"Kotoamatsukami?" The group was puzzled, hearing this name for the first time.
Itachi slowly explained, "After members of the Uchiha clan awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, they each gain unique eye techniques."
"My techniques are Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu."
"Itachi-san, both your Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu are terrifyingly powerful!" Kisame chimed in enthusiastically, always the first to praise Itachi.
"Similarly, Obito Uchiha's Kamui and Kakashi's Kamui are also Mangekyō-exclusive abilities."
"So, the Mangekyō is really amazing. Just awakening it grants such incredible power," Hidan expressed what everyone was thinking.
The Uchiha clan truly had an innate advantage. Simply by evolving to the Mangekyō Sharingan, they could secure a significant position in the ninja world with their eye techniques alone.
"Then Kotoamatsukami is Shisui Uchiha's Mangekyō ability? And it's some kind of powerful genjutsu?" Sasori inquired further.
Itachi nodded. "Kotoamatsukami is indeed a genjutsu, but calling it powerful doesn't do it justice."
"Kotoamatsukami can manipulate someone without them even realizing it, even permanently altering their thoughts. It makes the target genuinely believe their new mindset is their own, far beyond the simple illusions of ordinary genjutsu."
"Permanently?" Kakuzu, the oldest among them, couldn't help but lose his composure.
"Itachi Uchiha, do you understand what you're saying?"
Permanently altering someone's thoughts—it sounded utterly absurd, something even the legendary Sage of Six Paths might not have been capable of.
"Yes, permanently," Itachi confirmed, addressing their doubts.
"At the time, Shisui's two Mangekyō Sharingan—one was taken by Danzo, and the other was entrusted to me."
"If my guess is correct, Danzo likely used Kotoamatsukami on Tsunade."
"Then Orochimaru's plan to free Tsunade from control is doomed?" Sasori remarked with a hint of schadenfreude. Despite their prolonged cooperation, he and Orochimaru had never improved their relationship.
"Not necessarily. We don't yet know the exact command Danzo issued to Tsunade with Kotoamatsukami," Itachi countered.
"If the command was to protect Konoha, then Tsunade might truly be beyond saving."
"But if the command was to obey Danzo himself, then as long as Danzo is killed, the command's target would disappear, and Tsunade might return to normal."
"Come on, with someone like Danzo, it's definitely an obedience command," Deidara interjected.
For some reason, inappropriate images flashed through Deidara's mind—using Kotoamatsukami to control Tsunade?
Danzo, you've got good taste! Tsunade is practically the queen of fanfiction!
"Hey, Kisame," Deidara suddenly called out.
"Hmm?" Kisame looked at Deidara, sensing that whatever came next wouldn't be pleasant.
"You're so respectful and kind to Itachi, always calling him 'Itachi-san.'"
"Could it be that you've secretly been controlled by Itachi with Kotoamatsukami?" Deidara teased.
Kisame froze, suddenly feeling unsure of himself. "That… shouldn't be possible… right?"
"Itachi-san, you wouldn't do something so terrifying to me, would you?" Kisame asked nervously.
Itachi remained silent. His overly mature and composed demeanor always made him feel out of place in such situations.
"See? Itachi's silence proves it. He's too embarrassed to admit it after doing something like that to you."
"Kisame, you're no longer pure."
Itachi sighed, rubbing his forehead in frustration. "Kotoamatsukami is so powerful that its cooldown period is a full ten years. It's not something I would use lightly."
"Phew, that's a relief," Kisame exhaled, visibly relaxing.
"What's so relieving about that? It just means Itachi doesn't think you're worth using Kotoamatsukami on," Hidan added fuel to the fire.
"Itachi-san…" Kisame looked at Itachi with teary eyes.
"Enough!" Itachi sighed again, clearly exasperated.
"Alright, let's get back to the matter of the Joint Chūnin Exams," Nagato interjected after watching enough of their antics, bringing the discussion back on track.
"We definitely need to cooperate with Orochimaru for this plan. After all, Konoha's strength is more harmful than beneficial to us," Nagato stated.
"But Konoha is very strong right now, so we'll need to send more people this time," Deidara suggested.
The group nodded in agreement. Kakashi was the first to speak up. "I'm going on this mission."
When it came to dealing with Danzo, Kakashi wouldn't take no for an answer.
"If Kakashi's going, then I'll go too. After all, we're teammates now," Kisame added.
"I'll go as well," Kakuzu said. He was eager to regain some confidence by fighting weaker opponents, having had enough of facing monsters.
"If Kakuzu's going, then I have to go too," Hidan said reluctantly, shrugging.
"I'm definitely going. In that case, Sasori, you should come too, right?" Deidara looked at Sasori.
Sasori nodded.
With that, Akatsuki was sending six members.
"Let's assess our combat strength," Deidara began.
"Kakashi and Kisame will handle Jiraiya. He's primarily a ninjutsu-type ninja, so you two have an advantage against him."
Kakashi and Kisame nodded, not mentioning any notions of solo fights. Deidara had already shared intelligence from Iwagakure, revealing that Jiraiya and Tsunade were now stronger than Ōnoki. These were not opponents to underestimate.
"I'll take on Tsunade. My abilities are well-suited against her taijutsu style."
"Then Sasori can handle the Wood Release ninja."
"No problem," Sasori agreed.
"Kakuzu and Hidan will deal with the small fry, leaving Orochimaru to face Danzo himself."
"Tsk, it feels like our combat strength might still be insufficient," Deidara muttered, realizing that even six members might not be enough.
"Indeed, they also have the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki," Konan pointed out.
Deidara was more concerned about Might Guy. Naruto's combat strength shouldn't be too high at this point. Even if he went berserk with four tails, Kakuzu and Hidan could handle it.
But aside from Might Guy, there was another issue—the original story showed that Danzo's Kotoamatsukami, enhanced by Hashirama's cells, had a much shorter cooldown. Sending Orochimaru alone might be risky; if he got caught again, it would be laughable.
"Itachi, I just thought of something," Deidara said, turning to Itachi.
Seeing Itachi's gaze shift to him, Deidara continued, "You said Kotoamatsukami has a ten-year cooldown, but the abilities of the Mangekyō's two eyes are often slightly different, right?"
"Can you be certain that Danzo's Kotoamatsukami also has a ten-year cooldown?"
"This..." Itachi's face showed a rare hint of surprise. This was indeed a critical issue he had previously overlooked.
The abilities of the Mangekyō's two eyes couldn't be exactly the same.
"Deidara, what are you suggesting?" Nagato asked.
"We can't let Orochimaru face Danzo alone. What if he falls victim to Kotoamatsukami again?"
"But with our current division of combat strength, there's no one left to support Orochimaru."
"There is!" Deidara declared firmly.
"If we all go, then there will be!"
"After all, Orochimaru is covering the costs, and leaving just three of you behind in Amegakure doesn't feel secure."
"If we deploy everyone, we won't have to worry about Obito ambushing us either."
(The real battle is about to begin!)
~~~~❃❃~~~~~~~~❃❃~~~~
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