A new arrival and it's about Itachi God. So, do give it a go.
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***
The explosion took place, and a loud bang echoed among the mountains.
In mid-air, the Deva Path's gaze fell.
He didn't believe that a single attack from Konan and Kakuzu alone could kill Itachi.
He knew well that Itachi's Susanoo was far more powerful.
Protected by that form of Susanoo, even he could only use the Planetary Devastation to suppress Itachi.
However, Planetary Devastation wasn't a jutsu that could be unleashed casually.
"Still trying to conserve chakra?"
Pain's Rinnegan's eye power penetrated the explosion directly, leaving Itachi's Susanoo covered in numerous cracks.
But it seemed he had no intention of using a higher-level Susanoo.
Even a jutsu of that level would be extremely taxing for Itachi, and he couldn't maintain it for long.
"Two,"
"One,"
The Deva Path muttered silently, raising his palm towards the exploding Itachi and his Susanoo.
With Itachi's cracked Susanoo, if he didn't advance further, he wouldn't be able to defend against the Second Universal Push!
Swish!
At that moment, two figures sprinted from the mountains behind them.
"Someone?"
The Deva Path, about to attack, suddenly sensed two massive chakra streams approaching.
He instantly recognized one of them.
"Why is he here!?"
The Deva Path exclaimed in surprise.
Meanwhile, Konan and Kakuzu pressed towards Itachi when two figures rushed out from the foot of the mountain.
"Swish!"
A figure wielding lightning bolts surged in speed, leaving long arcs in the air, aimed directly at Kakuzu.
"Boom!"
Dozens of flaming blades instantly crisscrossed and slashed, sweeping towards Konan, whose altitude had dropped as she approached Itachi.
Kakuzu and Konan were immediately aware of the situation, but the two shinobi attacking them from behind were incredibly fast.
Konan immediately stopped her downward flight and soared into the air.
Around her, white origami continuously gathered, transforming into circular paper wheels that met the flaming blade's light.
"Sizzle!"
Kakuzu turned, and one of the three masks on his left arm opened its mouth, releasing a burst of intense lightning.
"Boom!"
Konan's origami wheels were also affixed with detonating tags, so upon impact with the flaming blade, they exploded.
Elsewhere, Kakuzu's intense lightning collided with the lightning held by the rapidly approaching figure.
The two bolts of lightning collided, a brief stalemate between them.
Kakuzu's lightning style was actually severed by the opponent's ninjutsu!
"What?!"
Kakuzu's dark green pupils narrowed.
The figure wielding lightning bolts before him didn't pursue.
He exchanged a glance with another companion before darting towards Itachi's direction.
The Deva Path, hovering in midair, didn't immediately attack.
Meanwhile, the explosion enveloping Itachi and his Susanoo gradually subsided.
As the flames faded, the crimson chakra glow gradually receded.
Two figures landed beside him.
"Itachi, are you alright?"
One of them glanced at him.
"It's okay, thanks to your timely arrival, Shisui."
Itachi smiled faintly, looking at the shinobi beside him.
"Kakashi, thank you for your help."
Itachi had anticipated the situation of being surrounded by Kakuzu, Konan, and the Deva Path.
He had anticipated this from the moment he first encountered Kakuzu, as the masked man knew Kakuzu alone couldn't kill Itachi.
However, this time, it wasn't just the Akatsuki who were prepared.
Itachi had already made plans with the Fourth Hokage before arriving in Kirigakure.
When Itachi set out, he carried not only the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God Kunai but also Kakashi Hatake's Flying Thunder God Seal.
With Itachi's skills, it wouldn't be difficult for him to find a time to place Kakashi Hatake's Flying Thunder God Seal somewhere the Kirigakure shinobi couldn't detect.
With the seal, Kakashi Hatake could take Shisui Uchiha directly from Konohagakure to the Land of Water.
"Yeah,"
Kakashi Hatake replied.
He had heard Minato Namikaze and Shisui Uchiha mention Itachi before they set out, and while he'd been equally amazed at his immense strength, now was clearly not the time to discuss such matters.
"Shisui Uchiha, Kakashi Hatake."
In mid-air, the Deva Path's voice seemed muffled.
Even his intelligence-gathering abilities hadn't revealed when these two had infiltrated the Land of Water and were hiding near Kirigakure.
Konan and Kakuzu were both fixated on the enemy who had just blocked their attack.
Shisui Uchiha's blood-red eyes glared at the Deva Path, etched with murderous intent.
All his ANBU comrades had perished at his hands.
"How could someone attack Kirigakure, and these guys take advantage of this opportunity to attack you?"
Shisui Uchiha remained calm.
He glanced at Itachi, paused, then exclaimed, "They attacked Kirigakure to create chaos, so they could eliminate you?"
"Ah, that's probably it," Itachi said.
"Then the other five guys aren't here right now, so they're probably in Kirigakure too," Shisui Uchiha said, gazing at the Deva Path.
Although the masked man had already evacuated many of the Kirigakure's elite to carry out his plan, Shikaku Nara, Kitsuchi, and Mei Terumi remained within the village.
Given the Akatsuki's strength, as Itachi knew it, they were somewhat shorthanded for the manpower needed to completely disrupt Kirigakure and render its shinobi unable to intervene.
After all, to quickly kill Itachi, three of Akatsuki's few core members had gathered before them.
"Are the Konohagakure people also planning something?"
The Deva Path stared at Shisui Uchiha and Kakashi Hatake below.
The two had quietly entered the Land of Water, evading all detection, and were lurking near Kirigakure.
This suggested that the Fourth Hokage might have been aware of the masked man's true intentions for holding the Five Nations Chunin Exams from the outset.
Had the Konohagakure people already been paying attention to Kirigakure?
And how much did they truly know about the manipulation of the Fourth Mizukage?
"Besides that guy named Pain, these two, whom I've never met before, look incredibly troublesome."
Kakashi glanced at Konan and Kakuzu, pulling up the forehead protector that covered his left eye.
He formed hand seals, and his tightly closed left eye suddenly opened.
"Chi!"
Three black magatama trembled in his blood-red eyes.
...
"Indeed, they are dangerous and difficult to deal with."
Shisui nodded, looking at Itachi beside him and saying, "We must end this battle quickly."
Itachi understood Shisui's considerations.
He and Kakashi's presence in his rescue had already exposed their target.
This would likely expose their pre-planned strategy or put the enemy on guard.
"Just facing that guy," Itachi said with a serious expression.
It wasn't that Konan and Kakuzu couldn't handle him, but with the power of the Deva Path, even if they unleashed their full Susanoo, they might not be able to defeat him.
While Itachi had analyzed the Planetary Devastation's weakness the last time, it was the Fourth Hokage who actually cracked it.
With their current strength, they could indeed attempt to destroy the black sphere at the Planetary Devastation's core, but that would consume a significant amount of chakra and eye energy, hindering the subsequent battle.
The Deva Path's chakra was far greater than theirs.
"It seems the most difficult one to deal with is the leader of this so-called Akatsuki."
Kakashi suddenly said as Itachi and Shisui were feeling a bit apprehensive.
"Well, this guy is too strong. With his abilities, if we can't kill him with one strike and just expend chakra to deal with him, things will get really bad," Shisui said.
Kakashi knew about his previous battle with the Deva Path.
As for Itachi, Minato didn't go into detail.
"Is that so?"
Kakashi lowered his left eyelid slightly, then said, "I have a way, but it will take quite some time to build up chakra."
"You have a way?"
Itachi and Shisui were momentarily stunned, but knowing Kakashi well, they immediately believed him.
"Alright then, Itachi and I will cover you together!"
Shisui said, and then he and Itachi exchanged a glance.
"Chi!"
His three-tomoe Sharingan spun, connecting the tomoe to form a Kaleidoscope pattern.
"Whoa!"
Immediately, a rich chakra glow emanated from Shisui and Itachi's bodies.
At the same time, the two shinobi, one in front and one behind, trapped Kakashi between them.
"Susanoo!"
Two giants, several meters tall, instantly took shape.
Their Susanoos stood back to back, protecting Kakashi.
Seeing that even Itachi had used Susanoo, Kakashi's eyes trembled slightly, but he knew there was no time to lose.
He raised his hands and formed the Tiger Seal.
The tomoe in his left eye trembled violently again.
"It's really getting more difficult,"
Pain said gravely, looking at Shisui who had used Susanoo.
Itachi and Shisui feared the Deva Path the most.
His ability to manipulate repulsion and attraction could only be fully defended against through Susanoo.
Konan and Kakuzu's expressions also grew solemn.
They had just witnessed the defensive power of Susanoo.
With Itachi alone using Susanoo, it would be difficult to harm him.
By then, the Deva Path was hovering above Itachi, Shisui, and Kakashi.
"Universal Push!"
A massive repulsive force surged from his body once again, pressing downward.
"Boom!"
The repulsive force collided with the two Susanoos, causing them to vibrate violently.
However, the Universal Push, at its full power, wasn't enough to deflect the two Susanoos.
"Sure enough, he can't concentrate his chakra,"
Itachi said, looking up at the Deva Path.
The last time he unleashed Planetary Devastation, he had concentrated his chakra into a single force.
Since the other five Pains were currently wreaking havoc in Kirigakure, this Pain couldn't unleash his full power.
The repulsive force gradually weakened, and Shisui, standing before Kakashi, glanced around, his gaze fixed on the Deva Path, Konan, and Kakuzu.
"Susanoo: Tsukumo!"
A turquoise chakra glowed from the palm of his Susanoo, transforming into green arrows that flew out and shot towards the three.
Kakuzu, Konan, and the others quickly dodged.
As the Deva Path dodged, his gaze fell on Kakashi.
"He's concentrating his chakra in his left Sharingan."
"Is he preparing some kind of eye technique? But since he's not an Uchiha and can't activate his MangekyĹ Sharingan, there's no point in doing this."
Kirigakure was filled with the aura of murder, and the mist that enveloped the entire village seemed faintly tinged with blood.
Although the Kaguya clan was a small clan, its members were skilled in combat and possessed considerable strength.
Furthermore, several among them had awakened their Shikotsumyaku.
The corpses of civilians littered the streets of Kirigakure.
Unlike Konoha, most Kirigakure shinobi prioritized expelling the invaders.
Within the village, gigantic summoned beasts wreaked havoc.
Despite the intervention of Kitsuchi, ChĹza, and others, these summoned beasts would remain unless Pain, the Animal Path, was defeated.
However, the fiercest battle within Kirigakure was taking place between Sasori and Mei Terumi.
Around their battlefield, numerous houses were pierced by objects formed from iron sand.
A highly corrosive liquid still lingered on the ground.
"Iron Sand Attack!"
A surge of iron sand surged through the Red Sand Sasori's body, rapidly forming massive conical and rectangular objects.
With a whoosh!
Immediately, the massive object descended upon Mei Terumi.
Mei Terumi also formed seals with her hands, opened her mouth, and spat out a large amount of molten substance.
It unexpectedly gathered in front of her like a stream, covering the object formed by the iron sand.
"Sizzle!"
Under the corrosiveness of the molten substance, even the iron sand would quickly melt.
The pointed cone-shaped object tried to pierce the m substance, but the liquid continued to fill it up.
While blocking Sasori's attack, Mei Terumi counterattacked, spitting another large amount of molten substance at Sasori.
"I can't even touch her."
Sasori retreated repeatedly, manipulating the iron sand to form a defense in front of him, delaying Mei Terumi's attack.
Iron sand is toxic, and its strength lies in its ability to transform into various attack forms.
However, in the face of Mei Terumi's lava release, the iron sand would be quickly corroded, making the so-called attack form of little use.
Therefore, the only option left was to create a large amount of iron sand that Mei Terumi could not dodge and that even her molten substance could not completely defend against.
"Sizzle!"
Sasori immediately began to manipulate the puppet of the Third Kazekage beside him.
Its mouth opened wide, and from it immediately, a large amount of sand and iron slag gushed out like a torrent.
....
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