Late at night, under the cold light of a full moon, Uchiha Itachi sat alone on the edge of a cliff. He gazed out at the sprawling landscape below, his thoughts a silent, churning river. The tranquility was broken by a gruff, impatient voice from behind him.

"Hey. It's time to go," Kakuzu, his new partner, growled.

Itachi looked up, his expression unreadable. "Go where?"

Kakuzu scoffed. "Don't ask so many questions. Just follow me and stop wasting my time."

Facing his partner's blatant disrespect, Uchiha Itachi remained impassive, his voice a soft, even tone. "I recall the leader did not issue us any mission tonight. If you intend to have me accompany you on a private bounty hunt, I must decline. I am not interested, and I do not have the time."

Kakuzu's face contorted with rage, his murderous intent a palpable force. "You insolent little brat…!" He raised his fist, his arm hardening and turning a deep, metallic black. He was about to strike, to kill his own partner.

The moment he sensed the killing intent, Itachi's dark eyes shifted, blossoming into the blood-red of the Sharingan. He turned his head slowly, his cold, piercing gaze locking onto Kakuzu.

"...!"

Kakuzu froze, an inexplicable chill running down his spine. It was not a genjutsu. It was the sheer, unfathomable power he sensed hidden within those eyes. He did not dare to move.

"Hmph!" Kakuzu slowly lowered his fist, letting out a cold snort to cover his hesitation. "You ungrateful whelp. I offer to take you to make some money, and this is the thanks I get! Fine. Have it your way. I'm leaving."

"But from now on, you'd better not cross me again." After spitting out his final threat, Kakuzu turned and stalked away, his pride wounded.

Itachi did not respond, simply turning his gaze back to the moonlit horizon as if nothing had happened. Not long after, another uninvited guest arrived, their voice a sinister whisper in the wind.

"Tsk tsk tsk… Kakuzu is finally gone. With your partner away, now seems to be the perfect time for me to make my move. Itachi, are you ready?"

It was Orochimaru.

Uchiha Itachi slowly turned his head, his expression as cold and unforgiving as a winter night. "Actually… I have been waiting for you, Orochimaru."

"Waiting for me? Whatever for?"

"You are a threat," Itachi stated simply. "And I still remember the last time you harmed my brother, Sasuke."

Orochimaru was stunned. As he looked at Itachi's chillingly calm profile, he finally understood the old saying: the hunter often appears as the prey. He had thought he was the predator, but he had not expected Itachi to see him as the quarry.

"Orochimaru," Itachi continued, his voice a low, deadly whisper, "the reason I joined the Akatsuki was to kill you."

"Amaterasu!"

In an instant, inextinguishable black flames erupted from thin air, consuming Orochimaru completely. A horrifying, inhuman shriek echoed through the night as the Sannin was immolated, his body writhing in agony within the inescapable inferno. Soon, the black fire was still raging, but the screaming had slowly subsided.

"Hah…" Looking at the charred, unrecognizable form lying on the ground, Uchiha Itachi let out a slow breath. "It is over." He had absolute confidence in his Amaterasu. Before the power of his eyes, no matter how strong Orochimaru was, it was meaningless. In the end, even a legendary shinobi only has one life.

Itachi stood up slowly, preparing to return to his clan, to his parents and his brother. But before he could take a step, he felt an inexplicable chill on his back, a primal instinct screaming of danger.

He spun around just in time to see a colossal white serpent, its scales shimmering like bone in the moonlight, lunging toward him. Its massive, bloody maw opened wide, revealing rows of needle-like fangs.

"!!!" Itachi was shocked. He dodged with blinding speed, landing on a nearby branch. He stared at the great white serpent, his eyes wide with disbelief as he asked coldly, "Who are you?"

"Hahahaha, Itachi, did we not just have a little spar?"

"? Orochimaru? You… how have you become this?!"

"Tsk tsk… This is the proof of my eternal life," Orochimaru hissed, his voice echoing from the serpent's throat, filled with a greedy, triumphant madness. "It is also my truest form!"

"Itachi, do you have any idea of the pain I endure? For you, I am constantly changing bodies. This agony is the price of my reincarnation! But such pain is nothing compared to the prospect of finally having you! Hahahaha, now, obediently give your body to me!"

Seeing Orochimaru's unhinged state, Uchiha Itachi's initial shock faded, replaced by a cold, detached calm. "Reincarnation? No wonder you did not die. Was this the ultimate goal of all those secret experiments you conducted in the village? To become… this?"

Orochimaru laughed wildly. "That's right! I am already the most eternal, most immortal being in this world!"

Upon hearing this, Itachi said nothing more, but the look in his eyes shifted, a hint of pity mingling with his contempt.

"What is that look on your face, Itachi?!"

"Nothing. I just feel sorry for you."

"Pitiable…? You speak of me? You insolent little brat! I am an immortal being! It is fleeting creatures like you who are the most pitiful!"

"Hehe…" Uchiha Itachi closed his eyes, a faint, sad smile on his lips as he shook his head. "Orochimaru, you do not understand what is most important in this world. It seems our philosophies are incompatible. I am sorry, but you cannot take my body."

"Hmph! That is not for you to decide!" With that, Orochimaru's massive serpent body began to break apart, dissolving into a swarm of countless smaller white snakes that swarmed toward Itachi.

Seeing the tide of writhing serpents, Uchiha Itachi sighed with a deep, profound weariness. "It is impossible for a snake that can only crawl on the ground to ever dream of flying in the sky." As he spoke, he stood perfectly still, allowing the countless small snakes to slither over him, to do as they pleased.

"Orochimaru, this insane dream of yours was doomed to fail from the moment you first laid eyes on me."