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For a brief moment, it seemed as if Inoiki had been completely subdued. But then, with a faint flicker of sky-blue aura around him, he broke free of the genjutsu's grip. The stun lasted only a fraction of a second.
Inoiki straightened, meeting Itachi's gaze once more, his expression composed but edged with respect. "I know that already," he said, his tone measured. "It's practically basic knowledge for any ninja. But I wanted to test myself against the best. And I must say," he continued, a faint smirk curling his lips, "your genjutsu is as powerful as I expected—on par with a top A-Rank technique, if my guess is correct."
He paused, tilting his head slightly in acknowledgment. "As expected of a genius Uchiha. Itachi, you live up to your name."
Itachi's expression remained unreadable, but there was a faint shift in his posture, a subtle acknowledgment of Inoiki's resilience.
Inoiki's voice grew more serious. "Still, as much as I wanted to test my tolerance, I can't afford to take risks. Even if your genjutsu only stuns me for a fraction of a second, against someone like you—or the two of you, for that matter—it's enough to cost me my life. And who knows what other powerful illusions you might be capable of."
He exhaled, his sky-blue aura flickering faintly once more as he steadied himself. "Better safe than sorry, wouldn't you agree?"
After speaking, Inoiki closed his eyes.
Three days earlier, during the chaos of Orochimaru's Konoha Crush plan, Inoiki had pushed his sensory abilities to their limits. In the heat of battle, those abilities had evolved into something extraordinary—a technique that allowed him to perceive his surroundings with unparalleled precision. If he had to describe it, it was remarkably similar to the Observation Haki he had read about in One Piece manga. Finding the comparison apt, he decided to name it the same: Observation Haki.
Now, relying on this heightened perception, Inoiki extended his psychokinetic control to the kunai scattered around him—the ones Kisame had dodged and Itachi had deflected. The weapons hovered briefly before rocketing toward Itachi at incredible speed, the air whistling with their velocity.
Itachi's Sharingan flickered as he tracked the incoming attack. Calm and precise, he formed hand seals at a speed so rapid it seemed as though he hadn't moved at all. In an instant, a roaring flame erupted from his mouth: Fire Style: Fireball Jutsu.
The massive fireball surged forward, colliding with the kunai mid-flight. The intense heat radiating from the flames caused the blades to glow red-hot almost instantly.
Inoiki's eyes narrowed. If those kunai stay in the fire any longer, they'll melt.
Acting swiftly, he redirected the kunai, plunging them into the river below. The blades hissed as they hit the water, steam rising in thin tendrils as they rapidly cooled.
But the fireball didn't stop. Unhindered, it roared toward Inoiki, casting an ominous glow across the river's surface.
Inoiki let out a sharp hmph, and with a flick of his fingers, the river water churned violently. A massive wave rose before him, forming a protective barrier. The fireball collided with the water wall, hissing and crackling as it struggled against the sudden flood. Steam exploded outward in a blinding cloud, shrouding the battlefield in thick vapor.
The air grew dense and hot as the fire and water clashed, their energies battling for dominance. Through the veil of steam, Inoiki stood firm, his mind already calculating his next move.
As the battlefield remained shrouded in thick water vapor, the river below Inoiki churned violently. Without warning, Kisame burst forth from the water, his massive figure aiming for a surprise attack.
"You like to attack from underwater, don't you?" Kisame growled, his voice dripping with malice. "Let's see how you like a taste of your own medicine!"
But Inoiki, his senses heightened by his Observation Haki, had anticipated the ambush. Without hesitation, he lifted himself into the air using his psychokinesis, floating effortlessly above Kisame's reach. The attack missed entirely, leaving Kisame in the water, glaring upward at Inoiki with clear frustration.
Kisame clicked his tongue in annoyance, muttering under his breath. "Tch. Lucky brat."
Yet before he could plan his next move, the water around him began to shift unnaturally. Kisame's eyes widened slightly as the temperature plummeted, and the river surrounding him started to freeze. In seconds, a circular area with a two-meter radius centered on his body had turned into solid ice. The frost extended three to four meters deep, locking Kisame in place within a thick, glacial prison.
"Damn it," Kisame grunted, straining against the frozen bonds.
Meanwhile, the kunai that Inoiki had dropped into the river earlier shot up from the icy surface, now hovering menacingly towards Kisame. Their gleaming tips pointed directly at him, and they moved with purpose, as if alive.
The tension peaked. If no one intervened, it was clear Kisame would be stabbed mercilessly by the barrage of kunai.
Itachi, standing a few meters away, moved swiftly, his crimson Sharingan flashing as he stepped forward to intercept. His hand reached for a kunai, prepared to deflect the incoming blades as he had done before.
But Inoiki was ready. This time, he wouldn't allow Itachi to repeat his earlier intervention.
From seemingly nowhere, a roaring wave of fire surged toward Itachi, conjured by Inoiki's psychokinesis. The flames crackled and swirled, their intense heat cutting through the mist as they barrelled toward the Uchiha.
Itachi's eyes narrowed, and his hands blurred through a series of seals. "Water Release: Water Wall," he intoned calmly. A towering column of water erupted in front of him, forming a barrier that collided with the wave of fire. Steam exploded outward again as fire and water clashed, momentarily obscuring Itachi and Inoiki from view.
The battlefield grew eerily quiet, the hiss of steam and the faint crackle of flames the only sounds.
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