Escaping the Mist Ninja starts with backstabbing your teacher.

At the Ninja Academy, Itachi Uchiha lived his ordinary life. As someone who was taken to the battlefield by his father at the age of four, he didn't have much interest in life at the Ninja Academy.

He had already learned everything the teacher taught and the knowledge in the books; he continued to go to school only out of respect for his teachers.

As the school bell rang, Itachi had no intention of playing around with his classmates; he was only thinking about going back to train, as today was the day he had promised to meet Shisui.

Ever since he was discovered by Zhishui when he was cultivating alone and Zhishui pointed out his mistakes, he has been very sincere in asking him for guidance.

As the clan leader and captain of the Konoha Guard, his father was busy with many affairs and often did not have time to personally teach him.

Shisui was able to answer most of his questions about cultivation, and even about the use of the Sharingan, so he respected him greatly.

Having escaped the monotonous ninja academy, Itachi was eagerly anticipating learning something new from Shisui today.

"Shisui is off work today; he must have been waiting for me for a long time."

After leaving the ninja academy, Itachi reached a secluded spot, then leaped up and began ninja running, accelerating rapidly.

Behind him, Izumikawa, having confirmed that Itachi was not a shadow clone, created a skeletal shadow clone and sent it back to the inn with Momona, while his main body followed.

Meanwhile, during the journey, her clothes were changed, her facial bones were adjusted again, and her appearance was modified to restore her original look.

……

On the edge of Konoha Village, in a forest, Shisui is currently training after completing his ANBU mission.

Shisui, wielding his short blade, is honing his physical and sword skills. He is adept at the art of teleportation, and his swordsmanship and illusion techniques complement each other perfectly.

Arriving at the opponent's location in an instant, controlling them with Sharingan genjutsu, and finishing them off with a final strike—quick, decisive, and efficient, while conserving chakra.

The seemingly simple combination left most ninjas unable to react or resist, and they were killed in an instant.

Therefore, Uchiha Shisui also made a name for himself, becoming known as "Shisui of the Body Flicker," and became the nightmare of his enemies.

While he was cultivating, he immediately sensed someone's arrival, and his scarlet Sharingan eyes turned to look.

"Shisui, I'm here!"

"Ninja school is so boring, is there any ninja who can take my place...?"

Just as Itachi was complaining, Shisui's vigilance did not disappear. Instead, he swung his blade and rushed towards Itachi.

This caused Itachi's pupils to shrink, and his eyes quickly transformed into Sharingan, but he couldn't react to Shisui's sudden attack and could only watch helplessly as the blade was about to fall.

Clang!

A crisp sound rang out, and Itachi turned his head slightly to see Shisui's figure pass by him and strike the person who had appeared behind him at some point.

The pale bone blade, with a crystalline enamel sheen, remained attached to the opponent's palm.

Itachi didn't recognize the newcomer; the other person's face was covered by a faceless skeletal mask, with no eyes or mouth visible, only a nostril on the nose.

"As expected of [Shisui Instantaneous Movement], this level of alertness and perception is quite impressive, and the movements are extremely swift and decisive, without any unnecessary steps."

The masked man was none other than Izumi, who had followed Itachi all the way here, preparing to try and capture Itachi as he was about to arrive.

If successful, it can be used as a bargaining chip; if unsuccessful, it will be a test of Itachi's current strength and Shisui's reaction ability.

Clearly, the young Itachi has not yet reached his full strength, while Shisui has already reached his full strength and his reactions are extremely fast.

"Shikotsumyaku, you are the [Kirigakure traitor] Taketori Izumigawa!?"

After only a brief exchange, Shisui sensed the power of his opponent's physique. He reached out, grabbed Itachi, and pulled him aside before retreating.

However, he remained vigilant, holding his short blade as he faced his enemy.

"Itachi, stay behind me. The enemy in front of us is dangerous and not someone you can handle."

Shisui warned Itachi, who was about to draw his kunai and seemed to want to help him fight, while constantly thinking about Itachi's purpose in infiltrating Konoha and finding them.

Is he trying to capture Itachi, or is he targeting me? If so, what does he want? The other party has taken that Byakugan from the defecting Kirigakure ninja.

Could it be that they've set their sights on the Sharingan of our Uchiha clan? But everyone should know the Sharingan's flaws.

Those who are not of the Uchiha clan bloodline cannot shut down the Sharingan; it will continuously consume their chakra.

Although Shisui quickly guessed the possibility that the other party had come here, he was not sure if it was true. Could someone really be that crazy?

"Oh, you know me?"

"Although my identity was exposed by the Corpse Bone Pulse, I have been inactive in the ninja world for a year."

Izumi wasn't worried about the other party doing anything underhanded, because at that moment, he was staring intently at them with his Byakugan.

If he makes any move that he wants to notify others, he will cut it off immediately, not to mention that a small barrier has already been set up nearby.

The white bones that shot out along the way have been activated as nodes, and what is happening here is unknown to those outside.

"Of course I know. After all, I was on the front lines in the Land of Rivers when you defected to Kirigakure. I remember it very clearly."

"The Hyuga clan ninjas reacted very strongly, especially those who failed to protect the main clan, and they demanded that you be hunted down."

"If Lord Danzo hadn't only sent a small squad to hunt you down in order to consolidate the battle lines, you probably wouldn't have had the chance to appear here."

Unexpectedly, he received some unexpected information: the only force chasing him back then was a branch family team, and it turns out that Danzo was also involved.

"Should I thank Danzo for not agreeing to let all the Hyuga ninjas come looking for me?"

Izumiwa made a light joke, but he wouldn't accept that favor. If all the Hyuga branch family ninjas were to come and hunt him down, would the battle lines still exist? Who would resist the Mist Ninjas?

Are you kidding me? Are we going to rely entirely on the Uchiha clan?

"Alright, you don't need to be so wary. I'm here just to make a deal with you."

With his hand-shaped bone blade planted in the ground, Izumi Kawa spread his hands slightly as he looked at the two, revealing an attitude of having no intention of being enemies.

This made Zhishui frown, seemingly not understanding what the other party had to offer them in exchange for something.

Izumi smiled slightly, stretched out his hand, pointed at Uchiha Itachi, and slowly said, "You... seem to care a lot about that kid."

"But he suffers from a bloodline disease, are you aware of that?"

Upon hearing this, Shisui's expression changed immediately, and Itachi looked slightly bewildered, clearly unaware of the matter at the moment.

Shisui's expression turned cold. He didn't lower the short blade in his hand, but said coldly, "Stop talking nonsense and trying to deceive us."

Izumikawa didn't care about such doubts and continued, "Whether you believe it or not is up to you. Of course, you can also have someone check that kid's body. His name is Itachi, right?"