Amid the deafening roars of battle, the red Susanoo continued its fierce clash with the Ice Crystal statue in the small town.
Both combatants were massive, and every movent they made wreaked havoc.
In just a few monts, the entire street was left in shambles.
The entire town was in an uproar. Among the thunderous booms, shouts, and cries, the townspeople fled with their families in tow.
Swish, swish
At that mont, several figures moved against the flow of the fleeing crowd, landing beside Kakashi's group.
Leading them was Asuma, who had recently returned to the village.
He looked up at the two towering figures locked in combat, his face filled with disbelief. "What... is going on?"
Even with his vast experience as one of the Twelve Guardian Shinobis, the scene before him left him utterly speechless.
Whether it was the twenty-ter-tall Ice Crystal Statue, shrouded in cold mist, or the equally massive, armored red warrior giant, both were entities he had never encountered in his shinobi career.
Kurenai glanced at Asuma. "Why are you here?"
Asuma replied, "I happened to be nearby and saw your signal flare."
In truth, even without the distress signal, Asuma and his team would have co to investigate, as the battle in the town was clearly visible from several kiloters away.
Kakashi scanned Asuma's team briefly, his face still tense.
Asuma's team of four consisted of himself, a forr mber of the Twelve Guardian Shinobis, and three regular chunin from the village—not nearly enough to handle the vicious Akatsuki mbers before them.
Asuma asked again, "What's going on here?"
Kurenai quickly explained, "We're investigating the recent shinobi disappearances. Based on the clues, we tracked down the culprits, who are likely mbers of an organization called 'Akatsuki.' We followed the trail here and found them in the town."
Asuma, already aware of the missing shinobi incidents, asked, "Which side is the Akatsuki?"
Kurenai hesitated before replying, "Both."
Asuma was stunned.
Yamashiro Aoba chid in, pointing toward Itachi and Zabuza, who were standing at the other end of the street. "Including them, all three groups are wearing Akatsuki robes."
"That's... Uchiha Itachi!?"
Asuma's expression imdiately grew serious.
The two massive combatants had drawn so much attention that he hadn't noticed Itachi and Zabuza standing at the far end of the street, their faces obscured by the flying ice shards and thick mist from the battlefield.
Aoba nodded, "Yes, and the one with him is Zabuza Momochi, an S-rank rogue shinobi from the Hidden Mist, one of the forr Seven Ninja Swordsn."
Asuma's face beca grim.
One was Uchiha Itachi, an S-rank criminal wanted for slaughtering the entire Uchiha clan, and the other was Zabuza, an S-rank rogue shinobi. Either one of them alone would be an incredibly difficult opponent.
And with two more shinobi locked in battle, Asuma began to realize just how terrifying this Akatsuki organization really was.
He turned to Kakashi and asked, "Kakashi, what do we do now?"
Kakashi shook his head slightly.
The battle before them was beyond their ability to intervene.
Even though he had witnessed the entire fight unfold, Kakashi was still completely confused by the situation.
Including Itachi and Zabuza, six mbers of the Akatsuki had appeared in this small town tonight.
But it was clear that the six weren't working together. From the fact that Itachi and Zabuza had chosen to watch from the sidelines rather than join the fight, it was evident that there were at least three different factions.
"Is there internal conflict within Akatsuki? Or is there sothing else going on?"
With that thought in mind, Kakashi shifted his gaze to Uchiha Itachi at the far end of the street.
In Kakashi's view, only by making contact with Itachi could they unravel the mysteries of the situation.
However, Itachi himself was even more puzzled than Kakashi.
His expression was complicated as he watched the red Susanoo battle the Ice Crystal Statue, his mind filled with unspeakable doubt.
As everyone's attention remained fixed on the fierce battle...
Whoosh!
A shadow suddenly darted forward at incredible speed, charging directly at the masked Akatsuki mber standing on the rooftop—the leader of the group.
The surprise attack was so sudden that even Itachi, Kakashi, and the others, who had been vigilant, were caught off guard, their reactions a fraction too slow.
However...
The masked Akatsuki leader standing on the rooftop remained motionless, as if the impending attack didn't concern him at all.
Just as everyone thought he was about to be struck down, one of the other masked Akatsuki mbers standing behind him flashed forward to intercept the attack.
Boom.
With a dull thud, the two figures collided and were sent flying backward.
Only then did everyone notice that the assailant, like the white-haired youth who had identified himself as Doma earlier, had writing in his eyes. However, the markings in his pupils read "Upper Moon" and "Six."
From their brief exchange, it was clear that the assailant had the upper hand, as the masked Akatsuki mber was knocked back farther and even had to make an extra move to absorb the impact when landing.
The assailant then gracefully leaped to the rooftop across the street.
Striking a taijutsu stance, he introduced himself, "Upper Moon Six, Akaza!"
The masked Akatsuki leader on the rooftop rely glanced at Akaza before losing interest and remaining silent.
He continued to stand there quietly, as if everything before him was under his control.
Irritated by this blatant disregard, Akaza slamd his foot down, shattering the rooftop beneath him with a loud boom. Using the force of the impact, he shot forward like an arrow from a bow, shouting, "Destructive Death: Disorder!"
Almost simultaneously...
The masked Akatsuki mber who had engaged Akaza made a series of rapid hand signs. "Ice Release: Demonic Mirroring Ice Crystals!"
Instantly, on the street already littered with ice shards and covered in a cold mist, mirrors of ice materialized out of thin air, forming a crystal-clear ice do that completely encased Akaza inside.
Then, in a move that left everyone in awe, the Akatsuki mber who had cast the jutsu walked toward the ice mirrors and rged with them!
"Another Ice Release shinobi!?"
Aoba couldn't help but exclaim.
Asuma and Kurenai exchanged bewildered glances.
Kakashi's face grew even more grim.
At the other end of the street...
Zabuza was at a loss for words. "Damn, where did all these guys co from?"
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