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Raiga could not believe it. This was his sword—the one given to him because he was a legendary Shinobi. A legendary blade. It wasn't supposed to be possible... How could it be? His mind raced to come up with some theory, some explanation. Maybe it was a genjutsu. Maybe this was all a lie.
Desperately, Raiga brought his hands together.
"Release! Release!" he yelled, trying his best over and over.
But it was already too late. He wasn't under a genjutsu.
Naruto simply looked at Raiga with pity. The man had some power, sure—but like most shinobi, he relied too heavily on his weapon rather than true skill. Naruto shook his head, then vanished in a blur. A moment later, his fist collided with Raiga's face, sending him flying through the air and crashing hard into the ground.
Raiga had no skills beyond his sword. It was impressive, yes, but not versatile. Naruto sighed, unimpressed, while Itachi watched from the side in quiet shock.
After all, the Seven Swords of the Mist were said to be indestructible. Even the Executioner's Blade—the weakest of the seven—could regenerate. And Kisame Hoshigaki's sword, Samehada, was legendary. Yet here Raiga lay: unconscious, defeated, and his supposed "indestructible" sword shattered into fragments.
Itachi stared at Naruto.
Was he really just a kid? No... he was beginning to look like a legend in the making.
Nearby, a trembling boy approached Raiga's broken body. He ran toward him, crying, shaking him, pleading.
"We can still get away... We can still make it out... We can fix this..."
But Raiga, barely conscious, gave the boy a small shake of his head.
"Don't worry about me," he muttered. "Just... survive."
With that, he passed out. The boy collapsed over Raiga's body, sobbing.
Itachi and Naruto both watched the scene silently. A faint flicker of pity crossed their hearts—but they both knew the truth. Raiga had been a shinobi... and had done terrible things. No amount of grief could change that He had to be taken in, no matter what.
The two shared a brief look. Itachi gave a small nod, then swiftly used his dōjutsu to knock the boy unconscious before he had a chance to activate any hidden abilities. With that, the mission was complete. They began making their way back to Konoha.
However, far away, deep within a shadowed cave, a lone Sharingan eye throbbed with pain. Its owner, wearing a mask, looked toward a white, plant-like figure rising from the earth.
"So… what about the boy I told you about?" the masked man asked coldly. "The one who can counter both the Sharingan and the Byakugan?"
The plant man, Zetsu, responded. "His name is Ranmaru. He was last seen with Raiga, but it looks like one of the Konoha shinobi has captured them."
The masked man—Obito Uchiha—shook his head. "Use force. Send Kisame and Kakuzu after them."
Zetsu blinked. "Are you serious? Both of them? Isn't that a bit of overkill?"
Obito's voice was sharp. "I don't care. Just get it done. If they have bounties on their heads, Kakuzu will be more than happy."
Black Zetsu let out a low chuckle. "We're talking about two major names here—Itachi Uchiha, the prodigy, and Naruto Namikaze, the son of the Fourth Hokage."
Obito's Sharingan spun in its socket. "Naruto Namikaze… I've heard of that boy."
Zetsu nodded. "So what now?"
Obito paused, considering. "Send Kisame and Kakuzu. I'll be watching the battle closely. If Itachi impresses me, I might extend him an offer to join our organization. I'm confident he'll agree. After all… I have plans for him."
He turned, a cruel smirk barely visible beneath his mask.
"As for Naruto Namikaze… it seems my old sensei had a son. A shame he's no longer in Konoha. Or rather… soon to be dead. I'd love to see the look on the Fourth's face when he realizes his prodigy's son is gone."
Black Zetsu interjected, "Are you sure? That kid's power is no joke."
Obito scoffed. "No matter how strong he may be, Kisame and Kakuzu are stronger than that boy could ever hope to be in a thousand years."
Zetsu stayed silent after that.
Meanwhile, Itachi and Naruto were already on their way back to Konoha. They had sealed away the unconscious body of Raiga, while Itachi carried Ranmaru on his back. Naruto moved at a casual pace, scanning the area ahead.
Suddenly, Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Itachi-sensei," he said quietly, "I feel three chakra signatures approaching."
Itachi turned his head slightly. "Can you determine their chakra levels?"
Naruto frowned, then responded, "All three are A-rank. Strong."
Itachi's eyes widened slightly, and he let out a sharp breath. "Damn it. Could it be Iwagakure again?"
He reached beneath his cloak to prepare.
"How close are they?" he asked.
Naruto replied calmly, "They'll reach us in about 30 seconds. There's no route to escape, no way to avoid a confrontation."
Itachi glanced around quickly, then exhaled. "No choice. We'll take them here."
Naruto nodded with a slight grin. Itachi noticed the confidence—or perhaps cockiness—on Naruto's face.
Naruto was eager. His last fight, against Raiga, had ended too quickly and left him disappointed. Raiga's battle style, while unusual, didn't excite him. But this… this was different. These incoming enemies, while still nothing compared to his full strength, might offer a bit of fun if he held back.
Even though he could crush them easily with his true power, Naruto had no intention of going all-out—especially with Itachi watching.
In an instant, two figures appeared before them. Naruto immediately noticed the third presence—one that wasn't quite… there. He could vaguely sense the signature, as if the person was trapped between dimensions, neither fully in this world nor completely out of it.
Naruto narrowed his eyes. I'll deal with that one when the time is right, he thought.
He turned his attention to the two who had appeared.
Itachi's face darkened as he cursed under his breath.
Before them stood Kisame Hoshigaki and Kakuzu—two infamous rogue shinobi. Kisame, the Monster of the Hidden Mist, wielded the massive Samehada sword. Kakuzu, the immortal shinobi of Takigakure, was said to have fought the First Hokage and survived.
Naruto and Itachi exchanged a glance.
This wasn't going to be easy.
"So," Kisame began, smirking, "to what do we owe the pleasure of this meeting?"
Kakuzu remained stoic, while Kisame's shark-like grin widened. "You must be the Uchiha brat our leader mentioned. Quite interesting."
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "Speak."
Kisame chuckled. "We're part of an organization called the Akatsuki. We're here to offer you a proposition—an invitation to join us. You may not be as strong now, but with us, you'll reach your full potential. What do you say, Itachi Uchiha?"
Itachi's Sharingan flared slightly. "You already know my answer."
Kisame smirked. "I was hoping you'd say that."
Without warning, he swung Samehada toward Itachi's head. Itachi swiftly activated his Sharingan, trying to counter, but Kisame's sheer strength broke through the illusion.
Then Kakuzu turned toward Naruto. "So you're the son of the Fourth Hokage, huh? You've got quite the bounty in Iwagakure. It would be my pleasure to collect it."
He stepped forward slowly, chakra flaring. "I could've waited... but rumors say you're already an active shinobi. And you might become a problem for us later. So I'll eliminate you now—before you become a threat."
With that, Kakuzu charged at Naruto.
Naruto didn't flinch. Instead, he calmly observed Kakuzu's movements.
This guy's energy is... unstable, Naruto thought. There are five distinct concentrations of chakra inside his body.
He watched closely as Kakuzu rushed forward, and noticed how energy was being funneled from a specific point in his body.
It's mostly Yin-type chakra... dark, oppressive, Naruto noted, using his ability to sense any and all kinds of energy in a person, regardless of whether that person used chakra or ki.
Naruto simply looked toward Kakuzu and vanished. Just as Kakuzu prepared to strike, he suddenly froze—the boy's arm was already passing through his chest. His eyes widened as he felt his chakra vanishing. Naruto had pierced one of the masks embedded in his body, destroying a heart. The chakra that had once fueled it was now gone.
Kakuzu quickly jumped back, glaring at Naruto with as much hatred as he could muster. He removed his cloak in rage.
Even Obito, who was observing the battle from afar—more focused on Itachi's side of the fight—paused for a moment. Itachi was dealing with Kisame efficiently, using a combination of genjutsu and precise counters. The battle was clearly one-sided. Kisame, despite his brute strength, was no match for the Uchiha prodigy's finesse.
But then Obito's eyes narrowed.
One of Kakuzu's masks—his heart vessels—was destroyed.
Kakuzu snarled. "Do you have any idea what you've done, brat?!"
Naruto stared calmly. "One of the energy signatures from your body has been destroyed… That leaves four masks. Each one has a different chakra signature, meaning each one came from a different shinobi. Your original body is dead, isn't it? Your life is sustained by those stolen hearts."
Kakuzu's expression turned murderous.
Never before had someone deduced the secret of his immortality so quickly. Most shinobi only tried to overpower him, but this boy had sensed the truth with ease—each of his hearts held a unique chakra signature, completely different from his own. Despite being embedded in his body, none of them originated from him.
A grin came to Naruto's face—he was actually enjoying this.
"I wonder…" he muttered, then suddenly vanished from the sight of both Obito and Kakuzu.
Obito's eyes widened in shock as a head slammed into his chest, knocking the wind out of him. Something ruptured inside his body. Obito cursed under his breath. The kid moved so fast I couldn't even track him…
Despite using his Mangekyō Sharingan and phasing partially into the Kamui dimension, Obito had only barely seen a blur. Is he using Hiraishin? Or some other technique? He narrowed his eyes, focusing his Sharingan to analyze Naruto's movement. If I can decipher it… I might be able to replicate it.
Meanwhile, one of the elemental masks embedded in Kakuzu's body—the one representing water—was forming. Naruto noticed black tendrils trying to wrap around his body. In a blink, he crushed the mask's head, shattering it completely.
Kakuzu glared at him furiously as three more masks burst from his back.
"I've had enough of this!"
The fire mask began to gather flames in its mouth. The wind mask powered up as well, while the lightning mask hovered overhead, crackling with energy.
All three launched their attacks simultaneously. Wind amplified fire, which surged forth and merged with lightning—creating a blazing, electrified stream of destruction aimed directly at Naruto.
Kakuzu smirked. "Let's see what you'll do now, brat. This has the speed of lightning. No way you can dodge it."
Obito also watched with anticipation. "He's fast," he muttered, "but no one's faster than lightning."
To their shock, Naruto didn't move.
He raised a single hand toward the incoming elemental torrent.
"Huh?" Kakuzu narrowed his eyes. "Arrogant fool."
That's it, Obito thought. Caught off guard. It's over now… That bounty is mine.
The massive wave of energy crashed into Naruto, the impact exploding in a storm of flames and lightning. Dust and debris clouded the area.
Kakuzu smirked as he looked into the smoke. "That's it. A direct hit."
Even Obito allowed a rare grin to spread beneath his mask.
That kid's finished…