"Hahaha!"
Sasuke laughed wildly. Around him was his Susano'o, adorned with Tengu armor.
Opposite him stood Itachi, without his Susano'o.
"Finally, finally, this day has come!"
Sasuke looked at Itachi with hatred-filled eyes. "Go to hell, Itachi!"
"..."
Itachi sighed, quickly leaping to avoid Susano'o's powerful punch.
And in mid-air, he cast a Genjutsu.
Sasuke, in his crazed state, immediately fell for it.
With his Mangekyo, Sasuke shouldn't have fallen for Genjutsu so easily.
But he was too excited now.
It made him lose judgment of the outside world.
At this moment, he stood still, but in the illusion, he was brutally beating Itachi.
Venting the hatred and bitterness he had accumulated over the years.
"Now is not the time, my foolish little brother."
This time, he spoke softly, and no one heard the anguish in his voice.
He had been waiting for that day.
For a grown-up Sasuke to personally end his suffering.
But unfortunately, his real body was not here.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have minded dying here at all.
But as it seemed now, Sasuke still needed time to grow.
He was still too young to fully utilize Susano'o's power.
On the other side,
Kakashi and Baki joined forces against Kisame.
But Kisame's Chakra Reserve were not to be underestimated. The large-scale Water Release Ninjutsu he employed were astonishing.
Even in the water-scarce desert, Kisame could still use his vast Chakra Reserve to enhance the power of his techniques.
Moreover, in Taijutsu, Kisame was no slouch either.
After all, as a user of a ninja sword, being too weak in Taijutsu wouldn't do.
Of course, in Taijutsu, he definitely couldn't compare to Guy, who specialized in it.
But obviously, they didn't have a chance to fight this time.
"The clones have been sealed."
Black Zetsu reported the situation. "Takumi made his move."
"Hurry up. It's almost over."
Pain said calmly.
Behind him, almost all of the Outer Path Statue's eyes were open, just a little bit away from being fully open.
Everyone stopped talking and silently continued the sealing technique.
Only Sasori glanced at Black Zetsu.
Black Zetsu nodded to indicate he understood, then turned his gaze to Deidara.
Because a large amount of his Chakra had been drained, Deidara's already pale face had become even whiter.
The clay he used fighting Gaara hadn't been replenished.
And now, he looked this depleted.
It indeed seemed, as Sasori said, that Deidara had no combat power left.
And as the youngest among them,
Everyone understood that his Chakra Reserve was relatively low.
So no one said anything to him.
However, Black Zetsu had already decided to take Deidara and leave immediately after it ended.
As for whether Sasori could escape, he didn't care.
In fact, he didn't care about Deidara's life or death either.
Capturing the One-Tail meant their mission was already half accomplished in his eyes.
Although it was a bit regrettable, for the sake of the ultimate plan,
Sacrificing these few people meant nothing to Black Zetsu.
As long as Obito and Nagato didn't have problems, it wasn't an issue for him.
…
When Takumi arrived at the scene, Sasuke was standing still.
His eyes were vacant, tears streaming from them, a wild grin on his face.
Presenting an extremely awkward expression.
'Probably gone crazy.'
That was Takumi's first impression.
But he quickly realized Sasuke had fallen under a Genjutsu.
'Falling for Genjutsu with the Mangekyo Sharingan? Are you kidding me?'
Takumi complained, then turned to look at the person who cast the Genjutsu on Sasuke.
Uchiha Itachi.
Itachi also noticed Takumi's presence.
Honestly, with the remaining Chakra in this body, there was no way it could pose any threat to Takumi.
Even at his peak, he was no match for Takumi.
And his Genjutsu was completely ineffective against Takumi.
He was tempted to try the Kotoamatsukami Shisui had left him.
But that was his last resort to prevent Sasuke from going astray, so he held back.
"A troublesome guy is here."
Kisame, who was fighting one against two, felt his scalp tingle at the sight of Takumi.
He still remembered almost being roasted alive by Takumi.
That crushing defeat was still vivid in his memory.
Moreover, the unique form Takumi took back then, although he didn't see it clearly, the speed Takumi displayed in the water made him especially wary.
If he couldn't find a way to counter that speed, he had no chance of winning.
Takumi took one look and immediately knew that these two weren't their real bodies.
He remembered Pain had a technique that could transfer the consciousness of other Akatsuki's members onto specific sacrifices, giving the sacrifices the appearance and a portion of the Akatsuki member's strength.
'Pain must have used this technique to buy time.'
'That meant Gaara might still be saved!'
Realizing this, he didn't waste words.
In an instant, he appeared before Kisame and punched him flying.
As he flew backward, Kisame's body emitted a puff of white smoke and transformed into someone else.
"What?"
Kakashi and Baki were startled, especially Baki.
He recognized that person; he was a Shinobi from Sunagakure.
Takumi didn't stop. He instantly teleported in front of Itachi.
Itachi struggled to use Genjutsu, but Takumi was completely unaffected.
With another clean punch, he sent Itachi crashing into the ground.
Itachi's body also emitted a puff of white smoke, transforming into another person.
"They're Sunagakure's Shinobi!"
Baki's expression darkened.
He recognized both of them.
He hadn't expected these two to be connected to the Akatsuki.
"Using them as sacrifices, forcibly placing others' consciousness onto them to control them."
Although Kakashi didn't know the specifics of this technique, his extensive knowledge allowed him to see its effect. "What an insidious Ninjutsu."
"Time for you to die... Huh?"
Sasuke roared, then found himself standing there blankly.
He knew all too well what that meant.
His face instantly flushed red.
Because he, an Uchiha, possessing the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, had been caught in a Genjutsu!
Anyone hearing that would laugh their heads off!
"Sasuke, that wasn't Itachi's real body. He was just remotely controlling someone else."
Kakashi rubbed salt in the wound, but he didn't notice Sasuke's state, as he had been fighting Kisame.
So he didn't know how devastating his words were to Sasuke.
Sasuke felt completely played for a fool.
He thought he could finally get revenge.
But the real person wasn't even there.
He was being treated like a complete fool!
"Itachi, I will definitely ki..."
Boom!
His words were cut off by a loud crash.