Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

The handwriting inside is crisp and neat, but the content is increasingly chilling the more you read it—

The first few lines could barely be considered a meeting summary, but the rest gradually turned into:

"...During the meeting, Tanuki rubbed her temples three times and looked out the window twice, seemingly exhausted."

"...When refuting Kakuzu's budget proposal, his right little finger twitched slightly, as if he was impatient."

"...After the meeting, we plan to inspect the west tower. The route is as follows:..."

"I've been craving sweets lately, and the red bean cakes delivered from the kitchen are being consumed at a rate that has increased by 15%."

"...Bathing time is usually around 3:45 PM (亥时), lasting about 4:50 PM, and commonly uses aromatherapy..."

You slammed the laptop shut with a "snap," your heart pounding.

This isn't meeting notes! This is practically your daily monitoring report! And it's incredibly detailed!

Taking a deep breath, you solemnly handed the notebook back to Itachi, lowering your voice and saying with utmost seriousness, "This absolutely, positively must not be seen by a third person! Understand?"

The weasel took the notebook without changing his expression, but at the moment of handing it over, his fingertips lightly and naturally brushed against yours.

You abruptly pulled your hand back, your heart pounding even harder. He definitely did it on purpose!

Trying to remain calm, you looked at the two female members.

Xiao Nan's notebook contained no words at all, only sketches of your profile from various angles and with various expressions.

The lines are fluid and the composition is precise; you can even see the artist's focused emotion. The content of the meeting? It's probably all in the painting.

Lin's notebook resembled a health management manual, with neatly recorded entries:

[Date: Month X, Day X. Meeting Duration: 2 hours.]

"Observation: Lord Tanuki did not drink enough water today, only taking a sip during the meeting."

"Recommendation: In the afternoon, you should have a bowl of white fungus soup to moisturize the lungs and relieve dryness. You need to supplement protein in the evening, and I suggest steamed sea bass."

Note: Yesterday's intake of sweets slightly exceeded the recommended amount; adjustments will be needed tomorrow.

"..." You feel like you're not reading meeting minutes, but rather a large collection of observation diaries about yourself.

Looking around the room, I saw a confident artist, a fanatical cultist, a shrewd accountant, a monitor of informational dangers, a focused painter, a considerate nutritionist, a blatantly perfunctory tyrant, and an aide who was always trying to seduce his boss...

You are Tanuki, the leader of the Akatsuki organization, a woman determined to bring about change to this world, and at this moment you feel a deep sense of powerlessness welling up in your heart.

You let out a heavy sigh, rubbing your aching temples, and a question lingered in your mind: "Can our organization... even continue to save the world normally?"

Your response was a soft, ambiguous laugh from Ban.

You sighed deeply again. The task ahead is arduous and the road is long.

At least... let's cancel this activity of reviewing meeting minutes in the future, for the sake of my heart health.

[Super Mini-Theater] - Easter Egg 2

(Act 3, Timeline: Around Hidan's birthday.)

The cold wind of the Snow Country swirled with fine ice crystals, tapping against the windowpanes of the temporary office in the palace.

You wrapped yourself tightly in your thick fur shawl, your fingertips tracing the last few clauses on the scroll concerning the handling of the remnants of the old aristocracy, and finally let out a long sigh of relief.

Official business has come to a temporary end, but the return date is still uncertain. The mess in the Land of Snow is proving to be more difficult to clean up than anticipated.

He rubbed his throbbing temples and glanced at a red circle on the calendar on the corner of the table: Hidan's birthday, in three days.

"It seems... I probably won't be able to make it back in time," you muttered to yourself, a hint of regret in your voice.

Although that idiot who always talks about "Evil God" and makes a lot of noise, and always makes the base a bloody mess, is sometimes a headache, his birthday is still worth commemorating.

Fortunately, you were prepared.

About a month ago, during a break from a mission, I happened to hear about a peculiar local tradition while passing through an ancient town in the Land of Snow.

Located deep within the town's "Eternal Ice Cave," lies an extremely rare deep red gem known as the "Blood Eye."

Legend has it that this gemstone contains ancient power and is highly sought after by certain groups of people with specific beliefs.

However, obtaining it is extremely difficult: the supplicant must personally go to the altar at the deepest part of the ice cave at sunrise every day for forty-nine consecutive days to complete a complicated and repetitive ritual.

Wiping the altar, offering special ice flowers, and reciting ancient prayers—if you are a day too late, a moment too late, or a single word is wrong, it's all considered a failure, and all your previous efforts will be in vain.

You almost immediately thought of Hidan.

That guy would definitely go crazy for something that sounds evil, ritualistic, and difficult.

I remember Hidan mentioning something before, saying that he had tried it, but failed on the last day, and was so frustrated that he almost smashed the altar.

As if by some strange twist of fate, before leaving that town, you sent someone to learn every detail of the ceremony.

Then, from that day on, no matter how busy you were in the Snow Country, no matter how late you stayed up the night before, you would always appear in that eternal ice cave before dawn the next day.

Forty-nine days, without missing a single one.

There were unexpected events along the way. Once, he was assassinated by the remnants of the old nobles, but he still appeared on time the next day. Another time, a blizzard blocked the road, and he almost forced his way through with his ninjutsu and willpower. When he arrived at the altar, his eyelashes were covered with frost.

You naturally wouldn't mention these things to anyone.

Now, the forty-ninth day has long passed, and the ruby ​​that symbolizes perseverance and extreme evil has been carefully polished and set, and now lies quietly in a gift box lined with black velvet beside you.

You picked up the gift box, examined it carefully, and then summoned a reliable Yuki ninja. "Deliver this gift to Amegakure as quickly as possible, and give it to Hidan of Akatsuki. Make sure it arrives before his birthday."

"Yes, Lord Tanuki!"

Watching Xue Ren disappear into the snow with the gift, you turned your gaze back to the mountain of official documents, but a small smile unconsciously appeared on your lips.

I wonder how he'll react when he receives the gift? He'll probably shout with excitement!

Amegakure (Rain Village), Akatsuki's base.

Hidan was idly trimming the flowerbed with his Bloodstained Three-Month Scythe, complaining that the Jashin-sama might have forgotten about him lately.

At that moment, a package was delivered to him, saying it was an urgent delivery from the Land of Snow.

"Hmm? The Land of Snow? Who would send me something?" Hidan asked in confusion, tearing off the outer protective layer to reveal the exquisite black gift box inside.

There was no signature on the box, only a small fox mark, which was your personal seal.

He curiously opened the box lid—

In an instant, a dazzling red light caught his eye! In the center of the box, against the backdrop of black velvet, a deep red gem the size of a pigeon's egg was quietly emitting a faint glow.

Its red was so pure, so deep, like congealed blood, or like an evil eye gazing upon all living beings in the dark night.

The gemstone was cleverly set on an ancient and strangely shaped silver base, adding to its mysterious and ominous aura, but Hidan saw it as sacred.

Hidan's eyes widened instantly, and his mouth opened into an "O" shape.

This...this is!!!

"Blood...Blood Eye Gem?!!" He suddenly let out a deafening scream that nearly ripped the roof off the base. "It's 'Blood Eye'!!! Lord Evil God is so kind! It really is it!!!"

He seemed stunned by the enormous surprise, gesturing wildly and speaking incoherently. He almost trembled as he took the gem out of the box, examining it repeatedly against the light, his face flushed with excitement.

"Forty-nine days! It's the ritual gem for forty-nine days!!" he screamed wildly, "I was just one day short back then! Just one day short!! Aaaaaah!!!"

The other members in the base were drawn out by the commotion of howling ghosts.

Deidara rubbed his eyes and poked his head out of the art studio. "What's all the noise about?! Explosion art needs quiet! Huh?!"

Then he saw the dazzling ruby ​​in Hidan's hand and paused for a moment, "Where did this tacky stone come from, huh?"

Kakuzu looked up from the ledger, his green eyes gleaming with the light of money. "This quality... is quite valuable. Hidan, where did you get the money?"

Xiao Nan and Lin also came out, looking on curiously.

Itachi leaned against the shadows in the corridor, remaining silent.

Shisui stroked his chin. "This gem... seems familiar?"

Madara Uchiha even glanced over from inside the room and snorted, "Noisy."

Hidan completely ignored them, lost in his own world of ecstasy. He rolled around on the ground clutching the jewel, repeatedly howling, "It's Jashin-sama!! It's her birthday present to me!! Aww! She actually remembered!!"

"Forty-nine days! She persevered for forty-nine days!!"

"She must have gone through that stupid ritual specifically for me!!"

"Lord Evil God! This is the best gift ever! Without a doubt!!"

"She really understands me best! Much better than you bastards!!!"

His intermittent howls clearly reached everyone's ears.

For a moment, an eerie silence fell over the base's corridor.

Everyone picked up on the key information: it was a birthday gift you gave me, it took forty-nine days to prepare, and you completed that ridiculously complicated ritual.

Deidara was the first to explode, "What?! Forty-nine days? Just for this broken stone? Hmm! She never made me a clay doll for forty-nine consecutive days!" He was so jealous that he almost crushed the clay in his hand.

Kakuzu pushed up his glasses and began to do mental calculations, "Forty-nine consecutive days, the reward for the mission in the Land of Snow... plus the market value of this gem itself... tsk, what a waste!" But there was a hint of sourness in his tone.

Xiao Nan frowned slightly, glanced at the countless sketches of raccoon dogs she had drawn in her room, and remained silent.

Lin's gentle smile seemed to freeze for a moment as she murmured to herself, "Paying attention to other people's preferences for forty-nine consecutive days... How considerate." The surrounding temperature seemed to drop a little more.

Yahiko's smile faltered slightly as he recalled that on his last birthday, you had casually gifted him an expensive ninja sword.

Although he liked it too, compared to the fact that he had prepared for forty-nine days, he murmured, his eyes filled with complicated emotions.

Even Itachi in the shadows seemed to exude a colder aura. Thinking of that notebook filled with detailed records of everything about you, I suddenly felt like I'd lost.

Madara Uchiha snorted coldly and slammed the door shut with a loud bang.

Hidan was still there, clutching the jewel and showing it off wildly, as if he wanted to tell the whole world how 'special' he was to Hidan.

"See that? This is faith! This is sincerity! You mere mortals can only envy this! Hahaha!"

Everyone looked at the smug cult member with complicated expressions, as if a jar of old vinegar had been overturned in their hearts, bubbling with sourness.

Why should this guy, who's always talking about sacrifices and whose IQ often drops off, receive such a thoughtful gift that you prepared over forty-nine days?!

Don't they deserve it?!

An emotion called 'jealousy' spread silently like a plague within the Akatsuki base.

Meanwhile, far away in the Land of Snow, you had just finished dealing with yet another tricky document when you suddenly sneezed several times without warning.

You looked at the swirling snow outside the window with a puzzled expression, then pulled your shawl tighter around yourself.

"Strange...is it because it's too cold?"

(Act 4, Timeline: A leisurely weekend.)

After finishing the last document, you stretched and glanced at a book on ancient puppetry on the bookshelf. Suddenly, you realized that it had been a long time since you had gone to Scorpion to discuss puppetry.

He spends all his time in his studio, almost completely isolated from the outside world except when he's on assignment.

"I have some free time, let's go take a look," you said to yourself, getting up to head to the area where Scorpion was.

Just as they reached the door, a Rain Ninja rushed over to report, "Leader, Lady Tsunade from Konoha has come to visit and has arrived at the reception room."

You were taken aback. Why had Tsunade suddenly arrived? She must have something important to discuss, so you had to put aside your thoughts of going to find Sasori for the time being, since entertaining the Fifth Hokage was the priority.

As you turn around, you glimpse Itachi Uchiha and Shisui Uchiha standing side by side in the courtyard, seemingly talking in hushed tones.

The sunlight shone on them, outlining their tall and slender figures; the scene was quite pleasing to the eye.

Time was of the essence, and you were too lazy to send someone else to relay a message to Sasori, so you raised your voice and called out to the two from a distance, "Hey! Itachi! Shisui! Do me a favor and tell Sasori I'm going to his room tonight to study the puppets!"

After calling out, you didn't wait for their response. After all, Itachi and Shisui were reliable people, so you turned around with peace of mind and hurried to the reception room.

In the courtyard, the two remained silent for a moment as a gentle breeze stirred their hair.

Itachi slowly turned his head, looking at Shisui with a blank expression, his tone calm and even, "What did she just say? The wind was a bit loud, I didn't hear clearly."

Shisui crossed his arms, a half-smile playing on his lips, and readily replied, "Yes, the wind in Amegakure is always so noisy, I couldn't hear it clearly either."

The two exchanged a glance, then simultaneously looked away, as if it had truly been just a trivial breeze.

After a while, Itachi returned to the main hall of the base and ran into Deidara, who was humming a strange tune and fiddling with his new clay.

Itachi paused slightly, as if suddenly remembering something, and called out to him very naturally, "Deidara."

"Huh?" The blond boy looked up, his face showing an expression that said, 'Why are you bothering me while I'm doing art?'

Itachi's expression was calm, and his tone was completely flat, as if he were stating a perfectly ordinary fact: "Tanuki asked you to pass on a message to Sasori that she is going to his room tonight to study the puppets."