Chapter 70: Uchiha Itachi's Trial

"Hunt Pollution Sources?"

Although he didn't really want to hunt Pollution Sources—it felt like being driven by a game merchant—faced with the temptation of a Shikai Zanpakuto, Hoshigaki Kisame could only pinch his nose and accept.

It's all for the Eye of the Moon Plan; Mr. Madara shouldn't blame me.

He sat cross-legged on the ground, reached out and tore off the bandages wrapped around Samehada, released chakra, and let Samehada affectionately coil around his fingers.

"You're my companion too, Samehada."

The corner of Hoshigaki Kisame's mouth lifted; he stroked Samehada's hilt. Samehada, too, was a blade that possessed life.

Samehada, which had accompanied him for many years, had long been treated as a sworn companion sharing life and death.

"Although I don't understand your plan, Mr. Merchant, I still have to say thank you."

Hoshigaki Kisame nodded slightly,

His loyalty was given only to Uchiha Madara—the one who could create the Eye of the Moon Plan, who wanted all of humanity to fulfill their dreams within an illusory world. Mr. Madara, who could devise such a plan, must once have endured profound pain.

Having gained Mr. Madara's recognition, he absolutely could not let the other down.

"You're welcome. It was simply a transaction where each took what he needed."

Fang Yi smiled indifferently,

He had no boring notion of packaging himself as a guide, using the advantage of foreknowledge to play up his status and toy with the ninja.

He was merely offering the other party a chance to choose.

If Hoshigaki Kisame hadn't spent money, he might not have been able to defeat the Fallen Void at all, nor could he have obtained that Shinigami broken blade.

Even if he had obtained the broken blade, without spending money he couldn't have withstood the soul-tearing injuries, nor could he have taken up the post of Apprentice Shinigami. It was all Kisame's own choice.

Only in this way could the fairness of the game be guaranteed.

Even if players' Soul Potential differed,

The Game Mall also offered expensive items that could make up for Soul Potential. As long as players were willing, they could obtain items through various means and reshape their own souls.

What Fang Yi had to do was cultivate players and hunt Pollution Sources.

Hoshigaki Kisame asked curiously, "What is Mr. Itachi's trial like?"

He had always been curious about Uchiha Itachi's affairs.

But Mr. Itachi, who carried deep past events, was like a curled-up hedgehog, hiding all his emotions.

"Wait until he wakes up, then you can ask him."

"Forget it. Mr. Itachi doesn't like others prying into his inner world."

Hoshigaki Kisame shook his head.

As a teammate, he had engaged in sparring-style combat with Mr. Itachi. Although they hadn't gone all out, he could foresee that even if he struck with full force, he wouldn't be Mr. Itachi's match.

Therefore, back when they were in Konohagakure, even though Sasuke—who wielded Black Flame—was very strong, Mr. Itachi had actually still held back. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been injured at all, let alone suffered a relapse of an old wound.

At this moment,

Inside Uchiha Itachi's Shilianchang, scorched black rocks lay everywhere.

The earth was cracked, with scorching magma flowing through the fissures.

【Small-scale Trial Initiated】

Trial Content: Kill 15 Fallen.

Note: Diyu Qianceng.

"There's really a Hell. I actually came here while still alive—"

Uchiha Itachi revealed a wry smile. It seemed that even fate could not accept the ugly truth of his slaughtering his entire clan, and had guided him to Hell.

Within his body, chakra had vanished.

The physical fitness honed through training was also weakened; at present, his level was roughly similar to that of students at the Ninja Academy, barely surpassing an ordinary person.

But what had likewise vanished was the ceaseless torment of illness.

Uchiha Itachi sighed, "A brand-new body means a new life? A sinner like me, with blood on both hands, should not have such an outcome."

From the moment he swung the butcher's blade, sin and blood had already soaked through his soul.

He had never hoped to live; he only wanted to descend to Hell bearing the Uchiha's glory and guilt. Once Sasuke had grown up, he would let Sasuke kill him with his own hands.

At that moment, everything would end.

He had agreed to participate in the trial simply because, in the final moments of his life, he wanted enough power to protect the Uchiha's last flame.

Therefore,

Uchiha Itachi was not curious about what kind of abilities and class he would obtain.

To him, all of this held no meaning.

"A human, it's a human!"

A Fallen that had appeared out of nowhere let out frenzied roars and shouts.

Uchiha Itachi drew a sharp kunai from his backpack slot.

He lowered his body and rapidly closed in on the target.

His practiced five fingers spread open; the kunai spun a circle in his palm and precisely slashed the Fallen's neck.

Its rough skin,

Meant that after its neck was slashed, the Fallen did not die, but instead frantically clawed toward Uchiha Itachi's face.

Pfft.

The kunai exerted force, stabbing hard into the throat.

Uchiha Itachi gently flicked the kunai, flinging off the foul-smelling blood.

This was a behavior taught to him by the ANBU—no liquid that could easily leave a scent could be allowed to remain on the weapon; it had to be wiped down frequently.

Rocks burned into black crystals were piled into broken, ruined stockades.

Inside, there were once traces of human activity.

It was a temporary outpost built when humans launched an attack on Diyu Qianceng. Itachi Uchiha discovered several corpses inside, their bones all broken.

Among the tattered cloth strips, there were letters that had nearly weathered away.

The handwriting was blurred and illegible.

Even if the handwriting were clear, Itachi Uchiha wouldn't recognize the foreign world's script.

The Game Mall helpfully appeared — reading the contents only required 2 Reward Points.

Itachi Uchiha worried it might be important intelligence, so he chose to spend Reward Points to read it, and submitted his most skilled Ninjutsu.

The Great Fireball Technique.

Unfortunately, the contents were not what Itachi Uchiha had expected.

It was merely a letter home that the deceased hadn't had time to send — the human towns on the border had been invaded by Hell's demons, so they formed an adventuring squad and resolutely marched into Hell to protect the town.

Judging from the state of the corpses, the outcome of this battle was clearly not good.

"Is there no world that can escape the existence of war?"

Itachi Uchiha pinched up a handful of charred dust and gently covered the several skeletons with it.

The spirit of self-sacrifice that drove them to venture into Hell alone gave him a sense of deep empathy.

Fortunately,

They were able to die as heroes, while he himself was merely a rogue ninja bearing the weight of darkness — a name that couldn't even be spoken.

【You have died. Revive?】

"Revive."

Itachi Uchiha hesitated for two seconds, then chose to revive.

This time he submitted nearly all of his Fire Release Ninjutsu, after all — the revival cost was high.

He could only do this,

He couldn't just watch helplessly as the last hope of the Uchiha clan — his own younger brother — came into contact with the Samsara Game, while he himself understood nothing about it.

What killed him was a Fallen One a full size larger than an ordinary one.

At the moment of death,

Itachi Uchiha had used a Kunai to stab out the demon's eyes. Now, after reviving, he killed it without the slightest effort.

Hum.

A wisp of shimmering green light rose from the Fallen One's corpse.

Itachi Uchiha's gaze sharpened. Having received the Samsara Game's information, he understood this was an item dropped by the Fallen One upon its death.

(End of chapter)