Itachi's figure had just reformed when a terrifying black lightning, coiling like a massive dragon, instantly surged toward him.
Naruto quickly moved to Sasuke's side, helping him up and seating him against a tree.
Itachi's Sharingan remained fixed ahead, clearly capturing the illusory yet tangible black torrent.
'Genjutsu?'
'Or Ninjutsu?'
He wasn't sure, nor did he want to recklessly take it head-on.
But the black lightning was far faster than anticipated. Before Itachi could even attempt to dodge, it completely enveloped him.
In an instant, an overwhelming spiritual will crashed against his mental barriers like tidal waves.
In his perception, he felt as though he had become a ship caught in the eye of a storm.
In the Ninja World, a person's spiritual will was closely tied to Yin Release Chakra. The more talent a Ninja had in this aspect, the more powerful their Genjutsu would be.
The Sharingan possessed by the Uchiha Clan uses ocular power, which is a manifestation of Yin Release Chakra.
This meant that nearly every Uchiha who awakened the Sharingan possessed formidable spiritual strength.
Similarly, in the One Piece World, Haki was also deeply connected to spiritual will.
However, unlike Ninjas, who could strengthen their spiritual power through Yin Release training, the people from One Piece World could only temper their will through life-and-death battles or rigorous training to master this extraordinary ability.
As for Conqueror's Haki, it was even rarer.
Only those born with an indomitable will and immense spiritual power could obtain the qualifications to become a [King].
The two had similarities but also differences.
In comparison, the spiritual attacks of Ninjas generally had a smaller range but far more precise control, capable of manipulating an opponent's consciousness or even directly destroying their mind.
Conqueror's Haki, on the other hand, leaned more toward 'projecting' one's own will. Its essence was to overwhelm an enemy's will with an unyielding 'self', covering a much wider area.
However, without the application of [Conqueror's Haki infusion], its lethality wasn't particularly strong.
Therefore, most of the time, Conqueror's Haki was used as a crowd-clearing skill to eliminate small fries.
One was like a sharp kunai, the other like a roaring gale… neither could easily overpower the other.
Just like now, as Itachi was shrouded in Conqueror's Haki, he only felt his spirit being suppressed to some degree, without suffering any actual damage.
However, this was exactly the effect Naruto wanted.
Restricting his movements was enough.
The Kusanagi Sword drew a streak of light through the air, its slash as unpredictable as a mountain goat's leap… impossible to evade.
Naruto's speed was extreme.
With the physical capabilities of his current body, even the most skilled Taijutsu specialist in the field couldn't match him.
Yet, just as he infused his blade with Armament Haki and swung, he abruptly halted mid-motion before darting in another direction.
The slash that should have cleaved Itachi in two instead veered off-course, only tearing open the hem of his robe.
Even as his pants were split open, nearly exposing something unspeakable, Itachi's expression remained unchanged, his eyes locked onto the spot where Naruto had stood moments before.
"Amaterasu!"
Itachi let out a soft call, then twin trails of blood seeped from the corners of his eyes.
The moment Naruto moved away, black flames suddenly ignited the shrubs on the ground.
If Naruto hadn't dodged just now, the fire would have engulfed him.
"What kind of technique is this?"
Amaterasu's flames ignited instantaneously, making evasion nearly impossible.
But Naruto's Observation Haki was even more absurd.
Watching as the black flames burned even the water-soaked tree trunks, Naruto set aside his earlier underestimation of his opponent.
Easily defeating Kisame had indeed made him somewhat careless against this enemy from the Akatsuki.
Indeed, the moment Naruto saw the distinctive attire of his opponent, he was reminded of Kakuzu, who had died by his hand.
He had initially thought the two were here to seek revenge against him, but now, it seemed Sasuke had been dragged into this because of him.
Naruto knew he couldn't afford to be touched by those black flames.
They gave Naruto an extremely dangerous feeling.
"Impressive reflexes. Had you been touched by the flames of Amaterasu, your fate would have been complete incineration."
That wasn't entirely accurate, though.
In truth, while the flames of Amaterasu couldn't be extinguished, they could be sealed away into a scroll. Unfortunately, Naruto wasn't aware of this.
He wanted to attack again, but the future observed by his Observation Haki forced him to dodge once more and also closed his eyes.
This time, Itachi used the same technique he had just tortured Sasuke with, [Tsukuyomi].
It seemed he had also realized that Naruto possessed some ability to predict attacks.
However, Itachi wasn't troubled by this. Instead, he used it to his advantage, continuously forcing Naruto to evade.
'Tch, what a pain.'
Naruto grumbled inwardly. Itachi was on a completely different level of difficulty compared to Kisame.
It can only be said that Naruto's current use of Chakra is still too crude. With just Haki, the best he could do was avoid being hit, and he had no way to counter the Genjutsu created by the Sharingan.
Given his current abilities, his long-range attack options were far too limited.
For the moment, there was really nothing he could do against Itachi.
He sighed inwardly, 'If only I still had my original body's strength.'
If that were the case, he could've just unleashed a [Hakoku Sovereignty] right then and there, flattening both Itachi and the entire battlefield into a pancake.
'No, next time I have to ask Jiraiya-sensei to teach me some ways to deal with Genjutsu.'
Suddenly, Naruto sensed something and dropped his combat stance, withdrawing all his Haki.
Itachi was slightly slower to react but also ceased his attack, swiftly retreating backward.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Dozens of figures appeared on the battlefield. They were Konoha's Anbu and the Jonin Instructors of Konoha 12.
The arrival of the Anbu quickly tipped the scales in favor of Anko and the others.
Soon, those ordinary Otogakure and Sungakure's Ninjas were subdued one by one.
Meanwhile, Kakashi, Guy, Kurenai, and the other Jonin closed in on Naruto and Itachi, some already assuming offensive stances.
"It seems the capture mission has failed."
Even with his clothes torn open, Itachi maintained his cold demeanor, casting a deep glance at Sasuke, who was slumped against a tree in the distance.
"Foolish little brother, if you wish to kill me, hate me, detest me. And yet survive in an unsightly way. Run, run and cling to life."
His words faded along with his figure, gradually dissipating into the air.
As a spy for Konoha, Itachi naturally had no reason to fight Naruto to the death for the Akatsuki's mission. Now that Konoha's Jonin had arrived, it was the perfect opportunity to retreat.
"Took you long enough, Kakashi-sensei. That was exhausting."
The moment the enemy vanished, Naruto reverted to his usual lazy demeanor.
"Did you do all this?"
Kakashi asked in a low voice, his eyes flicking toward the surrounding Forest of Death that had been destroyed beyond recognition.
After Naruto's [Ebb Tide Lifter], nearly every tree in the affected area had been uprooted, and even the topsoil had been scraped away.
Thankfully, the area was far enough from the residential district to avoid greater destruction.
Hearing this, Naruto whistled very naturally with an expression that said, 'It has nothing to do with me.'
"No idea. It was already like this when I got here."