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Asuma smirked a glint of defiance in his eye. Behind him, Kurenai's hands flickered like a phantom her genjutsu seals forming in an instant. Her figure shimred and then vanished.
Genjutsu? Against the Sharingan?
Itachi's eyes flared crimson, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning into focus. A bold move... almost insulting.
While the ntal battle between illusionists brewed, the clash between Asuma and Kisa was all brawn and steel.
"Tch he's overpowering ... just from the tip of his blade?!"
Kisa grinned, and with a sharp snap, the wrappings unraveled from his massive sword, revealing jagged scales underneath.
"My sword, Sahada, doesn't cut..."
"It shaves."
SHRRK!
Flesh tore clean off Asuma's arm. Blood sprayed into the air.
"Dammit!"
Asuma gritted his teeth, clutching the wound, beads of sweat breaking across his forehead.
anwhile, within the illusion—
Kurenai's genjutsu took hold.
A towering tree materialized, trapping Itachi against its trunk. From its bark, Kurenai erged, kunai in hand, ready to end it.
"This is over!"
But—
With a blink, the roles reversed.
Kurenai found herself bound to the tree instead of powerless.
"You're using genjutsu... against ?" Itachi said coldly. "You were never in control."
She gasped as a blade glead from his sleeve.
No choice.
She bit hard into her lip, blood dribbling down her chin release!
The genjutsu broke just in ti.
Whoosh!
The blade missed but only barely. A few strands of her hair floated through the air, severed.
She didn't even have ti to feel relief before—
THUD!
A heavy kick landed cleanly, launching her into the nearby river.
'I can't keep up... His instincts, speed... They're in a different league.'
Even for an elite like Kurenai, fighting a prodigy who led Black Ops at thirteen wasn't sothing years of experience could bridge.
"Kurenai!"
Asuma's eyes darted to the river.
"Keep your focus on !"
Kisa's Sahada ca down like a guillotine.
Asuma clenched his chakra blades and parried just barely.
Itachi landed by the water's edge, standing calmly behind the injured Kurenai.
"You've done well," he said, quietly. "But this is where it ends."
Suddenly—
He turned his gaze toward Kisa.
A red mist splattered across Kisa's cheek.
"Huh?"
Blood?
He touched his face. He'd dodged... hadn't he?
That's when he noticed the wind chakra humming around Asuma's blades.
So that's what nicked .
Kisa's shark-toothed grin faded slightly.
"Tch. This again? I'll just end it with ninjutsu."
He let go of Sahada and began forming hand seals rapidly.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
"Water Release: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!"
The sa words echoed back.
Two enormous water sharks collided in midair BOOM! Canceling each other out in a spray of mist.
Kisa blinked in disbelief.
"...The sa jutsu?!"
Standing protectively in front of Asuma, Kakashi's Sharingan spun as he stepped forward.
"That's right."
Asuma's jaw slackened. "Kakashi?! What are you doing here?!"
"I asked you to handle things..." Kakashi said with a lazy tone, "But I had a bad feeling."
Elsewhere, a shadow clone appeared behind Itachi, blade pressed to his throat.
"...And I don't take risks when he's involved."
"Kakashi Hatake."
Itachi turned his gaze to him Sharingan locking with Sharingan.
Kisa's eyes lit up in realization. "So that's how... Another guy with those eyes."
He licked his lips, intrigued.
"You're the Copy Ninja, huh?"
Kakashi gave a small shrug. "That's ."
"I recognized you from the shop earlier. Didn't expect to find the infamous Uchiha Itachi and the Monster of the Mist sipping tea in broad daylight."
Kisa cackled. "Didn't expect you to know my na either. I'm flattered!"
Kakashi's tone darkened.
"You're one of the Seven Ninja Swordsn of the Mist. And that blade... that's Sahada."
Kisa smirked. "Impressive. Heard you fought Zabuza."
"I did."
He gripped Sahada tighter. "Then maybe you're worth slicing up too."
"Enough."
Itachi's voice cut through the tension like a blade.
The others froze.
"If you fight him here, it'll drag on too long and others will co."
Kisa grumbled but stepped back. "Tch."
"You're not here to get hurt."
Kakashi narrowed his eyes.
"Then what are you here for?"
"We're looking for sothing," Itachi said flatly.
"What kind of sothing?"
Itachi didn't answer.
Instead, he moved.
Kakashi's eyes widened as he instinctively ford a water wall crash! A wave of shuriken struck it just as planned.
Except that was the bait.
The real attack ca in a split second. Later, a hidden water-style jutsu launched beneath it all.
Kakashi's stomach tightened. 'So fast. I didn't even see him finish the seals.'
He looked at the scorched edge of his jacket, winded.
"Even his decoys are deadly."
"You're sharp," Itachi said calmly. "Impressive."
Then—
Shing!
A kunai pierced Kakashi's back driven in by Itachi himself, who had already closed the distance.
"Behind ...?"
Kurenai gasped.
"...A shadow clone?!"
POOF!
It dissipated into water. Kisa whistled.
"Water clone? You've got our village's style down pat."
"Well done, Kakashi!"
Kurenai lunged at the real Itachi, kunai ready but beneath the river, a clone surged upward, intercepting her path.
"Get down, Kurenai that one's the clone!"
What?!
BOOM!
The clone exploded mid-air in a surge of water, blasting both her and Kakashi backward.
"Damn it!"
Asuma dove into the river.
He surfaced monts later, relieved to see both his comrades alive.
Kakashi coughed, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth.
"Don't drop your guard. He's not just strong..."
"...He was leading ANBU when he was thirteen."
"Seriously?"
"No. It's worse than that."
Across from them, Itachi stood silently, clearly annoyed.
"You've adapted well to the Sharingan. Impressive... for a non-Uchiha."
"But your body's not built for it."
"You weren't born with that eye."
Kakashi gritted his teeth.
He wasn't wrong. The strain was real.
Itachi closed his eyes, breathing out slowly.
'If this dragged on any longer... he might lose control.'
He couldn't afford to let that happen.
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