"Clang!"
"Bang--"
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Shihouin Naraku seemed to teleport as he withstood Uchiha Itachi's Three Tomoe Sharingan genjutsu. With Kurikara in hand, he slashed down swiftly.
Hoshigaki Kisame drew his great sword, Samehada, in an instant and moved to shield Uchiha Itachi. Sparks flew as the two weapons collided.
"Fire Style: Great Fire—"
Uchiha Itachi reacted quickly. When he realized the genjutsu had no effect at all, he rapidly formed hand signs and concentrated his chakra in his throat, ready to release a massive fireball.
But before he could complete the hand seals, Shihouin Naraku struck him with a flaming fist, knocking him backwards.
Itachi's Great Fireball Technique was interrupted before he could release it.
Then Shihouin Naraku raised his foot and kicked Hoshigaki Kisame in the abdomen. The strange burst of force sent him flying backwards.
"Ugh!"
Blood spurted from Kisame's mouth as he was launched through the air, ploughing a long trench in the ground before crashing hard into an unfinished building.
A tremendous roar echoed as the structure shook, thick smoke and dust rising around the impact.
"Clang!"
Shihouin Naraku held his breath and, gripping his sharp blade, pursued Hoshigaki Kisame with another slash from bottom to top.
"Clang!"
Amid scattered sparks, sharp spikes were flung away.
A strange animal sound emerged from the smoke. Shihouin Naraku waved his left hand, and the air swept the smoke and dust away.
"Hmm?"
Shihouin Naraku stared at the great sword Samehada, which had been covered with bandages but had now been completely transformed. Samehada was now covered with barbs and had swollen into a fat, menacing fish-like form, its sharp teeth clenched.
This was truly a living weapon with its own will!
Samehada's long handle connected to Hoshigaki Kisame's palm like a rope, transferring a large amount of stored chakra to him. At the same time, Kisame was rapidly recovering from the injury caused by the kick to his abdomen.
Samehada, positioned protectively in front of Hoshigaki Kisame, roared at Shihouin Naraku, its fangs flashing coldly. Several severed barbs were clearly visible on its body.
These had been cut off during the collision with Kurikara moments ago!
Kurikara's extremely sharp black blade surpassed any other weapon.
Despite Samehada's eagerness to protect its master, Shihouin Naraku attacked again. The blade flashed with a shrill whistle as Kurikara slashed downward with lightning speed!
"Clang!"
"Puff!"
Hoshigaki Kisame would not admit defeat easily. He gripped Samehada and blocked Kurikara at the most dangerous moment, but as his injuries hadn't fully healed, he couldn't help but cough up blood.
"Oh?"
Shihouin Naraku raised an eyebrow, grasped Kurikara's handle with his right hand, and began to apply more force. The blade cut into Samehada little by little.
Hoshigaki Kisame gritted his teeth and used all his strength to try lifting Samehada up, but Shihouin Naraku gradually pressed him down.
"A traitor ninja from Konohagakure! A rogue ninja from Kirigakure!" Naraku said. "You appear in the Land of Fire. What are you planning?"
"Oh..."
Hoshigaki Kisame displayed an ugly smile and showed no intention of answering.
"Sizzle—"
Shihouin Naraku slightly moved his wrist. Chakra burst forth as crackling lightning instantly wrapped around the blade. Samehada let out a painful roar.
"Lightning Style: Supersonic Blade!"
With the ultra-high frequency vibration induced by Lightning Style, Kurikara's already superior sharpness and penetrating power were further enhanced. The blade cut deeply into Samehada's body, just one step away from slicing through completely.
"Swish, swish..."
Several shurikens quickly flew through the air, colliding and changing direction to attack from Shihouin Naraku's blind spot.
Such precise throwing technique with ninja tools was naturally an Uchiha clan's speciality.
Facing the incoming attack, Shihouin Naraku remained in place, holding Kurikara with one hand and pressing down. He seemed determined to finish Hoshigaki Kisame even if it meant taking serious injury himself.
But then Shihouin Naraku tilted his head slightly, lowered his shoulders, and pressed his upper body forward, easily dodging all the shuriken aimed at his blind spots.
Hoshigaki Kisame, under tremendous pressure, held Samehada with both hands to resist. He involuntarily turned to look at Uchiha Itachi.
How could his opponent be so accurate?
After being partners for so long, this was the first time Hoshigaki Kisame had seen all of Uchiha Itachi's thrown weapons prove ineffective.
Are you two from Konohagakure practising to kill an honest man like me? he wondered.
Shihouin Naraku glanced at Uchiha Itachi. The Three Tomoe in his scarlet pupils had transformed into a pinwheel pattern, and two lines of blood tears were slowly falling down his face.
A red, bone-like structure had just dissipated from around Uchiha Itachi's body!
Shihouin Naraku recognized Susanoo, the power house in the Mangekyō Sharingan. It could use ocular power to materialize massive chakra, forming a burly warrior god for both offence and defence.
Just now, Uchiha Itachi had relied on Susanoo to block Shihouin Naraku's fire fist, preventing injury.
"Amaterasu!"
Seeing that his genjutsu had failed, Uchiha Itachi opened his right eye and activated another Mangekyō Sharingan ability: Amaterasu!
Amaterasu produced black flames powerful enough to burn anything, flames that would never extinguish. Instantly, half of Shihouin Naraku's body holding Kurikara was engulfed.
Uchiha Itachi exhaled sharply, grimacing in pain as he covered his right eye. A line of blood tears flowed down involuntarily.
"Amaterasu that can never burn people to death?" Shihouin Naraku mocked.
He seemed to feel no pain from the burning and continued holding the sharp blade with one hand, still suppressing Hoshigaki Kisame!
Looking down at the black flames consuming half his body, Shihouin Naraku felt a strange sensation.
A Mera-Mera Fruit user that no one wants to fight meets Amaterasu's flames that can never seem to kill anyone!
Uchiha Itachi stared in shock at Shihouin Naraku being consumed by black flames. The man's completely unconcerned attitude showed that Amaterasu had caused no damage whatsoever.
But how was this possible?
Hoshigaki Kisame remained pinned down, unable to move while also being threatened by Amaterasu's black flames.
Isn't this strength a bit outrageous? He thought.
"Ahem... How about you all show some restraint and stop fighting?"
Just as the three were about to engage in an even fiercer battle, an elderly woman slowly walked forward and addressed them.
"At least don't fight in this area. This is where the children live."
Granny Cat looked at the three combatants, followed by numerous ninja cats with fierce gleams in their eyes.
Hearing this, everyone present turned to Shihouin Naraku.
Obviously, unless he agreed, the battle would continue.
Suddenly, Shihouin Naraku's handsome face broke into a smile. "Since Granny Cat has spoken, of course, there's no problem."
After saying this, he began withdrawing his strength. Kurikara danced through the air in a flourish before returning to its sheath with a "clang."
As if no battle had occurred at all, without concern for whether Hoshigaki Kisame might launch a surprise attack, he walked toward Granny Cat.
As he walked away, orange-red flames began igniting across his entire body, enveloping Amaterasu's black flames before falling to the ground.
Remarkably, Shihouin Naraku's body showed no injuries whatsoever!
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