One day, in the Akatsuki's hideout.
A certain unnamed Uchiha logged into the game as usual.
As one of the few Kage-level players in the game, Itachi's gaming skills were on par with Kakashi's.
But unlike Kakashi, Itachi didn't have as much time to play.
However, that wasn't the only issue. Itachi was starting to feel that the cohesion within the Akatsuki was growing stronger, and the number of missions they were being sent on was increasing.
This sudden shift made his perfect disguise feel a bit uncomfortable...
Now, their leader, Pain… or rather, Nagato, seemed to have gone off the deep end, constantly sending them out on missions.
The only problem was that, aside from himself, there wasn't a single normal person in this organization...
The Art Duo were two lunatics: one was a terrorist who loved making bombs to show off, and the other was a pervert who collected puppets to flaunt his skills.
The Immortal Duo are workaholics.
Unlike the Immortal Duo... the Art Duo would get tired after doing too much work, and Deidara had recently been complaining about the increased number of missions and their rising difficulty.
Just when Itachi thought Deidara might be a kindred spirit... after witnessing the massive explosion, Deidara seemed to have developed hyperthyroidism. He kept asking Pain for more missions and wanted to return to the Land of Fire. In fact, he wanted to investigate the source of the explosion and take another look at this invincible art.
As for the two workaholics of the Immortal Duo... one was an enthusiastic evangelist who could go without food or sleep to spread his faith, showing just how devout he was.
And if someone refused to convert or join, the other member would handle it. . .
Kakuzu, who was as devoted to money as Hidan was to his Jashin.
80% of the Akatsuki's funding came from Kakuzu. Without him, the organization's expansion plans would collapse.
'Damn it…'
Itachi never thought that one day, he would hate his job so much. How nice it would be if he could just go somewhere to slack off like he did when he was on a mission before, and conveniently get his teammates killed?
Now, he didn't even have time to play games.
Speaking of which, there is another member... Kisame. But thinking about Kisame gave Itachi a headache.
This big stupid fish didn't have much in the way of beliefs, nor was he particularly passionate about fighting. But he was... extremely obedient.
Itachi couldn't understand it. How could a Missing-nin be so obedient?
If he was so obedient, how did he even become a Missing-nin?
And that wasn't the only thing Itachi couldn't figure out. Why did Kisame, a fish, love smoking so much?
Even in the tiniest breaks, when Itachi barely had time to start a game, Kisame would light up a cigarette.
Moreover, every time he completed a mission, he would remember to give Nagato a pack of cigarettes as a gift, which made Itachi cringe.
Now that Nagato's identity had been exposed, the members knew that Pain was just a puppet, and the real leader was the emaciated Nagato.
Itachi had thought that Nagato's frail appearance would make it hard for him to maintain his former authority.
But that wasn't the case. Nagato, who still used the Pain puppet to hold meetings, had surprisingly earned even more respect from the members.
Sasori admired Nagato's puppet skills, believing that Nagato must understand the art of 'eternity.' The usually aloof Sasori had repeatedly asked Pain for a puppet to play with, preferably the Animal Path, which Sasori found particularly fascinating.
Deidara, on the other hand, thought Pain's Super Shinra Tensei was on par with his explosions in terms of destructive power.
And with so many spectators able to witness the art during Pain's Super Shinra Tensei, Deidara also held Nagato in high regard, believing that Nagato must be a proponent of the 'explosion' art.
Kakuzu and Hidan were both amazed that their leader, Pain, also had an immortal ability, and it seemed even more reliable than theirs.
Hidan was thrilled. If he could convert Nagato to worship the Jashin, then all Six Paths of Pain would also become followers of Jashin. So he often went to Nagato to preach.
Kakuzu was also delighted. The Six Paths of Pain… six people who didn't need to eat! That saved six people's worth of meals, eighteen meals a day!
In fact, Kakuzu had repeatedly suggested that Nagato turn all the other members into puppets so they wouldn't need to spend money on food either.
Of course, Nagato didn't respond to all the sudden enthusiasm from the members.
For example, Sasori asking to borrow a puppet, or Kakuzu's impractical suggestions.
Nagato just felt that Itachi was the most reliable member of the organization… low-maintenance and incredibly powerful.
After their last joint battle, Nagato had fully witnessed what the power of a Healthy Itachi was.
---
As for these frustrations, Itachi didn't know how to voice them. Today, he was once again heading out on a mission with Kisame.
While on the move, both Itachi and Kisame's phones suddenly pinged with an update notification.
[Your game has a new version update. Please install the new version promptly.]
The two exchanged a glance, and Kisame silently pulled out a pack of cigarettes, offering one to Itachi...
Itachi, who had just taken out his phone to update the game, saw the cigarette Kisame was holding out and quickly waved his hand, "Thanks, but I don't smoke."
Kisame looked a bit embarrassed: "Uh, I didn't bring a lighter. Mind lending me your Fire Release?"
Hearing this, Itachi's face darkened, 'This teammate was really unreliable.'
So, he performed a small Uchiha flame for Kisame, then went back to updating the game in peace.
After the baptism of the last Naruto version, the Ninja World has undergone great changes.
Many Ninjas and civilians, who had no connection to Naruto, now knew about the deeds of this hero.
And Itachi, through Naruto's story, had partially learned about Sasuke's journey.
And when he saw the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan Sasuke displayed during his future encounter with Naruto, he couldn't help but smile with relief.
That's why Itachi paid extra attention to the arrival of the new version.
Once the update was complete, he logged into the game. The previous Naruto event hadn't ended, but had been moved to the side of the new event.
The pop-up for the new event... featured Sasuke's artwork as the cover!
Itachi's heart skipped a beat. This was exactly what he had been hoping for.
'As expected... the Sasuke version had arrived.'
Itachi eagerly clicked into the event, which was laid out similarly to the previous Naruto-series version.
But the style was completely different. While Naruto's layout was dominated by bright orange and gold tones, Sasuke's was filled with dark purple and black hues...
One light, one dark… it seemed to foreshadow something.
Sasuke's first storyline corresponded to Naruto's first storyline...
The duel between Cursed Seal Stage 2 Sasuke and One-Tail Naruto.
Itachi already knew the outcome of this story: Naruto's defeat and Sasuke's successful defection.
The final scene of the Cursed Seal Sasuke storyline was his ultimate Jutsu's illustration.
[I'll walk my own path. Don't get in my way!]