However, Itachi wasn't an ordinary Uchiha. He was Itachi Uchiha. Though he might not be able to defeat Danzo without his sight, he could at least hold his ground momentarily with his eyes closed, preventing sand from entering them and showing Danzo that he wouldn't fall easily.
Danzo assumed Itachi was still concealed within the dust cloud since his Sharingan had detected no movement.
He inhaled deeply, preparing to scatter the sand—directly into Itachi's eyes.
[Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!]
Itachi's Fire Release met Danzo's Wind Release head-on, transforming the fireball into a blazing vortex. As it roared toward Danzo, its intensity exceeded anything he'd ever seen before.
As the flames consumed him completely, swirling violently, the sand gradually dispersed, revealing Danzo still standing there, calm as ever.
"So you're serious this time," his voice reverberated through the air.
"I can't afford to expend chakra on someone like you, Danzo," Itachi said.
With the dust now gone, fully clad in Susanoo emerged into view. "Fortunately, I've completely recovered from my last battle... My illness has gone into temporary remission."
Itachi's illness—an incurable disease he'd contracted back when he was still a Konoha ninja. Not even his own clan knew about it because he refused to let anyone discover such a fatal weakness. Even the Hokage at the time had been unaware.
The only reason Danzo knew was because he made it his business to uncover everyone's secrets. That was exactly what Root existed for—to dig up information.
This illness affected Itachi's stamina, his chakra reserves, and in certain ways, even environmental conditions, climate, and weather could impact him. Countless variables—it was incredibly inconvenient.
And yet, this only proved how extraordinary Itachi's strength and talent truly were. Despite his poor health, he'd still become such a powerful ninja.
As the massive flaming warrior enveloped Itachi entirely, Danzo appeared again, gazing up at the setting sun above the sandy terrain.
After observing the fight between Naruto, Itachi, and Sasuke, he had certainly taken one to heart. He now knew exactly what needed to be done—he just needed an opportunity.
##Meanwhile – Mount Myoboku##
Naruto sat inside Shima and Fukasaku's house, gathering his resolve for tomorrow's training.
Both he and Jiraiya were waiting for Shima to finish dinner.
They utterly despised the meals made by that old frog, but what could they do?
Naruto saw swallowing the terrible food as a trial of willpower, while Jiraiya would barely suppress his tears each time they dined.
Suddenly, Naruto clenched his teeth and slammed the table. "Damn it! What an idiot I am!"
His abrupt outburst startled Jiraiya, who had nearly dozed off while waiting for dinner.
"What's eating at you, kid? What problem are you facing?"
Naruto groaned, burying his head in his arms. "It's just my usual case of 20/20 hindsight flaring up again," he said, continuing after a pause, "When I fought Sasuke and Itachi, I faced his ultimate technique—Susanoo."
"And then?" Jiraiya asked, trying to get him to elaborate.
He had already heard Naruto's description of that battle before—it sounded like a fierce fight. "Tell me, kid, what new insights do you have about that fight?"
Naruto straightened up, tapping his fingers on the table. "My approach when attacking Susanoo was idiotic… I went straight at him, but had no chance of breaking through to Itachi."
Jiraiya rubbed his nose. "That's normal, kid. You, me, anyone—we couldn't penetrate Itachi's Susanoo and that strange shield."
"That's exactly the problem…" Naruto said with a frown. "If I avoid a frontal assault, I can break through his defense. That shield blocked me, but otherwise, I could've cut through it like butter."
Fighting back a wave of nausea, Jiraiya brought the conversation back on track. "So you're saying you could've won that fight without getting defeated like that?" Naruto nodded. "Wow. Do you think Itachi even realized this weakness existed?"
Naruto shook his head.
"Then who else would test it out with Susanoo? He probably used it just to practice attacking and perfecting that shield…" Other than that, he might not even realize Susanoo had a massive weakness I failed to exploit at the time—I'm talking about besides the chakra required to maintain Susanoo. In its full form, Susanoo nearly immobilized him completely; other than those slow, heavy steps, he couldn't move at all."
Jiraiya's confused expression showed he barely followed what Naruto was explaining.
Suddenly inspired, Naruto thought of using a genjutsu on Jiraiya with the Sharingan. This was the only Genjutsu technique Danzo had ever passed down to him.
A few minutes later, Jiraiya awoke from the illusion, experiencing the final moments of the battle through Naruto's eyes, finally grasping Naruto's explanation. "You mean…" Jiraiya's eyes widened.
"Exactly!" Naruto cut in, already knowing exactly what the old sage was going to say. "When Itachi uses Susanoo, his movement speed drops compared to normal—it's like he's lugging it around. If someone were fast enough and had enough space to maneuver behind Susanoo, Itachi wouldn't have time to turn around and counterattack."
Susanoo's massive body could easily catch enemies with its giant sword, possessing an astonishing attack range.
"Damn it…" Naruto sighed. "I figured it all out way too late. It's useless now."
Looking outside, Naruto gazed as the setting sun bathed Mount Myoboku in deep shades of crimson.
Not understanding why such a melancholy thought came to him, he quickly shook off the thought.
******
Kisame grinned, facing two enemies who still hadn't flinched. But he also knew they had practically no chance of laying a hand on him.
Still, they drew their tantos and threw everything they had into it, trying to bring Kisame down. Moving in perfect sync, they fought desperately to take him down.
However, Kisame had once been a member of the Seven Swords of the Bloody Mist—the most powerful swordsmen in the world. These two opponents were at best journeyman swordsmen; the gap in strength was simply too vast.
"Ah!" Fu cried out in pain as his chest was slashed, the scales of Samehada ripping through his clothes and stomach muscles.
Torune tried to charge, but Samehada blocked his attack. Seeing the opening, Kisame spun and launched a spinning kick that sent Torune flying.
"C'mon, girls!" Kisame taunted. "Show me your real skills already! I'm getting bored of this little game!"
They never stood a chance. At this rate, they wouldn't last a minute against Kisame.
It was obvious that Kisame wasn't taking them seriously at all. He was just toying with them, not trying to kill—since he knew Itachi could handle Danzo alone.
"This desert is such a pain," Kisame said casually. "It's way too dry here, not a drop of water anywhere."
With that, he formed the Snake seal. [Water Release: Bursting Waterfall Technique!]
Kisame opened his mouth wide and spewed a massive torrent of water, forming a huge wave that surged toward Fu and Torune.
Faced with the roaring tidal wave, the two could only flee in desperation once again, just like at the start of the battle.
This time, though, dodging Kisame's blade wasn't enough—they also had to escape the crashing wave itself.
Seeing the two Root ninja desperately scrambling through the surging floodwaters, Kisame found it highly amusing.
He gave a self-mocking chuckle and formed the Tora seal. [Water Clone Jutsu!]
Ten Kisame clones rose from the wave and charged straight at Fu and Torune.
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