"Itachi-san, now that we've been spotted, should we take care of them?" Kisame Hoshigaki grinned wickedly. "Otherwise, when we reach Konoha, we might just be caught in their web of traps."
Uchiha Itachi remained silent for a few seconds before calmly replying, "We're still in the Land of Fire, and after passing through a small town, we'll be near Konoha. There's a chance that Konoha shinobi could pass by here at any moment. We need to kill them as quickly as possible."
"Understood. Leave that kid to me," Kisame said, his expression twisted with anticipation. "That kid's massive chakra and powerful water-style jutsu have made me curious. I want to see if my hunch is correct."
As if understanding Kisame's words, Samehada—the sword wrapped in white bandages—began to shake violently, drawn to Yagyu's chakra with an insatiable hunger.
"That person... is Uchiha Itachi!" Kurenai finally recognized him, her red pupils contracting in shock. Seeing Kisame next to Itachi, cold sweat appeared on her forehead, and her voice trembled, "And that's the 'Monster of the Hidden Mist,' Kisame Hoshigaki! Why are two S-rank rogue ninjas here?"
Without time to process it fully, Kurenai watched as Kisame, holding Samehada, sprinted across the water towards them. She quickly shouted, "Yagyu, we need to run! They're top-level rogue ninjas, and we're no match for them!"
"You're right, Kurenai-sensei," Yagyu replied, his expression serious. "Such dangerous individuals traveling together must have some hidden agenda. Judging by the direction they're heading, they're probably on their way to Konoha. Now that we've identified them, they won't let us go easily. With our strength, escaping from two S-rank rogue ninjas will be incredibly difficult. So... Kurenai-sensei, you should escape. I'll stay behind and buy you time."
"No!" Kurenai immediately shook her head. "I can't leave you behind. If anyone should stay, it's me."
"Don't be reckless, Kurenai-sensei," Yagyu said gravely as Kisame drew closer. "You saw how I defeated Shikamaru. You know how fast I am. If I stay to hold them off, we both have a chance of survival."
"No more arguments," Kurenai said resolutely, pulling out a kunai. "If we die, we die together. I won't abandon my student."
Seeing Kurenai's unwavering determination, Yagyu smiled slightly. "Very well then, let's fight them together!"
"Yes. I'll take care of Uchiha Itachi," Kurenai said, inadvertently making a bold statement.
"Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu!" Kisame's voice echoed as the water beneath Yagyu and Kurenai swirled and transformed into a massive shark, its jaws wide open as it lunged upward toward them.
Swish! Swish!
Both Yagyu and Kurenai vanished with the Body Flicker Technique.
Kurenai landed on the water's surface, running toward the motionless Uchiha Itachi.
Meanwhile, Yagyu also appeared on the water, riding on a water-formed surfboard that carried him at high speed towards Kisame.
As he sped forward, Yagyu pulled out a kunai from his pouch, coating it with water-style chakra, transforming it into a fluid, razor-sharp water blade.
"That water-style chakra control and shape manipulation... looks like my guess was right," Kisame grinned, his bloodlust growing. He seemed excited to have found a kindred spirit.
In response, water formed a surfboard under Kisame's feet as well, propelling him toward Yagyu at high speed.
The two were like surfers racing across the water, ready to clash head-on.
Just as they were about to collide, Yagyu suddenly leaped into the air, switching his grip on the water blade from a reverse hold to an overhead slash aimed at Kisame.
Kisame gripped Samehada with both hands, swinging upward to intercept Yagyu's strike.
Boom!
Water blade and Samehada clashed, sending a violent shockwave across the lake, creating ripples and waves.
Despite Yagyu's best efforts, his water blade left no mark on Samehada.
Not only that, but the water chakra coating Yagyu's kunai was quickly absorbed, disappearing entirely.
Yagyu wasn't surprised—he already knew about Samehada's ability.
In fact, he had used Water Blade Slash precisely to create this opening.
Taking advantage of the moment while Samehada was absorbing his chakra, Yagyu puffed his cheeks and shot several water needles toward Kisame's eyes and face.
If hit, Kisame would be blinded instantly.
However, a water shark suddenly emerged from the lake, swallowing Kisame whole. The shark absorbed the impact of Yagyu's water needles, then leaped back into the lake, pulling Kisame away from Yagyu.
Seconds later, the water shark burst from the lake again, dissolving into water. Kisame, unharmed, rested Samehada on his shoulder and grinned. "Such cunning tactics and water-style jutsu... combined with your silver hair and red eyes, you must be a descendant of the Senju Clan."
Yagyu had no time to respond to Kisame's taunts. Realizing his sneak attack had failed, he glanced briefly toward Kurenai's side of the battlefield before deciding to go all out.
Raising his right hand, a swirling blue chakra sphere formed in his palm, quickly becoming a mini whirlwind.
Within seconds, the color deepened to an even richer blue.
Water from the air and the lake gathered into the whirlwind, transforming the chakra sphere into a swirling mass of water.
Without hesitation, Yagyu hurled the mini water tornado toward Kisame.
The moment it left his hand, the vortex began sucking up water from the lake and moisture from the air, growing rapidly in size until it became a towering water cyclone, racing toward Kisame.
"Impressive—no hand seals and a jutsu I've never seen before... looks like I underestimated you," Kisame remarked, setting Samehada back on his back. He quickly formed hand seals and thrust his hands forward. "Water Style: Great Shark Bullet Jutsu!"
A colossal water shark, even larger than before, erupted from the lake, its massive jaws opening wide as it charged toward Yagyu's water cyclone.
When the two jutsu collided, there was no explosion or stalemate. Instead, Yagyu's water cyclone was instantly overwhelmed, its chakra and water absorbed by Kisame's shark, making the already massive creature grow even larger as it surged toward Yagyu like a mountain.
Zzzz...
The crackling sound of electricity filled the air, and in the blink of an eye, Yagyu disappeared, evading Kisame's monstrous shark.
When Yagyu reappeared, he was a few meters to Kisame's left, mid-air, holding a water spear. But instead of throwing it at Kisame, he hurled it toward the lake several meters away.
Seeing the water spear, Kisame's expression changed drastically. Without hesitation, he used Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu again, encasing himself in a shark made of water to flee into the lake.
Boom!
Just after Kisame escaped, a massive explosion rang out.
The water spear unleashed a terrifying amount of chakra, forming a gigantic water tornado that absorbed the surrounding water, growing even larger than Yagyu's Spiral Water Dragon.
"Water Style: Giant Exploding Water Colliding Wave!"
As Kisame evaded Yagyu's attack, he unleashed another torrent of water from his mouth, flooding the area once again and raising the water level to its previous height.
He quickly followed up with another technique, "Water Style: Four Shark Rain!"
Four enormous water sharks leaped into the air from all directions around Yagyu, their massive bodies casting shadows as they lunged toward him.
"Water Style: Water Wall!"
Yagyu clapped his hands together, summoning a swirling water vortex around himself, forming a protective barrier.
The four sharks collided with the spinning water wall, breaking apart into thousands of smaller sharks, but they were unable to breach Yagyu's defense. Instead, they were sucked into the vortex and dissipated as their chakra was depleted, ultimately strengthening Yagyu's water wall.
Once the threat was neutralized, Yagyu's water wall expanded outward, transforming into a river-like stream that surged toward Kisame.
Though the attack was powerful, it had a clear wind-up, much like Kisame's giant shark from earlier. Kisame easily evaded the strike with a Body Flicker, but the resulting explosion of water drenched him, making his grin even more savage.
In just a few minutes, Yagyu and Kisame had exchanged several high-level and secret water-style techniques, each requiring a tremendous amount of chakra—enough to drain a Jonin instantly.
Their battle was like a clash between two gods of water.
While Yagyu and Kisame were locked in combat, the battle on the other side had already ended.
Just like in the original timeline, Kurenai, who had only recently been promoted to Jonin, had no experience dealing with the Sharingan.
After years of the Uchiha Clan's extinction, the Sharingan had become a legendary bloodline limit. Kurenai, who had never faced someone like Kakashi with an implanted Sharingan, had no idea that the Uchiha's natural three-tomoe Sharingan was far more potent.
Despite taking the battle seriously, Kurenai's full-strength attack, the Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death, aimed to immobilize Itachi and follow up with an offensive genjutsu.
But just as the large illusionary tree materialized and wrapped its vine-like tendrils around Itachi, Kurenai's vision abruptly shifted.
The next moment, as she prepared to perform her follow-up jutsu, she found herself paralyzed.
Somehow, Itachi had closed the distance between them, standing directly in front of her.
When she looked up, she realized that they had switched places. Now, she was the one ensnared by her own Tree Binding Death technique.
Horrified, Kurenai gasped, "Genjutsu reversal? When?"
"It began the moment you made eye contact with me," Itachi said softly as he drew a kunai from his sleeve and stabbed it into Kurenai's body. "I didn't want to kill you, Kurenai-san. But since you've discovered us, you've left me no choice."
"As an old comrade, I'll at least give you a merciful death."
With that, Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan morphed into a Mangekyo pattern resembling a tri-bladed shuriken.
The powerful Yin Release chakra from his Mangekyo Sharingan surged into Kurenai's mind, taking control of her nervous system and immobilizing her.
Just one look from Itachi was enough to leave Kurenai utterly defenseless, her body moving like a puppet.
The illusionary vines and tree that had bound her disappeared, but she collapsed into the lake, her body slowly sinking beneath the bloodied waters, with a kunai still lodged in her abdomen.
"Sensei!" Yagyu's furious voice roared. "Water Style: Water Dragon Biting Explosion!"
A massive whirlpool appeared beneath Itachi's feet, forming a giant dragon-like maw that surged upward to swallow him whole.
Swish!
Itachi vanished with the Body Flicker, leaving the water dragon to snap at empty air.
A huge water dragon burst from the lake, lunging toward Itachi's new location.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Itachi's hands formed seals in a blur, and he exhaled a small flame that rapidly expanded into a massive fireball, colliding with the water dragon.
Boom!
A massive explosion followed, releasing a thick cloud of steam that enveloped the battlefield.
The sight seemed to give Yagyu an idea.
Thick fog materialized from thin air, turning the lake into a misty realm.
Despite the sudden fog, Itachi remained expressionless, though he silently breathed a sigh of relief.
Good thing this kid isn't reckless—otherwise, creating an opportunity for them to escape might have been impossible.
This boy, Itachi thought, truly is more exceptional than Sasuke.
He just hoped Yagyu wouldn't take out his anger on Sasuke for Itachi's actions.
With a final thought, Itachi observed the fog dissipating and confirmed that both Yagyu and Kurenai had vanished without a trace.
"Itachi-san, it seems they managed to escape," Kisame said as he returned to Itachi's side, acting as though he hadn't noticed Itachi's deliberate mercy. "Are we still heading to Konoha, even though our identities were revealed?"
"Yes," Itachi replied coolly. "Kurenai-san is under my Mangekyo genjutsu. She'll be out of commission for a while. Let's complete our mission quickly."
Kisame, slightly concerned, asked, "Did you use that technique?"
"No, she didn't warrant the use of Tsukuyomi," Itachi said, adjusting his hat. With that, he started walking toward Konoha again.
Kisame followed, remarking, "It's been a while since I've fought so freely. It's a shame that kid wasn't able to go all out. I wonder if we'll cross paths with him again."
"We will," Itachi replied. "After all, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki is in Konoha."
"True. I hope the boss's plan gets underway soon."
"...."
With that, Itachi and Kisame continued their journey, leaving the battlefield behind.
---
Read 40+ Chapters ahead of WN:
Patréon.com/RoseWhisky