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***
"Izumi, how are you feeling?"
Itachi asked urgently, his expression suddenly becoming anxious.
Izumi raised her eyes, smiled weakly, and said, "Don't worry, I'm fine."
"We must find a way to help her detoxify as soon as possible. Orochimaru's venom is beyond the ability of ordinary medical ninjas."
Shisui and Itachi's Sharingan could clearly see that the toxins in Izumi's body were gradually invading her chakra pathways.
If too much time was wasted, even if the venom could be detoxified, her chakra pathways would be severely damaged, making it impossible to concentrate chakra.
Even if she saved her life, she would no longer be able to carry out missions as a ninja.
"Kakashi, can you take her back to Konohagakure immediately?"
Shisui looked at Kakashi.
"It can't be done in a short time. Let alone teleporting over such a long distance. With my current chakra level, I can't even use the most basic Flying Thunder God Technique."
Kakashi shook his head.
The Flying Thunder God Technique is a top-tier, S-rank ninjutsu, requiring considerable energy consumption.
Furthermore, he had just performed several long-distance teleportations.
The longer the distance, the greater the energy consumption.
"There's no other way. I'll have to trouble the Fourth Hokage."
Itachi pulled the Flying Thunder God Kunai, which Minato had given him before leaving the village, from his ninja tool pouch.
"You seem to be in trouble."
Just then, a voice emanated from the cave entrance.
Itachi, Shisui, and the others looked in the direction of the sound.
A heavily shrouded figure approached them at a rapid pace, soon reaching Itachi and Izumi.
It was a man.
Even in the dark and foggy surroundings, he wore sunglasses, a high-collared coat, and carried a large ninja tool pouch on his back.
"Senior Shibi, you're back," Kakashi said with a hint of respect upon seeing the man.
Itachi and Shisui recognized him immediately.
The current leader of the Konohagakure Aburame clan, Aburame Shibi.
At this moment, because Itachi's attention was completely focused on Izumi, his three-tomoe Sharingan remained active.
Shibi's gaze seemed to linger for a moment between Itachi's eyes and the Flying Thunder God Kunai in his hand, then turned to Izumi.
"Let me see what venom this girl has," Shibi said.
"Yes," Itachi nodded, steadying Izumi.
Shibi stepped forward, extending his right hand, and grasped Izumi's as well.
Several extremely tiny insects emerged from his fingertips.
In this environment, even Itachi and Shisui could only detect them through the chakra flow of the insects.
Of course, Izumi was unaware that the insects had penetrated her skin and burrowed into her body.
The Aburame clan's insect-controlling techniques were not only used for intelligence gathering and combat but also possessed powerful healing and detoxification abilities.
Izumi herself was unaware of the tiny insects burrowing into her body.
A moment later, the bugs emerged from the same spot and crawled back into Shibi's fingertips.
"Nerve-paralyzing venom. Looks like it's been partially detoxified, yet it's still so resilient. It's rare to find someone who can wield such a venom," Shibi muttered, not having heard Itachi's previous words.
"This is Orochimaru's venom," Shisui explained immediately.
"Orochimaru!"
Shibi's expression changed slightly.
"Mr. Shibi, can you detoxify her?"
Itachi asked impatiently.
"Yes," Shibi replied, understanding that detoxifying Izumi was the most important thing right now.
Everything else could come later.
"Excellent, thank you," Itachi replied, his heart fluttering with excitement upon hearing Shibi's response.
He nodded towards Shibi before him.
Shibi nodded, raised his right hand, and turned his palm over.
A dense mass of black dots gradually emerged from his sleeves.
A closer look revealed a multitude of bugs, much smaller than the ones just now.
Insects smaller than sesame seeds soon covered Shibi's palm.
"It might be a little painful later, please bear with it for a while," Shibi said to Izumi.
"Excuse me," Izumi said.
"Pull up her sleeve."
Shibi looked at Itachi.
Itachi hesitated for a moment, then immediately did as he was told.
Shibi's palm, covered with tiny insects, grabbed Izumi's forearm.
All the insects instantly attached themselves to her skin.
"What is this?"
Izumi finally realized Shibi's method of treatment, but before she could observe, the insects had already burrowed into her arm.
Then, Izumi's slender arm swelled.
Immediately, the insects began to disperse, and Izumi's arm returned to its original shape.
Itachi closely observed the situation within Izumi's body.
Shibi's insects swiftly crawled towards the dense concentration of toxins, which were affecting the chakra pathways throughout Izumi's body.
Izumi felt nothing at first, but as the insects reached various nerves throughout her body, her body trembled.
She rested her head on Itachi's chest, her limbs tensing up.
Itachi wrapped his arms around Izumi and held her tightly.
"The insects… ate the toxins in Izumi's body."
This was the first time he had seen such a method of detoxification.
He lowered his eyes and looked at Izumi in his arms. Sweat was pouring down her face from the excruciating pain.
Nerves are the basis of the human body's sensory transmission and are arguably the most fragile and sensitive part of the body.
Even though Shibi's insects were small, they were devouring the toxins throughout Izumi's body.
No one could bear the pain.
But the girl in his arms bit her lower lip tightly with her teeth, not even uttering a single moan.
"This little pain is nothing compared to what Itachi endured. I'm so useless!"
"But at least I can't make him worry about me anymore," Izumi muttered to herself.
She had probably guessed the purpose of Orochimaru's previous actions.
She was considered Itachi's weakness and vulnerability by his enemies.
Therefore, stopping Itachi's worry was the only thing Izumi could do right now.
"What a strong girl!"
Shisui, watching from the side, couldn't help but sigh in admiration, gazing into Izumi's inner state.
Shibi's eyes flickered beneath his sunglasses.
Sweat gradually soaked Izumi's clothes, but her chakra and complexion were rapidly recovering.
After more than ten minutes, when the insects had completely devoured all the toxins in Izumi's body, they quickly gathered back into her right forearm at Shibi's will.
After emerging, the insects dropped directly to the ground.
Having consumed Orochimaru's venom, they too were poisoned.
"Thank you."
When the pain in her body subsided, Izumi looked at Shibi, smiled at him, and nodded with difficulty.
Then, although her chakra and body had returned to normal, the immense pain caused by the venom expulsion had already pushed the girl's endurance to the limit.
She barely raised her head and whispered to Itachi.
"I'm really sorry for putting you in danger, Itachi."
After saying this, the girl lost consciousness and passed out.
...
"No, I'm the one who should apologize."
"You should get some rest first," Itachi muttered, picking up Izumi and slowly lowering her against the cave wall.
Only after learning that Izumi was alright did his expression gradually regain its composure.
"Mr. Shibi, thank you so much," Itachi thanked Shibi again.
"Itachi Uchiha?"
Shibi studied Itachi carefully.
Minato had naturally given him some instructions before he followed Kakashi to the Land of Water.
So, while surprised, he was still able to understand when he saw Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan.
"How did you run into Orochimaru?"
Kakashi asked Shisui and Itachi.
During their previous fight, Orochimaru had been obscured by a Wood Release jutsu, and Kakashi hadn't activated his Sharingan, so he hadn't seen him.
"This is what happened," Shisui replied immediately, recounting the entire incident, except for the fact that Itachi had nearly killed Orochimaru.
"The Akatsuki rescued Orochimaru, so they'll probably recruit him into their organization," Shisui said gravely.
Akatsuki was already a formidable organization, but with the power of Orochimaru, a renegade ninja, the threat to the village suddenly increased significantly.
"Yeah," Kakashi nodded, though the situation just now was truly helpless.
Rather than risking the enormous risk of killing Orochimaru, completing their plan was the priority.
So, Shisui, Itachi, and Kakashi all looked at Shibi.
His return meant they'd soon get intelligence on their target.
However, Shibi didn't answer them yet, as there were other people present besides Itachi and the other two.
Kakashi glanced at the silent boy from the Kaguya clan.
The boy, tactful enough, made his way out of the cave.
But Itachi stopped him.
"We can't let him wander freely outside
It would make it easy for those guys to discover our whereabouts," Itachi explained to the group.
Zetsu was always elusive during his intelligence-gathering operations.
Therefore, no place in the Land of Water was safe.
Even though Shibi had already planted a sensory defense with insects around the cave, it was still best not to disperse the men.
All three agreed with Itachi's opinion.
"What's your name?" Itachi asked.
He rescued the boy not out of pity, but rather out of a desire to not increase Orochimaru's power.
Itachi could see that, despite his young age, the boy had already awakened his Shikotsumyaku ability.
Shikotsumyaku is a physical skill-related Kekkei Genkai.
Itachi had previously battled two members of the Kaguya clan who had awakened their abilities, and so could discern the difference in their chakra.
"Kimimaro," the white-haired boy replied.
Itachi could detect no emotion in the eyes of the boy named Kimimaro.
Even when Orochimaru had thrown him like a shield during the battle, Kimimaro hadn't shown any fear.
The Kaguya clan was doomed to destruction, and having lost all his members, Kimimaro bore some resemblance to Itachi.
Itachi at least still had his brother and unfinished business in his heart, but for this boy, the meaning of his own existence had been lost.
But none of this mattered to him.
Kimimaro needed to find the meaning of survival on his own.
"What follows involves secrets of our village, so you can't hear it."
Itachi met Kimimaro's eyes, three tomoe trembling in his blood-red pupils.
Kimimaro had fallen into Itachi's genjutsu.
After using the genjutsu, Itachi's chakra had been nearly depleted, unable to maintain the Sharingan's power, and he reverted to his original form.
"That's all right, please proceed," Itachi said, looking at Shibi.
Shibi nodded, saying, "I've already distributed the insects, but it will take some time for the information to be transmitted."
"I'm very familiar with that guy's chakra."
Shibi had faced Ao of Kirigakure several times on the battlefields of the Third Shinobi World War.
"However, in your current state, even if you find the target, the plan won't work."
While Shisui, the crucial figure, had retained his strength, the masked man wouldn't allow them to freely move within the Land of Water.
Therefore, the state of Itachi and Kakashi was crucial for the plan's success.
"Let me help you recover."
Shibi said, "You two take the Military Rations Pills first."
Itachi and Kakashi each took out a Military Rations Pill and swallowed it.
For ninjas, this is a very common thing.
Then, they said to Shibi at the same time, "Excuse me."
Immediately afterwards, Shibi manipulated insects into the bodies of Kakashi and Itachi.
Shibi's insects could heal wounds, but they couldn't restore chakra.
However, they could accelerate the release of the drug's effects.
The Military Rations Pills restored both stamina and chakra, and with the help of Shibi's insects, the two men recovered rapidly.
Shisui also swallowed another Military Rations Pill and sat nearby to recover.
After helping Itachi and Kakashi restore their chakra, Shibi began using other insects to help Izumi recover faster.
Three hours passed in this manner.
Outside the cave, a ray of early morning sunlight slowly parted the thick fog that enveloped the entire Land of Water, falling onto the ground.
The darkness gradually dissipated.
Izumi, lying on the cliff face, regained consciousness.
Her brows and eyelids twitched slightly before she slowly opened her eyes.
"You're awake," she said, her eyes met with Itachi's gentle, concerned face.
Although the cave was still somewhat dark, Izumi could still see.
"Itachi, I…"
Izumi lowered her eyes, her lips moving.
Itachi chuckled and shook his head, saying, "There's no need to apologize. Compared to what you did for me, what happened last night is nothing."
"The important thing is, we're all safe now, aren't we?"
"Yeah."
Izumi hesitated, then nodded firmly, a smile playing on her delicate face.
But then she suddenly remembered something, and her expression grew anxious again as she said, "Mitsumi, Ishida."
"Don't worry, they're fine. I encountered them before I found you," Itachi reassured.
He told Izumi's two teammates to hide and reunite after finding Izumi, but not yet.
Izumi finally felt relieved and looked at the others in the cave.
Aside from Shisui, she didn't recognize the other three.
But before Itachi could explain, Shibi, who was waiting at the cave entrance, suddenly turned around.
On his hand rested a mosquito-sized insect with a pair of transparent wings.
"We've found the target's whereabouts."
....
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