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At this moment, his dominant left wrist was broken—rendering him unable to continue fighting.
But hatred alone compelled him to stand. He wanted to kill Uchiha Itachi with his own hands, refusing to let anyone else interfere.
"From the moment they set their sights on Naruto, this became our business. Move."
Ye Dou frowned, grabbed Sasuke Uchiha by the collar, and pulled him behind without hesitation.
He then closed his eyes slightly. His Observation Haki locked onto Uchiha Itachi—his killing intent surged like a tide.
Uchiha Itachi was simply too dangerous.
He possessed the Totsuka Blade, a spiritual sword capable of sealing anything it pierces, and the Yata Mirror, a shield that repels all forms of ninjutsu and physical attacks. As stated by Black Zetsu in the manga, a user with both these tools is practically invincible.
On top of that, Itachi had mastery over powerful genjutsu such as Tsukuyomi, and likely knew both Izanami and Izanagi—forbidden Uchiha techniques that manipulate reality and perception.
Put simply, Uchiha Itachi was like a maxed-out endgame player, equipped with god-tier items and ultimate-level jutsu.
Faced with such a threat, Ye Dou knew he had to eliminate him now while the opportunity existed.
But in Itachi's eyes, Ye Dou's actions told a different story.
Despite his stoic appearance, Itachi felt a rare sense of relief. He interpreted Ye Dou's act of pulling Sasuke back as protection, and the killing intent directed at himself as righteous anger—for hurting Sasuke.
> "Sasuke… you have two very good companions."
Suppressing the emotions inside, Itachi quickly returned to a defensive stance. Ye Dou was already charging forward.
His fighting style was as aggressive and straightforward as ever. No tricks—just pure, brutal efficiency. He swung his blade down with deadly intent.
Clang! The blow was blocked.
Despite the blinding speed of the attack—so fast that even Naruto and Sasuke could barely follow—it was no match for the clarity of Itachi's Sharingan, whose ocular power surpassed any Ye Dou had ever encountered.
> "So heavy…"
Itachi's palm trembled. The weight behind Ye Dou's strikes had more than doubled since their last encounter.
Realizing he couldn't fight in close quarters, Itachi leapt back and countered swiftly.
> "Fire Style: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" (Katon: Hōsenka no Jutsu!)
From mid-air, he released a volley of fireballs without any visible hand signs. Even Naruto was left dumbfounded, unable to follow the technique's hand seals.
In fact, neither could Ye Dou—he only sensed it through his Observation Haki.
Itachi's speed in forming hand seals was legendary. In the manga, it's noted he could form seals at a speed of one per 0.1 seconds—a level few shinobi could ever match. With six seals per second, he was virtually untouchable in ninjutsu timing.
Fireballs erupted and scattered like fireworks, splitting into smaller projectiles and raining down on Ye Dou.
> "Watch out for the shuriken inside!" Sasuke shouted.
He was right. This jutsu was a derivative of the Phoenix Fire Technique, often used with shuriken hidden inside the flames. It combined intense heat with cutting force—an efficient, lethal combo.
> "This level of sparks… barely worthy of lighting a birthday cake."
The heat rose sharply, but Ye Dou remained unflinching. As the flames approached, he suddenly launched a high kick.
With a whoosh, a powerful gust of wind snuffed out the flames like candles—far more effective than a fire extinguisher.
However, the shuriken embedded within still shot forward.
> "Idiot!" Sasuke yelled, trying to rush over.
Clang clang clang clang!
A sharp metallic chorus rang out. The shuriken, moments from impact, were all knocked aside—deflected in mid-air.
Everyone froze.
Their eyes were locked on the strange weapon in Ye Dou's hand. Or more specifically, the bandages wrapped around it.
The bandages had moved on their own to protect him—slapping the shuriken away as if they had a will.
> "What kind of sword is that?" Itachi asked, eyes narrowing.
Despite his vast experience and familiarity with strange blades like Samehada—the sentient sword wielded by Kisame Hoshigaki—he had never seen anything like this.
This blade had its own consciousness. It didn't just respond to its wielder—it acted for him.
> "Xueyin. That's its name," Ye Dou answered.
He stood silently, the blade at rest. The cloth wrapped around it pulsed with an eerie stillness, exuding an icy aura.
The moment he spoke, he vanished—reappearing next to Itachi like a phantom, blade arcing for another lethal strike.
His Observation Haki stayed locked onto Itachi the whole time, alerting him to one critical truth: Itachi had no killing intent toward him.
This was a rare opportunity—perhaps the only one.
If Ye Dou didn't take it now, he might never get another chance.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Each of Ye Dou's strikes was aimed at a vital point.
He moved so fast, it was like watching a ghost. The human eye couldn't keep up. His blade left deep gashes in the walls and floor, marking his invisible trail of destruction.
The only evidence of his presence—razor-thin cuts, slashed into stone.
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