Are you leaving already?
Yes.
I see…
You awakened your Sharingan at age eight…
I supposed the Village wants to observe your abilities.
This just shows how much power and influence the Sharingan holds.
I want you to be aware of that.
It brings joy to the clan when one of its own excels.
Of course, I'm very proud of you too.
He died…
Father.
But, do not rest on your laurels
just because you have the Sharingan now.
In order to sharpen the power in your eyes,
you must continue to be diligent.
Well, I don't need to lecture you.
You are my son, after all.
My friend died…
But, Father is…
Yes, Father.
I will continue to be diligent.
Good.
I'll be on my way now.
Big Brother!
You said you'd play with me today!
That's right, I did, didn't I?
But I have a mission.
Forgive me, Sasuke. Next time.
Sorry about that, Sasuke.
I'm gonna borrow your brother for a little bit.
Itachi's Story – Light and Darkness: Shisui's Request
Why did you lie?
Sasuke resents me now.
NO TRESPASSING I know that was wrong of me…
But Sasuke's a smart kid…
I think he'll understand.
"First, have one genin accompany you,
"and secure the scroll in question."
Even if my training exercise required a genin,
it really didn't have to be you.
Don't say that now!
Even if it's not a real mission,
none other than Shisui the jonin requested me.
I'm not lying when I say it's a mission, right?
Well, you're half right.
Let's go.
What are the details of the training exercise?
There are three parts.
The first part is to find traces left by a fugitive, and then to track him.
Pretty good!
Let's start from here.
A footprint left on moss…
As expected from Shisui…
He doesn't miss the slightest details.
This is…
Our guy stepped on a piece of a branch…
Very perceptive of you!
But, that's just a decoy.
Dry wood like that would snap when stepped on…
but this piece still has a lot of moisture.
Also, see this clean cut?
Obviously, he was in a hurry to make a decoy…
Sloppy work.
Don't be disappointed…
An animal could have left that indentation in the moss,
but only humans make decoys.
And if he laid the decoy over in that direction…
A stone?
Yes.
The underside is dry and the top is damp.
Could this be a decoy too?
Well…That's very possible.
The moisture on the rock will tell us
how long ago he was here.
I see!
Judging from the dryness, only a short while has passed.
This scent!
Perfect!
Let's go!
I think a fish left that mark behind.
So it's not a decoy?
No. That's the main purpose of leaving decoys.
Everything starts to look like them.
Confusing their pursuers gives the fugitive many additional options.
At this rate, there's no way I can find the fugitive by myself.
I need to develop better tracking skills.
You're half right.
Here.
Drink up.
It's because you're exceptional, Itachi…
That's why…
I bet you've never tried to understand
the feelings of someone who's not.
Having the skills to track a fugitive is important,
but so is understanding how he thinks.
If you can understand his mindset,
sometimes you can thwart a fugitive even without those skills.
I see!
So…
Let's move on to the second part of the training exercise.
The second part?
Yeah…
To encamp at night.
The textbook said campfires are prohibited.
So does this mean there's another reason behind doing this?
Just eat.
You're exceptional, Itachi.
I'm still inexperienced.
Earlier, if I had more skills…
That's true.
Don't laugh!
Sorry, sorry… It just makes me happy.
"Happy"?
Huh? No!
Just listen…
I thought that there was really nothing I could teach you.
But…
You taught me a lot today.
Yeah… And that's what made me happy.
So…
Hmm?
What about this campfire?
Oh…
It's nice to share a meal with someone you feel at ease with.
Enjoying a hot meal helps cheer you up.
Eat it while it's hot.
Yeah… It's warm and tasty!
Told you so!
But…
If I'm really exceptional…
He wouldn't have died.
I'm still so inexperienced.
So why would someone like me…
I…
Hmm?
Awakened the Sharingan…
I see…
Is that why…you lied?
"Lied"?
You said the same thing at the start of practice.
You're good at fooling yourself.
That's why you can't grasp your true feelings.
You didn't want to stay at home, right?
That's the look you had on your face.
That might be true…
Shisui picked up on how I felt from the very beginning…
I'll be happy to listen any time you want to talk.
The final part of the training exercise is about to start.
I'll assist you to the best of my abilities!
The pursuers are ANBU?!
Is this an exercise?
No…
Put that out of your mind for now.
Why are you attacking a fellow Leaf shinobi?
Would you consider forgetting that you saw this and leaving?
If you're going to kill a comrade,
I can't look the other way without hearing a reason!
The truth is…
We're going after those who betrayed the village.
Where's the proof that he betrayed you?
What a waste of time.
Let's just kill them all.
Just wait…
It's not that he's a traitor.
But he has evidence that proves who the traitor is in that scroll.
If he hands it over, we will disappear.
So she says…
You want the intel… but for what purpose?
Isn't it obvious?!
Anyone who threatens the village will be punished…
We maintain the order in Leaf Village with our code of darkness!
You don't have the right to judge!
I will hand this secret missive to Lord Hokage…
Lord Hokage will make a fair and just judgment!
"A fair and just judgment"?
How naïve.
You betray the village, you die. That's that.
Even a traitor has a reason behind their actions!
The Hokage's wish is to investigate that carefully.
That's one way of thinking.
However…
This involves the entire village.
The gravity of one traitor versus one village is far too great.
What would Shisui…?
He took the opportunity to substitute himself out
while we were "advising" him…
Don't worry.
My wire is coated with poison.
His body will go numb and he won't go far.
Without words, they carry out their purpose with blades…
Leave it to the ANBU…
Or rather, Lord Danzo's Foundation, right?
Nameless individuals who maintain peace from the shadows…
I believe that is a true shinobi.
Then you share our beliefs.
No, you're wrong!
Order maintained through the power of the blade…
…is not peace!
I…
Itachi…stay out of this!
I am Itachi Uchiha!
I will fight alongside Shisui!
Itachi!
So this is the how the ANBU fight.
The Uchiha would dare to push their luck and defy us?
We will not show mercy, even to children.
At least make it fun for us!
The one your friend is fighting,
is a kunoichi who's unrivaled within the Foundation.
If you don't stop him quickly, he will die.
Retreat!
Don't underestimate the Uchiha!
Besides…he's exceptional!
Sharingan!
She keeps mixing it up with double and triple layers.
But…!
I thought he was just a child, but he has the Sharingan already?
I can see it!
So this is the power of the Sharingan!
There's no right way or wrong way to fight in a battle.
But…
I've already seen through your attacks.
I don't think so…
You have already fallen into my trap.
You're pretty good, even though you're a child.
What--? How?!
I told you…
I've seen through your attacks.
That threaded ninja tool you threw…
I changed its trajectory just a little bit.
You…damn Uchiha!
Itachi seems to be doing fine.
So I'll end things on my end!
Teleportation Jutsu!
Shadow Clones…
No, they're just Afterimage Clones.
If they're just afterimages, I'll sense out the real one…
What…? This is weird.
I can't see the real one!
Get the hell outta here!
He didn't fly off!
Namely…he has no mass. But his attack is powerful…
What's going on?
My Teleportation Jutsu has no mass.
But you could say everything has mass.
It seems the jonin observing our training exercise have noticed.
We will be watching you from the shadows…
Shisui Uchiha… Itachi Uchiha!
This is…!
It's not a fatal wound. Don't worry about it.
Back then…if I had observed the enemy more carefully…
Never mind that…
He wants us to forget this incident ever happened.
His life was threatened! So why?
If this incident becomes known,
it will sow the seeds for a new conflict.
This is not what Lord Hokage wants.
The ones who aid peace from the shadows are also…nameless.
So there was fighting,
but you assumed it was part of the training exercise?
I'm sorry.
They were extremely strong,
and I was doing my best to protect the genin,
so I didn't see their faces…
No, we're at fault for not catching their infiltration too.
I'm glad neither of you are hurt.
I'd like to talk to you more about this tomorrow.
But this training exercise is over.
Itachi, let's go home.
What's the matter?
Ah… You sprained your ankle.
You're making a big deal out of nothing.
When you first awaken the Sharingan,
sometimes there's a "slight gap"
between the image your brain foresees and your body's reaction time.
And when you try too hard to compensate for that slight gap…
this happens.
I said you're making a big deal out of nothing.
Oww!
No matter how exceptional you are, Itachi…
don't overdo it.
It's not funny!
I'm sorry!
I'm just happy.
You're really like a kid brother to me.
So being able to take you under my wing like this makes me happy.
I want you to think of me as your older brother
and depend on me for anything.
Shisui…
Hmm?
About the ANBU…
Oh…
Did I make the right decision?
I won't say yes.
I don't even know if there is such a thing as justice
in the Shinobi World.
But that's…!
We fight believing in our own justice.
But if the enemy is doing the same thing, who's right?
You realized that during today's exercise, didn't you?
There's more than one side to an issue.
You must consider things from various viewpoints.
"Various…viewpoints"?
You must be tired from using your Sharingan.
Go ahead and sleep.
But there's one thing that's certain…
I will never, ever betray you.
That's the one thing that's certain.
So it's come to this.
Shisui…
I'm…
I'm Itachi Uchiha. I'll be part of ANBU from today.
I'm looking forward to working with you.
I'm going to watch over the Hidden Leaf from within the shadows.
Starting from today, you are an ANBU squad leader.
You're not part of the Foundation,
but your missions will come from me.
There's no need to tell Hiruzen about this.
Yes, sir.
I know it's sudden but, I have a mission for you.
It's a simple assassination.
Next time on Naruto Shippuden: "Moonlit Night"
I'm assigning the two behind you as your subordinates.
Itachi's Story - Light and Darkness: Moonlit Night
Tune in again!