"Samui, pursue them!"
Following the order, Samui led the Cloud Village shinobi, attempting to bypass Hyuga Kyou. Just as he launched his Eight Trigrams Vacuum Palm, Darui stepped in to intercept.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
In an instant, six figures darted past Hyuga Kyou.
'Is this all we can do?'
Through his Byakugan, Hyuga Kyou saw that only six had escaped from the explosive tag trap: Ri, Mizuki, and four Chunin.
'Six vs. six. But every one of us is wounded, and they have more Jonin...'
'No matter what, they must not be allowed to pass.'
'The power secretly taught by the clan head will now be used in a life-or-death gamble. This is the perfect time.'
Seeing Riwan moaning from the blast wound on his shoulder, Inuzuka Ri fed him a recovery pill.
Then he looked at Mizuki, who was dashing beside him.
"Riwan said someone's catching up. If this keeps up, we'll all die here. So... you take them and go. I'll stay behind. My students... I entrust them to you."
Mizuki glanced at him, then shook her head. "No. Riwan is injured. You won't be able to hold them off. I'll go!"
Before Inuzuka Ri could argue, Mizuki turned and rushed back.
BOOM!
Soon, a thunderous explosion echoed, residual shockwaves of ninjutsu.
Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan spun quickly as he ran. Staying behind like that was practically a death sentence.
Not to mention that both their teacher and themselves were already wounded by the earlier explosive trap.
Itachi glanced at the burn on his shoulder. Behind him, Inuzuka Ri was carrying an unconscious comrade.
Lowering his head, he kept running.
Moments later,
Clatter.
'Tenma?'
Itachi turned to find Tenma collapsed behind him.
Frowning, he asked, "Was your leg injured by the explosive tag?"
Just as he reached out to help, Tenma slapped his hand away. "Go! I can manage!"
Itachi shook his head. "No, you can't. All you're doing is staying behind to die."
Shinzi and Inuzuka Ri appeared beside them. Ri, as a Jonin, rolled up Tenma's pant leg to reveal a blackened, burnt wound on the side of his calf.
He shook his head slightly. "If you keep pushing, you'll lose that leg for good."
Then he turned to Itachi. "You carry him the rest of the way."
Itachi nodded and looked up at a crow flying overhead.
'Reverse summoning already? Shisui... hurry and find Lord Fourth!'
Grudgingly lying on Itachi's back, Tenma muttered, "I'll repay this favor someday."
Itachi expressionlessly kept moving. "You said the same thing when you stole the ninja cat's whiskers."
Tenma fell silent.
After a while, the sound of crackling lightning echoed behind them.
Itachi's eyes narrowed: 'They're here. Has our teacher already fallen?'
"Fang Over Fang!"
A spinning whirlwind halted the lightning pursuit. Inuzuka Ri's voice rang out.
"Shinzi! Remember what I told you!"
'Sensei... you're going to sacrifice yourself too?'
Itachi glanced back. Then he and Shinzi, each carrying one comrade, sped off.
"Pant, pant..."
Fang Over Fang blocked the Cloud shinobi's path, but Riwan collapsed from exhaustion and injury.
Ri looked at his canine partner and smiled bitterly. "Looks like this is it. Can we do it two more times?"
"Woof!"
Riwan's bark was clear.
Inuzuka Ri slowly stood up, facing the Cloud shinobi approaching.
"Itachi... do you think we'll make it back alive?"
Glancing at Shinzi beside him, Itachi nodded firmly. "Don't worry..."
He looked at the crow overhead again.
Where is it? That special kunai Shisui gave me so long ago... why hasn't it come into play yet?
"Brats... running pretty fast, huh?"
Along with the mocking voice came a strike of lightning. The two, still carrying their teammates, had to halt.
Itachi gently set Tenma down, and Shinzi did the same. The two stood side by side.
"Uchiha brat. Awakening the three-tomoe Sharingan at your age, I'll admit you're a genius. But standing like this, are you not planning to run? Arrogant, aren't you?"
As the voice faded, Samui in Lightning Chakra Mode appeared behind Itachi, short blade in hand.
"Clang!"
Kunai met blade. Both combatants thought: So fast!
"Whoosh... Bang!"
In just ten seconds, they had exchanged dozens of blows. Even with his dynamic vision, Itachi found it hard to keep up.
Genjutsu, Hell Viewing Technique!
Shinzi successfully caught one enemy in a genjutsu, but they were quickly released by a comrade. Surrounded, Shinzi was clearly overwhelmed.
At the same time, two more enemies attacked Itachi.
Two vs. Six, against Chunin and Jonin, no chance of victory.
Every slash from their lightning-enhanced blades could be fatal. Without the special kunai from Grandma Cat and the Sharingan's illusions, Itachi would've already fallen.
Lightning Release: Ground Surge!
Electricity coursed through the ground, paralyzing Itachi. Samui's blade came in fast.
"SPLAT!"
Blood splattered.
Tenma looked at the wound on his chest and turned to Itachi.
"That favor... repaid."
As Samui withdrew her blade, she coldly said, "What's the point of blocking that blow? You'll all die anyway."
Electricity sparked again on her blade.
"Whoosh!"
"Clang!"
Itachi, having recovered, blocked it with his kunai. His eyes, the triple-tomoe spinning rapidly.
"Amaterasu!"
Black flames burst out, engulfing Samui's entire body. The searing pain brought her to her knees.
"Samui!"
"Water Release: Wild Water Wave!"
A comrade tried to douse the flames, but Amaterasu can't be extinguished.
Itachi raised his gaze, locking eyes with another Cloud ninja.
Tsukuyomi
In a world of red and black, the Cloud shinobi was bound to a tree. Itachi slowly raised a kunai and stabbed.
"SPLAT!"
"Ghh..."
Suppressing his scream, the Cloud ninja winced in pain.
Itachi coldly said, "For the next 72 hours, you'll experience this pain over and over again. Might as well scream now."
"SPLAT!"
The kunai pierced his abdomen.
Eventually, screams echoed through the Tsukuyomi world.
"Bang!"
In the real world, only an instant had passed, yet the Cloud ninja struck by the genjutsu collapsed, unconscious.
Wrapped in water, Samui still gritted her teeth, silently enduring the burning agony.
Itachi turned toward the enemies surrounding Shinzi.
"Amaterasu!"
.....
If you enjoy the story, my p@treon is 30 chapters ahead.
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