Chapter 542: Kakashi's Conjecture

The crow fluttered its wings, perched on Naruto's shoulder, looking somewhat restless.

Kakashi Hatake stared dumbfounded at the suddenly appearing crow, and at the Kaleidoscope Sharingan in its left eye.

"So this is... the Water's eye... to appear in this way..."

Lian Ye ignored Kakashi's shock, stepped before Naruto Uzumaki, seized the crow in his hand, and without hesitation extracted the Kaleidoscope Sharingan.

Such a powerful eye, placed on a crow, is truly a waste.

Better to take it back to upgrade Uchiha Jing's eye to the Eternal Kaleidoscope Sharingan.

Lian Ye simultaneously implanted a Dojutsu in Naruto's right eye, whose trigger condition is encountering Itachi Uchiha, temporarily stripping the Kaleidoscope's ability.

Naruto Uzumaki widened his bright blue eyes, his mouth slightly ajar, his face full of disbelief and great confusion.

He instinctively touched his chest, having never known a crow resided within him.

He glanced at the crow, then at Lian Ye who possessed the Kaleidoscope, and finally cast his bewildered gaze at Kakashi.

He hoped to get an explanation from the teacher.

Kakashi Hatake's eyes turned again to the crow, and he analyzed calmly.

"If I'm not mistaken, it should be Itachi Uchiha's handiwork..."

"Itachi Uchiha?"

The name made Naruto shudder; wasn't that Sasuke's older brother?

Why would he do this?!

"Hmm." Kakashi nodded, his brows slightly furrowed, and continued speculating, "Given Itachi's strength and control over the Sharingan, he certainly has the ability to set such a seal without you noticing."

"As for the purpose..."

He paused briefly, seeming to gather his thoughts, also weighing how to tell Naruto.

"Combining the eye of Shisui Uchiha on the crow with everything Itachi did in life... he may regard this as a final safeguard."

"A possible means to deal with Sasuke at a critical moment..."

As Sasuke's teacher, he knows the pupil's temperament, and as Sasuke's older brother, Itachi certainly understands his brother's nature.

To prevent such an event, he pre‑installed a safeguard within Naruto.

It is Itachi's method to stop Sasuke at a crucial moment!

"Deal with Sasuke?!" Naruto Uzumaki said in shock, "Why would Itachi..."

"To stop Sasuke, or... to save Sasuke." Kakashi interrupted him, speaking gravely, "Itachi Uchiha fully understands the power and curse of the Kaleidoscope Sharingan; he may have foreseen Sasuke taking an extreme path after gaining power."

"This crow possesses Shisui Uchiha's eye, capable of casting the supreme Genjutsu 'Betsuden Shin', perhaps the final option Itachi prepared for Sasuke. An ultimate Genjutsu that, when needed, forcibly alters Sasuke's will and pulls him back onto the right path!"

One must admit that Kakashi is a high‑IQ genius; merely from Lian Ye's actions and brief remarks, he deduced the truth.

"You're right; the truth is exactly as you say." Lian Ye placed the eye into a pre‑prepared container, agreeing, "This eye is Itachi's backup for altering his brother's will."

Kakashi's expression grew solemn as he said gravely, "But you have now taken the eye; what will happen to Sasuke?"

Since this eye is Itachi's backup for modifying Sasuke's will, it shows the eye is extremely important to Sasuke!

He cannot allow the eye to be taken!

"Right, you can't take this eye away!" Naruto Uzumaki, realizing belatedly, shouted at Lian Ye.

Without Shisui Uchiha's eye, Sasuke falling into extremism would be a serious problem.

He cannot guarantee he can persuade Sasuke to return to the right path.

Therefore, the two before us must not be allowed to take that Kaleidoscope Sharingan!

"Exactly, you can't take the eye!"

Sakura Haruno quickly echoed, as anything concerning Sasuke she would certainly take to heart.

"Oh, you want to stop me?" Lian Ye looked at the three with a playful expression, "With just the three of you, you might not be qualified!"

Although Kakashi Hatake, nicknamed '55 Open', can spar with anyone for a couple of moves, Lian Ye is confident he can defeat him.

But there is no need; defeating the three offers him no benefit.

It would be better to divert their attention, thus subduing them without a fight.

As for how to divert attention, of course by using Sasuke Uchiha!

"I advise you to think carefully; even at the previous Five Kage Summit, the Five Kage dared not act against me lightly."

A powerful aura emanated from Lian Ye, freezing the three in place.

"So strong..." Kakashi Hatake's face showed astonishment.

Naruto Uzumaki and Sakura Haruno were even more shocked, speechless.

At that moment, they truly felt the immense power radiating from Lian Ye.

If a real fight broke out, the three would certainly be no match!

Not to mention Lian Ye has a silent companion by his side.

"Instead of entangling yourselves over Sasuke's waywardness, you should first locate him before proceeding."

Lian Ye withdrew his aura and said to the three.

"Sasuke Uchiha has already been taken by someone impersonating Madara Uchiha; your coming this time was in vain."

In the original story, after Sasuke Uchiha defeated Zhi Cun Tuan Cang, he encountered the hastily arriving Naruto Uzumaki and the others.

But due to Lian Ye's intervention, Sasuke Uchiha had long been taken away by Uchiha Obito.

Naturally, there was no chance to meet them.

"What? Sasuke was taken away!"

Naruto Uzumaki exclaimed; compared with Lian Ye before him, he cared more about whether Sasuke was in danger.

"May I ask, is Sasuke injured, and where was he taken?"

Just as Lian Ye had anticipated, mentioning Sasuke Uchiha can avert a battle.

He didn't suffer a fatal wound, and as for where he was taken, I don't know.

Lian Ye, worried about Naruto bringing up Shisui's eyes again, spoke earnestly.

"Sasuke Uchiha is your friend; as a friend you have the duty to persuade him onto the right path, not to rely on the other heavenly god a crow can cast, do you understand?"

—It's merely advice from an elder.

In Naruto World, trusting the protagonist's Mouth Ninjutsu is enough.

Even if Mouth Ninjutsu fails, there are massive fists.

Anyway, Sasuke Uchiha's return to the right path is only a matter of time…

"Hmm, I understand!" Naruto Uzumaki, regaining his fighting spirit, said, "I will definitely persuade Sasuke to return to the right path!"

Kakashi Hatake intended to reclaim Shisui's eyes, but seeing the current situation finally dispelled that thought.

That guy is right; you can't rely on a crow's Genjutsu.

In fact, Kakashi simply lacked confidence in defeating Lian Ye.

In the end, the three could only watch helplessly as Lian Ye and Zhi Cun Tuan Cang left.

…

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ps: Unwittingly it's already 1.1 million words; the Naruto authors who started alongside me have either finished, gone on hiatus, or produced low‑quality updates, only I, Guan Shan, remain steadfast with two updates a day, ke ke ke…