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Uchiha Itachi stared at Naruto's nearly healed wounds.
He could feel Naruto's powerful and relentless chakra, growing stronger with every battle.
There are no invincible techniques.
Nor are there invincible people.
However, he had to admit that this Nine-Tails Jinchuriki was indeed a difficult opponent to deal with, almost without any weaknesses.
Of course, he had confidence that if he used the ultimate technique of the Mangekyō Sharingan, combined with Kisame's assistance, they would definitely be able to capture this Jinchuriki.
But the question was, was it worth paying such a high price?
The answer came almost instantly—it was a "no."
Itachi was well aware of his own condition; every time he used the abilities of the Mangekyō Sharingan, it took a toll on his body, pushing his already deteriorating health closer to death.
Sasuke was still young, not yet fully matured.
His body, at the very least, needed to last until Sasuke had grown strong enough to protect himself.
"Kisame, let's go!" Having made up his mind, he called out.
Kisame's response was somewhat unexpected.
He didn't hesitate, nor did he express any opposition.
This battle-hardened warrior withdrew decisively, instantly moving to Itachi's side and agreeing, "Let's go!"
Their intent to retreat was clear.
Naruto quickly moved, stepping into the air to chase after them. "You think you can leave without leaving something behind?"
Unlike the two who had to dodge obstacles on the ground, Naruto moved in a straight line through the air.
In almost no time, he caught up.
Kisame turned around and clapped his hands, forming seals.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique."
He drew what little water remained from the river, nearly dried up by the earlier attacks, and with his chakra, condensed it into a massive shark that leaped into the air, lunging at Naruto.
Naruto slashed with his blade.
At the moment the blade touched the water, a massive suction force emerged from within the water-shaped shark, attempting to absorb all of Naruto's chakra.
However, unlike the Samehada sword, which had a will of its own, this technique, lacking a living essence, could not disrupt Naruto's chakra.
Naruto's eyes narrowed.
Golden chains shot from his palms like meteors in the sky, causing ripples in the air as they rapidly flew towards the two of them.
Itachi, relying on his Sharingan, was able to dodge them with relative ease.
Kisame, however, was less fortunate.
He dodged four or five waves, but when faced with the sixth chain, he was a split second too slow, and it pierced through him, pinning him to the ground.
But Naruto frowned—something about this impact didn't feel right.
It wasn't the real body.
Indeed, in the next moment, the Kisame who had been impaled by the golden chains burst into water, splashing onto the ground.
Meanwhile, half of Kisame's body emerged from within the water-shaped shark.
He had completely hidden his presence in the water, waiting for this moment. His hands moved swiftly to form seals.
"Water Release: Water Prison Technique."
The shark's form shrank, splitting in half to create a water sphere that imprisoned Naruto within it.
"Itachi, go now! I'll hold him off!" Kisame said quietly.
Itachi didn't look back, disappearing from sight in an instant.
The Water Prison Technique is a relatively troublesome jutsu for any ninja.
A ninja trapped in water is bound by the water, unable to speak or form seals.
Without the right means to counter it, one could remain trapped until they suffocate to death.
But for Naruto, the obstacle posed by this technique lasted only the moment it was activated.
Abandoning any incantations, he cast, "Hadō #11. Tsuzuri Raiden (綴雷電, Bound Lightning)."
Golden lightning surged from the twin blades in Naruto's hands, crackling as it spread throughout the entire water sphere, then extending to the water-shaped shark and Kisame.
The lightning paralyzed Kisame, disrupting both his movements and the chakra within him.
The jutsu could no longer be sustained.
The water sphere shattered, the shark vanished, and Kisame fell from the air.
Naruto slashed his blade towards Kisame's neck.
Kisame gritted his teeth, struggling to adjust his posture in mid-air to avoid a fatal blow.
But all this did was spare him from death.
Naruto's slash cut off Kisame's left arm.
Naruto pursued, ready to strike a second blow.
Suddenly, a black flame ignited on his body.
It was Uchiha Itachi.
Naruto looked up, sensing that the man was already several hundred meters away.
Could the range of this Sharingan technique be that far?
As long as Itachi could see, he could cast these black flames?
He hadn't abandoned his comrade; rather, he had chosen a more suitable and strategic method.
These inextinguishable flames made Naruto stop in his tracks.
Kisame seized this opportunity, diving underground. The earth around Naruto softened like flowing water, and in an instant, Kisame had slipped away through the "water-like" soil.
Naruto wanted to give chase.
But the black flames always managed to block his path just in time.
Naruto ceased his pursuit, retracted his powers, and sheathed his blade.
He picked up the severed arm on the ground, sealed it back into a scroll, and turned to leave.
On the coast of the Land of Whirlpools.
Itachi and Kisame stopped their escape.
"He's not chasing us," Kisame frowned, taking out some ointment from his ninja pouch to disinfect and bandage his wound. "That kid is stronger than expected."
Itachi nodded. That much, he agreed with.
"Let's bring the information back," he said quietly. "Maybe they can analyze something useful from it."
Samehada twitched, dissatisfied with being separated from its beloved chakra.
Kisame could only pause his bandaging to infuse some of his own chakra into it, calming its emotions. "Your genjutsu, which works on everyone else, didn't seem to have much effect on him either."
"It seems only the leader could possibly take him down."
Itachi remained silent.
He lowered his head, recalling those eyes with purple spirals.
"Let's go." After a while, he stood up and went over to bandage Kisame. "It would be bad if he chases after us later."
"The Jinchūriki's sensory range is even larger than the Byakugan."
Without any delay, they left by boat.
Naruto also returned to the temporary camp.
The campfire had already been extinguished and hastily covered with earth.
Karin was nowhere to be found.
There wasn't much trace of her in his sensory perception either.
"Karin, I'm back," he whispered softly.
It took a moment before Karin poked her head out from a nearby building. "There was such a big commotion over there just now. Did you manage to drive them away?"
"They ran," Naruto smiled and tilted his head to look at her. "You came out so easily. What if I was someone else pretending to be me?"
Karin put her hands on her hips and replied confidently, "I can sense the chakra's essence."
"Naruto, your chakra is unique. It's a warmth that no one else has."
"That's something that can't be faked."
She walked over to Naruto, preparing to squat down and rekindle the campfire. But instead, she turned her head and rested it on his shoulder, "You're hurt?"
"Hurry, bite me," she said urgently, rolling up her sleeve.
Naruto shook his head and raised his hand, pointing, "No need, it's almost healed."
Karin looked closely.
The wound was healing at a slow, yet visibly noticeable pace.
"So, you have this kind of constitution too," Karin nodded, rolling her sleeve back down. "I almost forgot, you're also from the Uzumaki clan."
The campfire blazed up again.
Naruto and Karin began discussing sealing techniques.
"The Mind's Eye of the Kagura" is quite an interesting technique, and Naruto was quite intrigued by it.
Especially the ability to "sense emotions."
It wasn't much different from the ability he gained after unleashing Ashura's blade.
He recalled again what Nine-Tails said about "Ashura being the ancestor of the Uzumaki clan."
This technique's ability somewhat corroborated that point.
He hoped that tomorrow's exploration of the stele inscriptions would yield some useful clues.
The next day, they woke up.
Naruto and Karin resumed their busy work of examining the inscriptions.
"The shrine" was the place they most wanted to find, but it seemed like it didn't exist in the village anymore.
Or rather, "the shrine" once existed, but it has now disappeared, along with the entire structure.
The conspicuously empty spaces among the ruins were good evidence of this.
You could see traces where buildings once stood.
During lunch.
"Was it taken away by the ninja villages that destroyed the Land of Whirlpools?" Karin remarked with regret.
"Let's gather whatever useful things we can find here first." Naruto held a scroll, "The history of the Uzumaki clan is quite interesting too."
"After we've collected all the useful information here, we'll go find out which ninja villages were responsible for the destruction of the Land of Whirlpools."
"And then we'll go to their villages to exchange information."
Karin nodded.
They had barely started eating.
Suddenly, a puff of white smoke exploded beside Naruto.
A red toad with goggles around its neck appeared.
Naruto reacted instinctively.
Chakra surged towards the toad.
"I'm not an enemy," the toad screamed in terror. "I'm a messenger from Mount Myōboku."
"Jiraiya-sama has a message for you."
Naruto reined in his chakra. "What message?"
The red toad opened its mouth and spat out a scroll, "Jiraiya-sama wrote everything on this scroll."
Naruto picked it up and unrolled it.
There was a lot of text, densely packed.
However, the message wasn't new to him.
It was about "Uchiha Itachi" and "Kisame," who had attacked him last night.
Jiraiya mentioned in the letter.
They both belonged to an organization called "Akatsuki."
This organization consists of only nine ninjas. Though few in number, the organization's greatest strength is its quality over quantity.
All nine members are S-class criminals, highly wanted by various major ninja villages.
The organization's goals are currently unclear, but they have been engaging in the collection of "techniques."
Just a few days ago.
Uchiha Itachi and Hoshigaki Kisame infiltrated Konoha and injured Sarutobi Asuma and Yūhi Kurenai.
It wasn't until today that the two of them woke up.
They brought back some news.
The reason those two infiltrated Konoha was to obtain the "Fourth Hokage's legacy."