Itachi Uchiha had felt more free for the past few days than he had ever felt in his life, and that was sothing given who he was.
For the first ti since he ca here, Itachi had decided to just forget everything for so ti and the result had been satisfying so far.
It was a spontaneous decision on his part and it felt as if he had cast a genjutsu upon himself, an illusion that covered his bleary reality. He knew it was a fleeting mont and that was why he enjoyed it.
He didn’t think about getting back his Sharingan, nor did he think about his past life. His thoughts didn’t wander to the reappearing Hollows or the Shinigamis, not to the defenseless souls or the sword now bound to him.
He was dead, no doubt about that. But what if his death was the beginning of his life? It was a thought that was constantly reoccurring.
He could never escape his past, he knew that, but it wasn’t like he was still running from it. He was dead - where else could he run to?
But alas, all good things must co to an end.
Not even his strongest genjutsu could last for an eternity. They could last till death, but not eternity.
……
Itachi shielded his eyes from the bright rays of a sun that wasn’t present - one of the wonders of this world.
“I hope you beco a shorter blade soon.” Itachi mused to himself and patted the sword hanging off his waist. He knew the sword could hear him, not sure how, but he knew.
It felt like a summoning animal that is always there, like an ever listening companion. For soone like Itachi who’s ever had two companions and only one person he could ever talk to, he silently appreciated the sword’s presence.
“I think I now understand why Kisa was so fond of Sahada.” Though this one wasn't as unruly as the living sword, Itachi could see the similar tolerance he had his forr teammate had for their unique weapon.
Right now, he was in the 62nd District of the Rukongai after randomly traveling for months since he arrived in the Soul Society.
Like everywhere else, all the places he’s been to had all the problems he’s seen when he was alive, minus the Hollows. Cri and poverty was the average life of the majority of the souls in Soul Society.
He's even had to dispatch a few groups of people trying to kill him or rob him but they were inconsequential. Passing nuisances at best.
One thing he had noticed however was how the Shinigamis adopted a hands-off policy when it ca to the Rukongai. They weren’t exactly a police force but more of a special military division that dealt with the Hollows.
Inadvertently, he started making him way deeper into the Soul Society not for any grand reason but just because of where the trails led him.
How else could he learn more about the world than learning about the crux of it?
He wasn’t planning going against the Shinigamis or seeking out the Hollows as that would be plainly stupid, especially as handicapped as he was, but thankfully he specialized in infiltration and information gathering.
Since he had nothing to do other than wandering about, he figured it’d be best spent if he used it more efficiently by tackling his lack of knowledge.
And also, though he highly doubts it, he hoped he’d et soone he once knew, a certain person coming to mind.
That aside, the lawlessness of the Rukongai, at least this part of it, was sothing he wasn’t entirely familiar with, and as for changing it, it was physically impossible.
Itachi as a person was extrely logical and most, if not all of his decisions, were carried out after strenuous thinking and that equated both efficiency and resulting benefit to a straight line.
……
Just like the nurous settlents he’s co across that were no different than the most dilapidated slums, Itachi silently passed through with no one aware of his presence.
He had no reason for doing this but he had made it a habit to check out any of the settlents he ca across, either for battering an animal he hunted for a few things or to see if there was any news floating about.
The reason he made it a habit to do this was because of things like the one he was currently seeing.
With how poor the living conditions of the people in the North Districts was, most of them were very desperate, which forced them to do a lot of sick things.
So of these things were, and not limited to, selling unfortunate new souls in slave trades to rchants and local rebel forces in exchange for goods and better living conditions, or even relocation to the better districts of the Rukongai.
And in this exact settlent, soone did the exact sa thing, deceiving new arriving or lost souls and hosting them for a few days, only to later drug them for the buyers to have an easier ti moving them.
It wasn’t disgust, disdain, or any other passionate emotion that made Itachi interfere whenever he saw things like these - he had seen too many things like this during his life to be that emotionally driven - to him it was just taking care of a weed.
A simple action from his part, that even if he ignored, had no weight on his conscience.
After ending the life of the man, he tracked down the buyers and made swift work of them in seconds, freed the slaves and then left. All before a minute elapsed.
“Peace, huh? I wonder if Konoha achieved peace after the war? Did the village survive the war, if it did then does that an it survived Sasuke’s wrath? Or did Naruto manage to save him?” He thought out loud.
No matter how much ti passed and how good he was moving from his past, every once in a while, Itachi would find himself faced with these types of questions once again.
Worrying about his brother and the village, and hoping they could make peace with each other.
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