Although Itachi had no intention of interfering for now, Naruto remained constantly on guard.
With Transparent World and Kagura Mind's Eye activated, he was ready to respond immediately if the other party tried any kind of genjutsu.
As the Chakra Shark of a Thousand Bites approached, Naruto gathered a light sword in his hand—formed from Sage Mode chakra.
Form Nine: Vaitarna Typhoon.
With a flick of the blade, Naruto became the eye of a storm. A towering turquoise tornado roared into existence.
On the ocean's surface, the destructive power of Form Nine was fully unleashed.
The chakra sharks summoned by the Thousand-Bite Shark technique were like tiny fish flinging themselves into a bonfire—pulverized one by one in the raging vortex.
Kisame and Itachi both looked grim at the sight of the immense twister.
"Wind Release? For it to wield such terrifying force... even my Thousand-Bite Shark can't put up a fight," Kisame muttered.
Itachi had already activated his Sharingan, the three tomoe spinning slowly in his sockets.
In his vision, the volume of chakra Naruto radiated left even him astonished.
"He didn't even form hand signs just now. This must be a unique kenjutsu," Itachi said thoughtfully.
"Kenjutsu? You serious, Itachi-san? What kind of kenjutsu has that kind of firepower?"
Off to the side, the giant shark and its smaller underlings huddled in silence, gazing fearfully at the turquoise twister.
They were now firmly convinced—this monster was not someone to mess with.
Getting punched earlier had actually been... merciful.
Some of the smaller sharks were swept into the sky and shredded midair, raining down blood and fish parts into the sea—a disaster they didn't ask for.
As the tornado dispersed, Naruto's figure reappeared, calmly standing on the ocean surface.
The giant shark, now quite obedient, swam over and lifted him up on its back.
Kisame's expression turned completely serious. He summoned all his chakra and began weaving hand seals rapidly.
"Water Release: Grand Jaws Bomb Jutsu!"
A colossal chakra shark, several times larger than the Water Shark Bomb, burst from the ocean depths. It appeared before Kisame—its massive, ferocious jaws wide open and terrifyingly lifelike.
This was Kisame's ultimate move!
Not only did it deal immense damage, it possessed the same terrifying trait as Samehada: it could absorb the chakra of opposing techniques and grow stronger in turn.
For most shinobi, such a skill was a nightmare incarnate.
In the original story, this technique met its match in Guy, Kisame's natural taijutsu counter.
Daytime Tiger—being pure physical force—completely nullified the Grand Jaws Bomb's chakra-based nature.
With a roar, the Grand Jaws Shark lunged at Naruto like a cannonball.
Seventh Form: Fierce Wind – Tengu Gale!
Blue flames of chakra burst from Naruto's sword. He raised his hand and swung gently.
But the resulting explosion of power sent ocean waves surging into the sky.
Massive intersecting blades of wind and whirlwinds surged forth, encircling the Grand Jaws Shark from all directions.
Seeing this, Kisame smirked confidently.
"Useless. Whether it's ninjutsu or kenjutsu—if it uses chakra, it just feeds my Grand Jaws Bomb."
Boom!
Dozens of Tengu Gales struck the shark's body in a thunderous wave.
And just as expected—the Grand Jaws Bomb began absorbing the Tengu Gale chakra.
But before Kisame could celebrate—
The shark's sharp head began turning to stone. The petrification spread across its body at a speed visible to the naked eye.
"What the hell?!"
Kisame shouted. Since learning the Grand Jaws Bomb, he'd never encountered anything like this.
Itachi's Sharingan locked onto the scene, seemingly catching a hint of what was happening.
The massive shark was quickly petrified and dropped into the ocean with a splash, sending waves flying.
"The Grand Jaws Bomb failed? Impossible!"
Naruto looked calmly at Kisame, whose expression now resembled someone who'd seen a ghost.
From that short exchange, he'd more or less gauged the enemy's strength.
At this level, Kisame was no real threat.
True, he had massive chakra reserves and powerful jutsu—
But none of them posed any real danger to Naruto.
Which meant… he only had to watch out for Itachi.
That guy had plenty of hidden tricks up his sleeve.
"Multiple Shadow Clone Jutsu."
Naruto created over twenty clones in an instant.
They spread out immediately—encircling Kisame and Itachi.
Second Form: Claw Claw – Kagutsuchi Gale!
All of the Narutos released Second Form simultaneously.
Turquoise claw slashes rained down like a storm from every direction, blitzing toward Kisame and Itachi.
Facing this relentless barrage, both men looked visibly unsettled.
Since forming their two-man team, they had completed every mission with ease.
This was the first time they'd felt such a sense of danger together.
Without hesitation, Kisame released four Water Clones.
Each clone rapidly formed hand seals—conjuring five more Grand Jaws Bombs.
They opened their giant mouths to absorb the incoming claw strikes.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
As the attacks collided with the sharks, explosions rang out nonstop.
History repeated itself—the Grand Jaws Bombs turned into stone statues and plummeted into the sea.
But behind them, claw strikes continued to rain down.
Kisame looked at the approaching storm of turquoise claws, twitching slightly at the mouth—but kept moving.
"Water Release: Great Waterfall Technique!"
A massive waterfall erupted upward, shielding Kisame and Itachi.
But the watery veil only lasted a second before being shredded by the razor-sharp claw strikes.
With the claws now inches away, Kisame tried to form more hand seals—too late.
That's when Itachi, who had been quietly observing until now, finally made his move.
Facing such a brutal offensive, most of his usual techniques were insufficient.
The three-tomoe Sharingan began spinning rapidly—the tomoe tips connected, forming a slightly curved shuriken shape.
"Susanoo!"
A burst of fire-red chakra erupted into the sky!
A skeletal giant formed of chakra materialized around them, shielding Itachi and Kisame.
The giant swung its fists, smashing against the incoming turquoise claws.
On the ocean surface, wave after wave exploded outward from the impact.
Kisame stared at this Second Stage Susanoo, eyes filled with curiosity.
'So this is the ultimate power of the Sharingan? I never expected Itachi-san had this hidden. No wonder he had the resolve to wipe out his entire clan...'
'Susanoo, huh? It's strong, I'll give it that.'
Naruto looked at the fire-red Susanoo before him, but made no move to stop.
He and his clones kept unleashing Second Form claw strikes, bombarding Susanoo without pause.
Though powerful, Itachi's Susanoo was powered by a normal Mangekyō Sharingan—he couldn't sustain it for long.
The safest route was to drain his ocular power.
Once Itachi lost his Mangekyō—
He'd be much easier to deal with.
Inside Naruto, Kurama also stared intently at the Mangekyō pattern in Itachi's eye, recalling a string of humiliating, bitter memories.
"Naruto, watch out for those eyes. Mangekyō techniques are... unique. Don't let him catch you off guard," Kurama warned in a low growl.