"Sorry, but you'll have to take a nap for now."
Inside the crimson Susanoo, a figure spoke indifferently.
By now, Deidara and Sasori were on the brink of exhaustion. They had realized that the young man who looked strikingly similar to 'Uchiha Itachi' wasn't the real deal.
The most obvious clue was... this Itachi was wearing a Konoha forehead protector, the unmarked kind.
Sasori reluctantly accepted his fate. His strongest puppet, the Third Kazekage, had been pierced by the crimson Susanoo's sword, leaving nothing but scattered sand.
Deidara, however, was far from willing to give up. Looking at the last lump of clay in his Ninja Pouch, he endured the searing pain as he tore off his tattered Akatsuki robe.
Though there wasn't much clay left, it was just enough.
"Itami, stop him! We're only here to collect the Tailed Beasts. Don't cause unnecessary trouble."
The Ninja called 'Itami' dismissed his Susanoo and replied indifferently, "I know my limits, Shihi."
The Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly.
Seeing this all-too-familiar scene, Deidara's movements came to an abrupt halt.
"Foolish people, drown in the Genjutsu."
---
Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Konoha.
"Hehehe, Kakato, do you think we'll run into any interesting opponents this time?"
The Ninja called Kakato wore a mask and stood with his arms crossed, a sword at his side.
If Itami was merely indifferent, Kakato exuded an aura of 'coldness' from head to toe.
He gave his companion a look that screamed 'idiot.'
"Don't be stupid. Our world's command, Perfection, allows every Ninja to reach at least Jonin level. You and I are prodigies, destined to be top-tier in any Ninja World."
Though Tobito already knew this, he couldn't help but chuckle. "And it looks like... this world has just formed its command. There are traces of White Zetsu's activity everywhere."
"Hmph, no Otsutsuki has discovered this place yet. They're lucky."
Kakato casually remarked.
Tobito grinned mischievously. "Too bad we found it first. I wonder how Itami and Shihi are doing, but this world's Konoha seems particularly weak."
"After all, this world has only just formed its will. Weakness shouldn't be their sin."
Kakato exhaled and continued, "But collecting Tailed Beasts from other dimensions is our mission. So let's pick up the pace and avoid causing trouble."
---
Shihi looked at the four unconscious Akatsuki's members, hesitating. He hadn't planned to intervene, but a spiky-haired young man with a scythe had asked him if he wanted to worship the Jashin.
Moreover, these two seemed to know Itami from their world, calling him 'Itachi' upon meeting.
The two were quite powerful, and their clothes were very similar to the Akatsuki in their world, except with red cloud patterns...
After dealing with the two, Shihi had intended to gather some intel, but reinforcements arrived, forcing him and Itami to defeat them as well.
---
"Um, could you tell me where the Tailed Beasts are located?"
This was Shisi's first cross-dimensional mission, and the same went for Itami.
Sasori slowly raised his head, looking at the seemingly amiable Ninja.
"Uchiha? Oh, the Tailed Beasts? The One-Tail is in Sunagakure, the Land of Wind. The Two-Tails is in Kumogakure, the Land of Lightning. The Three-Tails..."
Although his current condition was not very good, Sasori still rattled off what was common knowledge for most Ninjas.
He observed the other's expression, which was full of seriousness, 'How could such a powerful Ninja not know this information?'
Sasori found it unbelievable, 'And this guy... was that the Sharingan earlier?'
'Was he an Uchiha, a friend of Itachi's, someone who had survived the Uchiha Massacre?'
Sasori speculated silently, but his body didn't move at all.
"Thank you for the information. Is the nearest Tailed Beast... in Takigakure, the Land of Waterfalls?" Shihi asked.
Sasori nodded expressionlessly. He didn't understand why the other Ninja looked so apologetic.
To be honest, he had no idea where this powerful Ninja had come from, nor did he have any recollection of him...
Shishin said apologetically, "Sorry, we didn't mean to make enemies. Your comrades are just under a Genjutsu. They'll wake up in about two hours. Please don't worry."
Shihi asked himself if he could be as ruthless as needed when dealing with enemies. But were these people even enemies?
Since birth, Shihi had never experienced a real war. Their Ninja World was perfect, with each village developing rapidly but never engaging in a Ninja World War... until the Otsutsuki invasion.
If it wasn't for the purpose of fighting against the Otsutsuki who invaded their world, this unjust intrusion into other worlds to seize the Tailed Beasts would have made Shihi feel guilty... and now, injuring the natives of this world made him deeply uncomfortable.
Itami, on the other hand, handled it much better.
Shihi sighed, 'Although I was older than Itami, I performed worse than him at this time.'
He then called out, "Itami, let's go."
Uchiha Itami, wearing a Konoha jonin vest, adjusted his forehead protector and followed Shisi.
By now, Sasori was utterly shocked. An almost unrealistic idea formed in his mind.
"Itami? Are you from the Uchiha Clan?"
Sasori couldn't help but ask out loud.
The two paused mid-step, and Shihi was the one to respond.
"Yes, we... are from the Uchiha Clan." Shihi felt a little guilty. He was indeed an Uchiha, but not the Uchiha of this world.
'Come to think of it, what were the Uchiha like in this world? Were they as beloved by the villagers as they were in our world, the top clan of Konoha? Perhaps they also had a clan head as respected as Uchiha Madao?'
Thinking of Uchiha Madao, Shisi felt a pang of regret. The former clan head, Uchiha Madao, had been the strongest contender for the position of Second Hokage.
However, due to his close friendship with Senju Tobitoki, he had voluntarily withdrawn from the race, allowing Tobitoki to become Hokage.
Since then, the Uchiha had never had another strong contender for the Hokage position, a lingering regret for the top clan of Konoha.
Before Shihi could continue his thoughts, Sasori asked, "Then do you know Uchiha Itachi?"
'Uchiha Itachi?'
Hearing this unfamiliar name, Shihi was momentarily stunned. Realizing this might be a member of this world's Uchiha Clan, he shook his head with a bitter smile.
"Sorry, our Uchiha Clan has thousands of members. I'm afraid I don't recall anyone named Itachi…"
Itami stood nearby, analyzing the information in their conversation.
Hearing Shihi's response, Sasori's suspicions were further confirmed, though he showed no emotion.
As a puppet, he had no need to feign emotions that meant nothing to him.
Sasori spoke bluntly, "I don't know why, but wasn't the Uchiha Clan wiped out? How could there be thousands of them?"
His emotionless, calm voice felt like a sharp blade piercing Shihi and Itami's minds.
Itami quickly reacted, his face showing displeasure. As a Ninja who deeply valued his clan's prosperity, he couldn't understand why this person would slander the Uchiha Clan.
'Did he have some grudge against this world's Uchiha Clan?'
'Besides... the Uchiha were the top clan of Konoha, no, the entire Ninja World! Every clan member possessed exceptional talent and stable personalities, a result of the [Command—Perfection]. Clan members could awaken the Sharingan once they reached a certain age.'
'Moreover, the clan members were all kind-hearted, much like the former clan leader Uchiha Madao, who was bold and straightforward, or Shihi, who was gentle...'
'The Uchiha Clan has always been the most respected clan in the Ninja World.'
'Wiped out? What a joke!'
However, Shihi, kind-hearted as he was, didn't immediately doubt the truth of the statement. Instead, he asked in disbelief: "Our Uchiha Clan... is gone?"
(T/N: For this chapter, the name of these characters are actually kind of pun in Chinese. Like Itachi, which means weasel, turned to Badger, or Shisui, which means 'still water', turned to Shihi, which means 'still fire'. But thinking it will be hard to understand the name, I changed all their name by changing their name a little from the original. Sorry about the confusion.)