Chapter 188

This youth looked to be around twenty years old, with a burly build, a resolute face, and the appearance of a tough man.

"Who are you?" Uchiha Itachi frowned.

"I am from the Anbu, my name is Sai!" Sai said in a low voice. The moment he saw Uchiha Itachi, he felt a sense of familiarity.

A trace of confusion surfaced on Uchiha Itachi's face; he was certain he did not know this person.

"Anbu?" Kuchiki Senya frowned slightly. "Sai, have you forgotten? We two are comrades. Have you forgotten the missions we completed together?"

Sai suddenly recalled that Kuchiki Senya and he had been partners, and that he had once nearly become Kuchiki Senya's fiancé.

"It's you!" Sai's eyes flickered, and the look he gave Uchiha Itachi carried a hint of wariness.

Both Uchiha Itachi and Kuchiki Senya were genius-level ninja. Their combat power was extremely formidable, enough to rival an elite jōnin!

"This is...?" Sai's pupils contracted slightly when he saw the flame emblem on Uchiha Itachi's chest. "This is the Third Hokage's sword!"

"Mm, not bad!" Kuchiki Senya laughed lightly.

The Third Hokage was the idol he worshipped, and moreover, the Third Hokage had once been his teacher!

Uchiha Itachi's brow furrowed more and more. He could sense that Sai's gaze carried hostility as he looked at the flame ornament pinned to his chest.

"Itachi, who is he?" Kuchiki Senya asked with a slight frown.

Uchiha Itachi looked at Kuchiki Senya, and after a long while said: "My friend, Sai."

Sai's expression flickered between gloom and brightness, finally settling back to calm: "Sai greets Senior Senya!"

"No need for such ceremony." Kuchiki Senya waved his hand.

"Itachi, you're going to enter the Land of Rain?!" Kuchiki Senya suddenly thought of something.

Uchiha Itachi did not answer.

Kuchiki Senya's eyes were full of worry. The place Uchiha Itachi was going to was Kumogakure, and all of this had started because of him. How could he bear to let Uchiha Itachi take such a risk?!

"Itachi, don't worry. I will help you with your matters." Kuchiki Senya solemnly said.

"Many thanks!" Uchiha Itachi nodded indifferently.

Uchiha Itachi and Kuchiki Senya soon arrived at a mountain valley.

In the center of the valley stood a towering ancient tree, its trunk thick and sturdy, reaching several hundred meters high, and at the very top of the ancient tree sat a giant egg.

"This is?!" Uchiha Itachi stared at the giant egg. He could feel that it contained a tremendous power within, a power seemingly capable of destroying everything.

"Uchiha Itachi, congratulations on obtaining my power!" A hoarse voice rang out. A cloud of dust rose, and a human figure gradually came into focus — it was unmistakably Uchiha Fugaku.

"Uncle Fugaku." Uchiha Itachi respectfully bowed.

Fugaku glanced at Uchiha Itachi, then at Kuchiki Senya beside him, and his expression instantly stiffened.

"Kuchiki Senya!" Uchiha Fugaku's face turned exceedingly icy.

"Heh heh, Brother Fugaku, hello to you!" Kuchiki Senya smiled calmly.

Fugaku clenched his fists. He took a deep breath to suppress the surging killing intent within him. Now that Uchiha Itachi had already inherited his bloodline power, he had to bring Uchiha Itachi back to Konoha as soon as possible.

"Senior Fugaku, have you come to bring Itachi back to Konoha?!" Kuchiki Senya's violet eyes radiated light.

"That's right, I need Itachi to return to Konoha!" Fugaku nodded in confirmation.

"Then please come with me, I have already made the arrangements." Kuchiki Senya led Fugaku and Uchiha Itachi to the center of the village.

Outside a house, a man dressed in black stood with his back to them.

"Captain Kakashi!" Kuchiki Senya called out in greeting to the man in black.

"Senior Kuchiki, Itachi, you've finally come!" Kakashi slowly turned around, his face pale as paper. "The village is currently in crisis. Hurry and go provide support!"

After speaking, Kakashi fell straight to the ground and fainted.

"What?!" Uchiha Itachi was stunned, and hurriedly helped Kakashi up.

Uchiha Itachi placed his hand on Kakashi's body to examine his condition, and discovered that a mysterious and unfathomable chakra was rampaging within him.

Uchiha Itachi's gaze grew sharp. His identity was Anbu; he could tell that this mysterious and unfathomable chakra was precisely the chakra of the Reincarnation Technique!

Uchiha Itachi's face grew solemn — this chakra was far too terrifying!

"I need your help, Itachi. As long as we get rid of this chakra, it will be enough." Kuchiki Senya said in a low voice.

"Mm?" Uchiha Itachi's brow furrowed slightly. He knew the forbidden technique of Reincarnation. Once this forbidden technique was activated, the caster would have their soul and body devoured by the Reincarnation monster.

"Itachi, trust me!" Kuchiki Senya's tone was firm.

Uchiha Itachi looked at Kuchiki Senya, then at the unconscious Kakashi, and chose to believe Kuchiki Senya.

"Since my father passed this ninjutsu to me to use, I absolutely will not fail!" Kuchiki Senya murmured softly.

Immediately, Kuchiki Senya extended his right hand and pressed it against Kakashi's forehead. In the next instant, a tremendous surge of chakra erupted from his body, and his entire frame was covered in green armor.

Uchiha Itachi watched this scene in astonishment. He could feel that this armor possessed an incomparably formidable defensive power.

"This is Sage Transformation — this ninjutsu (Li Haohao) is truly amazing." Uchiha Itachi sighed in admiration.

"This is my unique secret skill; only I myself can control it!" Kuchiki Senya calmly regarded the armor he had newly forged.

"Worthy of a Sage's body — it could actually withstand my full-power strike!" Sai exclaimed in shock.

Uchiha Itachi heard Sai's words and revealed a trace of bitterness. In the original work, Sai had been abandoned by Uzumaki Mizuko precisely because of this gap in strength.

Without Sage Transformation, Sai was indeed inferior to Sasuke and Naruto, and one could even say he was not even a match for Sasuke and the others.

Whether it was Sasuke or Naruto, their potential was boundless, and their cultivation speed was terrifying. Sasuke in particular — his aptitude was in no way inferior to Uchiha Itachi's. It was only because of Naruto that Sasuke ended up being sealed.

But Sasuke was, after all, Naruto's brother. Combined with the bond between them, the ties between Sasuke and Naruto ran deep, which was why Sasuke was able to survive again and again in the cycle of reincarnation.

161. It looks like a battle happened here

Sai, however, was far more miserable. In his youth he had suffered the tragedy of his clan being wiped out. Later he was taken in by Uchiha Madara and became a foot soldier. During the chaotic period of the Shinobi World, Uchiha Madara sent Sai to the Akatsuki organization, hoping that through Akatsuki, Sai could be protected.

But Itachi's rise made Uchiha Madara feel threatened. He wanted to eliminate Itachi, and knowing full well that his disciple Itachi would certainly be unwilling to submit to him, he dispatched Kuchiki Senya with a single purpose: to stop Itachi's growth!

"Itachi, let's begin!" Kuchiki Senya's voice reached Uchiha Itachi's ears.

Uchiha Itachi came back to his senses, looked at Kuchiki Senya, and said: "Have you really decided?!"

Uchiha Itachi knew his own situation—his chakra nature was Lightning Release, which was why he had been able to successfully activate the Reanimation Jutsu.

But he was not an Earth Release ninja; he was Water Release chakra!

"I've already decided! Itachi-kun, I'm counting on you!" Kuchiki Senya's expression was filled with agony.

Uchiha Itachi shook his head; he understood what Kuchiki Senya wanted to do.

Uchiha Itachi took several deep breaths and closed his eyes.

A vast and terrifying eruption of chakra burst forth, and this immense, terrifying chakra pulverized everything in the surrounding area, including Kuchiki Senya's chakra armor, which dissipated completely.

"Pfft—tsk!" Kuchiki Senya spat out a mouthful of fresh blood, and a frightening glint flickered in his pupils.

"This is… Sage Mode!" A wicked, charming smile surfaced at the corner of Kuchiki Senya's mouth.

His Sage Transformation could only briefly maintain Sage Mode, but the price was extremely heavy.

If Kuchiki Senya had not ended the Sage Transformation in time, he would have died!

Sage Transformation was converting one's own chakra into another person's chakra; from then on, Uchiha Itachi's chakra would completely change into the chakra of Sage Transformation.

Kuchiki Senya opened his eyes, looked at Uchiha Itachi, and the smile at the corner of his mouth grew even brighter.

The same brilliant smile hung on Uchiha Itachi's face. He could feel the chakra within his body, vast beyond belief; his strength was enough to rival a Tailed Beast, and his chakra was many times stronger than that of an ordinary Tailed Beast.

"Itachi-kun, we can make our move now!" Kuchiki Senya said steadily.

Uchiha Itachi nodded upon hearing this, then began forming hand seals as a massive surge of chakra erupted.

"Boom!"

The entire building began to tremble, and plumes of smoke and dust shot into the sky.

"Damn it!" A cold voice rang out, and then several hundred masked ninja appeared in front of the building.

These masked ninja all drew their weapons and warily stared at the two unfamiliar ninja before them.

"How could this happen?" A burly, stubble-faced, dark-skinned youth frowned.

"Third Tsuchikage, my lord, it looks like a battle has broken out here!" A thin youth wearing glasses beside him reminded him.

"Hm?!" The Tsuchikage saw a stretch of ruins in the distance and raised an eyebrow slightly.

The Tsuchikage was an old man. He walked forward, looked at Uchiha Itachi and Kuchiki Senya, and said, "Who are you two?"

"You must be Uchiha Itachi and Kuchiki Senya, right!" the Tsuchikage asked sternly.

Kuchiki Senya's Sage Transformation made the Tsuchikage sense something was wrong, which was why he had stepped forward to inquire.

"It's me!" Kuchiki Senya snorted coldly. His Sage Transformation just now had nearly been counter-killed by Uchiha Itachi.

The Tsuchikage's heart skipped a beat upon hearing Kuchiki Senya's words—Kuchiki Senya was actually Itachi's enemy?!

Many thoughts flashed through the Tsuchikage's mind. In the end, he saw clearly Kuchiki Senya's strength: he was only a fifth-stage intermediate ninja; although he was a fifth-stage peak ninja, his strength was insufficient.