The Heir Is Heading For The Throne!

(3rd Person POV)

As Kei opened his eyes, he could immediately feel 'it' radiating irritation towards him.

No words were spoken in his mind, no force was exerted upon Kei forcefully… and yet he could feel the gears of his mind changing, thoughts being replaced, or completely thrown away… like a machine rewriting itself to become more efficient.

It wasn't the first time, and it wasn't going to be the last that this kind of process happened either. While this was the first time in a while big changes were undergoing, the same process also occurred every time Kei fought.

Satisfying Kei's lust had proved no visible improvement within Kei that couldn't be achieved by simply blocking or removing it. It was merely registered as a waste of time in regard to him and an alternative option to making a target more cooperative if mind control happened to be unavailable or ineffective in regard to the partner.

As Kei blinked, the process was already finished. He put on his attire, tied his long hair in a ponytail, and turned to look at the bed.

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(MC POV)

"Wake up." – I said as I looked at Konan laying down on the bed.

It didn't take long as the young woman turned to look at him and slowly stretched out.

"You know what to do already. Get ready properly and get going. I don't want him to suspect anything is wrong with you."

Konan smiled and agreed with a small nod of her head.

"Of course. But disappearing for days after Jiraya was killed is going to make him wary." – She said as she also started to dress.

I nodded as I answered back.

"Indeed, that is why you are going to show how sad some students become once their teacher has died. Shinobi around here tend to be surprisingly susceptible to melancholic arguments." – 'Talk no Jutsu' seems to work on everyone, why should Naruto be the only one to use it.

'Hell, maybe if I use it correctly I can get Kaguya to become my food on her own without fighting… Nah.' – I thought as I waved for Konan to depart.

As she left, I moved on my own, slowly heading outside, taking in the walls as I observed them closely. Not long after I stooped before one, carefully looking at it and calculating the distance.

A second after I nodded and reached into my pocket, pulling an explosive tag and placing it into the wall, using the experience gathered from shinobi excelling in sabotage to identify the structural weak points. Using a Jutsu would make it much easier to track me down… though, with Jiraya now gone I was doubtful anyone was on my track… still, it was better to be safe than sorry.

Walking slowly I made sure to 'secure' every corner of the facility. Given that it was a research site, it still held information and countless traces of experimentation, few of which included… 'infected' subjects. Though long since removed, minute traces remained within the facility.

I walked to the entrance and stopped a few dozen of meters outside the base. Being underground, all that could be seen was the entrance. Raising two fingers, a series of explosions could be felt through the ground as smoke escaped from the entrance before it collapsed.

Through the Zero-Tails I could feel the anger and desperation of the test subjects fuel me for a few moments, the fire, explosion, or lack of air claiming them moments later.

'Earth Style: Mobile Core.'

Putting my palm in the ground, the entrance submerged itself as I turned and made to leave, only to feel a presence approaching me at high speed. It was small… insignificant, and slightly familiar.

A few moments later, a small dog appeared before me.

"You are Kakashi's summon… Pakkun, if I am not mistaken."

"It's a pleasure to meet you Hokage-sama." - the dog greeted as it lowered its head slightly.

A small problem that I overlooked at my own peril, lucky enough to avoid it early before causing major complications… was the fact that once I absorbed someone, they would essentially be alive… meaning their names would reappear on the summon contract, able to be reverse summoned.

It was surprising to see how few actually had a summoning contract though, them being a fairly common appearance in the show.

Luckily, the shinobi dogs summons, ninken, lived in isolated packs, Kakashi's having no contact with Inuzuka's who emphasized living together with the Inuzuka clan in the Shinobi world.

Just mentioning that Kakashi was on a secret mission was enough to quell their interest in the case, though, given their extremely loyal nature to their summoner, even him betraying the village may prompt nothing more than a raised eyebrow.

It seems that except for the extremely nosy toads, summons rarely showed interest in the Shinobi world when it didn't directly affect their summoners.

So far the Snakes were my preferred choice as far as servants go. Manda may have had the right to keep his attitude with Orochimaru… but he was quick to learn his place. Giving him the 'stick', I quickly trained him to be a proper subordinate… and then I offered him the 'carrot' that he couldn't refuse.

Manda was born superior to every snake in the Ryuchi Cave, his only shortcoming being his personality and his relatively younger age to the older and more wise leaders of the cave. With my offer, there would soon be only one snake in the Ryuchi cave… and later, he would play a much more important role than any other summon in this world.

As a grin was about to surface on my face I immediately stopped myself, keeping track of the fact that Pakkun was still here.

"Since you have come to seek me, what can I help you with Pakkun?" – I asked with a slight smile on my face.

Pakkun rummaged near the bandage in his leg as he pulled a small piece of paper tied to it and handed it to me.

"Kakashi suddenly summoned me to deliver this to you. He said it was important."

It was probably sent by a clone as not to disperse itself. Tracking Sasuke is easy so it must be from the clone tracking Itachi.

I opened the small piece of paper to read its contents.

[The Heir Is Heading For The Throne.]

(A/N: Cause I'll be damned if Itachi doesn't look like a king sitting in his own castle in that Uchiha fortress/hideout.)

It is extremely vague if you don't know what to look for, so it doesn't matter if Pakkun was intercepted or decided to read it. At worst the clone will dispel itself.

So… Itachi is heading to the Uchiha Clan Hideout. Quite earlier than I expected but then again, I did strain him quite a bit more than intended in the original.

'Time to put on a show and win me an Oscar.' - I thought as a little grin emerged on my face, only to be replaced immediately afterward.