Hearing the voice behind him, Itachi, for once, showed a rare expression of shock. Even though he had just used his Mangekyou Sharingan twice consecutively to cast Tsukuyomi, leaving him in a weakened state, it was still surprising that someone had approached from behind without him noticing.
Itachi turned around, his three-tomoe Sharingan spinning into view once again as he stared at the newcomer, Furen.
Kisame Hoshigaki, noticing Itachi's intent to use his Sharingan again, placed his Samehada on the ground, stepping in front of Itachi. "Let me handle this," he said. Seeing Kisame step forward, Itachi hesitated for a moment before nodding and taking a step back, acknowledging that his condition wasn't the best at the moment.
"Be careful, Kisame," Itachi warned, for some reason feeling an unsettling sense of foreboding.
Kisame, on the other hand, was puzzled. While the kid in front of him might have some potential, there was no way he was dangerous enough to make Itachi wary. Despite his doubts, Kisame followed Itachi's advice. He shook Samehada, causing the bandages wrapped around it to tear away as the sword began to tremble with excitement.
"Gurgle, gurgle..."
Samehada was quivering, clearly excited at the prospect of absorbing its opponent's chakra. Its instincts told it that this challenger possessed chakra worth devouring.
"Haha, I haven't seen Samehada this excited in a while," Kisame remarked, then glanced at Furen. "You've got some guts, kid."
Before Furen could respond, Kisame raised Samehada and swung it horizontally at him.
Furen leaped into the air, stepping on Samehada and using it to propel himself out of the sword's reach.
"Pretty nimble," Kisame said, admiring the move. He was about to swing again when Furen raised a hand and spoke.
"Wait a second."
Kisame, surprisingly, paused, giving Furen a moment.
Furen reached into his cloak and pulled out a spatial scroll. From the scroll, he drew a massive sword, one just as large as Samehada—the Executioner's Blade he had taken after Zabuza's death.
"The Executioner's Blade!?" Kisame's eyes widened in recognition. He looked over at Asuma, who was tending to the still-unconscious Kakashi, rendered helpless by Tsukuyomi.
Kurenai and Asuma guarded Kakashi as he lay unconscious.
"So, you're the one who killed Zabuza, huh…" Kisame's eyes narrowed as he finally started taking Furen seriously. Being a former member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist like Zabuza, Kisame was well aware of Zabuza's death.
"I haven't even used this blade yet…" Furen hoisted the Executioner's Blade onto his shoulder, feeling the weight that marked it as a powerful weapon. The heaviness of the sword was no joke—when Suigetsu from Team Taka wielded the Executioner's Blade, he had to use the Water Release: Great Water Arm Technique to swing it freely.
"Tch, guess it's my turn to get serious." Kisame planted his feet and gripped Samehada with both hands, preparing for a real fight, unlike his earlier casual strikes.
Furen met Kisame head-on with the Executioner's Blade, and the two massive weapons clashed. Both blades ground against each other, locked in a stalemate as neither could overpower the other.
"Not bad. To be able to match my strength like that," Kisame thought, silently praising Furen's physical power. However, a grin soon spread across Kisame's face.
"Samehada, chakra devour."
At that moment, Samehada, which had been pushing against the Executioner's Blade, began to quiver with excitement. A grotesque mouth lined with sharp teeth opened up on the sword's blade, and its long tongue extended outward. Instantly, it began sucking out chakra from Furen, drawing in the glowing blue energy and consuming it hungrily.
"Tastes good, doesn't it?" Furen asked, not showing any signs of surprise or worry, as if he had anticipated this.
Samehada let out an excited gurgle, its hunger growing stronger. It even strained against Kisame's grip, as if eager to devour more of Furen's chakra.
Kisame narrowed his eyes, his caution growing. Holding Samehada more firmly, he decided to change tactics. This time, instead of swinging the sword, he quickly formed hand seals.
"Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
A massive shark formed from pure chakra shot forth, rushing toward Furen with its jaws wide open.
Kisame didn't unleash this powerful jutsu because he feared Furen, but rather because another figure had appeared behind Furen—a Konoha ninja wearing a deep green jumpsuit. It was none other than Might Guy!
As the shark hurtled toward them, Furen didn't seem concerned. He dodged to the side effortlessly, leaving Guy to deal with the fast-approaching shark.
When Furen reappeared, he was already behind Kisame, carrying the Executioner's Blade. Instead of attacking with the sword, Furen casually discarded it and reached out with his hand, touching Kisame.
"Kisame, dodge!" Itachi, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them and warned his partner.
Kisame's expression shifted to confusion, but in the next moment, his pupils dilated, and his body fell stiffly to the ground. He had fallen victim to Furen's genjutsu.
"He cast a genjutsu on him from the start... A technique triggered through touch?" Itachi observed carefully, his own Sharingan spinning into the form of the Mangekyō, clearly realizing the threat Furen posed.
"Well done, Itachi, you figured it out so quickly," Furen replied calmly. "But... have your eyes recovered? Do you have enough chakra left to cast Tsukuyomi a third time?"
Furen's voice was steady as he looked at Itachi, sizing him up as if anticipating the next move.
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T/N:
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