"Mr. Itachi is as reliable as ever."
Watching Kakashi effortlessly fall under Itachi's Tsukuyomi, Kisame couldn't help but sigh in genuine admiration.
As expected of the Sharingan user known throughout the ninja world.
He was too powerful.
If he had to face Itachi himself, he'd probably be caught in an instant too.
"Though Mr. Itachi doesn't like making too much noise.
"Then... I suppose the game ends here."
As Kisame spoke, he drew his Samehada.
In a flash of Body Flicker, he appeared right in front of Asuma, who was still dealing with the last of the water sharks.
Samehada: Chakra-Shaving Slash!
His massive blade, as broad as a door, swung down in a frenzy, forcing Asuma to abandon his attack on the final shark and go on the defensive.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
In the blink of an eye, the two had already exchanged dozens of blows.
"There's something off about your sword," Asuma muttered.
In just a moment, he could feel his chakra being rapidly drained.
It was only a matter of time before he lost.
"This is Samehada's unique ability to devour chakra. Even if you know what it does, someone like you won't be able to avoid it.
"Just be a good little snack for my sword."
Kisame let out a twisted laugh.
Beneath the water's surface, the final shark seized the opportunity and burst up, sinking its teeth into Asuma's right leg.
He staggered, barely keeping his balance, almost getting dragged under.
Of course Kisame wouldn't miss such a glaring opening in his opponent's defense. With a twist of his wrist, he swung the sword.
The bandages wrapped around the blade unraveled instantly, revealing jagged spikes that tore into most of Asuma's body in an instant.
Even worse, the barbs hooked into him and started pulling him in.
Just as he was about to be captured alive—
A calm voice called out from behind.
"Universal Pull!"
Suddenly, Asuma's body jerked back like a puppet on strings, stopping his forward momentum entirely and being yanked away in reverse.
"What the—?"
The duck was almost in the pot, and now it had flown away.
Kisame was visibly annoyed.
He looked up to see a handsome youth standing on the opposite riverbank, his heterochromatic eyes calmly raised, right hand still extended.
He'd pulled Asuma away from across the water.
"Yo, that ability looks a lot like the boss's technique," Kisame muttered with interest, his dead-fish eyes narrowing.
In the ninja world, strength was everything.
This guy looked young, but even compared to the unconscious Kakashi and heavily injured Asuma, his presence was overwhelming.
"He's probably one of those new geniuses from Konoha," Itachi said, stepping up beside Kisame.
His eyes narrowed slightly as he stared at the youthful figure across the riverbank.
He'd only ever felt that strange and powerful aura from Pain and "Uchiha Madara."
He remembered this one.
Yuhi Natsuki.
A classmate of his younger brother, Sasuke.
The top student of their year, and at one point, he'd even made Sasuke feel inadequate, driving him to train harder to surpass him.
He hadn't expected that after just a few years, Natsuki would grow to such a level.
He wondered if Sasuke had become friends with him.
"Hm? Where's Kakashi…" Kisame began to ask Itachi if he'd already taken care of Kakashi—
But then saw Kakashi's unconscious body slowly float down and land next to the boy as well.
He'd been sntched away too.
"You two? Don't you think strolling into Konoha like it's your backyard a bit disrespectful?
"You didn't really think beating up two Jonin would give you the right to do whatever you want, did you?"
Natsuki stood on the riverbank, wind at his back, his presence surging like a storm.
Anyone else, seeing two Jonin defeated, would've either panicked and fled to report, or braced for death in fear.
Natsuki, however, appeared utterly calm, as if he weren't facing two powerful, ruthless S-rank rogue ninja, just a pair of harmless passerby monkeys.
That unwavering confidence earned him a bit more respect from both Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"I'm just here to look at my hometown one last time and pay respects to a departed elder. Nothing more.
"As for Kakashi-senpai and that… I'd say luck just wasn't on their side.
"If you don't interfere, we can walk away peacefully."
Itachi spoke slowly, his tone cold and indifferent as always.
"Wanna play a game instead?"
Natsuki suddenly raised a finger, sounding quite amused.
"Wh… What game?"
Kisame nearly choked.
This kid's train of thought was all over the place. One second, he'd been talking like a heroic defender, and the next, it's like nothing you said even registered his head.
"A game of tag. I chase, you run."
Standing under the sunlight, Natsuki's smile was dazzling, pure as a child's.
But the words out of his mouth made Kisame's blood boil.
"You little punk, are you messing with us right now?!"
Water Style: Water Shark Bomb Jutsu!
For a brat this young, his arrogance was outrageous.
He dared to tell two S-rank rogue ninja to run from him?
It was time to teach him how cruel the ninja world could be.
There were tons of so-called geniuses.
Even Itachi and Kisame himself had once been called that. But barely any livged enough to spread their name throughout the world.
Drawing on the abundant water from the river, his Water Style jutsu launched with ease and far more power than usual.
A massive water shark surged up like a missile, roaring toward Natsuki.
"Hidden Lotus Palm!"
The youth lightly raised his hand, and for an instant, the air shimmered faintly.
Hmmm!!
The air hummed and an invisible palm strike howled through the sky.
BOOM!!
The massive shark shattered midair as if it had slammed into an unseen wall.
"Retreat!"
Itachi narrowed his eyes, the faintest flicker of alarm crossing his face.
Without hesitation, he grabbed Kisame's shoulder.
Body Flicker!
In the blink of an eye, both vanished from their spot.
BOOM!!!
A thunderous explosion rocked the riverbank.
A wall of water more than ten meters high erupted where the two had just stood.
The river was completely cleaved in half.
Etched in the earth was a massive palm-shaped crater.
The water around it was pushed away by an invisible force, exposing the riverbed below.
"Wh… What kind of jutsu is this?!"
Kisame's eyes bulged.
If not for Itachi's quick reaction, he'd be a dead fish on the riverbed by now.
What terrified him more was how casually the boy had raised his hand, there was none of the usual buildup or dramatic signs of high-level jutsu.
But the resulting power far surpassed even many A- and S-rank techniques.
It was deceptively terrifying.
At that moment, water began to surge backward into the pit, where the palm print still carved deep into the riverbed. It sent chills down Kisame's spine.
"Not gona run?"
"Then I guess I'll keep going!"
Great Radiant Fist!
On the opposite bank, Natsuki kindly gave them a reminder, his playful expression like a cat toying with mice.
"Nani?! Another one?!"
"Chotto matte, wait!!"
Kisame raised a hand to stall him while leaping backward at full speed.
This time, blinding golden light erupted from the riverbank.
Holy crap, the last attack had no visual warning and was already insanely powerful.
This one had with such a flashy setup, how devastating was this going to be?
Kisame scrambled, tumbling and sliding, fingers flying into a blur of hand signs, trying to set up a second layer of defense.