"Kakashi-senpai, long time no see."
Kakashi ignored Itachi's greeting.
He shot a cold, wary glance at the two, and seeing they had no immediate intention of attacking, he turned his attention to Shigaraki Tanuki, who was being helped up by Aburame Ryoma.
Shigaraki Tanuki wore an abstract panda mask, obscuring his expression. From his limp body, it was clear he had been caught in Itachi's genjutsu and was still in a daze.
"I can't believe you managed to stand up after getting hit by Itachi's technique," Kisame said with genuine praise.
Hearing the heartfelt compliment, Kakashi's heart sank.
Was the effect of that genjutsu really that powerful?
Kakashi carefully examined Shigaraki Tanuki. Thankfully, he seemed to be okay. He let out a sigh of relief, remembering the purpose of his mission.
After splitting from Naruto, Kakashi began to track Itachi and Kisame. Given the numbers and their power, he had stayed in the shadows, not making a move directly.
However, the sudden appearance of these two men had disrupted Kakashi's plan.
Their matching black suits and bizarre panda masks. Kakashi had heard people on the street mention this attire yesterday as the new uniform of the Root.
And the Root was currently an organization under Naruto's command.
These two must be acting under Naruto's orders.
Kakashi initially wanted to help them, but thinking about the Root's previous notoriety and that Naruto had only just taken over, he suppressed his turbulent emotions and chose to remain in the shadows to see what they would do.
His stakeout had led him to this very moment.
"Are you all right?" Kakashi asked with some concern.
He had even suspected that the Root might be working with the Akatsuki organization, but now it seemed his worries were unfounded.
"I'm fine..."
Shigaraki Tanuki sounded incredibly weak, as if two liters of blood had been drained from him. His voice was like a sickly young lord's.
Besides that, his only sensation was pain! Unrelenting pain! It felt like a thousand needles were stuck in his brain, and it was about to explode!
However, Shigaraki Tanuki didn't regret it!
Lord Naruto! My mission is complete!
Suddenly remembering something, he struggled to pull a blue Carefree Pill from his pocket, lifted his mask, and put it in his mouth.
The pill dissolved instantly, transforming into a cool, healing stream that soothed his brain, which had been in agony.
"Ah~~~"
Shigaraki Tanuki let out a moan of ecstasy. He instantly felt much better.
"You two, close your eyes and don't look at Itachi. If you make eye contact with him, you're finished!" Kakashi warned.
He believed this Root member fell for Itachi's genjutsu because he didn't know how to defend against it. Unlike himself, who possessed a Sharingan and could use it to counter Itachi!
As soon as he gave the warning, Kakashi realized his words were a bit redundant.
These two seemed to have a lot of experience fighting Uchiha. They were both looking down, carefully avoiding any eye contact with Itachi.
I was wasting my breath.
Kakashi finally raised his head, staring warily at the duo. Especially Itachi! He had already lifted his headband over his left eye, revealing a three-tomoe Sharingan in his eye socket.
"Oh? Those eyes…" Kisame hesitated for a moment, making sure he wasn't mistaken. "How surprising. Besides Itachi, I didn't expect anyone else to have eyes like those. So you're the Copy Ninja, Hatake Kakashi?"
"I should be the one who's surprised!" Kakashi, with his right eye closed to counter Itachi's genjutsu, only had his left eye open. "I can't believe it's really you two, especially you, Uchiha Itachi!"
He had only suspected before, but now his suspicions were confirmed.
"And you," Kakashi's left eye shifted to the bizarre-looking Kisame. "The weirdo from the Hidden Mist—Hoshigaki Kisame!"
"It's an honor, I'm flattered that you know my name," Kisame replied. His words showed a politeness that didn't match his terrifying appearance.
Glancing at the large blade in Kisame's hand, Kakashi immediately recognized the weapon that had caused an unknown injury to Shigaraki Tanuki.
That must be Samehada, the Greatsword. Kakashi analyzed silently.
"He's someone worth slicing!" Kisame held up the heavy Samehada with one hand, positioning it between the two groups, silently acknowledging Kakashi's strength.
But his actions were halted by Itachi.
"Stop, Kisame!" Itachi glanced at him. As Kisame looked on in surprise, Itachi explained, "You won't gain anything from fighting him. Besides, we've already been discovered. Other shinobi will arrive soon!"
Itachi's face was grim. From what he knew, the Root was not a simple organization. Even under Naruto's command, it wouldn't be easy to deal with.
Since they had been discovered by the Root, more Root shinobi were surely on their way.
"Don't forget the purpose of our visit!" Itachi said, hinting at their real objective while persuading Kisame.
"Then tell me the purpose of your visit here!" Kakashi interjected, hearing their conversation.
"We are just looking for something," Itachi said, looking at Kakashi.
Someone had finally brought this up. He couldn't be as naive as that Root member, Shigaraki Tanuki, and state his goal outright, right?
"Looking for something?" Kakashi mumbled to himself. Just as I guessed.
However, while other Akatsuki members might be after Naruto, that wasn't necessarily the case for these two.
Kakashi's mumbling made Itachi feel his response had been a bit too eager. A quick assessment of the situation showed that his side was not at an advantage, so it wasn't the time to be so chatty.
Calculating the time, Itachi's eyes turned cold, and he inwardly apologized.
"I'm not like Kisame!" Seeing Kakashi stare blankly at him with his one three-tomoe Sharingan, Itachi said with a feigned sigh, "You're very bold, Kakashi-senpai."
"What's the difference?" Kakashi hadn't even asked what the difference was.
On the opposite side, the three tomoe in Itachi's crimson Sharingan eyes spun wildly, merging into a bizarre pattern.
"This is…!" Kakashi immediately guessed what was happening.
Is this it?
After a period of speculation, especially with the help of the Ninja World Newspaper's articles, almost everyone in the ninja world knew that there was a higher evolution of the Uchiha's bloodline limit beyond the three-tomoe Sharingan.
The Mangekyou Sharingan.
Each Mangekyou Sharingan had a special ability!
Obito's Mangekyou was the well-known Kamui!
What about you, Uchiha Itachi? What is your ability?
Kakashi's Sharingan stared intently, observing carefully. He was confident that his Sharingan could withstand the opponent's genjutsu.
After learning his opponent's ability, he could then defeat them in a head-on fight.
But Kakashi had miscalculated!
The next second, Kakashi found himself in a strange space. A blood-red sky hung over him, and everything was bizarre. Kakashi realized he was tightly bound to a pillar, unable to move.
"Stab!"
Opposite him, Uchiha Itachi, holding a sword, stabbed a hole right through his body!
"Aah~~~!"
The same scenario that befell Shigaraki Tanuki repeated itself.
In the world of Tsukuyomi, Itachi continued his ruthless stabs. Kakashi groaned and screamed in pain.
After enduring the same treatment as Shigaraki Tanuki, Kakashi finally…
"Thud~~~"
Returned to reality, Kakashi collapsed, just like Shigaraki Tanuki.
The sight left Aburame Ryoma speechless.
One was bad enough, but another one?
However, unlike his old rival Shigaraki Tanuki, Kakashi was different. Ryoma recognized Hatake Kakashi. Besides being a Konoha prodigy, Kakashi had a more important identity—Naruto's team leader!
This was a status that needed to be taken seriously!
So, Pow!
Ryoma decisively abandoned Shigaraki Tanuki and helped Kakashi up. He even took a blue Carefree Pill from his own pocket and put it in Kakashi's mouth, imitating what he had done for Shigaraki Tanuki.
"Huff, huff~~~"
Perhaps because of his Sharingan, Kakashi was in even worse shape than Shigaraki Tanuki. He was panting weakly. "I'm alive."
His deadpan eyes looked around. Everything seemed unchanged.
Could it be that those three days in that special world were less than a moment in reality?
A question now shrouded him: Why didn't he kill me? Or that Root member earlier? He could have easily!
Even with his head throbbing, Kakashi remained calm, analyzing the situation. Recalling what Shigaraki Tanuki had gone through, he understood more about Itachi's ability.
How can I break that ability?
Kakashi had no clue.
"After getting hit by that move, another one's mind didn't break." Kisame looked astounded.
Are Konoha's shinobi just that strong, or did Itachi just go easy on them?
He turned to Itachi, warning him, "Itachi, overusing that ability is also very dangerous for you."
Itachi gave no reply, just stared at Kakashi coldly.
Kakashi, intrigued, looked up again. But after a brief moment of eye contact with Itachi, he immediately looked away.
What had just happened was a nightmare. It was too terrifying! He was so shaken that he no longer dared to make eye contact with Itachi!
"I didn't expect that to be your Mangekyou ability," Kakashi said weakly, panting heavily again. The events still gripped his heart like a nightmare.
"But using that ability must have a severe side effect, right?" This was the information Kakashi had analyzed from Kisame's warning.
With this thought, Kakashi bravely looked into Itachi's eyes again. "What is this side effect?"
The question, of course, went unanswered!
"Heh~" Kakashi sighed lightly, thinking to himself how blunt his question was.
By asking this, was I overly concerned about Obito, or about Sasuke's future? Or something else?
He composed himself and probed again. "The thing you're looking for… is it Sasuke?"
"No," seeing Kakashi finally get to the point, Itachi's heart stirred, but his face remained expressionless. "It's the Fourth Hokage's legacy," he said.
Kakashi felt that his guess was correct.
"Is your target the Nine-Tails inside Naruto?" Kakashi asked, gasping, carefully observing the two. "I know it's not just the two of you who are taking action. Is your organization called 'Akatsuki'?"
"Huh?" ×4
As soon as Kakashi said this, the other four were instantly shocked.
Itachi was the most surprised. He was just trying to convey the information that someone was after the Tailed Beast inside Naruto. He didn't expect Kakashi to already know.
And to even know the name of their organization, the Akatsuki.
Kisame's beady little eyes widened. They hadn't even made a move yet, so how did Kakashi already know?
How did he know? Could it have been… Tsukuyomi just now?
This is bad! Kisame suddenly felt like there was a traitor in their organization, the Akatsuki.
Wait a minute, was I, Hoshigaki Kisame, a traitor who wasn't fully loyal to the Akatsuki?
Then it's fine!
As for Shigaraki Tanuki and Aburame Ryoma, they thought it was completely unbelievable.
Someone… an organization, dares to target Lord Naruto?
To target the 'God of Shinobi' with such power, the one with the Rinnegan?
Hahaha!
Is this organization called 'Akatsuki' not overestimating itself a little?
"Hahahaha!!!"
Unlike the composed Ryoma, who stifled his laughter, Shigaraki Tanuki couldn't help but burst out laughing.
"You…" He pointed at the two men, laughing so hard he could barely breathe. "You actually dare to target Lord Naruto, hahaha, you're overestimating yourselves!"
Itachi glanced at him, and Kisame's forehead twitched slightly. Neither of them understood why he was laughing.
We're just trying to capture the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, Uzumaki Naruto. What's so funny about that? What is this guy laughing at?
"Lord Naruto?" Kakashi repeated Shigaraki Tanuki's title. It seemed the Root had a lot of faith in Naruto.
However, this Shigaraki Tanuki seemed to trust Naruto a little too much.
Itachi glanced at Kisame, knowing that he had raised too many questions today.
After all that commotion, Konoha's shinobi must have noticed them, right?
Seeing that the time was right and they had been pushed to this point, Itachi gave a cruel command. "Kisame, take Mr. Kakashi away. As for the other two, make them disappear!"
Swoosh!
As soon as he spoke, Kisame moved, rushing towards the three and raising his greatsword Samehada to strike.
Although there were three opponents, only one of them could fight! With just one strike, no one would be left to resist!
"Konoha Senpu!"
Bang!
The attacking Kisame was kicked back by a newly appeared green figure. The powerful force sent Kisame all the way back to his original position before he could steady himself.
What power! Kisame thought, "Who is it?"
"Konoha's Noble Blue Beast—Might Guy!"
Might Guy struck a combat pose, his blindingly white teeth making the two opponents' eyes hurt.
What bright teeth!
"What kind of get-up is that?" Kisame looked at the sudden appearance of the green bodysuit and bowl cut and couldn't help but say, "Must be some kind of rare beast, right?"
"Don't underestimate that man!" Itachi warned. He knew the story of Might Guy's lineage and knew this person was not simple.
"It's Uchiha Itachi!" Guy naturally saw the two of them. As for who the other one was, that wasn't the point. The point was Uchiha Itachi.
Seeing the two on guard against him, Might Guy looked at Kakashi. "You actually hurt Kakashi so badly!"
Guy felt a deep pang of heartache. Kakashi was his dearest friend, his brother, his lifelong rival!
Although Guy was a taijutsu specialist, no jonin was an idiot. In an instant, Guy understood the situation.
"Hey, you," Guy hinted with a glance at Aburame Ryoma, who was still relatively unharmed. "I don't know your name, but please assist me by taking care of these two!"
Then, he confidently looked at his opponents. "Until my Anbu reinforcements arrive, I'll keep you two busy for a while!"
"Interesting. You've got guts!" Kisame found it incredibly amusing.
This unknown guy had the audacity to stand up to both himself and Itachi. He was a man with real courage. And from their brief exchange, he wasn't simple, either.
He couldn't help but grip Samehada, feeling things were about to get interesting!
"Let me play with you for a bit."
Just as he was about to make his move, he was suddenly stopped by Itachi.
"Kisame, stop!"
As Itachi had predicted, enemy reinforcements had arrived, which gave him a good reason to retreat. There was no need to stay any longer.
"We didn't come here to start a war," he continued. "It's unfortunate, but there's no need to stay. Let's go back!"
"Just as I was getting worked up!" Kisame was very disappointed, but he knew Itachi was telling the truth. "No choice then!"
He took one last look at Might Guy, committing him to memory!
Swoosh~~~
Swoosh~~~
The two vanished instantly!
"They're finally gone!" Shigaraki Tanuki let out a sigh of relief. With those two here, he felt like his life could be in danger at any moment.
"Here!" Aburame Ryoma handed Kakashi over to Might Guy, then helped up Shigaraki Tanuki.
"Hey, you two…" Looking at the two figures walking away, Kakashi wanted to say something, but they just waved back and were gone.
They still have a mission to complete, you know?
A moment later, on the other side of the river.
"Hey, did you find it?" Shigaraki Tanuki urged.
Aburame Ryoma, who had his eyes closed, opened them, took the bug that had given him the information back into his body, and pointed in one direction. "Over there."
Uchiha Sasuke was anxiously searching for that man along the river when he suddenly heard a passing person say, "Uchiha Itachi, that traitor, his attacks are really heavy… Luckily he ran fast and escaped the village through the West Gate, or I would have…"
Uchiha Itachi?
Sasuke stopped instantly!
"He's already escaped the village?" He flashed away, becoming a blur as he raced toward the village's West Gate.
I must, I must kill that guy!
The main character is still on his way!