Chapter 195: Let the Battle Begin
Outside the Bounty Station.
"As expected of Itachi, it's been a long time!"
A figure manifested from the shimmering air in front of the duo. Tonbo Tobitake looked at Itachi with a faint smile. He had grown up; he was a young man now. However, the deep tear troughs beneath his eyes prevented his image from looking particularly "bright." But then again, after what he had endured, "bright" was hardly an option.
Tonbo then glanced at Kisame. In reality... yeah... he really did have a shark face. He truly lived up to the name "Tailed Beast without a Tail"—his chakra was immense. In Tonbo's perception, Kisame's chakra was more than ten times his own current level.
Is this the power of a special constitution? The shinobi world truly never lacks for freakish physiques!
Furthermore, the Samehada in his hand contained a massive reservoir of chakra, clearly ready to replenish him at a moment's notice.
"It has been a long time, Senior Tonbo. Are you here to hunt me down?" Facing Tonbo, Itachi was extremely cautious. His hands were already in a seal, ready to respond to any threat.
Kisame felt Itachi's tension and looked at the man dressed like a butler. "Tonbo Tobitake? Konoha's Captain Tonbo? I've heard much about you. But Itachi-san, even if it's him, is there a need to be this guarded?"
He had heard the stories. The legendary Konoha Genjutsu master, the guy who even made their organization's leader look bad. But given that they had intelligence on him, Kisame didn't believe Tonbo could handle both of them at once.
"No. We must be more than cautious. He is more terrifying than you imagine." Itachi's eyes shifted, transforming into the Mangekyo pattern.
"Mmhmm. The encounters between people are truly unpredictable. We were once teammates, colleagues... I even used to spar with you. To think that years later, you are a rogue ninja of Konoha, and I am the Captain of the Pursuit Force. The world is a strange place," Tonbo sighed.
Whiz! Whiz!
Countless shuriken erupted from Itachi's hands like a rain of steel, covering the area around Tonbo's flanks.
Kisame watched, confused. "Itachi-san, aim before you throw!"
"Release!"
At that moment, Itachi placed a hand on Kisame, dispelling a genjutsu. When Kisame looked again, the shuriken hadn't missed at all; it was just that he had been under an illusion that made it seem like they missed.
"Careful. It's an area-of-effect Genjutsu. We were caught the moment we spotted him," Itachi warned.
"Tch. No wonder even our Leader is wary of him. To fall for it so quietly... luckily I have a Genjutsu specialist on my side." Kisame realized his carelessness and looked at Tonbo with a grim expression. His hands began to weave signs rapidly.
Tonbo used a Body Flicker to evade the shuriken storm, praising him: "Itachi, you've improved quite a bit over the years. To see through my Genjutsu so quickly—impressive!"
He had hoped to complete the Third's mission silently, but Itachi simply wasn't falling for it. He couldn't even breach his mental space before the technique was broken.
Boom!
Just then, Kisame's technique arrived: Water Style: Great Explosive Water Colliding Wave. A tsunami-like wall of water surged toward Tonbo.
Crash!
Tonbo wove a sign, and a massive whale manifested. He stood atop the whale's back, riding the impact of Kisame's wave. He steered the whale to charge forward, swinging its tail with immense force.
Thump!
Kisame braced Samehada against the tail, the force sliding him backward across the water's surface.
Roar!
From Itachi's side, a Great Fireball came screaming toward Tonbo. Simultaneously, Itachi signaled Kisame to retreat.
"No. Let me have some fun first." Kisame wanted to test his mettle against the man who gave the Leader such trouble. He used a Body Flicker to close the gap and swung Samehada.
Swish!
A miss. Kisame's eyes narrowed. He tried again. Still a miss. Once, twice, three times...
"Release!"
Kisame broke the illusion and saw Tonbo smiling at him from a distance. "When did you—?"
"At all times."
Poof!
Another Tonbo appeared behind Kisame, a long blade in hand, thrusting downward.
Clang!
At the critical moment, Itachi's kunai struck the side of the blade, parrying it. Even so, the edge grazed Kisame's chest. The black cloak with red clouds was instantly torn, drawing droplets of blood.
In the blind spot of Itachi's vision, branch-like nerves extended from the hilt to the tip of Tonbo's blade, spreading onto Kisame. Without either of them noticing, the branch-like patterns appeared on Kisame's back. Having achieved his goal, Tonbo gave a slight smile and retreated several steps, riding the momentum of Itachi's parry.
"Itachi, where is your Sharingan Genjutsu? Surely you, with those eyes, don't intend to just trade Taijutsu and Ninjutsu with me? Let's be honest: you weren't good enough back then, and you're still not good enough now!" Tonbo chuckled.
Itachi's gaze was heavy. Over the years, he had found a way to bypass Tonbo's anti-detection techniques by using his eyes to see chakra flow, allowing him to predict movements. But...
His seal speed is faster than mine, his chakra is greater than mine, and my Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change didn't even slow him down. His Taijutsu is top-tier... this is troublesome, Itachi realized. To escape Tonbo, he would have to show his true hand.
"Itachi-san, this guy's Genjutsu is even more annoying than yours," Kisame growled, baring his shark teeth at the wound on his chest.
Itachi placed a hand on him. "Yes. His Genjutsu can be triggered through eye contact, chakra coverage, sound, or touch. We'll have to pay a price to get out of this."
Just now, Itachi had noticed "seed-like" foreign chakra reactions in Kisame that responded whenever Kisame kneaded his own chakra. It had happened the moment the blade grazed him.
"Release!"
He dispelled the foreign chakra from Kisame. "Watch out. His Genjutsu can form 'seeds'—if you refine chakra, you'll fall under his spell."
Kisame snorted. "Tch. What a nuisance. If even Itachi-san finds him this difficult, I guess I have to use my trump card."
He slammed Samehada into the ground beneath him and wove his signs. Both Itachi and Tonbo raised an eyebrow. Kisame's body began to fuse with Samehada, turning him into a bizarre, monstrous hybrid. He shed the Akatsuki cloak, revealing his blue skin. The branch-like neural patterns on his back were absorbed and vanished into the surface during the fusion.
"With Samehada's help, I can ignore his Genjutsu from now on. Let's see if I can't crush this guy who keeps playing tricks on me," Kisame told Itachi.
Samehada had the ability to devour chakra. Once fused, any foreign chakra would be instantly consumed, making him immune to Genjutsu. It was his ultimate counter against powerful illusionists. Usually, he was reluctant to reveal this, but against a ninja who could catch him in an illusion no matter what, he had no other choice. Itachi couldn't spend every second breaking spells for him.
Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/MistaQuartz
On Patreon, you can explore Extra Chapters in advance!