Chapter 369: Tsukuyomi
"Are they... from the Akatsuki?" The Jonin leading the team, Ryoko, said in disbelief.
She stared intently at the two men with extremely strong momentum not far away, the astonishment on her face beyond words.
The Akatsuki matter, in the minds of many Waterfall ninja, was just news similar to urban legends. To put it bluntly, they knew about it, but never really took it seriously. An underground rogue ninja organization making several major ninja villages suffer so much that they had to unite against it seemed a bit like a fantasy to these small ninja villages.
By analogy, it was like the United States in her previous life couldn't beat a terrorist organization and had to unite with two of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to deal with them. Such a thing was ridiculous no matter how you thought about it, right?
So regarding the news that the Akatsuki was coming to capture the Tailed Beast Jinchuriki of her village, Ryoko was only skeptical; until she saw the people of the Akatsuki appear with her own eyes.
Ryoko could feel their strong power: that terrifying chakra amount as deep as an abyss and the killing intent so dense it seemed to solidify into substance, making people desperate and suffocated. At this moment, she finally understood why Konoha and the others were facing a formidable enemy!
"Yes." Haruno Sakura said calmly.
She pursed her lips tightly, her eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she narrowed her eyes slightly to examine the newcomers from the Akatsuki.
Two people, one tall and one thin, both hid their faces under bamboo hats, making their appearances unclear.
The cloaks with red clouds on a black background looked extremely cool, unscrupulously announcing their presence. Just looking at the highly recognizable clothes, one could identify them from the crowd at a glance, but what was more eye-catching was the massive, abyss-like chakra amount on the two, especially the tall and burly figure holding the sword!
That unfathomable chakra sense, Haruno Sakura had only sensed from Naruto in her life. Even Jiraiya, Tsunade, or other Akatsuki figures she encountered couldn't compare to this person!
Bandaged large sword, burly figure, huge chakra amount.
With such conspicuous characteristics, Sakura immediately guessed the identity of the visitor.
Hoshigaki Kisame.
She had just returned from a mission to the Mist and learned a lot about this rogue ninja. Plus, she still had impressions from the manga she read in her previous life. Every characteristic of this person in front of her matched Kisame, so Sakura was 100% sure of his identity.
Then.
The person next to Kisame must be Uchiha Itachi?
He restrained his chakra fluctuations, but with her keen perception, Haruno Sakura still smelled a scent somewhat similar to Sasuke on him.
Presumably, Sasuke felt it too.
Sakura glanced at Sasuke calmly. His expression remained calm, but his slightly flickering eyes and secretly clenched fists exposed the fluctuations of his emotions.
After experiencing so many things, Sasuke was no longer the boy in the original story who would rush forward recklessly when seeing Itachi.
Haruno Sakura breathed a sigh of relief secretly, her gaze continuing to sweep behind her; the Waterfall ninja following behind were indeed pale with horror, their eyes wide open.
The appearance of the enemy scared the wits out of them instantly!
How did the Akatsuki know the whereabouts of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki?
Thousands of thoughts raced through her mind. Ryoko felt like she had fallen into an ice cave, her heart cold, and she subconsciously looked back at Fuu.
Seeing her action, Sakura shook her head secretly. This Waterfall Jonin was young and lacked experience, becoming flustered when encountering unexpected situations. Looking back at Fuu in this situation, wasn't it telling the people of the Akatsuki that the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was that girl?
Confessing without being pressed.
On the contrary, Fuu, a girl who was not yet an adult, looked normal and behaved more calmly—of course, maybe she was just heartless.
"Protect yourselves and retreat in an orderly manner." Haruno Sakura ordered calmly. "I'll stop them. Sasuke, get ready to support me."
Sasuke's strength was already very strong, but at this stage, it was still beyond his ability to face a Kage-level opponent.
Fuu as a Jinchuriki might be counted on a little.
"As for the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki," she glanced back at Fuu and said, "can you hold one off?"
"How do you know Fuu's identity?" Ryoko's face changed again, and she said hurriedly. First the Akatsuki, then the Konoha envoys. The Waterfall ninja tried their best to hide Fuu's intelligence, thinking it was seamless, but found that both allies and enemies already knew the Jinchuriki's whereabouts like the back of their hands! This feeling was terrible.
It was just that at this time, Ryoko still had the mood to care about such trivial matters, which really made Sakura speechless.
Fortunately, Fuu got into the state much faster. She took a few steps forward, walked to Sakura's side and said, "Teacher Ryoko, take everyone back to the village first! Just leave this place to me and the people from Konoha!"
She smiled confidently, not taking the people of the Akatsuki seriously. Unable to find suitable opponents in the village, this was probably the first time Fuu faced weighty enemies!
Sakura sighed silently. Fuu was indeed a combat rookie.
Being too excited before battle was a taboo. Making wrong decisions on impulse due to a hot head resulted in many ninja dying aggrievedly without displaying their full strength. It was said that Tsunade's younger brother died like this. Therefore, Haruno Sakura didn't have high expectations for her performance, only hoping that the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki could display the true strength of the Tailed Beast to stall for a while, until she defeated the other person.
"Calm down, Fuu." Sakura said faintly, her chakra slowly surging out. "The opponents are powerful and experienced ninja. Even if you possess the power of the Seven-Tails, it won't be easy to fight against them."
Especially since it was Fuu's first time fighting against opponents of this level.
"Understood." Fuu looked at the girl beside her with some surprise. The aura emanating from her was equally amazing, able to contend with the people of the Akatsuki, showing how strong Haruno Sakura was. Her tyrannical strength made her words more persuasive, and the Jinchuriki girl nodded obediently.
The Konoha envoy's strength was completely disproportionate to her slender figure and gentle face. One really shouldn't judge a book by its cover.
"The person holding the sword is a Mist rogue ninja named Hoshigaki Kisame. Powerful, extremely high chakra amount, specializes in Water Style ninjutsu, also strong in sword technique. The sword in his hand is called Samehada, one of the Seven Ninja Swords of the Mist. It is amazingly powerful and has the ability to absorb chakra. Ordinary ninjutsu won't work on him." Haruno Sakura spoke very fast, pouring out all the intelligence in her memory in one breath.
Regardless of whether Fuu could accept so much at once, let her understand the parts she didn't hear clearly during the battle.
Haruno Sakura didn't lower her voice, so her words were also heard clearly by the two Akatsuki members opposite.
"It seems my intelligence has been collected by you!" The burly man said with a tone of disapproval, taking off the bamboo hat on his head while speaking, revealing his face.
Rough face, shark-like gill marks on both sides of his cheeks, more ferocious and arrogant than the image Haruno Sakura saw in the manga in her previous life or in the Mist recently. Kisame threw the bamboo hat aside casually, with a malicious smile on his face, grinning, revealing a mouth full of sharp teeth, looked at the girl standing opposite him and said, "So, you are Haruno Sakura?"
Ryoko's Jonin squad retreating nervously behind Haruno Sakura was treated by him as insignificant ants and ignored indifferently.
Kisame just stood high on the stone mountain, his gaze shifting from Fuu to Sasuke, pausing slightly, and finally landing on Haruno Sakura's face. The early summer sun shone on this man, not giving a warm feeling, but emitting a cold chill like a cold-blooded animal. The shadow extended from his feet, stretching long down the mountain, covering a large area.
Haruno Sakura's clear and bright eyes remained unmoved, silent, just quietly looking back at the yellow eyes on Kisame's face that emitted cold killing intent.
"It seems you are..." Kisame narrowed his eyes slightly, his killing intent became more awe-inspiring, and he said coldly.
His previous words showed disapproval of Sakura, but when he really faced her, he wouldn't be careless because of it. The survival way of rogue ninja was caution. A lion uses full strength even when hunting a rabbit. Kisame would not show mercy because the opponent was weak.
"Then who is the other person?" Fuu interrupted the brief confrontation between the two and continued to ask.
"The other person—" Haruno Sakura moved her gaze to the ninja standing indifferently beside Kisame and said slowly.
"That guy hiding his head and showing his tail," Sasuke suddenly interrupted, his tone as cold as an iceberg, saying indifferently, "is Uchiha Itachi."
Sakura looked back at him. At some point, the black-haired boy's eyes had turned scarlet.
"Sasuke..." She just started a sentence, then suddenly didn't know how to continue.
The thin man beside Kisame, as Sasuke said, had always hidden himself in the shadow. After Sasuke revealed his identity, he no longer hid himself, took off his bamboo hat, and revealed his true face.
The most controversial man in Naruto, Uchiha Itachi, appeared in front of Sakura.
His face was handsome and thin, with delicate and beautiful features, forming a sharp contrast with Kisame's rough image. The two deep nasolabial folds on his face did not spoil his handsomeness, but instead highlighted the coldness and ruthlessness of this man.
This was the second time she had seen Uchiha Itachi. Compared to the sad and somewhat bewildered boy she saw last time traveling through time, the young Itachi looked cold and handsome, with a deeper and more mature temperament. Even in front of a formidable enemy, Haruno Sakura had to admit with complicated feelings that this man had a peculiar charm.
Just this face could make many girls intoxicated, right?
Uchiha Itachi ignored Sasuke, his gaze not even staying on his own brother for a second. His gaze was indifferent, three tomoe swimming slowly in his red pupils, his gaze falling on the face of the pink-haired girl standing at the very front.
"Haruno Sakura, the matter of the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki has nothing to do with your Konoha." He said slowly. "Leave Fuu behind, and we can let you leave."
Haruno Sakura looked him up and down carefully, then suddenly sneered.
"Let us leave?" The corners of her mouth curled up, raising her delicate chin, she sneered and said, "Have you already decided you can defeat us? Sorry, I don't have the habit of admitting defeat before fighting, nor do I think we will lose to you!"
No matter how weak the Seven-Tails Jinchuriki was or how lacking in combat experience, she was a Jinchuriki who had mastered partial Tailed Beast Transformation after all, unlike that guy Naruto who often dropped the ball when calling on the Nine-Tails chakra. As long as Fuu could hold off one of them—if not, let Sasuke help her—Haruno Sakura was completely confident in repelling the remaining one.
According to the Third Hokage, Uchiha Itachi was still a spy secretly obeying Konoha's orders. Haruno Sakura didn't know if he was trustworthy. Itachi's identity was not her reliance; what was truly important was that she didn't think she would lose to the Sharingan.
Even the Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Arrogant fellow!" The girl's declaration ignited waves of anger in Kisame's heart. He smashed Samehada onto the ground and said coldly, "Then let me help you recognize the gap in strength between us...!"
He stuck the large sword in the ground, clasped his hands in front of his chest ready to form seals, but was stopped by Itachi.
"Your moves take too much time. The fight will be endless... Let me do it." Uchiha Itachi said faintly.
He took a few steps forward, walked in front of Kisame, and lowered his eyes.
When he opened them again, the rotating tomoe in his eyes had connected into a piece, forming a pinwheel-shaped pattern.
That was... the Mangekyo Sharingan!
Haruno Sakura's heart tightened, and she subconsciously tensed her body.
Itachi's chakra suddenly erupted, and his pupil power surged violently—
"Tsukuyomi!"
❃❃❃
⤑ Show your support with Power Stones!
⤑ Unlock a Bonus Chapter every time we hit 400 Power Stones!
❃❃❃
♕ Get early access to 30+ advanced chapters on Patreon!
🔗 https://www.pat-reon.co-m/c/Hollowborn
(Just remove the hyphen (-) to open the link!)
💬 Enjoying the story? Drop a review!
Your support really helps the series grow—thank you!