hotmtlnovel Page 56
Page 56
"Don't think that just because Konoha was recently attacked, it's a place where you can run wild!"
"Mr. Asuma, Mr. Kurenai, please don't interfere in my affairs. I don't want to kill you." Itachi's voice remained calm.
It was as if killing the two people in front of him was as simple as killing chickens.
Asuma and Kurenai were enraged by Itachi's tone.
"Hmph, that doesn't sound like something someone who would wipe out their own clan would say. You've swaggered into Konoha, surely not just to see the sights. What's your purpose here?" Asuma asked Itachi.
"Our organization, Akatsuki, aims for the tailed beasts within the Jinchuriki. We've come here for Naruto Uzumaki!" Itachi stated his purpose openly and without any attempt to conceal it, displaying great arrogance.
In reality, the intelligence has already been leaked.
Kisame was getting impatient: "He's talking too much. Shall we take action?"
He's always been the type to take action rather than talk much; that's typical of people from assassination squads.
Their consistent approach is to kill their targets swiftly and decisively.
"Keep it down a bit, after all, your ninjutsu is quite eye-catching," Itachi said calmly.
Chapter 87 Sasuke VS Itachi (1)
Kisame stopped smiling and raised Samehada to slash fiercely at Asuma.
Asuma raised his hands to block Samehada's slash, but as soon as they made contact, Asuma was startled by the immense force!
Kurenai, standing behind Asuma, quickly formed hand seals and slowly disappeared in front of Kisame and Itachi.
Itachi's eyes widened slightly, his Sharingan swirling slightly: "This is..."
Kisame kept pressing Samehada down, and Asuma struggled to resist, but Samehada got closer and closer to him.
The two clashed in strength, and Asuma was clearly at a disadvantage.
"What a power!"
"Heh, to tell you the truth, my Samehada isn't for chopping, it's for slicing!" Kisame shouted as he finished speaking, and he suddenly dragged Samehada backward.
The sharkskin, which had been wrapped in bandages, suddenly revealed its sharp barbs, piercing the bandages and tearing several wounds on Asuma's arm.
Asuma, having suffered a loss due to his weapon, clutched his injured arm, but Itachi and Kisame quickly raised trees beneath their feet, binding them.
A red figure appeared on the tree, holding a kunai, and thrust it at the expressionless, defenseless itachi who looked up at him: "Now, it's all over!"
Itachi's eyes narrowed slightly, and the corners of his mouth curled up involuntarily. Kurenai suddenly realized that the one truly bound by the trees was herself.
Itachi stood unharmed in front of her: "This level of genjutsu is ineffective against me!"
Kurenai stared at Itachi in disbelief: "This is... a genjutsu reflection?"
Itachi slowly took out a kunai. Kurenai had a sudden thought and bit her tongue, using the pain to break free from the genjutsu's restraints. At the last second, she dodged Itachi's attack.
However, Itachi kicked him onto the water's surface.
Asuma called out worriedly, "Are you alright, Red?"
"As expected of Miss Kurenai, but..." Itachi had already appeared behind Kurenai, looking down at her.
"But you will die here! Itachi!" A cold voice rang in Itachi's ears.
Upon hearing the voice, Itachi froze; it was his dearest younger brother.
"Sasuke, is that it?" Itachi turned to look at the telephone pole next to him, where Sasuke stood indifferently, looking down at him.
However, the three-tomoe Sharingan in his eyes was filled with killing intent, which sent chills down one's spine.
Taking this opportunity, Red quickly distanced herself from Itachi.
If Sasuke hadn't arrived just now, Itachi could have easily killed her.
Is the difference in strength really that great?
Hong gritted her teeth and thought to herself.
Kisame continued his relentless attack on Asuma, but Asuma slashed his cheek with a counter-attack.
Kisame, who was already ugly, got angry. "Fight if you want to fight, but why did you slap me in the face?"
He put down Samehada, quickly formed hand seals, and began to use ninjutsu: "Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
Kakashi also appeared, unleashing the same ninjutsu as Kisame.
The two identical ninjutsu collided and disappeared simultaneously.
"Oh, the same ninjutsu as me." Kisame looked at Kakashi standing in front of Asuma and saw his Sharingan.
【Kakashi Hatake? No wonder.】
Kisame was a former member of the Kirigakure assassination squad, so naturally, like Zabuza, he knew the information that Kakashi had leaked.
"Why are you here?" Asuma asked Kakashi.
"Ah, Sasuke roughly figured out who it was, and you probably couldn't handle them, so we came here," Kakashi replied.
"To be honest, these two are indeed quite formidable. If they were to join forces, I wouldn't be confident of victory!" Asuma said with a wry smile.
"Ah, let's all come at him then!" Kakashi didn't feel like he was bullying the few with the many.
"What about Itachi?" Asuma glanced at Itachi, who was standing on the water, still looking at Sasuke without moving.
"Let Sasuke handle this," Kakashi said.
"Can he do it?" Asuma frowned. It wasn't that he doubted Sasuke's strength, but Itachi was several years older than Sasuke and was also a rare genius.
"Don't underestimate Sasuke's strength, and besides, he still has the kunai left behind by Naruto!" Kakashi said.
"Kunai! I see." Asuma was relieved. It must be a kunai that Naruto had left with the Flying Thunder God seal.
At this moment, Kurenai also arrived beside Asuma, and the three Jonin of Konoha faced off against Kisame Hoshigaki.
On the other side, Itachi looked at Sasuke, who had grown up healthy, and a sense of relief rose in his heart. However, he did not show it on his face. Looking at the three-tomoe Sharingan in Sasuke's eyes, he said calmly, "How far can you see with those Sharingan?"
"You ask me how far I can see?" Sasuke's lips curled slightly. "What I can see is that you will die here today, Itachi!"
His voice was as cold as a knife: "Uchiha Itachi, the grudge against the Uchiha clan must be repaid today."
Itachi's expression remained calm, but a barely perceptible tremor flickered in his eyes.
Before he could speak, Sasuke's chest swelled up, and the next moment, he shouted, "Fire Release: Great Fire Dragon Technique!"
The blazing dragon-shaped flames tore through the air, heading straight for Itachi's face!
Itachi countered with the same ninjutsu.
Two fire dragons collided in mid-air, the bursting flames evaporating the river water into white mist, and a piercing hiss echoed across the battlefield.
The power of the ninjutsu forced Kakashi and Kisame to stay away from the battlefield.
"Well, it's rare to see Itachi-san fight, so I'll play with you guys for a bit." Kisame showed no panic in front of Kakashi and the other two, instead revealing a surge of fighting spirit.
Even when facing three opponents, he remained completely calm.
"Lightning Release: Thousand Birds Sharp Spear!" The spear formed from lightning pierced through the mist, but upon touching Itachi's body, Itachi's body transformed into a flock of crows and scattered away.
The real Itachi had already appeared behind Sasuke, his kunai aimed straight at Sasuke's back: "It seems your perception is still a little lacking."
Sasuke, who was stabbed by Itachi, turned into smoke and disappeared.
"Shadow Clone?" Itachi's eyes widened slightly. The next moment, a left hand covered in lightning stabbed into Itachi's chest.
"Pfft!" Itachi spat out a mouthful of blood, looking at the hand that had pierced his chest. "Lightning Blade, that's Kakashi's ninjutsu. Were you his student?"
"Tch!" Sasuke pulled his hand back without hesitation and jumped away quickly.
The weasel's body began to swell, and then it exploded violently.
"A clone explosion?" Sasuke thought to himself.
A whooshing sound came from behind him, but Sasuke didn't turn around. He used the sound to pinpoint the location and retaliated with a whip kick.
The two men's legs collided, and using the force to pull their legs back, Sasuke stomped his left foot hard on the water, creating a wave of water beneath his feet.
He moved like a spring compressed to its limit, rushing straight towards Itachi's location at a speed far exceeding that of ordinary Body Flicker Technique.
Itachi felt a chill run down his spine. Although his Sharingan could clearly capture the opponent's trajectory, his body's reaction speed was surpassed by the opponent's explosive movements.
He hastily raised his forearm to block.
"Bang!" A dull sound of flesh and bone colliding rang out.
A tremendous force came from his forearm, and Itachi felt a numbness in his arm. He was kicked backward several meters by this brute force, leaving two deep tracks on the water's surface!
The chakra beneath his feet instantly became chaotic, and the water surface churned violently.
"His power is so formidable." Itachi steadied himself, his gaze towards Sasuke now filled with seriousness.
Has Sasuke been honing his taijutsu skills all these years to achieve such pure speed and power?
Chapter 88 Sasuke VS Itachi (2)
"Open the gate! Rest gate! Life gate! Wound gate open!" Sasuke roared, veins bulging on his temples, and a faint white aura instantly rose around his body. Then, a vibrant and violent green light flashed across his body.
Without any hesitation, Sasuke immediately opened the first four gates of the Eight Gates!
In an instant, his speed and strength surged once again!
Beneath the skin, it seemed as if a raging river of power was surging.
Without giving Itachi any chance to catch his breath, Sasuke's figure loomed closer once more like a ghost!
He was going to teach this arrogant guy a lesson with his own fists!
This time, his punches and kicks were no longer in a single trajectory, but intertwined into a storm of attacks!
Fast, accurate and ruthless!
The fist is like a meteor, striking straight at the face; the leg is like a battle axe, sweeping across the waist and ribs; the elbow strike is like a spear, piercing towards the heart; the knee strike is like a hammer, hitting the jaw.
Each strike contained the terrifying power to shatter stone and split rocks, tearing the air and emitting a mournful wail.
He trained with Naruto since childhood and received guidance from Guy, a master of taijutsu. His taijutsu skills were already at their peak. Even when Rock Lee fought Sasuke in a taijutsu battle, he was no match for Sasuke.
Initially, Itachi was able to barely cope with the situation thanks to the powerful perception of his three-tomoe Sharingan and his taijutsu skills honed over many years.
His movements are precise and efficient, always managing to avoid vital points with minimal displacement at the last second, or skillfully deflecting some of the force.
They even tried to find gaps in Sasuke's relentless offensive to launch a counterattack.
However, in front of Sasuke, who had opened the first four gates of the Eight Gates, the gap in speed and power was widened infinitely!
Sasuke's figure was no longer singular; his attacks came simultaneously from incredible angles, as if he had grown three or four arms.
This doesn't mean Sasuke actually grew four arms; it's just a demonstration of his incredible speed.
Itachi's defensive perimeter was constantly compressed, making his exquisite dodging and blocking increasingly difficult.
[He's even mastered the Eight Gates!]
"Bang!" Itachi barely managed to block Sasuke's powerful elbow strike with both hands. The immense force made his hands tremble, and he almost lost his blocking posture.
In that instant of hesitation, Sasuke's left leg, like a venomous dragon emerging from the sea, slammed into Itachi's crossed forearm, leaving a trail of afterimages.
A sickening cracking sound could be faintly heard!
Itachi's face turned pale, he groaned, and was kicked off the ground, flying towards the riverbank behind him!
But Itachi is Itachi after all!
In a life-or-death moment, his exceptional combat intelligence allowed him to forcefully twist his body in mid-air, while simultaneously launching several kunai at an incredibly fast speed towards the ground.
As Sasuke pursued with overwhelming force, his fist, imbued with immense power, was about to strike Itachi in the back.
Itachi suddenly pulled on the wire in his hand, using the force to quickly land on the ground.
Sasuke missed his punch and stood on the water, not continuing to pursue Itachi.
He looked at the itachi standing on the ground, a cold smile appearing on his lips.
The weasel was slightly out of breath, its right forearm was unnaturally bent, and cold sweat was seeping from its forehead.
Facing Sasuke who had opened the Eight Gates, he suffered a great loss in pure taijutsu combat in just a brief exchange, with his speed and strength being completely suppressed.