Chapter 143:
Sasuke leaned against the wall, completely dazed, breathing heavily. But the explosion that had just shaken the Hidden Leaf Village left him no time to think.
"Are you okay, Sasuke?!"
Tsunade ran over to him, accompanied by the Konoha jōnin, the energetic Might Guy, and Hinata from the Hyūga clan.
"Uchiha Itachi!"
On the Akatsuki's side, while Tobi and Kakashi were still locked in battle, the Sixth Pain and Konan were wreaking havoc in the village. Zetsu was off to the side providing his usual toxic commentary. Meanwhile, Naruto Uzumaki, Kisame, the Jar Merchant, and Boruto had also arrived on the scene.
"Mr. Itachi… died just like that." The Jar Merchant patted Kisame's shoulder and said, "My condolences, Kisame."
"This is going to be a problem."
Looking at the people in front of her, Tsunade glanced at the forces on her own side and muttered to herself.
Sasuke's chakra was clearly depleted and he couldn't be considered combat-effective. Hinata's strength wasn't enough to contribute in a battle of this scale. The only ones capable of fighting were Might Guy and Tsunade herself.
"Sasuke, you and Hinata head to the Konoha Hospital—go find Sakura. Leave things here to Guy and me."
Tsunade fixed her gaze on the Akatsuki members standing before them as she spoke.
Sasuke looked at the fallen Uchiha Itachi and said, "Lord Hokage, have you heard of the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?"
"The Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan?" Tsunade frowned as she repeated the term—clearly, she had heard of it before. "The eyes possessed by Uchiha Madara!"
"Yeah." Sasuke nodded slowly, then reached down and removed the eyes from Itachi's lifeless body. "By transplanting the Mangekyō Sharingan of a close blood relative, they can merge to form the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan. Lord Hokage, I need your help to perform the transplant."
Transplanting eyes wasn't a simple task. It required extensive preparation, and the recovery and adaptation process afterward was usually long and difficult. But then again, Tsunade was here.
With Tsunade's superior medical ninjutsu, the transplant could be completed in a very short time, and the healing process could be significantly accelerated.
Although Sasuke might not be able to fully adjust right away, in this situation, there was no time to worry about that.
"It's doable…" Tsunade looked warily at the Akatsuki members who looked ready to move at any moment. "But it's obvious they're not going to just stand there and let us complete the surgery."
"Leave that to me, Lord Hokage!" Might Guy gave Tsunade a thumbs-up. "Protecting one's comrades is also part of youth!"
"And me, Lord Hokage," Hinata stepped forward, eyes fixed on Naruto. "As a shinobi of the Hidden Leaf, it's only natural to protect the village!"
"Lord Hokage."
With Sasuke's urging, Tsunade finally nodded. "I'll leave it to you both, Might Guy, Hinata Hyūga."
"Don't worry, Lady Hokage!" Guy replied confidently, clenching his fist. "Eight Gates Released Formation—Seventh Gate, Gate of Wonder—Open!"
Waves of blue chakra exploded from Might Guy's body.
"So strong!" Boruto, the weakest among them, instinctively took a step back. The others all turned to look at the current strongest fighter on the field—Might Guy.
"...Might Guy-sensei, may I take on Naruto?"
Hinata looked over at the battle-ready Guy and asked.
"Of course, Hinata." Guy nodded. "Now then—Konoha's proud Blue Beast, it's showtime!"
Guy vanished from his spot and reappeared with a devastating kick that sent Kisame flying.
Taking advantage of the chaos, the Jar Merchant grabbed Boruto and bolted. "Naruto, Kisame—hang in there! I'm going to find reinforcements!"
Naturally, Might Guy didn't chase after them. His mission now was to protect Tsunade and Sasuke while the transplant was underway.
"Those two…!" Kisame was clearly displeased by the Jar Merchant and Boruto fleeing the battle, but he had no time to dwell on it. "Samehada—Fusion Mode!"
Kisame fused with his living weapon Samehada, transforming into a half-man, half-shark being.
To be clear: upper body shark, lower body human—not the other way around, and definitely not a half-and-half split down the middle.
"A rare beast indeed. You don't see taijutsu users with this level of power very often."
"Hahaha, is that so?" Guy laughed, scratching his bowl-cut head in embarrassment.
"Water Style: Super Shark Bomb Jutsu!" Kisame launched a sneak attack while Guy was distracted.
And this wasn't an ordinary water technique—it was a special jutsu that absorbed the opponent's chakra to boost its own power.
The stronger the enemy's technique, the stronger the shark bomb would become.
"Daytime Tiger!"
A tiger and a shark clashed head-on.
The shark opened its jaws and swallowed the white tiger, but despite absorbing its chakra, the shark did not grow stronger.
"How is that possible?! It should've absorbed the chakra! Don't tell me… that wasn't a chakra-based energy blast?!"
"Roar, Youth!"
The white tiger tore through the shark's belly and surged forward toward Kisame.
"What… was that…?"
Kisame, struck down by the tiger, looked up at Guy and asked.
"Daytime Tiger doesn't rely on chakra—it's a taijutsu technique, a simple straight punch. The extreme speed compresses the air into the shape of a tiger."
As Guy explained, he kept an eye on the ongoing fight between Hinata and Naruto, adjusting his stance.
While it looked like Guy had easily dispatched his opponent, the reality was that opening the Seventh Gate placed a heavy burden on his body.
He also had to stay alert for the two Akatsuki members who had just fled.
More importantly, Guy needed to keep Kisame alive—for negotiations with the Akatsuki.
Guy couldn't help but believe that no one in the world would truly abandon their comrades. After all, abandoning your comrades wasn't youthful at all.
"Hey! Don't move!" When Kisame so much as lifted a hand, Guy immediately landed a punch to his gut.
Kisame spat blood from the impact, but still raised his hands to form a hand seal, forcing Guy to back off instinctively, on full alert.
In moments like this, a ninja always chose to go all out.
"I'm not the type to let myself be taken alive!"
Kisame didn't really believe the Akatsuki would care if he was captured, but still, he chose death.
Part of it was pride. The other part—was for Itachi.
Even now, Kisame didn't know that Itachi had been a double agent. He still deeply respected him.
"I don't want you to laugh at me in the afterlife, Mr. Itachi… Water Style: Water Prison Jutsu!"
Kisame trapped himself in a water prison, then immediately followed up with a summoning jutsu. A summoned shark circled inside the water prison, ripping into his flesh.
"Mr. Itachi… I'm coming to find you."
(Support me and read ahead on Patreøn: patreøn.com/craxxtranslations.
3 new chapters are released daily—thank you for your support!
Powerstone Event: For every 50 powerstones, 1 chapter will be unlocked.)