Naruto: Cthulhu: Ch. 206

When Kagami first acquired the power of Cthugha, he began experimenting with its capabilities.

Cthugha's Fire Creations were extraordinarily potent, featuring unquenchable flames of terrifyingly high temperatures far beyond those of ordinary fire.

However, the flames ignited by these creations using other combustible materials were just ordinary fires that could be extinguished with water.

For example, if a flame spirit was affixed to a rock, it appeared as though the rock itself was burning. Yet once the flame spirit was removed, the rock ceased to burn. Similarly, if the flame spirit ignited a haystack, the resulting fire in the haystack was an ordinary one that could be doused with water.

In other words, Cthugha's fire lacked transmissibility—it could not pass its extraordinary, unquenchable nature to other materials. Only the flames of the supernatural creations themselves were unextinguishable.

Amaterasu's black flames, on the other hand, were transmissible. This was because their combustion relied on the basic principle of consuming any target. When Amaterasu's black flames ignited an object, the fire on the object also took the form of black flames, not ordinary fire.

However, because of this principle, Amaterasu's flames, while difficult to extinguish, would eventually burn out once they consumed their fuel source.

Kagami envisioned combining the strengths of both: a flame that was both transmissible and unquenchable—an invincible fire.

The method? Using Cthugha's Fire Creations as eternal torches and Amaterasu's black flames as the flames themselves. In this setup, the black flames of Amaterasu could never fully consume the eternal creations of Cthugha, making them truly unquenchable.

By controlling the creations, he could direct the Amaterasu flames anywhere. Any fire ignited by these flames would also be black flames, not ordinary fire.

Naturally, Itachi could not comprehend Kagami's plan, which was far beyond the scope of conventional reasoning.

Now, Kagami's fire creations possessed even more extraordinary destructive power.

As for the cessation of the Furious Storm, Kagami deactivated it voluntarily to leave Itachi even more stunned, heightening the dramatic contrast and eliciting stronger emotions like shock and fear at the sight of these "black flames" controlled by Kagami.

What kind of power is this? Ninjutsu? A bloodline limit? Genjutsu?

Itachi stood before this scene, utterly shocked. The black flames, which even he could not control, were somehow being manipulated by Kagami.

The ever-intelligent Itachi was at a loss to discern Kagami's method for controlling the Amaterasu's flames'. Yet the undeniable fact was that his strongest physical attack had no effect on Kagami.

Was genjutsu the solution?

In desperation, Itachi turned his thoughts to genjutsu. Yet, from the very beginning, he had repeatedly attempted to use genjutsu on Kagami, only to fail every time.

It was odd. Kagami had consistently faced him directly, which should have allowed the Sharingan to establish eye contact.

Focusing his Sharingan on Kagami's eyes, Itachi suddenly noticed something peculiar: although Kagami appeared to be facing him directly, his pupils were always looking downward, seemingly fixed on Itachi's feet.

No wonder every attempt at genjutsu had failed. This man had never actually looked at his eyes—not even glanced at his face.

This was undoubtedly the simplest yet most effective way to counter the Sharingan.

Fighting without looking at your opponent's eyes and focusing only on their feet was a skill that required years of practice. It wasn't something you could achieve just because you decided to do it.

However, the seamless and fluid taijutsu display by Kagami earlier showed no signs of being hindered, and even Itachi couldn't detect any flaws. It seemed impossible for someone to suddenly come up with such a tactic and execute it so flawlessly.

Moreover, after the Uchiha clan's annihilation, aside from Sasuke, there were no other Uchiha left in the village. Kagami couldn't have specifically trained for fighting without looking at Uchiha eyes, given there was no one to train against.

All other possibilities were eliminated, leaving one explanation that, no matter how absurd, had to be the truth.

And that was...

The man named Kagami standing before him had never once looked him directly in the eyes.

It had to be this. He must have avoided looking directly at him ever since their days as genin. That was the only way he could now fight so effectively without looking into his opponent's eyes.

There could be no other explanation!

This realization filled Itachi with both surprise and anger, but Kagami, of course, wasn't doing such a thing.

Kagami lacked the acting skills—or the flexibility in his eyes—to have consistently avoided looking at Itachi since childhood. Besides, what if he had ended up with strabismus from keeping his eyes at odd angles for so long?

The truth was that Kagami, after becoming a chunin, had trained himself in this fighting style under the principle of "better safe than sorry," much like Guy had done. After all, the Uchiha clan was destined to shine brightly in the ninja world, and he only had one life to lose—he couldn't take unnecessary risks.

As expected, this preparation paid off. Itachi's vaunted genjutsu became entirely unusable, leading to a stalemate.

At that moment, figures appeared running toward them from a distance along the riverbank. Kagami immediately recognized Haku leading reinforcements.

Itachi also recognized the approaching individuals: Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai.

"They've brought reinforcements. Should we retreat?" Kisame asked.

Covering his right eye, which was stinging slightly from using Amaterasu, Itachi replied, "Retreat."

Kisame turned to leave immediately, and Itachi followed suit. However, Kagami's parting remark caused him to hesitate briefly.

"Kakashi is busy helping Sasuke recover, yet he still went out of his way to come here. How dedicated."

His casual remark was spoken as though in passing, but since there were no other people nearby, Itachi understood it was meant for him.

If Kagami was saying Kakashi was helping Sasuke recover, it meant Sasuke was safe.

With this confirmation, a weight lifted from Itachi's heart. But why had Kagami chosen to say that to him?

Could it be...

What a strange man.

Itachi cast a final, complicated glance at Kagami before turning to follow Kisame along their retreat path.

Meanwhile, Kagami manipulated his flame creation to draw Amaterasu's black flames toward himself.

Since I'm borrowing your fire, I'll repay you with some information.

With a thought, Kagami collected both the flame creation and the black flames into the hive within his mental space.

At that moment, Kakashi, his team, and Haku arrived.

Kakashi quickly spoke up. "Kagami, Haku told us you encountered enemies in the village. Where are they now?"

Ultimately, Kagami did not conceal the incident of Itachi and the rogue ninja from Kiri, Kisame, infiltrating Konoha.

This matter immediately caught the attention of the Interim Hokage, Jiraiya.

He became especially alarmed when Kagami described the two men wearing identical uniforms—black cloaks with red clouds. This detail reminded him of intelligence he had gathered during his travels.

Among the hidden villages, rumors spoke of a secretive ninja organization known as "Akatsuki." This group was shrouded in mystery and known for its formidable members. They would accept any mission, no matter how difficult or unscrupulous. The uniform they wore during operations was precisely the red-clouded black cloak.

Initially, he had planned to investigate Akatsuki further if not for his obligations as Interim Hokage. However, the extensive work of rebuilding Konoha completely occupied his time, leaving even the search for Tsunade indefinitely postponed.

Once one assumes the duties of the Hokage, it becomes nearly impossible to stop—the workload never ends.

Thus, the incident of Akatsuki members infiltrating the village was quietly set aside. To prevent further panic, the matter was not disclosed publicly. However, Konoha's ninja were instructed to enhance scrutiny of outsiders entering the village.

Under Jiraiya's leadership, the village began to recover. Optimistic smiles returned to the faces of Konoha's citizens.

Yet in the bustling streets, a solitary figure wandered with a heavy heart. A young man with short blue sleeves and gray-white shorts walked with his hands in his pockets. His seemingly aloof demeanor drew attention, but it was the Uchiha clan crest on his back that captured everyone's focus.

"Sasuke-kun!"

A girl's voice called out from behind, causing Sasuke to stop.

"Sakura. What is it?"

"Well…" Sakura approached nervously. "The barbecue restaurant is reopening tonight, so a few of us who took the chunin exams together are planning to gather there."

"Of course, it's split the bill, so you don't need to worry about…"

Thinking that Sasuke, an orphan, might not be financially well-off, Sakura hurriedly clarified. But Sasuke simply shook his head.

"Not interested."

With that, he turned and left without hesitation, leaving Sakura standing there, stunned and dejected.

From the corner of the street, Ino watched Sakura's disappointed expression and immediately understood what had happened.

Perfect! Sakura got rejected! she cheered internally.

She and Sakura had argued over who would invite Sasuke. Sakura had won through rock-paper-scissors. Seeing Sakura fail, Ino felt a wave of glee.

Nearby, Shikamaru sighed as he observed Ino's excitement.

"Foolish girl. If Sakura can't bring Sasuke, doesn't that ruin your plan to ask him to walk you home after dinner?"

That evening, at the barbecue restaurant, the Konoha 11 gathered around a large table, feasting together.

Amid the chatter, someone joked that they weren't chunin exam participants but survivors. Meanwhile, everyone celebrated the one ninja who had been promoted to chunin—Shino.

Since the final individual matches only included six participants, and with Neji dominating his battles while Sasuke's fight with Gaara remained inconclusive, the sole chunin promotion went to Shino.

The promotion was justified by his combination of strength and intelligence, his balanced power, and persistence, marking him as the top performer in the exams.

"Congratulations to Shino for becoming a chunin!"

"Cheers!"

"Damn it! I'll get promoted next time!"

"Naruto…"

In stark contrast to the lively barbecue, Sasuke's room was silent, unlit except for the moonlight illuminating the furnishings. In the darkness beneath the window, Sasuke sat silently with his knees drawn up.

Since returning from the hospital after a bandage change that afternoon, he had remained unmoving. Only the quiet rhythm of his breathing and his open eyes proved he was alive.

During this time, he replayed the events of the chunin exams in his mind.

He thought about the strange ninja he encountered in the Forest of Death, the one who used black bones. That ninja had claimed Orochimaru knew everything he sought—everything about Itachi.

Could it be true?

Over the past few days, he had investigated within the village and finally uncovered information about Orochimaru.

Though Orochimaru was a taboo topic in Konoha and information about him was scarce in the archives, Sasuke learned much through rumors. Orochimaru, along with Jiraiya and a kunoichi named Tsunade, were once known as the Legendary Sannin. However, Orochimaru had defected from the village years ago.

One of the masterminds behind the recent attack on Konoha was none other than Orochimaru.

Yet Orochimaru had perished during the attack, leaving no trace behind.

If he's already dead, how could he possibly answer the questions that weigh on my heart?

And does he really know anything about Itachi?

Could he reveal the truth about the night the Uchiha clan was annihilated?

Could he give me the answers I seek?

After pondering these questions countless times, Sasuke's consciousness began to blur, and his eyes finally closed.

---

In a dark, lightless world, Sasuke trudged forward through the pitch blackness.

Suddenly, a hoarse, parched voice emerged from the darkness ahead.

"Are you lost, Sasuke?"

"No! I am not!" Sasuke retorted furiously.

"Then why can you hear my voice?"

"..."

"If you follow me, you can learn everything you wish to know!"

"Come now, Sasuke!"

The brief exchange seemed to carry a strange, magical power, instantly pulling Sasuke's body forward into the darkness. No matter how hard he struggled, he couldn't escape the force dragging him in.

In the blink of an eye, a massive serpent's face loomed before him.

The serpent's face was ghostly pale, vaguely human-like, yet its eyes were unmistakably those of a snake.

A pale yellow light shimmered in those eyes, with vertical slit pupils resembling a needle, gazing deep into his soul like a black abyss.

"Ah!"

Sasuke jolted awake from the dream, immediately clutching the searing, glowing curse mark at the back of his neck.

This was the curse mark placed on him by Kimimaro. Though Kakashi had sealed it, every time Sasuke fell asleep, he encountered the serpent in his dreams.

He had told no one about this. The snake in his dreams had promised to answer all the questions plaguing his mind.

All he had to do was follow it. But how could he follow it?

---

At that moment, a playful voice called out from above.

"Yo, Sasuke, right?"

"By order of Orochimaru-sama, we've come to escort you."

A man standing on Sasuke's windowsill wore a cocky expression. His silver hair stood out, and he was dressed in a gray robe with a large butterfly-shaped knot tied at his waist.

On the balcony, three others dressed similarly stood with him.

"Who are you?"

Having been preoccupied during the chunin exams, Sasuke had failed to notice these individuals before and did not recognize them.

"We're the Sound Four," one of them said confidently. "I'm Sakon."

"I'm Kidōmaru," added another.

"I'm Tayuya," a girl said gruffly.

"And I'm Jirōbō," finished the last.

"We all serve Orochimaru-sama."

After a moment of deep contemplation, Sasuke lowered his head and nodded.

"Fine. I'll go with you."