Mamoru raised a hand to his temple, his gaze locked on Itachi, his heart tightening slightly. He wasn't sure if Itachi would use the ability of his other Mangekyo next.
His Six Eyes constantly monitored the flow of Chakra within the other party's body. Even with Amaterasu, there should be signs before it was activated.
However, he misjudged.
A Shadow Clone?
When did he form the hand seals?
And right behind him?
The information fed back by the Six Eyes' perception field startled Mamoru, making him realize—what a terrifying guy, truly impossible to guard against.
If it weren't for the Six Eyes, he wouldn't even have the right to face Itachi right now.
Mamoru pretended not to notice anything and continued to laugh playfully, "Aren't you going to try the ability of your other eye?"
"Against you, it's not necessary at all."
Itachi's flat, emotionless voice sounded from behind Mamoru.
Yet, Mamoru turned around with an equally unfazed expression, responding with a smile, "Is that so? That's a real shame."
But Hinata, beside him, was far from being that calm.
The unfamiliar voice so close by made her whole body shudder, and her small shoulders reflexively shrank.
She remembered Mamoru's instruction 'not to leave his side'. Despite her fear, her feet were like they were nailed to the spot, and she bit her lower lip hard to keep from crying out.
Shadow Clone Itachi frowned slightly. Mamoru's overly calm reaction caused a flicker of unease in his heart, but his movements didn't falter in the slightest.
Raising his hand, he delivered a swift strike that bypassed Hinata and aimed for the back of Mamoru's neck.
The attack indeed hit its mark, yet Mamoru acted as if nothing had happened, continuing his mockery, "A greeting after such a long separation—it's either genjutsu or a strike. You really are a wonderful big brother."
The moment he made contact, Shadow Clone Itachi noticed something odd about the sensation, he hadn't actually touched Mamoru's body. His strike was blocked by an invisible force or more accurately, a 'sustaining' power that made it impossible for him to get even a fraction closer.
From beginning to end, Mamoru had maintained Infinity. That insurmountable Infinity acted like a transparent barrier, enveloping both him and Hinata.
Itachi was also a master of taijutsu. If Mamoru hadn't been prepared, he might have been subdued in one strike.
'Still, Itachi is quite the actor, even making a sound during a sneak attack.' amoru thought to himself, then chuckled inwardly.
He wasn't exactly in a position to talk, the Uchiha clan's habit of acting cool was probably incurable.
A brief look of astonishment appeared on Shadow Clone Itachi's face. Since they met, this was the most his expression had changed.
Just then, Mamoru suddenly shouted, "Susanoo!"
This shout startled Itachi, and his Shadow Clone immediately retreated, not daring to act rashly for a moment.
However, no unusual phenomena appeared on Mamoru's body.
Mamoru gave a mischievous grin. "Fooled you."
Then, with one arm under Hinata's armpit and the other under her knees, he easily scooped up the bewildered girl in a princess carry and shouted to the girl in his arms, "We're getting out of here!"
But before he fled, Mamoru had prepared a 'parting gift' for that shark bastard.
The guy had dared to threaten him in public. With his temperament, he couldn't just swallow that insult.
After what he was about to do, the secret of this ability would almost certainly be blown anyway. If they ever met again, the enemy would be on high alert and take every precaution. Since that was the case, he might as well settle the score right now while the chance was ripe.
At this moment, the Six Eyes activated, yet focused on no one in particular—pinpointing singularities, mapping strike-and-escape routes, confirming the final landing zone, making sure every inch of the path stayed clear.
Itachi at his side sensed the odd Chakra fluctuations rolling off Mamoru and the faint killing intent they carried.
An instant before Mamoru moved, the real Itachi and his Shadow Clone flickered like ghosts, flanking him front and back. Both right hands slipped from their sleeves, four glinting Kunai wedged between each set of fingers. As arms snapped, the blades became black streaks that sliced the air and shot straight at Mamoru.
Attacked from both sides, Mamoru's face showed no trace of panic. In a flash of light, just as the Kunai were about to meet his body, his figure, Hinata still in his arms, blurred and vanished into thin air.
The next heartbeat, Mamoru re-appeared, cradling Hinata, directly behind Kisame, who'd been watching the scene with a smirk.
The ambush was so sudden that, apart from Mamoru himself, no one reacted in time. Even Hinata, held against his chest, could only widen her eyes, her face blank, utterly unable to grasp what had happened in that instant.
Though burdened with a passenger, Mamoru's movements stayed fluid, without the slightest hitch.
"Don't die on me!"
His hips snapped, his right leg shot up like lightning and whipped forward with a shrill rush of wind, aiming straight for Kisame's kidney.
Swoosh—
A dull, thunderous boom burst out.
Kisame's body folded as if struck head-on by a speeding truck, becoming a blurred streak that hurtled sideways and slammed into the dense roadside woods.
A sickening series of cracks followed as he snapped tree after tree, then vanished beyond the horizon of foliage.
One clean hit.
Mamoru exhaled softly and muttered, "Could've just let me walk away…"
Before the words finished leaving his mouth, his form melted away again.
He re-materialized an instant later, back-to-back with Shadow Clone Itachi, tone teasing. "Made you look bad, didn't I?"
The answer was a Kunai driven backward by the clone. Of course, before the strike could land, Mamoru had already disappeared once more.
A moment later, he hovered in mid-air, looking down at Itachi. "See you around, Itachi."
The instant the words left him, both he and Hinata vanished without trace.
Itachi frowned deeply, staring at the empty sky where Mamoru had been, suspicion churning inside him. He hadn't been able to see through his movement method at all.
That wasn't any ordinary Body Flicker Jutsu, it felt like spatial displacement. Could it be the exceedingly rare Space-Time Ninjutsu?
From far away, Mamoru's clear shout drifted in, cutting his thoughts short.
"Hey! Don't use that Mangekyo anymore! I don't want to be the one burying you a few years from now!"
The voice rang clearly in Itachi's ears. Even he couldn't stop his brows from knitting in a flash of irritation.
Rustle!
From the roadside bush, Kisame emerged, left hand clamped over his right arm, looking a wreck. His black robe with red clouds was smeared with grass and dust, a trace of blood still at the corner of his lips.
"You alright?" Itachi asked, back to his usual unreadable calm as he stood motionless.
"Tch!" Kisame spat bloody saliva aside, baring sharp teeth stained pink. "Where's your little brother?"
He wiped the blood away roughly, not angry in the least. Instead, an excited grin stretched across his face, as if the one who'd just been injured were someone else.
Itachi didn't answer, he merely gazed down the road, the meaning obvious.