

"It's too sweet." Sasuke swallowed the chocolate in his mouth and said. "What are you saying? Don't you dare slander my hard work."

Just as the two were playing around, the crows in the trees outside the courtyard quietly flew away. On a large tree outside Konoha, Itachi gently opened his eyes.

Just as he was about to leave, a clear female voice suddenly rang out. "Are you leaving already?"

Itachi turned his head and saw that Mashiro had appeared on a tree nearby. Looking at Mashiro, Itachi unconsciously activated his Sharingan.

"Don't be so nervous, you can't beat me," Masashi said with a smile. "Oh, really?"

Itachi's three tomoe gradually changed into the Mangekyou Sharingan.

"You can try, but if you really die here, or even if you manage to escape, you won't be able to serve as a stepping stone for Sasuke anymore." Mashiro looked at Itachi's Mangekyou Sharingan and said softly.

Itachi withdrew his Sharingan, reverting to his normal black eyes. Looking at Mashiro, he calmly asked, "What do you know?" "Nothing much, just a little more than you do," Mashiro said softly.

Itachi didn't speak. He had cast a genjutsu the moment Mashiro appeared, but it had no effect.

This only proves one thing: the girl in front of us is very strong, extremely strong. If she were to actually fight, the best outcome would be mutual destruction. "Your body probably won't be able to hold on much longer," Mashiro suddenly said.

Rong didn't object to Zhenbai's words, but instead asked, "What do you want to do?"

"I can arrange a duel between Sasuke and you to fulfill your final wish, to awaken his Sharingan and put him on the right path," Mashiro said softly.

Upon hearing this, Itachi was taken aback for a moment, then looked at Mashiro and said, "You're not Hyuga Mashiro, are you?" "Why do you say that?" Mashiro asked, seemingly puzzled.

"Truly worthy of being a genius who was once her equal in a past life, he guessed her true identity in an instant." Mashiro sighed inwardly. "It was just my guess," she said aloud.

Mashiro laughed and then said, "So, you agree?"

Itachi seemed to be pondering something. After a moment, he nodded and turned to leave.

Itachi snapped out of his daze and then began coughing violently. "Cough, cough, cough..."

A moment later, the coughing stopped, and Itachi looked at the hand he had used to cover his mouth; it was covered in blood.

Itachi casually pulled out a handkerchief and wiped his face, muttering to himself, "Uchiha Madara, Uchiha Zero, whatever you want to do to Sasuke, I will absolutely not let you succeed."

Following the precise location provided by Shinji, and with the help of Yukikaze's summoning beast, the Snow Eagle, Sasuke and his companions arrived after only one level. Looking at the peculiar building in the distance, Suigetsu remarked, "What a strange structure. I wonder what it's used for."

"This is a shrine of the Uchiha clan, used to worship the Sage," Sasuke explained calmly. As they drew closer, his heart grew increasingly calm.

"Oh no, there's danger ahead!" Xuefeng suddenly exclaimed. Then, several streams of water rushed towards them.

Seeing this, Shuiyue hurriedly launched water bullets in response.

But it had no effect. The water flow shattered the water bullets and struck Yukikaze's summoned beast, the Snow Eagle, causing it to shake violently. "We...we need to make an emergency landing first. There are enemies ahead," Yukikaze said nervously, then controlled the Snow Eagle to land on the ground. "I'll go first then. I promised Itachi-sensei I'd create a one-on-one situation for him," Kisame said to the three beside him. Obito, Shinji, and Zetsu.

“Then you can go ahead,” Obito said. Kisame quickly disappeared from the spot.

"Sasuke probably can't beat Itachi, right?" Shingo asked after Kisame left.

“Logically speaking, he can’t win, but if Itachi is determined to die, then it’s hard to say,” Obito said softly.

On the other side, Xuefeng made an emergency landing next to the ancestral hall. She breathed a slight sigh of relief upon landing on the ground.

At this moment, Sasuke and the other two were already on high alert.

Sasuke drew his Kusanagi sword, Jugo activated his cursed seal, and Suigetsu drew a scythe. "Check the enemy's location and distance," Sasuke asked.

Upon hearing this, Yukikaze quickly closed her eyes, and nearby birds and beasts began to relay information to her.

"From the southeast, it's rapidly approaching. It looks like... um, a shark???" Xuefeng said, opening his eyes with some confusion. "A shark? How can a shark appear on land?" Shuiyue asked, looking at Xuefeng with a puzzled expression.

"I don't know either," a squirrel told me. "That's what Yukikaze said helplessly. "Here it comes," Sasuke said softly.

Shuiyue quickly turned her head away as well.

As Kisame approached and came before them, Suigetsu exclaimed in surprise, "It really is a shark!" "A shark? How rude, brat," Kisame said, baring his sharp teeth at Suigetsu's address. "Sasuke, you go. The three of us will deal with him," Jugo said.

Just as Sasuke was about to say something, Suigetsu spoke up, "Don't worry, even if we can't win, escaping won't be a problem." Hearing this, Sasuke nodded slightly and then rushed towards the shrine.

Kisame didn't stop him, watching Sasuke leave. "Then let's begin."

Jugo and Suigetsu exchanged a glance. "Explosive Smash!"

"Water Release: Water Gun Technique"

Meanwhile, Sasuke quickly arrived at the shrine, entered the underground arena, and saw Itachi sitting in his seat. He walked towards Itachi step by step.

Sasuke began to recall his memories of Itachi.

As Itachi watched Sasuke approach, his mind began to reminisce about Sasuke's past. Happy memories flashed by, and both of them couldn't help but recall the events of the night of the massacre.

"You're lying, my brother didn't do this, because..."

"I've always pretended to be the brother you've always dreamed of, in order to measure your capacity. You will become my rival in measuring my capacity. You have the potential to do so. You should hate me as a painful memory and make surpassing me your lifelong ambition. That's why I spared your life, also for my own sake."

You and I both have the potential to awaken the Mangekyou Sharingan, but there's a condition: you have to kill your closest friend, just like I did.

It was my brother, it was my brother who gave Shisui to…

Therefore, I obtained these eyes. In the main hall of Nanga Shrine, beneath the seventh tatami mat from the far right, lies the secret of our clan.

At the gathering place, the origin of the Uchiha clan's eye techniques is recorded. The truth behind this secret is revealed there. If you also awaken your eyes, there will be three people, including me, who can use the Mangekyou Sharingan.

In that case, haha, the meaning of keeping you alive is gone.

You're not even worth killing now, you foolish brother. If you want to kill me, then resent and hate me, and live an ugly life.

"Come back to me when you have eyes like mine." Sasuke walked up to Itachi.

"It seems you didn't come here with the same eyes as me, my foolish brother." Itachi, dressed in Akatsuki attire, sat slumped on a stone chair, his left hand tucked into his clothes, and said coldly.

"Itachi, are those eyes really enough for you to kill your family and friends?" Sasuke asked coldly. "Of course," Itachi replied.

"Then I'll defeat your arrogant eyes with my ordinary Sharingan," Sasuke said softly. Sasuke pulled out a kunai and threw it instantly.

Itachi vanished from his spot, dodging Sasuke's kunai, and reappeared beside Sasuke. He then drew his own kunai and lunged at Sasuke. Sasuke instantly drew his Kusanagi sword and blocked Itachi's attack.

Then Itachi grabbed Sasuke's arm, leaped forward, and kicked. Sasuke still used the Kusanagi sword to block, but only managed to block one kick; Itachi's other leg...

It hit Sasuke in the face, sending him flying.

Immediately afterward, Itachi leaped up and charged at Sasuke, who had just regained his footing. Sasuke parried with his Kusanagi sword, but Itachi jumped straight up, grabbed Sasuke by the back of his collar, and flung him to the ground.

Sasuke slid several meters on the ground, and the Kusanagi sword slipped from his hand, but he was not alarmed. He instantly adjusted his body, gripped his right hand, and lightning surged.

Itachi watched this scene expressionlessly.

Sasuke charged towards Itachi wielding Chidori, then struck the ground just before reaching it. "Chidori Stream"

The electric current started spreading from Sasuke's arm towards Itachi.

Itachi leaped up instantly, but Sasuke had already reached the ceiling. At this moment, Itachi had no way to dodge. Sasuke instantly used the Kusanagi Sword to pierce through Itachi's body and plunge it straight into the ground.

"You've gotten stronger," Itachi said softly.

"Itachi, there's one last thing I want to ask you," Sasuke said coldly, looking at Itachi.