The Uchiha clan's prodigy, one of the murderers who led the tragic downfall of his own lineage, marked as a treacherous S-class traitor of Konoha...

But the hidden truth: he was simply a man affected by a mental illness called brother complex, driven to sacrifice everything to protect his younger brother!

Itachi Uchiha: Since our love is forbidden, then hate me, my stupid odoudou!

Ahem. Let's not go in that strange direction. Just know Itachi was the unwelcome visitor in the village.

Ever since they showed themselves in Konoha, Shino had been tracking the movements of Itachi and his partner, Kisame Hoshigaki. Truth be told, they were even easier to track than Orochimaru.

Despite wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat to conceal their faces, their distinct Akatsuki attire clearly marked their presence amongst the other villagers.

A long, black cloak with a chin-high collar, its body adorned with striking crimson clouds outlined in white.

This iconic outfit was really hard to miss. Adding onto this fact, it was clear Itachi and Kisame didn't mean to hide.

Otherwise, even Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai wouldn't find them, let alone Shino.

From his bug surveillance network, Shino had tracked the group moving through Konoha, finally coming to a stop by the river, their actions and movements indicating that they were about to engage in battle.

Shino could see that the Akatsuki duo had strategically chosen the most advantageous battlefield. Putting a water body and shark man Kisame together... it was hard to lose if Kisame gets serious.

Disguising his clone with the image of Anbu, Shino prepared to observe the battle from a safe distance and at a high vantage point.

The first to jump out were naturally the couple, Asuma and his teacher Kurenai.

The two jonins were... obviously oblivious to the danger.

From his spot, Shino noticed both sides engaged in a conversation, but he couldn't hear anything due to his cautious approach of keeping even his surveillance bugs at a far distance.

The closest insect monitors were the ones blending into the river water, but the sound was still muffled and distorted due to the distance, making it impossible to hear anything clearly.

But, he really didn't dare to let them get too close because any closer would only increase the risks. 

Although his bugs were resistant to certain illusions, he was aware of Itachi's powerful genjutsu and didn't want to take any chances.

Even if his bugs miraculously had immunity to to Itachi's illusions, there was a high chance that Itachi's Sharingan could discover his insects. It would be troublesome if Itachi mistook him for one of Root's personnel and packaged him as a greeting gift to that bad old man, or worse... attempting to trace the bug back to its source.

Though his physical body was not present at the scene, Shino couldn't shake the hunch that Itachi's Kaleidoscope Sharingan might still pose a threat to him.

His bug clone being immune to genjutsu doesn't rule out the possibility that Itachi could directly target his consciousness and drag him into the depths of his Tsukuyomi world.

From across a screen alone, he already knew all too well the terrifying power of Tsukuyomi, and the mere thought of being trapped within it was enough to send shivers down his spine.

Although it was unknown if there was a distance of effectiveness for the eye power, Shino was not going to gamble that it wouldn't affect his main body hidden far away.

Better to be safe than sorry. He can test Itachi all he wants later, after the man loses to his brother…

Shino returned his attention to the confronting duos. The tension in the air cloaked the Konoha couple as the impending battle drew nearer.

The elusive dance of conflict was set ablaze by none other than Itachi's companion, Kisame.

Different from Itachi, Kisame carried along an extra brown sash, meticulously positioned across the front and back of his cloak. This was used to hold his weapon - a subtle reminder of his connection to the legendary Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Enveloped in layers of bandages, Samehada, a colossal sword stretching to the height of a grown warrior, exuded an undeniable air of mystery as it nestled comfortably upon Kisame's back.

However, the sizable sword didn't appear out of place because Kisame himself was a muscular figure even amongst shinobi, possessing a commanding stature and a unique countenance reminiscent of a predatory shark; his pale blue-grey skin accentuating his inhuman presence.

Sharp triangular teeth graced his powerful jaws, and small, piercing white eyes glistened with untamed intensity, framed by three elegant sets of curved markings etched beneath them.

Yet, it was his blue hair, meticulously styled into a resolute shark fin, that completed the portrait of this warrior, epitomizing both style and danger in equal measure.

And it was danger which was displayed as Kisame unleashed the full force of his primal aggression, making the first move with Samehada!

Lunging at Asuma with a ferocity that was almost impossible to capture, his Samehada swung down!

Asuma managed to dodge the first attack, but Kisame was quick to follow up with a second strike!

Asuma barely managed to block the blow with his chakra blades, his hands visibly trembling from the force of the impact.

And with this, the first exchange of blows was completed with seemingly no pause, the two strikes happening within a mere second!

The speed at which the battle was being fought struck a chord in Shino's heart. It was unlike anything he had witnessed thus far!

In fact, Asuma and Kisame's short confrontation happened so quickly that it would have been impossible for Shino to see if he didn't have the dynamic vision of his various bugs!

High-level battles... even if one wants to watch, they had to have the basic capability. Fortunately, his system had playback...

Of course, the fight won't wait for Shino just because he was trying to catch up.

Asuma and Kisame continued to exchange attacks, their strikes sharp and precise, each one aimed with deadly intent, but the result was Asuma suffering a loss.

But it wasn't known if Asuma's injury was intentional... because he did achieve the goal of gaining the sympathy of his nearby partner, Kurenai.

This Asuma - his calculations weren't bad at all. No wonder he could teach Shikamaru the genius.

Whatever the case may be, Shino knew that it had an effect because it hastened Kurenai's ambush.

Kurenai's tactic was obviously... using her genjutsu to its greatest effect. In the anime, Shino recalled that she wove illusions to make herself seemingly vanish.

In reality... Shino watched his teacher skillfully burrow into the ground, concealing herself from view. Within seconds since the start of the battle, she emerged from the earth in front of Itachi, ready to stab him with a kunai.

To Shino's disappointment, there were no flashy special effects accompanying her attack like in the anime.

This was reality - a place where genjutsu only affected the victim. Shino wasn't the victim, and Shino's bug clone also had immunity to his teacher's genjutsu. So, he could only view the battle's 'raw footage'.

Intriguingly enough, Shino noticed that Kurenai had positioned herself in front of Itachi during the ambush. But why?

Uh... he suspected that Itachi's potent counter-genjutsu may have already taken effect, leaving her vulnerable to his manipulations from the very beginning.

In the anime, Kurenai thought she had snuck up behind Itachi, but she had never succeeded in her ambush. Same with reality, Shino could only see the struggle on her face as she grappled with her own illusion that had taken hold of her mind.

Using genjutsu against Itachi was probably the brightest moment of Kurenai's career…

Had this battle been a true fight to the death, Shino would be attending Kurenai sensei's funeral soon.

Based on his calculations and anime knowledge, Itachi's true speed should be no joke.

However, Shino could see that Itachi's attack was... rather slow. It wasn't until Kurenai broke out of the genjutsu that that Itachi made a swift move with his kunai, aiming to cut her, only to perfectly 'miss'.

Yep, he's intentionally holding back.

Honestly, if the Uchiha clan developed peacefully, perhaps some famous actors would have risen from their clan. Itachi would definitely be a contender near the top of the list.

Unfortunately, he would not be the first because that award belongs to another Uchiha.

After 'missing' his attack, rather than relying on his superior taijutsu skills against a genjutsu user, Itachi calmly chose to kick Kurenai away to safety – away from the dangerous Kisame, who had easily broken free of Kurenai's genjutsu with the assistance of Samehada, ready to continue his relentless assault.

It seems that Kisame hadn't been clued in on the act and was still working hard against Asuma...

Moments later, it seemed Itachi had received the cue because he finally 'remembered' to capitalize on his speed and appeared behind Kurenai in the blink of an eye, demonstrating a speed that Shino's vision couldn't even trace.

Obviously, Itachi could have done this sooner, but it was almost as if he was waiting for something, biding his time until the perfect moment to strike...

As Shino's bugs scoured the area, he soon discovered the reason...