Naruto Dream Fulfillment Master

Page 187

After hesitating for a long time, Itachi finally broke the silence and said in a low voice, "...There's one more thing."

His voice was very soft, and there was an unusual hesitation in his eyes, "Do you... know about a strange dream?"

Upon hearing this, Kakashi and Hiruzen Sarutobi were both startled, and their expressions immediately became somewhat strange.

"Dream"

This word was so special to them that when they heard Itachi mention it, the same thought popped into their minds at the same time: Could it be that Itachi also...?

Hiruzen Sarutobi's pipe-smoking motion froze in mid-air, and Kakashi's pen also paused abruptly.

The two looked at each other, neither speaking for a moment, their expressions a mixture of confusion and surprise.

Itachi took in everything, his pupils contracting slightly. He instantly made a judgment and couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief: "It seems... you knew."

Hiruzen Sarutobi recovered his senses, took a deep drag on his pipe, and his hoarse voice slowly emerged through the smoke: "Not bad. Much of our information about the Akatsuki and the masked man came from that dream."

Kakashi then realized what had happened. Recalling Itachi's previous actions, a thought flashed through his mind, and he exclaimed, "Itachi, when you secretly returned to Konoha, you must have seen Sasuke's dream, right?"

Upon hearing this, Itachi's pupils shrank sharply: "You seem to be very familiar with that dream?"

Kakashi not only knew about the dream, but even immediately identified "Sasuke's dream," which was no coincidence.

Could it be that Konoha had already figured out the source of the dream?

“That’s true.” Kakashi nodded, a wry smile on his face. “Actually, the source of this bizarre dream is Naruto and your brother Sasuke! We’ve observed… or rather, ‘watched’ many of these dreams.”

After a moment, Itachi seemed to remember something, and his expression became serious again.

He took a deep breath and slowly said, "There's something else... The masked man—that is, Uchiha Obito—told me that he can control that dream."

"Controlling dreams?!" Kakashi frowned upon hearing this, then gave a wry smile.

He shook his head helplessly: "You've been fooled by him. No one can control that strange dream!"

He paused for a moment, a bitter smile playing on his lips. “Actually, Obito kidnapped me not long ago because he wanted to know how to enter a dream world, hoping to extract some ‘secret’ from me.”

This shows that Obito's understanding of dreams was no deeper than theirs.

"He himself is racking his brains to find a way, so how could he possibly have already taken control of the dream?"

After listening to Kakashi's explanation, Itachi nodded slightly, without showing much surprise on his face.

In fact, he had some doubts when the masked man claimed to be able to control dreams, and now that it has been confirmed, it was exactly what he expected.

“As expected…” Itachi said in a low voice, a cold smile playing on his lips, “He’s a liar.”

At that moment, a weight was lifted from his heart.

However, Itachi did not dwell on this topic too much; instead, a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes.

'However, this might not be a bad thing for me.'

'Without this incident, I wouldn't have been able to gain Obito's trust so easily.'

'After all, I don't trust Obito, and likewise, has Obito ever truly trusted me?'

But after this incident...

Recalling Obito's smug expression after he thought he had found his weakness, a hint of mockery flashed in Itachi's eyes.

This might be an opportunity!

The wooden study was quiet, with only the occasional soft hissing of the oil lamp.

After a long pause, Hiruzen Sarutobi slowly put down his pipe and broke the silence, saying, "Itachi."

He looked at the young man in front of him, his eyes full of praise and admiration. "Your infiltration back to the village this time not only brought important intelligence, but also answered many of our questions... If you have any other requests or need Konoha's help, just say so."

Upon hearing this, Itachi was taken aback for a moment, then realized that Hiruzen Sarutobi had completely let go of his resentment towards him.

He paused, a hint of hesitation on his face, as if he was organizing his thoughts.

After two seconds, he slowly spoke, his voice low and hoarse: "...Actually, I did come back this time with a request."

He took a deep breath after speaking, his expression suddenly becoming extremely serious. "My body... I'm afraid it won't be able to hold on much longer."

These words shocked everyone in the room.

Kakashi's pupils contracted slightly, and he asked incredulously, "You're sick too?"

Could it be that the real-life itachi, like the one in the dream, has contracted an incurable disease?!

Hiruzen Sarutobi's hand, which was holding a pipe, suddenly froze.

Itachi nodded, a wry smile tinged with helplessness: "That's right. And my situation is much more serious than 'him' in the dream."

He subconsciously raised his hand to cover his lips, his chest heaving as if he was having difficulty breathing.

Upon closer inspection, his face was unusually pale, with a thin layer of sweat on his forehead, and his cheeks, framed by black hair, were so thin they appeared almost sickly.

Clearly, the burden on this body had long exceeded its limits.

"I saw in my dream that Lady Tsunade seemed to have a way to cure this disease, so... that's why I dared to come back to seek help."

"I'll take you to see Tsunade!" Hiruzen Sarutobi agreed without hesitation.

Before he finished speaking, he had already put down his pipe and was leaning on the edge of the table as if he was about to get up.

“No,” however, Itachi raised his hand and gently shook his head, stopping Hiruzen Sarutobi from doing so.

"I cannot appear in the village openly," he said solemnly. "Obito has a very powerful force that has already secretly infiltrated various ninja villages. If I show my face in Konoha, my identity may be exposed immediately."

Itachi recalled the clues he had discovered over the years since joining Akatsuki—whenever there was any movement in any country, the masked man was always the first to know, indicating that he must have planted special spies in various places.

Although he had never seen those mysterious troops in person before, he could not afford to be careless.

Kakashi frowned upon hearing this: "You mean, those monsters that can disguise themselves as other people?"

The strange creature he had encountered in his dream quickly flashed through his mind.

Those guys can perfectly transform into any ninja, making them virtually impossible to defend against.

“I don’t know the specifics either,” Itachi said, shaking his head with a serious expression. “Anyway, they are very mysterious and come and go without a trace. They have collected a lot of information about various villages for Obito. We can’t take this risk.”

"I see..." Hiruzen Sarutobi nodded slowly, his white eyebrows furrowing together.

After a moment's thought, he made a decision, "It seems that Kakashi should go and invite Tsunade over!"

Having Tsunade personally treat Itachi in this secluded place would ensure that Itachi's whereabouts would not be discovered by outsiders, and would also allow for the prompt commencement of treatment—a truly foolproof plan.

"Understood." Kakashi immediately accepted the order.

He closed the notebook in his arms, rolled up the several pages of information he had just recorded, and handed it to Hiruzen Sarutobi for safekeeping. Then he replied briskly, "I'll go right away. Please wait a moment, I'll be right back!"

After saying that, Kakashi pushed open the door and quickly left.

The room fell silent once more.

Only Hiruzen Sarutobi remained, sitting alone behind the table, puffing on his pipe.

The bluish-gray smoke curled upwards, filling the air with a pungent tobacco aroma.

Itachi sat quietly cross-legged in a corner, half of his body hidden in the shadows, without saying a word.

Hiruzen Sarutobi glanced sideways at the taciturn young man, his eyes filled with increasing pity.

Deep down, he truly felt sorry for Itachi—Uchiha Itachi was undoubtedly a rare genius and a Konoha ninja who truly inherited the "Will of Fire".

It is truly heartbreaking that such a loyal and outstanding junior is now seriously ill and on the verge of death!

Hiruzen Sarutobi couldn't help but sigh inwardly: What a pity...

Time passes slowly in silence.

No one spoke inside; only the second hand of the clock in the corner ticked faintly.

Not long after, several hurried footsteps suddenly came from the corridor outside the door.

Immediately afterwards, a cheerful female voice rang out from afar: "Old man! You can't blame me! You know how troublesome Danzo is!"

Upon hearing this voice, Hiruzen Sarutobi's tense expression relaxed slightly. He gave a soft snort: "Hmph, don't give me that! I didn't call you here for Danzo's matter. Come in and we'll talk!"

With a creak, the wooden door to the study was pushed open forcefully, and a tall, blond figure strode in.

It was none other than the Fifth Hokage, Tsunade.

She stepped into the room, the crimson hem of the Hokage's robe fluttering slightly beneath her cloak, exuding an aura of decisiveness and efficiency.

Tsunade was initially full of complaints, but after actually entering the room, her gaze suddenly fixed on Itachi in the corner.

The young man sat quietly in the shadows, thin and pale, his obsidian-like eyes calmly gazing at him.

"Old man, what's going on?" Tsunade was taken aback, her almond-shaped eyes widening as she looked at Hiruzen Sarutobi in surprise.

She clearly recognized that young, handsome, yet sickly pale face—Uchiha Itachi, an S-rank rogue ninja, appearing in the Third Hokage's private residence.

Hiruzen Sarutobi remained calm: "I'll explain the details later. Right now, the most important thing is—you should check Itachi's body first."

As he spoke, he pointed in the direction where Itachi was, his expression extremely solemn.

Upon hearing this, Tsunade raised an eyebrow and turned her gaze back to Itachi.

"A physical examination?" she murmured, then quickly realized what she meant and nodded, "Okay."

Despite her lingering doubts, she suppressed them for the time being and strode toward Itachi.

Taking a few steps closer, Tsunade examined Itachi's complexion by the light of the oil lamp.

Even she, who was used to seeing life and death, couldn't help but change color slightly—Itachi's complexion was really too bad!

His skin was pale, almost transparent, with faint bluish-black under his eyes and bloodless lips. He exuded a sense of extreme weakness, as if he were terminally ill.

This state is like a flickering candle in a storm, ready to go out at any moment.

"Tsk..." Tsunade clicked her tongue lightly and couldn't help but shake her head. "I don't even need to examine you to know that you're quite ill."

Her golden pupils narrowed slightly.

I never imagined that a young ninja's body would be so weak, as if he would collapse at any moment.

Upon hearing this, Itachi did not refute it, and tried his best to make himself look less bad.

"Let me take a closer look." Tsunade abandoned her nonchalant attitude, her sword-like eyebrows furrowing slightly. She extended a hand and slowly placed it on Itachi's shoulder. She gathered chakra in her palm, and a layer of warm, pale green light immediately appeared between her fingers—she was intently sensing the life signs and chakra flow within Itachi's body.

As the examination deepened, Tsunade's brows furrowed more and more tightly.

With each passing second, the solemn expression on Tsunade's still-charming face deepened.