❁𝐈𝐙𝐔𝐌𝐈'𝐒 𝐒𝐓𝐎𝐑𝐘- 𝘈 𝘕𝘌𝘞 𝘉𝘓𝘖𝘚𝘚𝘖𝘔 𝘖𝘍 𝘏𝘖𝘗𝘌 ✔︎

Chapter 3, Part 3

The new room was surrounded by tubes full of green liquid.

Aside from the green liquid, there were people inside. People who appeared dead.

As Izumi gazed at the tubes, she activated her sharigan and went to sense their chakra. When Izumi realized they were still alive, she exhaled with relief. "They are still alive!" She exclaimed to Itachi, who appeared surprised.

Itachi approached one of the tubes and inspected it closely. "What could it be?" he thought to himself with frustration.

He turned to Izumi, who was clutching her chest tightly. Her white cloak illuminated the dark room, making her the center of attention among all the tubes.

The hand on the tube fell to Itachi's side, and he returned his attention to the tube with the unconscious woman. Every person wore white clothing. What were they planning to do to them with this liquid?

"Is it possible that it is strengthening them? Or perhaps turning them into something?" Izumi questioned Itachi, who closed his eyes and tried to think deeply about what they were dealing with.

Nothing came to mind for him. He thought back to the old experiments he remembered of Orochimaru's. But none were relevant to what this could be.

A loud crash broke Izumi and Itachi's awkward silence, and they both looked towards the door, which was now closed.

Itachi ran to save Izumi, who was about to be crushed by a rock.

The building was starting to collapse, indicating that Itachi and Izumi had infiltrated their labs.

Izumi fell forward with Itachi standing on top of her, protecting her head. Izumi blushed as he got off because of his sudden action.

Itachi, on the other hand, appeared to be completely unaware of what he had done and was only concerned with what was happening right now.

"Izumi!" Itachi yelled as Izumi nodded toward him.

She quickly stood up and went to find an exit.

She was Konoha's most flexible, dodging each boulder that fell from above. She found an exit by moving through everything with ease, as if it were parkour. She turned to face Itachi, who was right behind her.

They both watched as a tube ruptured. All of the green liquid from inside burst and fell to the floor. Nothing happened, but the woman who was inside walked out like a zombie.

Without Izumi's knowledge, she was tackled by one of them, and she and the woman fell from the exit. Itachi attempted to grab her and jumped down to chase her, but a series of boulders had formed a walkway between them.

Izumi kicked the woman away and used her kunai to kill her.

Itachi activated his susanoo, regardless of how draining it was, and broke down the wall between them. She covered herself as pieces of it flew away.

"Izumi! Are you alright?" Itachi asked as he ran to her checking if she was injured.

She looked up at him, shocked. He had used his susanoo to break down a wall. To save her, he used one of his most exhausting and draining abilities.

Her eyes softened; "Yes, I am fine. We have to leave before anything else gets to us! I am sure all of those tubes have broken by now..." Izumi spoke as she turned to examine a few broken tubes.

Itachi hummed in response, "Right... let's go then!" He exclaimed.

-

Kakashi observed the village from his office. Thinking of different strategies and ways to help his ninja complete missions more quickly.

The only thing that would cross his mind would be the bird that never arrived with the message from Itachi and Izumi.

Shikamaru then entered the office, appearing stressed as usual. Kakaski turned to face him, surprised by his sudden appearance, and stood before him, looking at the floor.

"The bird we sent out contained all of the information about the enemy. He was killed," Shikamaru said.

Kakashi stared at him with wide eyes. "What!? How!" He exclaimed in shock.

The bird they sent out was their best yet. The fastest and most adept at hiding. How could it have died, despite having such incredible abilities?

Kakaski groaned as he became frustrated with the situation. "Do we have any idea where Itachi and Izumi are?" Kakaski asked, hoping for better news.

Shikamaru placed a report on Kakashi's desk and looked at him with serious eyes. "Yeah, their report. They are mostly staying low, trying to learn as much as they can about the cellars and enemies that team eight managed to gather while they were there. I am sure they have already infiltrated some buildings and begun to take action," he said.

Kakashi sighed as he returned his gaze to the window. "Very good," he said.

He fidgeted with his fingers as he considered the idea carefully.

Sending reinforcements. Strong enough to defeat the enemies they are dealing with while also relaying the message they intended to send previously.

"Get that list ready, Shikamaru. We might just need it sooner or later," Kakashi said with narrowed eyes.