A blinding golden light formed into a massive fist.
It sped across the surface of the river, skimming over it with incredible speed.
The powerful force it carried tore a several-meter-deep trench into the water, sending waves exploding outward.
The momentum was terrifying.
"What the hell? This is the new generation genius from Konoha?"
"Are we sure he's not some old monster in a kid's skin? Like Kakuzu or Hidan or something?"
Kisame howled out loud.
He'd roamed the ninja world for so long, and it had been a long time since he'd encountered such a drastic disparity in battle.
The boy looked like a completely harmless young, and mild-mannered brat, but the moments he made were attacks that could blast a person to smithereens.
Kisame skimmed low across the river, sprinting forward at top speed.
But he still couldn't escape the golden light's range of attack.
He had no choice but to repeatedly use the Body Flicker, desperately trying to reach the outskirts of the blast zone.
The golden fist-shadow caught up and slammed violently into the path Kisame had initially taken to flee.
BOOM!
A small mushroom cloud rose into the air.
A hundred-meter radius around the impact zone collapsed and exploded, leaving three massive craters along the riverbank.
"Ahhh…"
A murder of crows gathered on a broken tree trunk nearby, reforming into the figure of Uchiha Itachi.
"This guy… is he really just someone from Sasuke's generation?"
Itachi's long-cold and aloof expression finally shifted, his eyes widened slightly, and his face filled with shock.
Throughout the ninja world, every nation had produced its share of prodigies over the years.
Even he had once been hailed as one of Konoha's brightest stars.
He had awakened the Mangekyō Sharingan at a young age, an ability that sent chills down the spines of countless ninja.
But compared to the boy before him, even Itachi felt a little overshadowed. How could he not be, the boy was casually wiping out casually wiping out everything with a wave of his hand.
According to the intelligence they had received before, this guy still had many bizarre abilities he hadn't even used yet.
It looked like the intel needed a serious update. Natsuki's danger level had to be raised by at least three tiers.
"Kisame, are you alright?"
Itachi called out toward the massive, smoke-filled crater.
The entire landscape in this area had been warped beyond recognition.
River water began to surge back violently into the pit.
"Cough, cough… I nearly saw the Pure Land flash before my eyes."
Kisame burst out from the edge of the crater, dirt flying everywhere.
He was a complete mess and was covered in soot and dirt.
Even the iconic black cloak with red clouds had been ripped in several places.
The swagger he had shown earlier after taking down Konoha's Jonin, had completely vanished.
"Not bad. If I took care of both of you in two hits, it'd be too boring."
Natsuki's indifferent voice rang out again.
Kisame quickly turned toward the source of the voice.
He saw that terrifying boy floating in mid-air.
His position was just above the smoke and dust, now swirling and distorting in the wind.
From that height, he had a clear line of sight to both Itachi and Kisame.
The boy raised his hand once more.
"What?! Again?!"
Kisame's eyes widened in panic.
He quickly formed hand signs and cast the Water Clone Jutsu.
Over a dozen "Kisames" appeared instantly and began to scatter in all directions—
Great Compassion Palm: Lightshow version!
Buzz!!
BOOM!!
A massive golden palm imprint smashed down, obliterating all of Kisame's water clones into misty debris.
Universal pull!
A powerful gravitational force locked onto the real Kisame, dragging him helplessly into the air.
Kisame had just tried to dodge the palm strike by using the Body Flicker Technique and leaping into the air.
But now, completely unprepared, his entire body was yanked skyward, flying straight toward Natsuki's position.
"WHAT?! Itachi-san, save me!"
He saw the golden light gathering once more around the boy, knowing full wel how fast the boys jutsu could be formed without even hand seals.
There wasn't enough time for him to unleash a high-level jutsu.
Even a faster, weaker jutsu from the boy would leave him seriously injured.
Left with no other option, Kisame cried out for backup while rapidly forming hand signs, bracing himself to take the hit head-on.
Tsukuyomi.
Itachi had already anticipated the follow-up attack after Natsuki launched the Palm attack.
He opened his Mangekyō Sharingan once again.
Using the swarm of crows still in the air to draw Natsuki's gaze, he immediately cast Tsukuyomi.
Suddenly, Natsuki felt his entire field of vision begin to subtly tint red.
Moments later, that crimson hue engulfed everything.
Even sound and color were stripped away, leaving behind a world of only black, white, and blood red.
"So this is Tsukuyomi, huh? Interesting."
Suspended midair, Natsuki murmured calmly, as if frozen in place by some sort of binding technique.
The powerful gravitational force pulling Kisame upward also faded silently.
"Ha… haha, Itachi-san, I knew I could count on you!
"I broke free from his control! Alright, now it's my turn to go on the offensive. I'm gonna teach this brat a lesson he won't forget!"
Kisame let out a hearty laugh, thrilled beyond belief. As he began forming hand signs, he turned back to report his success to Uchiha Itachi.
Only to see blood tears trickling from Itachi's right eye, his face twisted like he was suffering from intense constipation.
"Kisame… run. I can't hold this for long."
Itachi, eyes strained and sweating cold, struggled to maintain the illusion world of Tsukuyomi with everything he had.
This scene sent a chill straight down Kisame's spine.
Just earlier, when he'd been caught and about to be wrecked, his loud shouting had still been mostly to make his opponent lower his guard.
After all, it had been a while since he'd been forced back in a fight, and honestly, that kind of pressure just got his blood pumping.
But this? This was something else entirely.
He had never seen Itachi like this before.
The Mangekyō Sharingan was feared across the ninja world for good reason.
Itachi had easily subdued even the unstable Deidara with nothing more than a simple genjutsu.
And now, Tsukuyomi, one of the strongest illusions in the world, couldn't even restrain the kid.
Kisame quickly turned his gaze skyward toward Natsuki.
The boy floated in the air, his left eye glowing gold, his right an ocean blue.
And shockingly, unlike others under Tsukuyomi, his eyes weren't lifeless or hollow at all…
In that golden left eye, the crimson world of Tsukuyomi was clearly reflected.
And in the ocean blue of his right, Kisame's own figure was mirrored.
This discovery made Kisame feel like his soul had just leapt out of his body.
Water Style: Water Dragon Bullet Jutsu!
Without hesitation, he launched the prepared Water Style technique at Natsuki.
Great Compassion Palm!
With just a casual wave of Natsuki's hand, the incoming water dragon exploded into a shower of glittering rain.
"Itachi-san… I don't think he's caught in your Tsukuyomi–!"
Kisame's hoarse voice rose into an almost glass-scraping screech.
Almighty Push!
Before the words completely left Kisame's mouth, a glint of blue light flashed across Natsuki's right eye.
An immense repulsive force exploded forth from his Tenseigan, slamming into Kisame and sending his entire body rocketing downward.
Like a missile, he pierced the air and crashed into the earth.
BOOM!
The impact shattered the ground like a spiderweb.
"Hmph, In the face of my true Evil King's Eye, all illusions are mere falsehoods.
"If I hadn't wanted to experience Tsukuyomi firsthand, I could've broken free of your genjutsu in a hundred different ways."
The boy's detached voice drifted down from above, pressing heavily on Itachi.
And the terrifying part was… he wasn't bluffing.
Tsukuyomi hadn't ended. It was still draining Itachi's chakra and ocular energy like a whirlpool.
But the enemy was still moving freely, enough to send Kisame crashing into the ground like that.
He just hoped Kisame, with his tanky body, wasn't dead.
And what in the bloody hell was this Evil King's Eye?
Itachi, with the Sharingan's keen perception, could clearly see the boy's two different eyes even from afar.
Astonishingly, Tsukuyomi's entire illusion world was somehow being contained inside his golden left eye.
What kind of dojutsu was this?
Could there really be an eye in this world that surpassed even the Mangekyō Sharingan, besides the Rinnegan possessed by their Akatsuki leader?
"This illusion world of yours is kinda ugly. Let me fix it for you."
Raising a single finger high, the boy looked down with oppressive dominance and declared:
"Let there be light."
A faint golden glow lit up at the tip of his finger.
Then, it grew brighter. And brighter.
Fourth Style: Buddha's Light Illuminates All!
This was the only technique among the The Five Techniques of Tathagata that had no offensive power, but its powerful support abilities made it a weapon of war all the same.
Under its light, allies could shake off fatigue, restore stamina, and gain a surge in courage and morale.
Enemies, meanwhile, would have their resolve shattered.
Now, it was somehow being used… to dispel genjutsu.
The golden light seemed to pierce both illusion and reality, tinting even the monochrome world of Tsukuyomi in gold.
"Tch—!"
An intense, needle-like pain, like being stabbed thousands of times, ripped through Itachi's spirit.
He cried out and was forced to immediately halt his Tsukuyomi.
Above him, the radiant golden light showed no signs of fading, on the contrary, it was still intensifying.
"Cough… this guy… he really is just like Leader Pain!
"Don't tell me he's the leader's Konoha Clone!"