Chapter 215: Plans Change

[Itachi-san, farewell.]

Hoshigaki Kisame had originally intended to step in and rescue him, but three elite jōnin were constantly watching him, and their expressions and eyes made it clear that any action would be risky. Deciding not to linger, he decisively abandoned his partner's lifeless body and fled in an instant.

Facing Utakata alone might have been doable—each was familiar with the other's techniques and blades—but adding Momochi Zabuza to the fight made it impossible. Both knew each other's abilities inside and out, and in that situation, Kisame couldn't fully exploit the special properties of his sword, Samehada. On his own, he had no chance of defeating so many powerful opponents.

"Caw, caw, caw!"

Suddenly, the crows in the sky were swallowed by the pitch-black flames of Amaterasu. In no time, they were burned to ashes and fell into the water.

"Splash!"

After killing Itachi, Uchiha Sasuke dropped the corpse and clutched his forehead in pain. The atmosphere grew tense again as Utakata and Momochi Zabuza closed in on Uchiha Fugaku and his son, looking ready to press the attack.

"Wait!"

The white-haired man, who was healing Link at the time, suddenly shouted. A moment earlier, he had felt nothing but sorrow at the prospect of losing a life, yet—

"Hoo~…"

Link exhaled and stood up from Haku's arms. The wound on his chest was gone without a trace; only the tear in his clothing hinted at the power of that Chidori strike.

[A clone technique can actually nullify a fatal injury…?]

The instant he was run through by Chidori, Link was preparing to use his Delicate Illness Extraction Technique with all his might to keep himself alive—along with popping some pills if necessary. He had also realized early on that Sasuke was likely under the influence of Kotoamatsukami and suspected that the whole idea of him rushing here to fight might be part of some larger Uchiha scheme. That fanatic manipulator behind the scenes could make anything happen.

Yet he never imagined that even though his body had obviously been pierced, the shadow clone wasn't dispelled. That faint connection still allowed him to separate his head and torso. The destruction of his heart didn't affect his brain at all. Apart from being briefly unable to move, there was no other harm done.

It made sense if he thought about it: even the Eight Gates—capable of literally tearing a body apart—could have its damage erased by this clone technique. So, getting impaled through the chest was basically nothing.

Link promptly revised his plan to "play dead." Instead of simply canceling the clone and getting back up, he coordinated with Uchiha Itachi to fake his own death. Part of it was in hopes of triggering Sasuke's Mangekyō Sharingan awakening; another part was to hide the true effects of his technique. It was highly likely that both Zetsu and Obito were secretly observing Itachi's battle, so Link wanted to disguise that damage-negation ability as some other jutsu—something akin to Izanagi. He also wanted to delay the apparent "healing" time, faking a weakness. What's more, now that a Mangekyō Sharingan user was on the scene, Link's thoughts had been racing, and he was even reconsidering his initial overly cautious approach.

By the very nature of his clone technique, as long as he protected his head, he needn't fear death. With Sasuke's Mangekyō awakened, a few wild ideas he once dismissed could actually be viable.

"Link?!"

Utakata's expression shifted from a mix of killing intent and sorrow to one of startled relief. Then he almost smiled—but held it in—managing only to say, "That's great."

After all, Utakata had been alone for so long. He had only just found a "friend" who accepted and needed him—not as a Jinchūriki or a weapon, but as an equal. How could he possibly bear losing that friend?

Uchiha Fugaku also breathed a sigh of relief and lowered his kunai; it was best not to continue fighting. While surprised that Link had survived, Fugaku felt mostly glad. From his perspective, all that had happened could be seen as good news: Itachi had found some peace, and Sasuke had awakened the Mangekyō. The pain of that awakening was just the necessary price—like bringing a young son to the battlefield: if you want something, you must pay for it.

Baki, meanwhile, stayed in character as the ever-patient spy, carefully memorizing each new detail. "Resurrection? Or some jutsu that heals mortal wounds?" He took note of it all, intent on passing the information along someday.

Momochi Zabuza, unfamiliar with Link's abilities, was momentarily stunned to see him stand up. Soon, however, he calmly accepted such a powerful technique's existence. After all, this was the same person who could freely summon the dead into battle and disturb the Pure Land on a whim. Being that strong at only eleven years old was practically on par with being the Sage of Six Paths' child.

"Partner, meow~!"

Tears in her eyes, Hina clung to Link's leg. "I'm so glad you're okay, meow."

A shadow pulled Uchiha Itachi's body and the unconscious Jūgo out of the water. Link patted Hina's head and smiled at Sasuke in the distance.

"Hey, do you really need me to walk over there and invite you? I'm a wounded man, y'know."

He pointed at his exposed chest. Uchiha Fugaku gave Sasuke a reassuring pat on the back. Sasuke, wiping the bloody tears from his face, slowly walked forward and opened his mouth:

"I—"

"Congratulations. You've taken care of one target on your revenge list," Link interrupted, anticipating an apology. Some emotions, if left unspoken, are easier to manage—and it makes the person more useful as a tool.

Still, he was curious about Sasuke's newly awakened Mangekyō abilities. Judging by the pain Sasuke showed after rushing over to kill Itachi, he must have used some Mangekyō technique. But no obvious visual clue had appeared, so it probably wasn't standard abilities like Amaterasu or Kagutsuchi. He had no way to know if all his talk about time travel had helped.

With that in mind, Link stepped forward, patted Sasuke on the shoulder, and smiled. "C'mon—let's go home."

Utakata's expression didn't change much, but he looked slightly displeased when his eyes fell on Sasuke. Hina, on the other hand, simply followed along happily, not overthinking things.

With only a little time left on the Rashōmon summoning, Link told the three elite jōnin and Haku they were free to go, thanking them all the while. He wasn't worried about Zabuza or Baki spilling his secrets. In fact, concealing the jutsu's true effect required others to spread the "wrong" information around. If Uchiha Fugaku wanted to follow his son, so be it. Momochi Zabuza and Haku took their leave, and Baki—reluctant to appear too eager to leak secrets—chose to leave with Link's group. Possibly he was overthinking it.

All the while, Sasuke remained lost in his tangled mix of hatred, sorrow, confusion, and joy. The emotional roller coaster of killing "that man" had left him numb.

Link summoned an Earth Dragon, its light sweeping across the ground.

[Zetsu, I know you're there, watching.]

Had the timing been right, he would have tried to strike up a conversation with Black Zetsu right then. Aside from his mutated ninjutsu, knowledge of the "story" itself was Link's greatest advantage.

As far as he could tell, he and Zetsu had no major clash of interests, so perhaps he could hitch a ride on Zetsu's plans to gather Tailed Beast chakra.

Obito's and Madara's Eye of the Moon Plan didn't concern him; thwarting it later would be as easy as snapping his fingers.

Now that Hidan, Kakuzu, and Sasuke's enemy Itachi were gone, and had withdrawn from Akatsuki, Link felt no direct conflict remained.

[Working together might not be a bad option after all…]

A mysterious light flickered in Link's eyes as he mulled the possibilities.

~~~

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