Should I continue being a villain in the ninja world after transmigrating?

Chapter 52 The Appearance of Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki

As Mavis spoke, she thought of Jelf, and her brows gradually grew heavy.

I wonder what Jelf is planning to do next. I hope he won't do anything bad again. I'm still worried. I should go and find out more about him in a while.

As Mavis gradually drifted into her own thoughts, she came back to her senses and suddenly realized that Sakura's voice had been silent for quite some time.

Thinking it was because she had been lost in thought for too long, Mavis shook off her reverie, looked up, and smiled, saying, "Sorry, sorry, I was just thinking about something else..."

As they were talking, Mavis looked up and met a pair of rather melancholy, emerald-green eyes.

Mavis: ...To be honest, that's a little scary, Sakura!

Mavis, who didn't understand the meaning behind Sakura's resentful gaze, was a little confused. She was quite interested just a moment ago, so why has her mood changed now?

Finally, Sakura spoke softly, "Mavis, you don't like Sasuke too, do you?"

"Sakura... what were you saying just now?" Mavis asked hesitantly.

Did she hear wrong? She must have misheard, otherwise how could she have heard Sakura say something so absurd like she liked Sasuke?!

Sasuke is still a child! Mavis stared wide-eyed in disbelief.

Seeing Mavis's wide eyes, and mistaking it for Mavis's astonishment at having her feelings exposed, Sakura's heart grew heavier and heavier.

When Mavis said that she knew the person she liked, Sakura's first thought was Zeref, since they were both from another world.

However, Zeref left Mavis alone in Konoha twice while he and the rogue ninja Orochimaru left. It seems that Mavis did not show any sadness or grief on either occasion.

Thinking about this, Sakura hesitated. Listening to Mavis's words about experiencing pain, she suddenly had a distorted thought and was horrified to discover that what Mavis said about Sasuke seemed to match up!

No way? No way! Mavis doesn't actually like Sasuke, does she?!

Sakura's first reaction was that it was impossible, but then she thought with a hint of fear, what if it were true?

Sakura's thoughts drifted instantly; Mavis and Sasuke's relationship did seem to be quite good after all...

Sakura, whose ideas were becoming increasingly absurd, suddenly couldn't hold back her emotions any longer.

She looked at Mavis's face, which was flawless even up close, and her delicate, doll-like features.

Sakura, after thinking about Mavis's cheerful and lively personality, which even Sasuke would take the initiative to talk to, and finding that she could hardly find any faults with Mavis, lowered her head in frustration.

Ughhhh, it seems like I really don't have anything that I can beat compared to Mavis!

The Sakura personality inside her was already burying her face in her hands and crying. She even seemed to see Sasuke holding Mavis's hand and walking up to her, saying, "Sakura, I'm going to marry Mavis."

Mavis, who was being led by the hand, smiled shyly: "Sakura, you're our good friend, you'll wish us well, right?"

Sakura's inner personality is in tears.jpg: No!!!

Mavis, unaware that Sakura's imagination had run wild to the point of fantasizing about her marrying Sasuke, could only see Sakura's mood suddenly become even more depressed, as if a shadow had fallen over her, and mushrooms were practically growing in that shadow.

Mavis, finally confirming she hadn't misheard, was both amused and exasperated. Looking at the dejected Sakura, she said incredulously, "How could you think that? How could you believe I like Sasuke??"

Sakura looked up at Mavis with a hint of sadness and said softly, "She's someone I know. She appears cold on the outside but is kind on the inside, and she's been through a lot of pain..."

As Mavis listened to Sakura repeat what she had just said, her expression turned somewhat strange.

When she said it, she didn't realize it, but now it does seem to fit Sasuke's characteristics quite well. Mavis finally understood why Sakura had misunderstood that she liked Sasuke.

The problem is, Zeref clearly fits these criteria better! Shouldn't anyone's first reaction be Zeref?

Mavis said with a laugh, "I'm talking about Jelf. Shouldn't your first thought be him?"

“But aren’t you enemies? He even left you alone in Konoha…” Sakura blurted out instinctively.

Sakura realized what she was saying as soon as she spoke, stopped herself in annoyance, and glanced at Mavis with concern.

To Sakura's surprise, Mavis's expression remained calm. She even gave Sakura a reassuring smile: "It's okay, don't worry. If Zeref doesn't change his mind, then we will be absolute enemies. On this point, I will not have any hesitation or weakness."

Seeing Mavis's incredibly serious expression, Sakura instantly banished all the unrealistic fantasies that had been swirling in her mind.

Seeing Mavis's calm and resolute expression, Sakura felt inexplicably sad and murmured, "How could this happen..."

Sakura was a little lost; she wanted to comfort Mebius but didn't know what to say.

—This kind of drama where lovers become enemies is indeed a bit too heavy for Sakura, who previously felt disappointed simply because of Sasuke's indifference.

Seeing Sakura's hesitant expression, Mavis comforted her, "It's okay, Sakura. Zeref and I have known each other for a long time. We were lovers, you could say. But then... something happened, and because of our different beliefs, we chose different paths."

Seeing that Sakura still seemed a little concerned, Mavis had no choice but to bring the focus back to the main point.

—Although she didn't mind talking to Sakura about Zeref, her focus today was helping Sakura.

Although Mavis hadn't been in Konoha for long, she had already noticed that Sakura liked Sasuke.

Furthermore, after Sakura asked her if she had someone she liked, Mavis had a rough idea of ​​why Sakura was feeling down.

"Don't worry about me, Sakura. On the contrary, I'm more worried about you. Can you tell me what's bothering you lately? Is it related to Sasuke?" Mavis asked.

Hearing Mavis ask this, Sakura remembered what she originally wanted to say and said somewhat dejectedly, "Mavis, do you have a feeling that Sasuke has been acting strange lately?"

"So it really is related to Sasuke?" Mavis thought to herself.

Since Sasuke's attempt to learn the laws of fairies was rejected by her, she has seen Sasuke very rarely.

Even when Sasuke was occasionally seen, he was always seen walking alone on the road, as if he had a certain sense of alienation from the entire Hidden Leaf Village.

"Sasuke... he's been acting really strange lately. He's always lost in thought, and the way he looks at me and Naruto..."

As she spoke, Sakura pictured Sasuke's increasingly dark black eyes, and a chill ran through her. She continued, "That dense idiot Naruto didn't notice anything at all, and Kakashi-sensei has been going on missions all the time lately. I feel really uneasy. Mavis, I'm so afraid that Sasuke is drifting further and further away from us..."

Konoha experienced this turmoil. Although Konoha did not actively publicize the existence of Zeref and Acnologia for various reasons, there was no need to hide Orochimaru's attack—besides, it was impossible to hide it anyway.

To demonstrate that Konoha Village remains powerful, Kakashi, an elite Jonin, has been incredibly busy lately.

Mavis had wanted to talk to Kakashi, her teacher, about Sasuke, but hadn't had the chance.

Sakura felt a little less pressure after expressing her unease. She looked at Mavis, who was deep in thought with her eyes down, and said, "Maybe I'm just overthinking it."

Upon hearing Sakura's words, Mavis looked up and said seriously, "Don't be careless, Sakura. Trust your concern and intuition for your comrades. Besides, Sasuke might need help right now. Helping each other, isn't that what comrades are all about?"

Sakura was taken aback by Mavis's words and instinctively said, "But there's nothing I can do, and I'm not strong enough..."

Hearing Sakura's lack of confidence, Mavis stood up and walked to her side. She placed her hands on Sakura's shoulders, looked directly into her eyes, and said seriously, "No one is so strong that they don't need the help of their comrades at all. So there must be something you can do to help Sasuke. Maybe he needs help right now. You're comrades, aren't you?"

Seemingly touched by Mavis's words, Sakura's eyes slowly widened, and she subconsciously repeated, "Is it something I can do...?"

*****

Just as Mavis and Sakura were having their heart-to-heart talk, outside Konoha Village, two people dressed in black with red clouds were watching Konoha after the Konoha Crush plan.

The man with the shark-like face hesitated, glancing at the expressionless, handsome man beside him, then surveying the surroundings of Konoha. Finally, he asked hesitantly, "Mr. Itachi, what do you think... is Konoha severely damaged or not?"

The one who spoke was Kisame Hoshigaki, a rogue ninja from Mizukage, while the man beside him was Itachi Uchiha, a rogue ninja from Konoha—Sasuke's older brother.

Upon hearing Kisame's question, Itachi Uchiha remained expressionless, though he was actually a little confused himself.

The reason is simple: Itachi Uchiha and Kisame Hoshigaki already knew about Orochimaru's attack on Konoha before they arrived.

They had expected to see a somewhat disheveled but not crippled Konoha village, but upon arriving, they discovered that the true state of Konoha seemed rather strange.

Looking around, the two saw a vast, barren plain surrounding Konoha, clearly the result of a large-scale ninjutsu. The range and intensity of the attack immediately brought to mind the tailed beasts.

Kisame Hoshigaki hesitated before asking, "Has the Nine-Tails gone out of control?"

However, only the area surrounding Konoha was damaged; the village itself didn't seem to be severely affected. Surely the Nine-Tails wasn't so kind as to have avoided Konoha, right? Kisame Hoshigaki thought with a touch of dark humor.

If Kisame Hoshigaki could see it, Itachi Uchiha could naturally see it too.

His brow furrowed imperceptibly. He had originally heard the news of the Third Hokage's death, with whom he had made a pact to protect Sasuke, and was preparing to return to Konoha to warn the village's high-ranking officials—especially Danzo—not to even think about harming Sasuke.

However, it seems that the attack on Konoha this time is not just about Orochimaru, as the rumors have spread.

Sensing that something was happening beyond his control, Itachi Uchiha felt anxious and worried as he thought of Sasuke in Konoha.

Itachi Uchiha secretly decided that he should meet with Sasuke as soon as possible.

A few days after Mavis and Sakura had their heart-to-heart talk, they finally heard that Kakashi was free in Konoha. Just as they were about to rush over, they learned that Kakashi had been injured and hospitalized by the enemies who had invaded Konoha.

When Mavis went to the hospital to visit Kakashi, she learned another piece of bad news: the enemy who injured Kakashi was none other than Sasuke's brother, who was determined to take revenge.

Even more unfortunately, Sasuke happened to overhear Itachi's plan to harm Naruto and had already chased after him on his own.

Mavis: ...It hasn't been that long, how could she have missed so much?

*****

Outside Konoha Village, Naruto and Jiraiya were on their way to find Tsunade.

Naruto walked beside Jiraiya with his huge backpack on his back, and above his head, a red-haired fox was lazily sunbathing—it was Kurama (the Nine-Tails).

With Mavis's help, Kurama has maintained this form ever since the Chunin Exams.

Although the Nine-Tails was somewhat dissatisfied with its weakness in this state, it had to admit that this form was very convenient for living in the human world.

Not only do they not cause panic among humans upon their appearance, but they have even found some enjoyment in the human world.

For example, people in Konoha Village often see Mavis with a fox in a dessert shop, the two of them happily eating a dessert.

Naruto, with the Nine-Tails perched on his head, said somewhat disgruntledly, "Hey, you, at least get down and walk around a bit. Why are you always perched on my head?"

Nine-Tailed Fox swayed its nine tails, raised its chin, and said lazily, "You should feel honored that I, an old man, can condescend to lie on your head, you know that, brat."

Small and cute in size, with bright and smooth fur, this fox is undeniably good-looking. However, it speaks in a mature and old-fashioned tone, which sounds rather funny and incongruous to those who are unaware of its true nature.

However, Jiraiya and Naruto, who were present, were both aware of Kurama's true nature and were not fooled by Kurama's current appearance.

Naruto pouted and said, "You stinky fox, have you gained weight these past few days? I told you, Mavis took you to eat too many desserts."

The Nine-Tails' forehead veins twitched, and it raised its claws to scratch several marks on Naruto's face from top to bottom.

"Fool, I am the powerful Nine-Tails, how could I possibly get fat? I think you're just asking for trouble!" The Nine-Tails sneered.

However, she did not deny eating too many desserts.

Naruto was scratched and felt the pain, so he jumped up and angrily reached out to pull the Nine-Tails off his head. But as soon as he reached out, he was hit by another claw from the Nine-Tails.

Jiraiya watched Naruto and Kurama bickering with his arms crossed, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

The easing of the tension between Naruto and Kurama was a pleasant surprise for Jiraiya.

If Naruto and Kurama can maintain their current harmonious relationship, it would be the best thing for both Konoha and Naruto.

So, when Itachi Uchiha used genjutsu to lure Jiraiya away, and then brought Kisame Hoshigaki to knock on Naruto's hotel room...

As soon as the door opened, the two saw Naruto with disheveled hair, claw marks all over his face, and an angry expression, as well as a fox eating cake with a fork twirled in its tail inside the room.

Uchiha Itachi: ...

Kisame Hoshigaki: ...