The nights are long for Itachi. Everyone is asleep or, in Sakura's case, working but he cannot sleep. He must spend the entire night pondering or watching weird nighttime shows. Sarada left for her training and Itachi decided that he should try and visit Sasuke again, at the hospital. Even though he feared that his cover will be blown and he would be discovered, he was willing to risk it.

Before he left the house however, he heard something strange. The sound came from upstairs. Itachi moved slowly in order not to be heard and went upstairs. It seems that they were people inside Sarada's room.

"Damn that Uchiha brat! She's not here!"

"Search the room! We must find clues on where she is!"

Itachi froze. So, they are after Sarada… He decided to enter the room.

"What…" One of the men watched in fear as Itachi Uchiha approached him, slowly and steadily.

"Itachi? How?"

"Look at his eyes, he is a Reincarnation!"

"Remnant from the war! Hishio, let's get out of here!"

"Right!"

Before Hishio and his partner would leave, Itachi put them both under Tsukuyomi.

"Where… where are we?"

"Nobe-san, where are we?

"Shut up, Hishio, I'm trying to figure it out!"

"You're under Tsukuyomi… Now tell me, if you want to live, what do you want to do with Sarada?"

"You bastard! You won't get anything from us!"

"I admire your bravery, but it's not a question of if you're going to tell me but when you're going to tell me. I can be very… persuasive!"

"I know about your Uchiha freaks' Visual Prowess. You can screw with people's minds and torture them, but we won't fall for that!" Nobe was clearly not afraid of Itachi but his partner, Hishio, trembled.

"It seems that your friend is more… willing to discuss with me! Tell me what I need to know and I promise you I will be merciful. If you refuse, I am going to remove the guts of your friend piece by piece using this sword until you comply!" Itachi took out a katana from underneath his wine-colored cloak.

"Begin! Tell me, what were you doing at Sakura Haruno's house?"

"Hishio! Don't give up! He is the enemy of all what we believe in!"

"I know, boss, but…"

"Mmm… your beliefs? Tell me about those them! Until you tell me, I will stab Nobe in the belly once every thirty seconds, beginning now!"

Itachi stabbed his victim in the abdomen and Nobe started to wince. Hishio was shocked seeing his boss in pain and Itachi's implacable look on his face.

"Thirty, twenty-nine, twenty-eight, twenty-seven…"

"Stop! We are the Liberation Corps! We wanted to kill Sarada Uchiha!"

"Hishio… you traitorous…ugh!"

"Liberation Corps? Who are you?"

"We are a group of shinobi from the Land of Fire that remember the destruction perpetrated by Madara and Obito Uchiha! We are not going to allow another Uchiha to live so that a new war would start!"

"Shut up… Hishio…" Nobe was clearly in pain and his voice was very dim.

"How many are you? Tell me, or I will stab him again!"

"One thousand!"

Itachi was in shock. One thousand shinobi were after his brother and niece.

"I see… As I promised, I will let you live!"

Itachi dispelled the illusion and the two Liberation Corps members were on the floor. Nobe realized he wasn't stabbed in the abdomen.

"Hishio… you fool…"

"Sorry… boss!"

Without any word, Itachi weaved a few hand signs and summoned three large crows that created a chakra triangle with Hishio and Nobe in the middle.

"Sealing Jutsu: Dark Sleep of A Thousand Flapping Whispers!"

"What… you said you won't kill us!"

"I won't. That's why I will seal you until I figure out this Liberation Corps madness!"

The two fell down asleep inside the chakra barrier and disappeared shortly after.

"Ugh… It seems the Uchiha remain as hated as ever, even in this era. At least my cover wasn't blown. I must hurry to the hospital. If they attacked here, they probably know that Sakura is not around, so they must know about Sasuke too."

Itachi left the house and parkoured his way to the hospital in almost ten minutes. The night was warm but quiet; the only voices heard was those of the drunk people in the taverns or rebellious teenagers that stayed up late. He arrived at the hospital.

"Too quiet…"

Suddenly, Itachi heard an explosion nearby. He rushed out towards it. Almost a hundred shinobi attacked the hospital, killing a few medical-nin who went out to defend it.

"Oh no…"

Itachi then screamed: "Water Style: Water Dragon Jutsu!" An immense water dragon exited the Uchiha's mouth.

"Water Dragon Genjutsu!" The dragon's eyes turned into Mangekyou Sharingan eyes with the same pattern as Itachi's. Each attacker the water touched, fell under genjutsu, putting them effectively to sleep.

"It's Itachi Uchiha! Attack him!"

A group of shinobi shouted: "Earth Style: Rock Blast!" A rain of earth and rock fell upon Itachi who managed to dodge it at the last moment. He knew that if he receives lethal damage, it will take time for him to reconstruct, time that can be used by the terrorists to kill Sasuke.

"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!" Hundreds of small fireballs hit some of the attacking shinobi. However, two of them managed to get behind Itachi and cut off his left arm with a sword.

"Now the dead bastard won't be able to weave signs until he reconstructs. Liberation Corps, attack him without stoppage!"

"It's bad…"

"Earth Style: Rock Blast!" Another volley of rocks flew towards Itachi who managed to dodge them the second time too.

"I'll have to use this"

Itachi swallowed a small scroll he hid in his sleeve and approached the attackers.

"Fire Style: Hellfire Jutsu!" The Uchiha expelled a huge flame from his mouth that instantaneously carbonized a few of the terrorists.

"It's useful when you can't weave signs!"

Itachi's left arm reconstructed completely and now he could weave signs again. He activated his Mangekyou Sharingan.

"The bastard tries to use Amaterasu! Dissipate and flank him!"

"I'm not trying to use Amaterasu"

"Secret Barrier Jutsu: Celestial Drop!"

The entire platoon was obliterated by a powerful ethereal punch from the skies. Only one shinobi survived, but he was severely injured.

"What… was that?"

"An S-rank jutsu that it is known only to those that possess the Will of Fire! The barrier that encapsulates the village can be used offensively too; it only needs a signal… My Mangekyou Sharingan!"

"So… you weren't using… Amaterasu…"

"No… Amaterasu's flames are too powerful to correctly control them. It could've burned down the hospital."

"Maybe… it would have been for the best…" With this, the shinobi died.

Itachi was very upset seeing the large amount of destruction his fight left behind. Suddenly, an entire platoon of Konoha shinobi arrived, with Naruto and Shikamaru leading them.

"Itachi… Uchiha? What a drag… now you're here too."

"Itachi, what happened?"

"What… you knew he was… ugh… alive?"

"Naruto-kun… I will explain everything. I must see Sasuke!"

"Go upstairs!"

A few minutes later, Itachi was in Sasuke's room while the Hokage and his second in command talked outside.

"I don't know exactly how Itachi came back but I know one thing! He is not an enemy!"

"How do you know that?"

"I simply do. Let them be together! We will talk tomorrow."