In the southern part of the Land of Fire, amidst the ruins of the Uchiha clan.
Ryo and Karin, along with Yugito, arrived at the appointed place. Just as they were about to enter, Kisame suddenly leaped out, holding the Samehada, one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, horizontally before them.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Itachi wishes to speak with Ryo alone. Karin and Yugito, please wait outside!"
As Karin was about to lash out, Ryo stopped her with a hand. "Karin, Yugito, wait for me here. Don't cause any trouble."
Hearing this, Karin and Yugito restrained themselves from acting and could only dejectedly find a place to sit and wait.
...
Ryo entered a dimly lit room alone. He saw a man sitting expressionlessly at the top, with his eyes closed.
"You're sitting there like royalty, making it seem like I'm here to see the Emperor. Just get to the point! Uchiha Itachi!" Ryo chuckled lightly at this. A dragon throne suddenly appeared behind him, and he immediately sat down to confront Itachi, refusing to be outranked.
Itachi slowly opened his eyes, revealing his crimson Sharingan. "Mr. Ryo, the legendary Sannin, Tsunade-hime's disciple, who once fought Orochimaru and Kabuto alone. You parted ways with Tsunade when she became the Fifth Hokage and wandered for two and a half years, found Uzumaki Karin as your companion, and joined the Akatsuki. You are skilled in taijutsu, swordsmanship, and your ninjutsu is also quite powerful."
"Before this, no one knew where you came from or what your purpose was. I've called you here today simply to ask you for one thing."
Ryo was not surprised that Itachi knew so much. After all, many people knew about the legendary "fat sheep" being followed by a brat.
"You've certainly done your research. However, I know quite a bit about you too."
"Uchiha Itachi, at the age of four, witnessed the horrors of the Third Great Ninja War, becoming lost in the meaning of life. Seduced by Orochimaru, you jumped off a cliff. Mid-fall, you saw crows flying in the sky and were suddenly enlightened. Upon returning, you witnessed the birth of your younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, and thus understood the meaning of life, becoming an obsessed brother-complex."
"You entered the Ninja Academy at six and graduated at seven. It was in that year that you could think from the Hokage's perspective about the village. Influenced by the self-sacrificing spirit of your friend Uchiha Shisui, you believed that ninjas were people who endured hardship to achieve their goals."
"To prevent a civil war in Konoha, you personally exterminated the Uchiha clan who were planning a rebellion, indirectly averting the possibility of the village being destroyed by other ninja villages. In your view, this was the best way to avoid a Great Ninja War. However, in my opinion, you are an unrighteous and unfilial person. The Uchiha clan who went through the war, those who survived the battlefield, they were all your hard-won family. Yet, despite understanding the so-called meaning of life, you destroyed it all, leaving only your younger brother behind."
"Tell me, a person who doesn't cherish family like you, do you think I would agree to help you? And what I value most is family. Even if I have to go against the world, I will never let my loved ones be harmed. We were never on the same path from the beginning."
"Ahem... Excuse me, facing someone like you, I got a little carried away and couldn't help but ramble."
Ryo realized he had been rather talkative and coughed lightly, gesturing for Itachi to continue.
On the surface, Itachi remained calm, but internally, a storm was raging. Ryo was too mysterious. He knew everything about Itachi's childhood, things that Ryo shouldn't have known, as Ryo probably wasn't even born then. But he had come this far, and there was no reason to stop.
"Mr. Ryo, it seems your mystery goes beyond the surface. Let's be frank, the one thing I want to ask of you is to keep Sasuke away from the Akatsuki, especially from the masked man in the organization."
"Mr. Ryo, you must be from Konoha, right? It's evident from how you've let the Nine-Tails jinchuriki go multiple times. Otherwise, you wouldn't have let an undeveloped jinchuriki escape. And the masked man should have noticed you too; you're well aware of that, I presume."
Hearing this, Ryo finally understood Uchiha Itachi's intentions. Originally, to ensure Sasuke's return to Konoha, Itachi had prepared a backup plan, implanting Kotoamatsukami. However, with Ryo's appearance, uncertainties had arisen. He wanted to deal with this unknown variable, Ryo, before confronting Sasuke.
"I see. I understand. You want to die as a traitor of Konoha, killed by Sasuke. After your death, the masked man might tell Sasuke the truth, leading Sasuke to seek revenge on Konoha. However, with me around, an unknown factor, you want to deal with me first."
"But I refuse. If I'm not mistaken, your initial plan was to kill or seal me. After meeting me, you discovered my mysteriousness and strength, so you changed your approach to asking for my help."
"From the moment you opened your eyes earlier, you cast an illusion, didn't you, Uchiha Itachi? Take a look at yourself now."
As Ryo finished speaking, the scene around Itachi suddenly transformed into his former home, with the bodies of the Uchiha clan scattered everywhere. Lying before him were his parents, Uchiha Fugaku and Uchiha Mikoto.
Itachi looked down and found himself holding a blood-stained sword, standing helplessly before the corpses of his parents.
Suddenly, Ryo's figure appeared beside Itachi. "See? This is the devastation you brought. It's no different from the Great Ninja War you witnessed. Bodies everywhere, blood everywhere. What use is the meaning of life you comprehend? Is the meaning of life just your useless younger brother?"
The scene shifted again. Ryo and Itachi were back on the battlefield of the Third Great Ninja War. Bodies lay strewn across the ground at Itachi's feet. Ryo stood opposite Itachi, with a young boy, Uchiha Sasuke, standing before him.
"Brother! Save me! Please save me!" Sasuke, with a knife held to his throat, was desperately calling out to Itachi.
"Stop!"
Just as Itachi was about to rush forward to stop Ryo, Ryo swiftly ended the ordeal with a single, decisive strike, slitting Sasuke's throat. Hot blood gushed from Sasuke's neck, splattering Ryo's face red.
"Itachi! Why didn't you save me! Why! Why didn't you save Father! Why didn't you save Mother!" Sasuke glared at Itachi with hatred before dying.
Itachi's eyes surged with killing intent. He looked up at Ryo, grabbed his sword, and stabbed it into Ryo's heart. But as the sword pierced Ryo, Ryo suddenly transformed into a girl, Uchiha Izumi.
"Itachi-kun! It must be painful to bear such sin, right? Shall we descend into hell together to atone?"
Uchiha Izumi, with trembling hands, caressed Itachi's face. Even as she died, she faced Itachi with a smile. It was this smile that suddenly made Itachi come to his senses.
"Mr. Ryo, your genjutsu is more powerful than mine."
As Itachi's voice faded, the scene around him gradually turned into fields of cherry blossoms. Opening his eyes again, Itachi saw Ryo sitting before him.
"What a shame. Uchiha Izumi in your memory was too gentle, which is why you broke free of my genjutsu. Otherwise, if you had watched a little longer, you would have ultimately killed yourself. Uchiha Itachi, you are indeed a very intelligent and strong person. Regarding the matter you asked of me, I will reluctantly agree. I will not lay a hand on your brother. As for his other paths, Sasuke will forge them himself."
Seeing that Itachi had broken the genjutsu, Ryo could only agree. After all, what Itachi wanted was for Ryo not to harm Sasuke, not to keep Sasuke away from the masked man, which was a minor matter Ryo could handle. Sasuke was the protagonist, and Ryo didn't want to interfere too much, provided Sasuke didn't attack him.
"Thank you very much, Mr. Ryo. In this regard, I would like to provide you with some intelligence. The masked man, Tobi, is very likely Uchiha Madara from the past."
Hearing Itachi's intelligence, Ryo couldn't help but laugh. After going undercover in the Akatsuki for so long, he still hadn't figured out Obito's identity? This undercover work was too negligent.
"Given your good intentions, I will reluctantly treat you. The previous exchange injured your vitality. You might not be able to last until your battle with Sasuke. I will provide some relief now."
With that, Ryo waved his hand, and a green chakra flowed into Itachi's body. Itachi's body immediately felt much better. After finishing this, Ryo slowly walked out.
(Thank you for the gift, Li Junhao, but I still want to say, you don't need to send gifts or rewards.)
(Happy birthday, Teacher Jiraiya.)