Asuma let out a cold snort. "There won't be a 'next time.' I'll take you down right here."
Hoshigaki Kisame actually had the mood to joke. "Itachi-kun, looks like everyone in this village hates your guts."
Itachi didn't respond.
"I've heard about you too, Hoshigaki Kisame," Kurenai said, her expression tense. "You were originally a shinobi of Kirigakure. You became a rogue ninja after being suspected of assassinating the daimyō and trying to destabilize the country. Every nation received the Water Country's wanted notice for you."
"You're both S-rank criminals on the bingo book," Asuma said grimly. "Itachi, after everything you did, you still dare step into Konoha. You've got some nerve."
"Asuma, Kurenai… pretend you didn't see me," Itachi said quietly. "I don't want to hurt you."
He meant it. He was no longer the young man he had been years ago. With his current power, these two elite jonin truly couldn't match him.
But Asuma's temper flared. What was that supposed to mean?
Were two elite jonin not enough to handle him now?
Back then, when Itachi committed the clan massacre, he had only been an ordinary jonin. Even if he had grown far stronger since then, that didn't mean Asuma accepted being dismissed.
"That doesn't sound like something someone with blood on his hands should be saying," Asuma said. "You don't look like you're here for anything good. What's your goal?"
Kisame had already lost his patience. He drew Samehada from his back and slammed it into the ground. "Enough talking. Want me to take care of him?"
Itachi's voice stayed calm. "Looks like they won't let us pass. But don't go overboard. Your techniques are too conspicuous."
Hearing that was like flipping a switch inside Kisame.
"Then that settles it."
Before anyone could blink, the fight erupted. Kisame lifted Samehada and swung it downward toward Asuma with overwhelming force.
At the same time, Kurenai activated her genjutsu and targeted Itachi.
Asuma immediately sensed the chasm in strength between him and this human-shaped tailed beast. Kisame was holding him back with only one hand and just the tip of Samehada. Even so, he completely overpowered Asuma, who used both hands to brace his trench knives.
Kisame wasn't even using proper leverage. His raw strength alone was monstrous.
Kakashi, watching from outside the footage, straightened. He had heard of Kisame. Among the rogue ninja of the Water Country, he was one of the strongest, on par with Uchiha Itachi. The power he showed now was… excessive.
What bothered Kakashi even more was the matching clothing and painted nails. They clearly belonged to the same group, meaning they were part of some organization.
These two alone were S-rank criminals. Each of them could serve as the kage of a smaller village without issue.
Yet they wore uniforms and worked under the banner of a single organization.
A very dangerous message.
Best-case scenario: only these two monsters were involved.
Worst-case scenario: there were more waiting behind them.
If this organization's "entry requirement" was being an S-rank criminal, the implications were terrifying.
"My blade, Samehada," Kisame said as he swung again. The sword's rough scales tore into Asuma's shoulder, ripping off a chunk of flesh. "It's not for cutting people. It's for shaving them."
One attack. That was all it took for Kisame to wound an elite jonin.
Asuma clutched his shoulder but forced a casual tone. "Kurenai… you're slow today."
Behind Itachi, Kurenai's image materialized. She had used a layered genjutsu and was ready to strike.
"Not good," Kakashi muttered in the real world. Using genjutsu on a Sharingan user was like trying to perform a sword trick in front of a master swordsman. Completely pointless.
Kakashi had plenty of experience with the Sharingan. He couldn't close it, and it constantly drained his chakra. But the benefits were undeniable. He had copied over a thousand jutsu with it.
And it made him immune to basic genjutsu. It let him see through illusions and even hypnotize opponents in return.
Sure enough, in the video, Kurenai trapped Kisame in an illusion. Her form then transformed into a tree that wrapped around Itachi.
She appeared above him to deliver the finishing blow.
"It's over!" Kurenai shouted.
But an instant later, she realized she was the one trapped. She was bound to the tree, caught by her own genjutsu.
A jonin specialized in illusions, overwhelmed instantly. No, it was earlier than that. The moment she looked directly into the Sharingan, she had already fallen under its influence.
"Genjutsu of this level won't work on me," Itachi said without emotion.
Kurenai stared at him in shock.
"This is… a genjutsu rebound?"
As Itachi raised a kunai to strike her, she bit her tongue hard enough to draw blood. The pain snapped her out of the illusion just in time.
But even though she avoided a killing blow, Itachi's kick sent her skidding across the water's surface.
"Kurenai!" Asuma yelled.
"You've got time to worry about someone else?" Kisame grinned.
"Impressive, Kurenai. But…"
As she steadied herself on the water, Itachi moved behind her without a sound.
"But this is where it ends," a lazy voice called from nearby. "I'm talking to you."
Kakashi had arrived just in time.