“Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!”
“Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!”
While Kitagawa Gen and Biwa Juzo faced each other, Kakashi and Uchiha Itachi had already begun their own battle.
Itachi’s speed in forming seals was jaw-dropping—even Kakashi was starting to feel the pressure.
Of course, this was only to be expected. After all, strictly speaking, Uchiha Itachi was a true prodigy.
Whether it was ninjutsu, taijutsu, or genjutsu, he had mastered them all—and that made his combat style remarkably versatile.
Kakashi also knew that this guy’s tactical intelligence was extrely high. Regardless of the enemy’s strength, he always preferred to analyze and break down the opponent’s techniques before striking back with a counter.
In that regard… they were actually quite similar.
“I have to find a way to make him reveal a weakness on his own. Only then can I break away and go support the others.”
Kakashi was thinking quickly—but in that single instant of distraction, Uchiha Itachi had already appeared behind him!
“Kakashi-senpai, you shouldn’t lose focus in the middle of battle.”
Itachi’s voice was cold as ice, and the kunai in his hand had already pierced Kakashi’s back!
“As expected of you, Itachi.”
Kakashi turned slightly. Lightning suddenly crackled across his body.
“But it looks like you’ve mistaken who you’re fighting.”
[Zzzzt—]
The Kakashi that Itachi had struck instantly dissolved into a mass of electrical plasma—arcs of lightning shot up Itachi’s arm, paralyzing him.
In the very next mont, the real Kakashi burst out from underground, lightning flaring from his hand—Chidori roaring to life.
“Is that so?”
But Itachi’s expression didn’t change. His voice remained indifferent.
“Then, Kakashi-senpai… what about you?”
“Huh?”
Kakashi’s face darkened slightly. He’d realized—it was just a shadow clone.
What was worse, the chakra inside that clone was moving erratically!
[BOOM—]
A thunderous blast erupted as the clone exploded on the spot!
The shockwave tore through the trees, sending a devastating wave of force hurtling toward Kakashi.
He reacted instantly, pulling back just in ti to narrowly avoid the brunt of the blast.
Although the explosion had left him looking rather worse for wear, at least he wasn’t injured.
“This guy… he’s far too dangerous.”
Kakashi’s left Sharingan eye rotated slowly, scanning for Itachi’s position—yet he couldn’t help but also worry about Kitagawa Gen’s situation.
The deafening rumble and wild chakra surges coming from that direction were making it hard to stay calm, but with Itachi standing in his way, he had no chance to check on him.
“Kakashi-senpai… that eye doesn’t seem very compatible with you.”
Just then, Uchiha Itachi stepped calmly out of the smoke, standing quietly before him.
“Your chakra seems to be running low.”
“That’s true.”
Kakashi shook his head—he was well aware of his condition.
“But as long as I can keep you busy, that’s enough. Once ANBU arrives, none of you will be getting out of here.”
“Is that so?”
Itachi replied flatly, but his mind was already analyzing the situation. A mont later, his tone shifted.
“But you’ve misunderstood sothing. You can’t truly use the Sharingan—nor can you bring out its real power. And today…”
As he spoke, his eyes slowly shut—and in the next instant, they snapped open, now transford into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
“…I’ll show you the true power of the Sharingan.”
In that very mont, a strange chakra erupted from his eyes.
“Not good!”
Kakashi felt his breath catch—his entire perception of the world had begun to warp.
When he looked around again, everything had beco a surreal blend of black and white. He was bound tightly to a crucifix-shaped post.
“This is the world of Tsukuyomi. In this world, I control everything—space, ti, and even mass.”
Uchiha Itachi approached him step by step, a shinobi blade already in his hand. With a sharp pull, the blade flashed and plunged into Kakashi’s abdon—so violently that his eyes went wide from the pain!
“And don’t think this is just so illusion. The pain here is real. For the next seventy-two hours, I’ll be stabbing you with this blade… over and over.”
[Shlck—]
[Shlck—]
Two more piercing sounds rang out. The intense agony shot straight through Kakashi’s nerves again!
“This kind of genjutsu…”
Kakashi gritted his teeth, enduring the tornt—but in that mont, the Itachi before him multiplied into countless figures, each wielding a blade that glinted coldly in the monochro world, descending upon him once more.
Blood vessels swelled in Kakashi’s eye. He tried desperately to dispel the illusion—but nothing worked.
“Don’t worry. We have plenty of ti.”
Itachi’s voice echoed again, layered and bone-chilling.
“Now then… let’s continue.”
He raised his blade again.
But at that very instant, his movent paused. Even Kakashi noticed the sudden change.
Within the illusionary world… he seed to catch a glimpse of a strange flash of violet light.
...
The Real World.
Uchiha Itachi had just trapped Kakashi in a Tsukuyomi. Even his own eyes felt strained.
But this was part of his plan. By using Tsukuyomi, he could create a plausible excuse to withdraw from the battle, avoiding the need to kill Kakashi.
Of course, that was assuming Kakashi could endure it—or that Biwa Jūzō wouldn’t kill Kakashi’s student and rush over here.
In any case, what happened next would no longer concern him.
As Konoha’s spy, he had done enough. He needed to remain in the Akatsuki—for the sake of his younger brother.
Even if, until now, he still hadn’t passed along any aningful intel to Konoha.
“Kakashi has a Sharingan, and I’ve weakened the power of the Tsukuyomi. He should be able to hold on.”
Itachi murmured to himself. Suddenly, he heard a deafening roar and instinctively turned his head.
And what he saw left him stunned.
“That is...”
Not far away, a violent cacophony of thunder and crackling electricity lit up the mist like a surreal vision.
Through the haze, he could see Kitagawa Gen’s figure flickering wildly as he launched a relentless assault on Biwa Jūzō, who looked visibly frustrated and was being forced on the defensive.
Their clash resembled a collision of two completely different taijutsu styles—
One fluid and agile, the other powerful and forceful.
As their battle intensified, the shockwaves, the clashing of weapons, even the sound of the ground shattering—all of it rged into a thunderous crescendo.
Wherever they passed, whether tall trees or solid rocks, everything was instantly shattered by the force of their strikes.
But Itachi knew—this wasn’t Biwa Jūzō’s usual way of fighting.
“What’s going on?”
Itachi’s eyes widened slightly, and then suddenly, he understood.
“Biwa Jūzō walked right into a trap.”
As he watched the flickering purple lightning darting through the mist, and saw Biwa Jūzō’s movents grow increasingly sluggish, Itachi imdiately grasped the situation.
Clearly, Jūzō had used Water Release and that boy had turned it against him.
“But what technique is that?”
Staring at the purple lightning dancing in Kitagawa Gen’s hand, Itachi frowned.
The jutsu looked similar to Chidori, but as soone who had once served under Kakashi, he had a deep understanding of that technique.
And this wasn’t it.
In fact—
“It’s even more agile and versatile than Chidori. It doesn’t require high-speed movent to achieve devastating results!”
Under the scrutiny of the Sharingan, he had already grasped the essence of the technique.
But understanding it only deepened his astonishnt.
This jutsu took the shaping and transformation of single-natured lightning chakra to its very limit.
The level of chakra affinity and control required was simply astounding.
Even though the boy was clearly not yet fully proficient, just reaching this stage was already beyond belief.
“It seems... only the Third Raikage ever developed sothing this refined.”
Itachi’s thoughts were dazed for a mont—then suddenly, he realized Biwa Jūzō had burst out of the mist, charging straight in his direction.
Trailing behind him were arcs of purple lightning, leaping and surging as they pursued him with fierce montum.
At that very instant, as Itachi was lost in thought, Kakashi abruptly snapped back to consciousness.
[BOOM—]
A sharp, explosive thunderclap tore through the air, and the entire sky suddenly darkened.
On the scorched battlefield, two opposing groups descended, staring each other down from a distance.
The ground around them was riddled with craters. Trees leaned at odd angles, half-uprooted. Only the flickering purple lightning still shone brilliantly.
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