KNY x Naruto

THREE

Water estate

Sitting against a tree out by the pond in the garden of the water estate, Itachi was thinking over the preparations needed for the mission. 'I can take my scrolls with weapons and other requirements. I'll probably seal some other things like food, clothes and camping materials- it will do no harm to have some incase of emergency stops. I'll need a medkit, also.' Wasting no time, he opted to get started, summoning a clone. "Please relay a message to Konan. There are some people from the demon slayer corps that I will be leading through the shinobi nations. I would like to request permission for them to stay at the main akatsuki base during this time." Nodding the clone dispersed into a murder of crows that flew off out of the visible range.

Entering back into his home Itachi gathered some blank scrolls, a brush and some ink, setting them out on his main table. He lay his nichirin blade out and begun infusing chakra into the ink as he carved out, in perfect penmanship, intricate symbols across his scrolls. He had segregated which things were to be sealed where. A scroll for demon slayer  gear and weapons, one for ninja tools and the things needed for general survival in that world, a special scroll for his akatsuki related belongings and, finally, a scroll with food and other necessities for their journey- any extras would be kept elsewhere. This could take a while.

Meanwhile- the main akatsuki base

A flock of crows slipped past the barrier and entered the base, forming an Itachi look alike. The clone caught the attention of many of the members present as it made a beeline for Konan's room. It knocked her door twice and waited for it to open before passing on the message. "The demon slayer corps has issued a mission that will result in my return along with 7 of the 8 other hashira- the stone pillar will stay behind as they are unaware of how ninjas do battle and don't wish for his blindness to cause issues with it. (Another group will assist him in protecting the people, a boy called Tanjiro and his friends). I was sent to request that I could bring them to this base and have them stay during their time here." Konan nodded, taking in that information and led the way to Pain's office.

The office itself was relatively bare, it had stone walls like the rest of the hideout- it was technically a cave that they had renovated- and a desk central in the room with a picture of 3 children, one of which was Konan, although the other two looked like Pain could be their lovechild. Konan relayed the message of Itachi's return and repeated his request to let the hashira stay. After a few seconds of deep thought, Pain turned to Konan and the clone, agreeing to his request, allowing the clone to return.

Water estate

Having just finished preparing his things and sealing them away in scrolls, Itachi was ready to leave the next morning. Deciding to make some food he made his way to the kitchen, opening the fridge with the thought that nothing beat breakfast for dinner. A fry-up it is then. Perfectly fried in oil, he made bacon and scones. He made beautifully crisp toast. Everything was nearly done until he turned to his one true enemy- the egg. While it wasn't as big a deal as it would be if he were cooking, he wasn't prepared to let badly fried eggs ruin his meal. Three tomoe sharingan activated, he readied a kunai and cracked the egg. Hastily, he used the kunai to flick away the egg shell and watched intently, waiting until it was the right moment. When it was finally ready he shovelled the egg onto the toast. He picked up the plate from the counter and left the kitchen to go eat.

As he was about half finished the meal he suddenly started coughing to the point of spitting blood. He caught the small amount of pooling blood in his hand and a little dripped from his mouth. The violent coughing continued until he had collapsed to the floor, dropping the remainder of his food in the process and passed out.

It was getting worse- Itachi knew. He would have coughing fits often and would progressively bring up more blood each time. He had managed to keep it hidden and reframed from showing weakness Infront of others, even his parents when they were still alive. He was a prodigy, the child genius of the uchiha clan, there was no room for failure. When he had visited the hospital as a child, he had been told by the med-nin that he had weak lungs and there was nothing they could do, he had proceeded to thank them and go home to think about the new information. As they had said they were unable to do anything for it and Itachi had seemingly contracted a ,possibly (he wasn't sure yet), terminal disease which made things far more troublesome. He knows he will die young, he just hopes to see Sasuke become stronger and kill him before this illness does.

After some time the crows had returned to the water estate. Checking the well-being of and waking Itachi, they informed him that his request had been granted and he could bring the hashira to the hideout. He was, of course, thankful as that made finding living arrangements far easier than it would have been otherwise. He considered sending them back to thank them but figured it would be easier to do that once he arrived in person. Allowing the crow to return, he stood up and started cleaning himself of blood and his supposed dinner he had spilled over the floor. He was exhausted but knew he wouldn't have time for this with his early leave the next morning.

After having finished cleaning the floor, dished and his hand and face, he grabbed a glass of water and headed towards his bedroom. Completely bypassing the idea of brushing his teeth, he was too tired and would do it tomorrow, he changed and opted to sleep early.