Life as Uchiha Itachi

"I need to use the restroom first." 

Itachi said calmly, his voice soft, as he glanced at Orochimaru, who was staring at him expectantly, almost as if waiting for a live performance of needles piercing eyes. 

"Alright then..." 

Orochimaru's reply betrayed his understanding of Itachi's subtle resistance—Itachi clearly had no intention of showing off his unique abilities here. 

Still, the mere thought of acquiring the cells made Orochimaru's heart race. Unable to control himself, he stretched out his tongue—a long, snake-like tongue that had earned him notoriety among women—and licked his lips with excitement. 

Feeling Orochimaru's unsettling gaze, Itachi quickened his pace. 

**This guy is no saint,** Itachi thought to himself. Recalling Orochimaru's almost bug-like methods for abducting children, he felt a creeping fear of accidentally falling for one of his schemes. 

--- 

In the restroom, Itachi carefully shielded his surroundings with chakra to block any external senses. Then, with great care, he retrieved a scroll that he always kept on his person. 

To be honest, he could already obtain a pair of Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, but he had no desire to take that step just yet. 

The main issue was that his ocular powers were heavily illusion-based, while Fugaku's Mangekyo Sharingan abilities remained unknown. 

Furthermore, Shisui's Kotoamatsukami was also illusion-based. If he altered his genes to combine these powers, the result would likely be something far more complex than a simple one-plus-one equation. 

He already knew that his Tsukuyomi could affect someone like Kakashi—an outsider without Uchiha blood who possessed only a single Mangekyo Sharingan. But against Obito, he had no confidence. Obito had Hashirama's cells, and their ocular powers were on the same level. 

As for Nagato's Rinnegan, its overwhelming ocular strength alone made Itachi hesitant to confront him. 

There was also a fatal flaw in using Tsukuyomi—it required the target to see his eyes. 

In the original story, Kabuto countered Itachi's illusions simply by activating Sage Mode and covering his eyes. Itachi was forced to use a forbidden technique, sacrificing one of his eyes to pull Kabuto back to the right path quickly. 

--- 

Lost in thought, Itachi positioned the needle carefully near his father's eye. 

**I really should've prepared some spare three-tomoe Sharingan as backups,** he thought ruefully. After all, those two forbidden techniques were truly something else. 

After extracting some cells, Itachi quickly applied the solution Orochimaru had provided. He couldn't afford any mistakes. 

Watching the puncture wound on the eye heal rapidly under the medicine, Itachi finally breathed a sigh of relief. 

The sight of a needle puncturing an eyeball was just too unsettling. 

After securely sealing the container and storing it on his person, Itachi quietly left the restroom. 

He kept the syringe hidden in his sleeve—being seen with it would only invite unnecessary trouble. 

--- 

When Itachi handed the syringe to Orochimaru, the latter carefully received it, then sealed it in a container with tools Itachi couldn't even understand. 

"Do you have any of Shisui's cells left? Hair, skin tissue, anything will work. As long as I can extract his DNA, I can analyze it and create a reagent," Orochimaru said seriously after putting away the syringe. 

Business was business. Orochimaru always approached transactions with due diligence. 

And this particular task piqued his interest—it was something he had never done before. If it were a repeat of his past experiments, he wouldn't have been nearly as enthusiastic. 

After listening, Itachi retrieved another scroll from his belongings. 

The scroll contained some of Shisui's keepsakes. 

These were items that his past self had preserved. Since Shisui's body had never been recovered, Itachi had searched Shisui's home and gathered what little he could. Originally, he planned to create a cenotaph for Shisui, but for reasons unknown, his past self had never followed through. Thus, the items remained with him. 

--- 

"You two were truly close," Orochimaru murmured as he watched Itachi sift through Shisui's belongings, searching for strands of hair or similar traces. 

Perhaps by luck, Itachi managed to find a few short hairs. 

"Not really," Itachi replied quietly, handing the hairs to Orochimaru. 

"Heh, Itachi-kun, you're such a sentimental person," Orochimaru chuckled as he casually placed the hairs into a small bottle—then swallowed it in one gulp. 

"How long will it take to succeed?" Itachi asked, refraining from reminding Orochimaru to screen the DNA properly. 

After all, those hairs could very well have picked up fragments of someone else's hair. Itachi trusted the specialist to handle this matter and chose not to micromanage. He simply awaited the results. 

"Now that you've signed the summoning contract with Ryuchi Cave, we'll use snakes to relay messages when it's ready," Orochimaru replied with a sly smile, his tone dripping with charm. 

For a brief moment, his flirtatious demeanor left Itachi deeply uncomfortable. 

--- 

"I'll take my leave now. Stay in touch," Itachi said stiffly, feeling the urge to escape as Orochimaru's suggestive expression lingered. 

He quickly stood up and prepared to leave. 

Watching Itachi's retreating figure, Orochimaru muttered to himself, "Ah, youth... such a wonderful thing." 

--- 

Orochimaru sat for a while, finished the drink in his cup, and stood up to leave. 

"Sir, could you please settle the bill before you go..." 

Just as Orochimaru was about to step out, a visibly nervous staff member of the tavern stood in front of him, stammering. 

Orochimaru's snake-like pupils and the faint aura of menace he unconsciously exuded were enough to make the ordinary worker's hair stand on end. 

"Huh? Didn't my companion already pay?" 

Hearing the staff's request, Orochimaru was slightly puzzled. 

"N-No, he said you'd cover it..." 

... 

Orochimaru licked his lips with his tongue, recalling Itachi's sly demeanor as he pulled off something like this. A slight smile crept across his face. 

"What an interesting person..." 

Meanwhile, Itachi was making his way back to where he was staying. Earlier, he had indeed planned to settle the bill. 

Since he had organized the drinking session, it was only fair for him to pay. However, he suddenly remembered he had left his coin pouch under his pillow and forgotten to bring it. 

So, he made a quick escape, resorting to this somewhat shameless act... 

He couldn't help but feel a bit guilty—it wasn't exactly the most honorable thing to do. 

Still, the small act of pranking "Uncle Snake" left him with a subtle sense of satisfaction. 

After all, leaving everything else aside, Orochimaru was undeniably a fascinating individual. 

... 

*Knock, knock, knock.* 

Just as Itachi had returned to his place, sat down, and taken a sip of tea, there was a sudden knock at the door. 

It left him slightly bewildered. 

"Could it be Orochimaru coming here for the bill?" 

Despite his thoughts, Itachi decided not to keep his visitor waiting. He got up and opened the door. 

When the door swung open, Juzo distinctive features greeted Itachi. 

"Juzo? What are you doing here..." 

Itachi stepped aside to let Juzo in, speaking as he gestured for him to enter. 

"How did your talk go?" 

The moment the door was closed, Juzo asked eagerly. 

"Not bad, it went pretty smoothly. Honestly, I didn't expect Orochimaru to be this decent." 

In response to Juzo's inquiry, Itachi sat down at the table, poured him a cup of tea, and replied calmly. 

... 

Juzo took the tea Itachi handed him and downed half of it in one gulp. 

"As long as it went well. I came by to check. If it hadn't, I'd have gone and taught him a lesson for you..." 

Hearing Juzo's words, Itachi couldn't help but smile. 

"Thank you, Juzo." 

With time passing, Itachi had grown increasingly determined to preserve Juzo's life. 

He figured that the mission to investigate the Three-Tails in the Land of Water would happen within a year or two. By then, giving Orochimaru something else to focus on and nudging him to leave the organization might just be the key. 

With Orochimaru gone, the organization would be short-handed, and Tobi would likely send Kisame in as a replacement to partner with Sasori. 

That way, Juzo tragic fate could be avoided. 

Moreover, this small ripple effect might even prevent the under-12 Deidara from suffering persecution. He could continue pursuing his dream of becoming Tsuchikage, marry his junior apprentice, and live a proper life. 

Of course, everything hinged on Orochimaru's current state of mind. But things would probably proceed as Itachi envisioned.