"It was me who handled Shisui's corpse."
Rengoku reminded, "If you want to revive Shisui in the future, then you must keep his corpse well."
There was a bit of longing in Itachi's eyes, "I know, Rengoku-senpai."
"As for whether you or Sasuke becomes the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan in the future, I'm more optimistic about you," Rengoku also straightforwardly told Itachi this point.
Itachi's face, however, showed a bit of guilt and emotion.
On one hand, he wanted Sasuke to become the Eternal Mangekyo.
On the other hand, he had just betrayed the clan, yet Rengoku trusted him so much.
Rengoku looked at Itachi's expression and immediately knew what he was thinking.
He patted Itachi's shoulder, "Don't worry, this is a matter of sequence, not about sacrificing one of you."
"Since I know so much, I naturally have to think of ways to let both your eyes evolve."
"But Sasuke is still young, and your body is still too weak. Right now, no need to think about those things."
"In the future, you must become Sasuke's role model, shield him from all disasters, and support the sky above him."
As an elder brother, one always wants to share the burden for the younger brother.
If one of the brothers must go blind, Itachi would definitely choose himself.
But with Rengoku's change in wording, Itachi could accept it.
Feeling Rengoku's expectations for him, Itachi was also moved in his heart, "Rengoku-senpai, I'm sorry, I..."
Rengoku waved his hand, "No need to say it. You still have your clan. You still have a backing to rely on."
"Harmony is what everyone yearns for. Shisui and you were not wrong, your horizons were just too narrow."
"You're still young, with infinite possibilities ahead. Don't get hung up on these things now."
"After all, the clan didn't really suffer any losses, right?"
Itachi is someone with an internally exhausting personality. Rengoku didn't want this not-yet-committed mistake to become a psychological burden on him.
Even someone like Itachi, upon hearing Rengoku's words, had flickering eyes.
"I understand, Rengoku-senpai."
Rengoku looked at the sunlight shooting in from outside, casting a long shadow of his body.
He looked at that shadow and said to Itachi, "Take this with you."
As he spoke, Rengoku's Mangekyo Sharingan spun, and the shadow on the ground actually stood up.
Then it slowly changed into Rengoku's appearance.
Meanwhile, Rengoku's original shadow imperceptibly faded a bit.
Itachi looked at the shadow in surprise. He found that the aura of this shadow was completely identical to Rengoku.
Rengoku waved his hand, and this shadow quietly came to Itachi's side.
Then it slowly merged into Itachi's shadow.
"My shadow is no different from a shadow clone, but it can move quickly within shadows."
"It can also stay hidden within your shadow."
"And I can transfer my consciousness over. In case of emergency, you can use this to contact me."
"We both use ninja crows as summoning beasts. We'll use them to send messages at a fixed time every night."
Rengoku had almost finished planning and also yawned, "Alright, that's about it."
"Go and pick the team members who'll go out with you this time. Also go say goodbye to your beloved Sasuke and your beloved Izumi."
"Senior, I… me and Izumi..."
Rengoku waved his hand, "I think she's very suitable. Don't be so shy."
"When she was attacked, she kept shouting 'Itachi, save me.' Guess why?", When Rengoku said this, he had a half-smile.
Itachi's face was a bit awkward. He and Izumi weren't lovers yet, but they were just one step away.
However, after last night's incident, their relationship had taken a big leap forward. Rengoku wasn't exactly randomly pairing people up.
People in this world tended to mature early. Itachi and Izumi had been childhood sweethearts for many years, yet hadn't confessed.
Rengoku didn't mind giving them a push, "Let me just ask, do you like Izumi?"
Itachi actually blushed, which Rengoku noticed.
It was probably the first time in his life Itachi had been forced to answer this question. He was uncharacteristically stammering.
Rengoku found it amusing and laughed, "Alright, alright. If you don't answer, I'll assume you like her."
"Mm. I like her," Itachi calmed himself and still answered truthfully.
After that night ended, the thing that occupied his mind most, besides his family, was Izumi.
He couldn't imagine, if he had really killed Izumi, how painfully he would've lived.
Seeing the lingering fear and unease on Itachi's face, Rengoku finally realized, Itachi had kept so many things to himself.
"Alright, it's okay now. Didn't I say it already? Everyone's fine. Don't overthink it," Rengoku also offered a few words of comfort.
Itachi's life shouldn't be only about his younger brother, it should also include his own love.
He and Izumi were childhood sweethearts, a very fitting pair.
Rengoku shifted the topic, "This time when you go out, it won't be convenient to come back for a while. Have you thought about saying something to her?"
Itachi's expression changed, as if he had made up his mind.
———
"Nine streets?", Fugaku was shocked when he heard the answer.
"Kushina had that much property?", Fugaku double-checked.
Mikoto nodded and said, "Yes, back then Lady Mito doted on Kushina. Before passing away, she left all her inheritance to her."
"Kushina didn't know how to manage it, so she bought up all the land and shops on the nine streets."
"Just the land deeds and house deeds filled three boxes, I've seen them."
There was some awe in Fugaku's eyes, 'Rengoku was right, there really is that much.'
Ten years ago, Asadi Brewery, Mito Road, Crechik, Bunta, and Yokodori weren't anything special.
But Konoha had been expanding and developing.
Now those nine streets had become the central area of Konoha. Land and housing prices had increased dozens of times.
Konoha's money didn't all belong to Hiruzen.
The Fourth Hokage couple's inheritance had entirely gone into Hiruzen's pocket.
After all, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki had lived a life worse than a pig or a dog since childhood.
No food, only one set of clothes, completely orphaned.
Of course the inheritance was taken by Hiruzen.
'That being said, Hiruzen secretly devoured this much money.'
'If he uses it to develop his clan...'
'Then… just how many people would the Sarutobi clan have?'
A storm surged in Fugaku's eyes. Rengoku wasn't speaking without basis.
Hiruzen's ambition definitely wasn't just to be Hokage.
Before, Fugaku thought the Uchiha and Hyuga were standard clans.
But in truth, the Sarutobi clan was the real clan.
In terms of numbers, the Uchiha and Hyuga combined couldn't compare.
At the rate Hiruzen was developing...
Three thousand Sarutobi troops in ten years wasn't impossible.
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