- In Marvel: I Start by Marrying Scarlett Witch [Complete]
- MWM Chapter 281
Leo had intentionally revealed some of his strength to Zabuza, to prevent any potential schemes that might arise over time.
After all, Zabuza wasn’t exactly a good person, and his loyalty to Leo was based more on self-interest.
So, it was necessary to keep him in check every now and then.
After putting Zabuza in his place, Leo gave a few instructions to Kino before spreading his sword wings and flying toward Konoha, transforming into a streak of sword light.
Before his last departure, he hadn’t gone to Konoha to learn ninjutsu from the Third Hokage, as he had been preoccupied with his dealings with Kakuzu and Orochimaru. Now, his first goal was to head to Konoha and master all the valuable ninjutsu it had to offer.
In truth, most ninjutsu weren’t of much use to him anymore, especially elemental ones, since he had already obtained a lot from Kakuzu, and those were more than sufficient.
However, there were still a few techniques that intrigued him.
One was the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, created by the Third Hokage. This technique could create shadow clones of thrown weapons, which would work perfectly in conjunction with his sword wings.
His sword wings could launch up to 10,000 small swords at once. If he could apply the Shadow Clone Technique to them, the number would increase drastically, and their power would be greatly enhanced.
Another was the Flying Thunder God Technique, invented by the Second Hokage.
While he already had short-distance teleportation through Apparition and long-distance travel via his key, the Flying Thunder God Technique was still worth having.
Its unique feature allowed him to teleport instantly to any location where he had previously placed a seal.
This seal could be placed on objects or even people, and with enough skill, it could be applied unnoticed in an instant.
Neither Apparition nor the key could achieve this.
In the future, if he wanted to track someone, he could place the Flying Thunder God seal on them. As long as they didn’t remove it, he could teleport to them no matter where they ran.
Besides these, there were other specialized ninjutsu that were worth learning.
Leo’s sword flight was incredibly fast, and before long, he spotted Konoha, encircled by its wooden walls.
He retracted his sword wings and landed a short distance away, walking toward Konoha’s southern gate.
“Kotetsu Hagane, Izumo Kamizuki, it’s you two guarding the gate again!”
Noticing the two chunin in green flak jackets sitting at the gate’s desk, Leo waved in greeting.
Seeing him, Kotetsu and Izumo immediately stood up, their expressions turning respectful.
“Your Highness!”
The esteemed Prince of the Land of Fire, who had saved the Third Hokage and countless Konoha shinobi and civilians during Orochimaru’s joint attack with the Sand Village, was now the Fourth Hokage’s apprentice.
With such prestigious titles, it was no wonder they treated him with respect.
“I’m also a Konoha shinobi now, no need to call me ‘Your Highness.’ Just call me Chuan,” Leo said with a smile as he stepped forward to register.
“Yes, Lord Chuan!” Kotetsu and Izumo responded in unison.
Leo waved them off and proceeded through the gate, entering Konoha Village once again.
His first priority, upon arriving in Konoha, was to report to the Third Hokage, so he headed straight for the Hokage’s office without seeking out anyone else.
Along the way, both shinobi and villagers who recognized him treated him with utmost respect.
However, as he crossed the bridge over the river that divided the village, he suddenly sensed something unusual. His brow furrowed, and he turned to look to his left.
“Hmm, strange. Why are those two here in Konoha?”
About 500 meters to his left, two groups were facing off in the middle of the river.
One group consisted of two figures wearing black cloaks with red clouds embroidered on them, while the other group had three people—one man and one woman wielding kunai and looking battered and wary, and another person kneeling on the water, panting heavily.
The two in the black cloud cloaks were none other than Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki from the Akatsuki. The other three were Konoha’s Asuma, Kakashi, and Kurenai.
In the original storyline, Uchiha Itachi and Kisame did indeed visit Konoha around this time.
But that was because the Third Hokage had died, and Konoha’s strength had been greatly weakened after Orochimaru’s “Konoha Crush” plan, prompting Itachi and Kisame to try and capture the Nine-Tails.
Of course, Leo knew that Itachi’s true purpose wasn’t to capture the Nine-Tails but to warn Konoha’s higher-ups, especially Danzo, not to target Sasuke now that the Third Hokage was dead.
But because of Leo’s presence, the Third Hokage was still alive, and Konoha’s strength hadn’t diminished, so he had thought those two wouldn’t come.
“Perhaps… it’s because of Sasuke’s Sharingan.”
After thinking it over, Leo came to a rough conclusion.
It was likely that Itachi’s visit this time was for a different reason—to help Kakashi better master his Sharingan so he could teach Sasuke.
Currently, aside from Kakashi, there was no one in Konoha with a Sharingan.
But since Kakashi’s eye was transplanted from Obito and wasn’t his own, he didn’t use it particularly well.
It was likely that Itachi intended to use his Tsukuyomi to “injure” Kakashi, while secretly helping him unlock the potential of his Sharingan, enabling him to guide Sasuke more effectively.
Otherwise, given Itachi and Kisame’s abilities, they wouldn’t have been detected so easily by Kakashi.
The key point was that, despite all the changes caused by Leo’s interference, Kakashi still fell victim to Tsukuyomi.
This could only mean that Itachi’s use of Tsukuyomi on Kakashi was part of his plan all along, not just a random occurrence.
“That works for me—I need your Sharingan, after all.”
Rubbing his chin thoughtfully, Leo vanished in a blur of Apparition.
Meanwhile, 500 meters away at the river’s center, Asuma and Kurenai, who had kept their eyes closed at Kakashi’s instruction, heard his labored breathing and asked with concern:
“Kakashi, what happened? Can we open our eyes now?”
“N-no… not yet, k-keep them closed!” Kakashi stammered between gasps, struggling against the intense mental strain caused by Tsukuyomi.
As someone who had once served as Itachi’s captain in the Anbu, Kakashi was well aware of just how powerful the young man—who became an Anbu captain at the age of thirteen—truly was.
That’s why, as soon as he sensed Itachi using the Sharingan for genjutsu, Kakashi had immediately ordered Asuma and Kurenai to shut their eyes while he used his own Sharingan to confront Itachi.
But what he hadn’t expected was that Itachi had grown even stronger than the last time they met.
Even with his Sharingan, Kakashi had still fallen into the illusion.