Naruto Immersive Replay, The Curse of the Sharingan

Once you've confirmed that you're unique in his heart, you don't care about the specifics of the process.

Meanwhile, in the council chamber of the Uchiha clan compound.

Uchiha Itachi stood upright before his father Fugaku and several clan elders, the dim light casting interplay of light and shadow on his young face.

The air was filled with the scent of sandalwood and old wood, but it couldn't suppress the tension that was about to break out.

Fugaku looked at his eldest son, whom he was so proud of. In those black eyes that resembled Itachi's, there was a surge of long-suppressed anger and determination.

"It has been confirmed that Shisui... was killed by Danzo." His voice was low and deep, like muffled thunder.

"The Konoha leadership chose to cover it up and remain silent, which is clearly a blatant disregard for the dignity of the Uchiha clan!"

He paused, then looked intently at Itachi, announcing each word as if it were a final ultimatum.

"Itachi, in three days, the Uchiha clan will officially launch a coup. For the sake of the clan's future, please make sure to bring Uchiha Nagi into our camp. Her power and her uniqueness are of paramount importance to the clan."

Itachi's heart sank when he heard the word "coup".

He had long foreseen that the conflict between his clan and Konoha was irreconcilable, but he never expected that this day would come so swiftly and without any room for compromise.

The plan he and you secretly agreed on to find a slim chance of survival in the cracks seemed so pale and powerless in the face of this sudden "three days later," and was instantly shattered.

"I see."

Chapter 284 - Locked Affection (6)

As Itachi walked out of the council hall, the faces of his clansmen—some fanatical, some anxious, some numb—fleeted before his eyes.

He needed to calm down, and amidst the chaos, he needed to find a non-existent path to survival for the people he cared about.

Just then, a powerful chakra aura, carrying a sense of spatial distortion, reappeared at the edge of perception.

Itachi paused almost imperceptibly, then changed direction expressionlessly, heading towards the deserted former Uchiha site.

Amidst the broken walls and ruins, overgrown weeds and pale moonlight outlined the abandoned buildings in a grotesque silhouette.

The mysterious figure, wearing a swirling orange mask and a black cloak, indeed seemed to blend into the shadows, quietly waiting there.

"Uchiha Itachi," a deep, disguised voice came from beneath the mask, carrying a hint of amusement and control, "Have you decided to cooperate with me?"

Itachi raised his eyes and calmly looked at the other person.

He knew that dealing with a tiger was extremely dangerous, but caught between his family and the village, in a deadly situation, this man who called himself Uchiha Madara might offer a twisted glimmer of hope.

"...What do you want?"

“Join the Akatsuki.” Obito made his request straightforwardly, knowing Itachi’s value.

Akatsuki... a dangerous organization composed of S-rank rogue ninja with unclear objectives.

A glint flashed in Itachi's eyes as he quickly weighed the options. Joining Akatsuki meant betraying Konoha, meant his hands would be stained with blood, and meant he would walk in darkness forever.

But this could also be an opportunity to break out of the current deadlock and gain power and information from the outside.

"Alright." Itachi's voice was completely flat. "However, I need to leave two people behind."

"Two people?" Obito seemed a little surprised, raising an eyebrow under his mask. He thought Itachi would only fight for his younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke's, life.

“One is my younger brother Sasuke,” Itachi stated clearly, his tone leaving no room for doubt, “and the other… is my friend.”

Itachi deliberately obscured your existence, referring to you only as a friend. His intuition told him that he couldn't let this dangerous man in front of him notice you too much.

Your unique and endless secrets, as well as the unknown power that you have just awakened and that even he finds unsettling, may become targets of interest to Madara Uchiha, which would bring unpredictable dangers.

“It’s unbelievable,” Obito said, a hint of genuine curiosity in his voice. He looked Itachi up and down. “Someone as rational as you, almost to the point of being cold-blooded, would actually stand up and bargain for a ‘friend’.”

Obito was very curious about what kind of person could occupy such an important place in Itachi Uchiha's heart, even ranking alongside his own younger brother.

Itachi remained silent and did not answer.

He simply looked back at Obito, silently expressing his resolve. The air seemed to freeze between them, with only the soft rustling of the night wind through the wild grass.

After a while, Obito seemed to have finished weighing the options. Protecting one more person wouldn't have a big impact on him. It was just that he needed to be a little more careful on the night of the massacre and keep that friend away from the center of the slaughter.

Since Itachi is so persistent, this small concession in exchange for the addition of such a valuable pawn is worthwhile.

“Alright.” Obito finally relented, his voice returning to its previous indifference. “On the night of the massacre, make sure your younger brother and that… ‘friend’ stay far away from the Uchiha clan’s territory.”

Itachi's tense nerves eased slightly, but his face remained expressionless; he simply nodded slightly and said, "Pleasure doing business with you."

Itachi wants to ensure your safety, not only because of emotions he himself cannot fully define, but also because... he vaguely feels that your existence may be the key to breaking the deadlock at some point in the future.

Your power, your unpredictability, is both danger and... hope, a hope tinged with madness and destruction.

He watched as Obito's figure slowly sank into the Kamui dimension and disappeared, as if merging into the water, and stood alone on the ruins of the Uchiha clan.

The night breeze ruffled the stray hairs on his forehead, revealing his smooth forehead and those eyes that bore too much weight.

Kakashi dragged his slightly tired body home, having just finished a high-intensity mission report and follow-up arrangements.

The warm water washed away the dust and fatigue from his body. He casually wrapped himself in a dark bathrobe, his wet silver hair hanging down, water droplets sliding down the lines of his neck and disappearing into the slightly open collar.

He dried his hair with a towel as he walked toward his bedroom, intending to rest as soon as possible.

As he walked through the dimly lit living room, he suddenly stopped, his muscles tensing instantly!

In the center of the living room stood a blurry black figure.

Almost reflexively, chakra instantly gathered at his fingertips, and the light of the Lightning Blade was about to burst forth. If he hadn't sensed the familiar chakra at the last second, it would have been a fatal mistake.

“...Nagi?” Kakashi’s voice was hoarse with a hint of shock and deep surprise.

He reached out and pressed the switch on the wall. The warm yellow light instantly dispelled the darkness and clearly illuminated you standing in the center of the living room.

You were wearing a simple dark casual outfit, your long, raven-feather-like hair cascading down your back, which made your pale skin appear even more striking.

You stood there quietly, like an uninvited guest who had suddenly arrived, your dark eyes appearing even more profound under the lamplight, staring at him intently.

Your gaze first falls on the collar of his bathrobe, which he hadn't fastened properly in his haste, revealing a small patch of firm chest skin and a clear collarbone, with water droplets still glistening slightly.

Then the gaze slowly moved upwards, settling on his unmasked face.

Without the mask covering him, Kakashi's entire face was exposed to the light.

His features are actually quite handsome, but years of concealment have made him appear somewhat mysterious and unpredictable.

Being stared at so openly by you at this moment, a strange sense of shame surged through his body like a tiny electric current, making his ears burn slightly.

"Wait, wait while I change my clothes." Kakashi said this almost in a flustered manner, not even having time to think about why you would be at his house so late at night, before quickly turning around.

He rushed into his bedroom as if fleeing, slamming the door shut to shut out the gaze that was making his heart race.

Leaning against the cold door, Kakashi took a few deep breaths to calm his racing heart.

He looked down at his loose bathrobe, a hint of annoyance flashing across his face. He had really lost his composure.

In the living room, you seemed completely oblivious to Kakashi's panic, calmly moving your gaze across the not-so-large, simply furnished room.

My gaze lingered briefly on the coffee table, where a book with an orange cover lay casually—"Intimate Paradise."

After a while, the bedroom door was opened again, and Kakashi had changed into his usual black bodysuit and green vest, and put the mask back on, covering himself up completely.

His intuition told him that any slip of his emotions in front of you could have unpredictable consequences, and he needed this mask to maintain necessary defense.

"I've come to thank you." You stated your purpose directly, your voice as flat as ever, revealing no gratitude whatsoever.

Kakashi's lips twitched almost imperceptibly. Thanks? This way of expressing gratitude—like a stealthy infiltration of someone's home—wasn't it a little too...abstract and frightening?

Fortunately, it was him. If it were someone else, with your naive and clueless way of doing things, it might have caused a misunderstanding, or even... he felt a sudden pang of anxiety, and you might have been hurt.

This hypothetical thought made him feel slightly uneasy.

"It's nothing," Kakashi waved his hand, trying to lighten the mood, his voice sounding somewhat muffled through his mask.

"I also happen to dislike Danzo, so I'll just say it's... for Shisui's sake." He didn't want you to have too many favors to do, nor did he want you to think it was because of Kabuto and Nono, so he shifted the reason to Uchiha Shisui, who was also persecuted by Danzo.

You nodded, seemingly accepting his statement, but your gaze drifted back to the book "Make-Out Paradise" on the coffee table.

Kakashi felt a wave of shame instantly, as if some shameful secret had been exposed in public.

He rushed forward in a flurry, grabbed the book, and quickly hid it behind his back, his movements so fast they created a gust of wind.

As you observe his series of reactions, there remains no emotional fluctuation in his dark eyes, only a barely perceptible hint of curiosity about the book that Kakashi treasures so much.

But your attention is quickly drawn to the cabinet against the wall behind Kakashi, where a framed photo of them together, taken some years ago, is displayed.

To get a better look, you took a few steps forward and got closer to the cabinet.

Kakashi's heart skipped a beat when he saw you walking towards him. He thought you were still pursuing that book, "Icha Icha Paradise," and was frantically trying to figure out how to explain this adult book when he saw your gaze pass over him and land on the group photo.

The photo shows three smiling boys and girls.

In the middle is Kakashi, a boy with a slightly arrogant look in his eyes; on his left is a girl with sweet short brown hair and bright big eyes; and on his right is a black-haired boy wearing goggles and smiling brightly.

Seeing you staring at the photo without saying a word for a long time, Kakashi finally realized what was going on.

He followed your gaze, and his initial confusion due to embarrassment was instantly replaced by a heavy and familiar sorrow, filling the air with a silent grief.

“These are my two companions,” Kakashi’s voice lowered, with a hint of barely perceptible hoarseness, as he pointed to the photo, “Rin, and Obito.”

Your gaze lingered for a moment on the face of the girl named Lin in the photo, then shifted to the immature boy.

You know some fragments about Kakashi Hatake's past. It is said that a girl named Rin Nohara died from his Lightning Blade.

The boy named Uchiha Obito died in the Battle of Kannabi Bridge, and his body was never recovered.

The sorrow that permeated the air was so heavy that it almost became tangible.

You don't quite understand this intense emotion, but you can sense the dramatic changes in Kakashi's mood.

After a moment of silence, you looked at Kakashi and offered a dry, factual consolation, "My condolences."

Kakashi was completely stunned.

He was still grieving the loss of his companion, thinking about how to respond to questions you might ask about his past, and even preparing himself for having his wounds touched.

But I never expected to receive such a comforting word.

Moreover, you had just lost Kabuto Yakushi and Dean Nono not long ago, and were enduring immense grief.

He should have been the one to say "condolences" to her, so how did things turn out completely reversed?

This sense of incongruity, along with your reaction that was less of a consolation and more of a logical judgment, left Kakashi momentarily speechless, filled with mixed emotions.

"...You too." Kakashi was silent for a moment before responding softly with your "condolences."

He was referring to your loss of Dou and the Dean, his voice carrying a subtle tenderness and empathy.

After those words were spoken, the air froze again, leaving only the occasional chirping of insects outside the window and a complex, indescribable emotion.

Under the warm yellow light, you are melancholic yet exquisite. Kakashi looks at your lowered eyelashes, casting a faint shadow on your pale skin, and the restlessness in his heart, wanting to touch you yet daring not to overstep the boundaries, becomes more and more obvious.

Just then, you suddenly raised your head, your dark eyes locking onto Kakashi once again, as if you could penetrate that mask and look straight into the depths of his eyes.

"Would you mind showing me your kaleidoscope abilities?" Your question wasn't a request, but rather a direct inquiry, as if you were asking for something that had already been ordered.

Kakashi was slightly taken aback, then suddenly realized, "So that's it... This is the real purpose of your sudden visit in the middle of the night."

It wasn't for that somewhat abstract expression of gratitude, but for the Mangekyou Sharingan that belonged to Uchiha Obito and now resided in his eye.

A slight sense of disappointment, which he himself was unaware of, swept through his heart, but more than that, he felt a sense of relief, as if he had known it all along.

This is the you he knows—a person with clear goals and unpredictable behavior.

"Okay." Kakashi replied without hesitation, without even asking why.

He always seemed unable to refuse your request. He took a deep breath and focused his mind.

The black tomoe in his left eye rapidly spun, connected, and transformed, becoming the Sharingan!

In an instant, centered on Kakashi's left eye, the surrounding space began to visibly distort and collapse, forming a tiny vortex that seemed capable of swallowing everything.

A faint, rustling sound, like fabric being torn, filled the air, and the light in the study seemed to be absorbed, forming a dim outline around him.

Chapter 285 - Locked Affection (7)

You clearly 'saw' it; it was a power belonging to the spatial realm—strange, powerful, and rare.

This Sharingan placed an extremely heavy burden on Kakashi's body, causing his chakra to drain away like a flood, preventing it from displaying its full power.

The distortion of space lasted only a few seconds before dissipating.

Kakashi closed his left eye, took a slight breath, and fine beads of sweat appeared on his forehead. When he opened his eye again, it had returned to its usual black color.