Itachi Uchiha had felt more free for the past few days than he had ever felt in his life, and that was something given who he was.

For the first time since he came here, Itachi had decided to just forget everything for some time 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 moment 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 come 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 become 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 someone 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 Kisame was so fond of Samehada.” Though this one wasn't as unruly as the living sword, Itachi could see the similar tolerance he had his former 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. Crime and poverty was the average life of the majority of the souls in Soul Society.

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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 came 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 meet someone he once knew, a certain person coming to mind.

That aside, the lawlessness of the Rukongai, at least this part of it, was something he wasn’t entirely familiar with, and as for changing it, it was physically impossible.

Itachi as a person was extremely 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 numerous settlements he’s come 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 settlements he came 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.

Some of these things were, and not limited to, selling unfortunate new souls in slave trades to merchants 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 settlement, someone did the exact same 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 time 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 mean it survived Sasuke’s wrath? Or did Naruto manage to save him?” He thought out loud.

No matter how much time 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.