Devil Fruit Seal in Naruto

Uchiha Itachi walked out of the Hokage Building.

The blazing sunlight outside made him feel uncomfortable—he had spent so much time in the shadows that he wasn't used to the brightness anymore.

He squinted slightly, letting his eyes adjust to the light. In his mind, the figure of Uchiha Raizen appeared.

That guy actually dared to use Sasuke to threaten him. Was he also behind what happened with Danzo?

It seemed that besides his father, who had awakened the MangeRaizen Sharingan, there was now another dangerous enemy he needed to pay close attention to.

Yes, after realizing that the Uchiha clan would never give up on the idea of a coup, Itachi had already begun to see the entire clan as an enemy—for the sake of the village's stability, and the greater good.

The only exception was his younger brother, Sasuke.

"Itachi, long time no see. You haven't been with the squad lately—where have you been?"

A figure walked toward him. That iconic face mask and silver hair—it was Kakashi Hatake, captain of Anbu Team Six.

When Itachi joined the Anbu, he had been placed in Kakashi's squad.

"Kakashi-san," Itachi quickly composed his expression, not letting anything show, "I was assigned a different mission by the Hokage. I'm sorry."

"I see," Kakashi nodded and said, "You're the youngest member of my team. If you ever run into a difficult situation or can't make a decision, feel free to come to me. Don't forget—we're comrades."

"Comrades, huh..."

Itachi repeated the word silently in his heart, then paused before speaking.

"Then, Kakashi-san, may I ask you a question?"

"Go ahead," Kakashi replied calmly. "As long as it's something I can answer."

"I wanted to ask about your father, SaRaizen Hatake. Years ago, he was criticized and ended up taking his own life. I'd like to know your thoughts on that, as his son. If this brings back painful memories, forgive me for being so forward."

Kakashi hadn't expected that question from Itachi.

He fell silent for a long time before slowly responding.

"Back then, I didn't understand why my father made that choice. But later, a friend helped me see it differently. To abandon the mission for the sake of a comrade—that's not weakness. That's what makes someone a hero."

"So, in my heart, my father still lives on—as a hero."

There was a time...

When Kakashi, overwhelmed by his father's suicide, Obito's death, Rin's loss, and even the passing of his teacher Minato, began to question the meaning of life. He teetered on the edge of darkness.

At one point, under Danzo's manipulation, he had even come dangerously close to assassinating the Third Hokage.

Though he hadn't completely escaped the pain of the past, he had gained enough clarity and strength to face it. He no longer allowed himself to spiral into despair.

Because of these experiences, Kakashi had developed a sharp sense for such things.

He could see it—Itachi was carrying something heavy inside.

As a captain, and as someone more experienced, he wanted to offer Itachi some guidance… and a bit of encouragement.

However—

Kakashi had no idea that his words of encouragement only pushed Itachi deeper into his inner conflict.

To Itachi, the story of Kakashi's father—SaRaizen Hatake—who chose to end his life for the sake of the village, was the mark of a true hero.

But the Uchiha clan, who also faced criticism and suspicion, lacked that same nobility. Instead of making sacrifices, they plotted a coup, thinking they could seize the Hokage's seat through force.

The stark contrast between SaRaizen's selflessness and the clan's ambition made a dark, terrifying thought in Itachi's heart even clearer.

Still, unless there was absolutely no other choice, he didn't want things to reach that point.

...

...

Inside Uchiha Raizen's home.

Yashiro and Tetsuhi kept their promise, sending a police force member over with ten million ryo.

Raizen accepted the money with a cheerful smile and said, "Go back and tell Lord Yashiro and Tetsuhi-san that I noticed Uchiha Itachi went to the Hokage's office. There's a good chance the village higher-ups already know what was discussed at today's clan meeting."

"That traitor, Itachi!" the police officer delivering the money cursed bitterly.

After closing the door, Uchiha Raizen gathered all the money he had.

Five million from Inori, one hundred thirty million that he managed to get from Danzō, and now another ten million from the clan. In total, he had one billion three hundred eighty million ryo.

He only planned to use a small portion of it to pay off his monthly mortgage. The rest would all go toward purchasing Devil Fruits and necessary materials for his research.

"Let's start by spending seven hundred ninety million to buy the Phoenix Fruit."

Uchiha Raizen opened the system store.

He completed the payment.

The next moment, a strange fruit with a spiral pattern appeared in the palm of his hand.

Uchiha Raizen held the Phoenix Fruit in his hand as he entered the underground tunnel, winding through twists and turns until he reached the secret laboratory Orochimaru had left behind.

On both sides of the hallway, broken glass containers lined the walls—each one a silent marker of a child who had died from a failed attempt to transplant Hashirama's cells.

Scattered across the ground were white, twisted remnants—some shaped like human limbs, others like tree branches—all leftovers of Hashirama's cells.

When Uchiha Raizen had first discovered this place, he had been startled by the grotesque remains. But now, he had long since gotten used to the sight.

He walked straight into the innermost research room.

With a click, he turned on the lights.

Scrolls of all kinds were messily scattered around the room. A large hole he had smashed into the wall during a past visit was still there.

Raizen knelt down and touched the floor beneath his feet.

This was where he had installed a simple trap—if anyone stepped on the wrong tile, arrows would immediately shoot out from a circular hole in the ceiling above.

Satisfied that no one had been here, he relaxed and walked to the lab table to begin developing the Phoenix Curse Mark.

"The Phoenix Fruit is a Mythical Zoan-type, just like the Azure Dragon Fruit. Hopefully, this time it won't take five whole years like last time," Raizen thought to himself.

Although he was the one who invented the Devil Fruit Curse Mark technique, he had only succeeded once so far. 

There was no guarantee that he could fuse the Phoenix Curse Mark successfully on the first try.

What's more, every Devil Fruit has its own unique traits. 

Even fruits of the same category could be vastly different—could Chopper's Human-Human Fruit really be the same as Luffy's Human-Human Fruit?

To extract the abilities and energy from different fruits, the method would likely have to change for each one.

Uchiha Raizen calmed his mind and used a scalpel to slice off a small piece of the Phoenix Fruit.

Activating his Sharingan to function like a microscope, he began trying to extract the power of the phoenix.

Time passed, second by second.

The underground lab was cut off from daylight, lit only by the constant glare of high-wattage incandescent bulbs.

No one knew how much time had gone by before the small piece of Phoenix Fruit in Raizen's hand suddenly turned to ash.

"As expected, extracting the phoenix's power using the same method as the Azure Dragon Fruit doesn't work."

Although he had anticipated this result, Raizen still couldn't help but sigh.

With no other choice, he began refining his method step by step.

Before he knew it, night had fallen.

Thanks to the superhuman stamina and recovery granted by the Mythical Azure Dragon, Uchiha Raizen could stay alert and energetic even without sleep for ten days and nights.

He threw himself completely into the task, skipping sleep and meals, determined to extract the power of the phoenix no matter what.

Just as he was locked in a battle of will with himself, a sweet and charming voice suddenly echoed in his mind:

"Raizen-kun, Raizen-kun! I have a well-paying mission. Want to come with me?"

The voice, more captivating than any anime voice actress, naturally belonged to Inori.

When they parted ways last time, Raizen had helped Inori connect to the Yamanaka Clan's secret Mind-Link Technique, allowing them to communicate mentally across distances—as long as she initiated the jutsu.

Every night, the clingy girl would insist on chatting with him for ages, just like couples in his previous life who couldn't hang up the phone.

Raizen paused what he was doing and responded with his thoughts, "How much is the reward for the mission?"

"Six million ryō!"

Even though they weren't speaking face to face, Uchiha Raizen could imagine the sweet smile on Inori's face and those two charming dimples as she spoke.

"Six million ryō, that's quite a lot, even for an S-rank mission."

According to the common rules in the ninja world, only S-rank mission rewards exceed one million ryō.

Without hesitation, Uchiha Raizen agreed, "Alright, I'll go. But is the village okay with this? Would they really trust an Uchiha with such a high-level mission?"

Given the current tense relationship between Konoha's leadership and the Uchiha clan, there was no way they would easily allow an Uchiha to take part in an S-rank mission.

Inori giggled, "Hehe, since they called you, they must be confident. This mission is special; it doesn't involve any secrets, and the team leader is the Third Hokage's son."

The son of Hiruzen Sarutobi… Asuma Sarutobi?

Uchiha Raizen rubbed his chin, imagining the 35 million ryō waving at him.

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