[Konoha Village, Hokage Office]
Tsunade looked at Hiruzen, propping her chin on one hand, her eyes sharp and unfriendly.
"Old man, so this is the spy you sent out?"
Hearing Tsunade's tone, Hiruzen felt uncomfortable all over, feeling somewhat awkward for a moment.
After a long pause, he waved his hand and said, "It's not that bad, really. Itachi did send back quite a bit of intelligence. It's just that his access to the Akatsuki's inner workings might have been limited, so most of it wasn't very valuable."
Tsunade tapped her fingers on the desk, her tone dismissive. "What's the use of sending back worthless intelligence?"
Suddenly, she pursed her lips, her voice dropping a few notches, "…And to obtain the real valuable intelligence, Jiraiya had to give his life."
Hearing that, Hiruzen fell silent, letting out a heavy sigh.
"At least… now with the screen, Jiraiya won't need to infiltrate the Akatsuki to gather intel. I just wish I could take the entire organization down with me."
Hiruzen had very few close ones left. If he were to lose Asuma and Jiraiya—what meaning would this old life of his still hold?
Tsunade looked at his appearance, and the words on the tip of her tongue were swallowed back down.
---
[Land of Waves, Tazuna's house]
Kakashi was stunned.
Uchiha Itachi—was a spy for the village?
But he didn't send back any intel?
Was he even a real spy?
'A spy who doesn't send back information—what kind of spy is that? Or did he simply not have access to high-level intel, which is why what he sent back had little value?'
'Then why did Lord Third send him as a spy in the first place?'
Kakashi's head was full of questions.
Sasuke, on the other hand, crossed his arms, a cold light flickering in his eyes. "Hmph! Whether he's a spy or not, I will still kill him!"
And Naruto's voice, filled with hatred, also sounded, "That Akatsuki bunch really deserves to die!"
"That Nagato—he was even Pervy Sage's student, and he actually had the heart to kill him!"
Meanwhile, the scene on the Sky Screen continued.
After Itachi gave the order for Kisame to deal with Kakashi, Asuma, and Kurenai—
Kisame picked up Samehada, kicked off the water's surface with both legs, and charged at the three at high speed.
Just then, a voice suddenly rang out.
"Severe Leaf Hurricane!"
Faster than the voice was the figure. A man in a green jumpsuit, with a bowl-cut hairstyle, appeared on the screen.
His movements were so fast that he left only afterimages as his green silhouette arced through the air, landing a kick square on Kisame's side—sending him flying.
Kisame's body shot across the water like a cannonball, skidding far before finally coming to a stop.
The figure landed, splashing up a huge column of water. Only after the water column dissipated could it be seen that the newcomer was Might Guy.
Kisame, who had been kicked back to Itachi's side, opened his eyes wide, revealing an excited grin.
"Who are you?"
On-screen, Guy struck his signature pose, flashing a grin full of white teeth.
"Konoha's Noble Blue Beast—Might Guy!"
His voice boomed, full of vigor and vitality.
---
[Konoha, Year 60. Team 3's location]
Lee shot up from the ground, practically bouncing as he ran and shouted, "So cool!! Guy-sensei!!"
"Your entrance was totally awesome!"
"That's right, this is the burning passion of youth!!"
Guy ran over and hugged Lee. The two of them held each other and wept, tears streaming down both their faces.
Two bowl-cut figures in green jumpsuits hugging and crying together—the scene was truly overwhelming.
Neji and Tenten immediately felt a wave of chill.
Especially Neji. Although he had recently learned to open the Second Gate under Guy's training and deeply respected him, he still couldn't stand the duo's neurotic outbursts.
One Jōnin, one Genin—hugging and crying at the drop of a hat. What kind of scene was this?
Besides, Guy-sensei was roughly on par with Kakashi, and Kakashi's gap with Itachi was so obvious.
So even with sensei added to the mix, they wouldn't be able to do much to those two. It would be a blessing just to protect Kakashi and the others.
---
Meanwhile, on the screen.
"Don't look at Itachi's eyes, Guy! You'll be caught in his Jutsu!"
Asuma quickly warned Guy.
But Guy responded with full confidence: "I know that already. In order to fight Kakashi, I devised ways to deal with the Sharingan. Open your eyes, both of you!"
"When fighting a Sharingan user, just avoid direct eye contact. Instead, watch their feet. You can still predict their movements and respond accordingly."
Guy openly shared the tactic he had developed over the years through his bouts with Kakashi.
The reason he and Kakashi could basically fight to a draw without either going all out was precisely because of this anti-Sharingan approach.
Although there might be some difference in strength between Kakashi's Sharingan and Itachi's, the general approach to dealing with it was still the same.
However, faced with this sudden appearance of Konoha's Blue Beast, Itachi had no intention of prolonging the fight. Especially under the premise that the other party had already sent the word and notified the ANBU.
Itachi stopped Kisame, who was eager to act. "Kisame, hold on. We're not here to start a war. It's a pity, but there's no need to stay any longer."
"We're leaving."
Kisame glanced at Itachi, slung Samehada over his shoulder, and said, "Too bad... I was just getting fired up. Well, it can't be helped."
Before the words had even faded, the figures of the two instantly disappeared.
[Here he comes! Here he comes! Konoha's Blue Beast!]
[The one true god before the Fourth Great Ninja War!]
[A mortal who stood shoulder to shoulder with the gods—the man who nearly ended the grand finale with just one kick!]
[This kick—thirty years in the making—can you take it, Kakashi?!]
[It was lucky for Itachi and Kisame that they ran quickly. Otherwise, Guy wouldn't be joking. With just those two, opening the Seventh Gate would have been more than enough.]
[It has to be said, Nagato was also extremely lucky when he invaded Konoha; Guy had left the village on a mission. Otherwise, he would have gotten a taste of the Leaf's Dynamic Kick—the authentic version.]
---
The Sky Screen's narration suddenly grew inexplicably excited, leaving people across the various timelines of the Shinobi World deeply confused.
'That bowl-cut guy on the screen?'
'Aside from his ridiculous outfit, what was so special about him?'
But given that the Sky Screen's revelations had so far been almost entirely accurate, the people of the world began to have their doubts.
Still, wasn't the screen's evaluation a bit too high?
'The one true god before the Fourth Great Ninja War?'
He didn't look the part at all!
*****
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