In the forest, Itachi and Kabuto stood facing each other with swords in hand, their bodies tense, waiting for Nagasawa to announce the start before they would immediately make their moves.
Nagasawa observed the condition of the two and, after confirming that there was no problem, stepped back a little before quickly shouting, "Start!"
As if they shared an invisible understanding, the two charged out almost simultaneously, swinging their blades at each other.
Clang! The two rapidly moving blades collided, scattering sparks.
But what happened next was beyond Itachi's expectations. Suddenly, Kabuto's blade erupted with terrifying cold air, instantly freezing Itachi's blade, and the ice continued spreading toward Itachi. Itachi decisively abandoned the blade and retreated, avoiding being frozen along with it.
"As expected of you. I thought I could take advantage of you not knowing and end the battle directly." Kabuto threw the frozen blade to the ground and said somewhat regretfully.
"You've successfully developed Ice Release?" Itachi asked while breathing slightly heavily. Just now, it was because he had activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan that his observation ability had been greatly enhanced. Otherwise, given the speed at which Kabuto had frozen him just now, the best outcome would have been for only one arm to be frozen.
Previously, Kabuto had consciously worked on developing Ice Release, studying the fusion of Wind Release chakra nature transformation and Water Release chakra nature transformation, and had created some combination techniques.
"Ice Release? That's not wrong to say, but it's not merely Ice Release." Kabuto smiled as he approached Itachi.
Without a weapon in hand, Itachi naturally did not want to engage Kabuto in close combat. Itachi quickly took four shuriken from his ninja pouch and threw them at an extremely tricky angle, while taking the opportunity to increase the distance between them and simultaneously using the Shadow Clone Technique to create five shadow clones.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!" Three Uchiha Itachis simultaneously used the Great Fireball Technique, one large fireball accompanied by two smaller ones rapidly flying toward the approaching Kabuto.
Kabuto's Ice Breathing erupted, and the Ice-Ice Fruit activated. Cold air condensed around the blade. Without dodging, he directly froze the huge fireball fired by Itachi's main body.
Itachi's pupils contracted slightly, but he immediately forced himself to calm down and continued entangling with Kabuto, consecutively releasing large-scale Ninjutsu to obscure his vision.
Kabuto also pressed forward step by step, giving his close friend no opportunity whatsoever. His attacks were extremely fierce, with every slash aimed at Itachi's vital points. Anyone who did not know them would have thought the two were engaged in a life-and-death battle.
Very quickly, the four shadow clones on the battlefield were all cut down by Kabuto, while some frost also appeared on Itachi's main body.
At this moment, Itachi suddenly threw a large number of shuriken toward Kabuto again. Kabuto dodged slightly and continued chasing after Itachi.
But this time, Itachi did not retreat again. Instead, he engaged Kabuto with a kunai.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, Kabuto sensed danger coming from behind and immediately transformed his body into an elemental form. In the next instant, a sharp sword pierced through Kabuto's shoulder, but because Kabuto had already become elementalized, he was not injured.
"You've become more cunning." Kabuto sighed.
From the very beginning, when Itachi created five shadow clones, one shadow clone had been hiding in the darkness the entire time. Finally, when Itachi released Ninjutsu to block their vision, it used the Transformation Technique to turn into a shuriken, which Itachi threw out. The frozen blade had also been melted by the Great Fireball used by the shadow clone Itachi earlier.
Even during this process, in the final step, Itachi deliberately controlled the distance between them to create the subtle impression that Kabuto could catch up to him immediately, while the shuriken he threw also left plenty of space for quick evasive maneuvers.
"But it was useless." Itachi sighed softly. He was somewhat unable to understand the current Kabuto.
The sharp blade that had pierced Kabuto's body not only failed to injure him, nor did Kabuto have to dodge. Instead, cold air instantly traveled along the blade and froze the shadow clone.
Itachi was somewhat bewildered. In the short three minutes of their battle, Kabuto had displayed quite a few extraordinary things.
Ice Release, a new Breathing Style, and that Secret Technique that allowed him to evade attacks.
In contrast, aside from the Three-Tomoe Sharingan, he seemed to have only continuously improved his Sun Breathing without anything else.
Itachi took a deep breath. Sun Breathing erupted at full power, his Chakra circulation reaching its limit. Immediately afterward, a rapidly spinning large red fireball appeared in his hand.
During all that time, Itachi had not gained nothing. He had developed the Fire Release chakra nature transformation of the Rasengan and fused it with Sun Breathing. The power that erupted in an instant was extremely terrifying.
"I can't control the power of this next move. Be careful." Itachi warned before attacking.
The Fire Release chakra nature transformation of the Rasengan was already an extremely difficult technique with tremendous power that was hard to control. Combined with the enhancement of Sun Breathing, its power was even more unimaginable.
"Ice Breathing: Ice Age!" Hearing Itachi's words, Kabuto did not dare underestimate him. Chakra and Breathing Style erupted simultaneously, and the Ice-Ice Fruit's ability was pushed to its limit. Waves of terrifying cold air emerged from Kabuto's body, freezing the surrounding ground.
Huge chunks of ice continuously devoured every inch of ground between Itachi and Kabuto, while Itachi was completely unafraid. Holding the enormous blazing sun fireball, he smashed it toward Kabuto, the terrifying heat rapidly melting the ice that attempted to devour him.
Sizzle! Large amounts of ice evaporated, causing dense white mist to descend and adding a touch of mystery to the forest.
Finally, the white mist dispersed, while the huge blocks of ice on the ground seemed to indicate the victor.
"I still lost." Itachi said with a bitter smile. At this moment, the fireball in his hand had already gone out, and half of his body was frozen.
"You've already surprised me greatly. The Uchiha's Sharingan truly lives up to its reputation. With so much less time to train, you still didn't let me surpass you by much." Kabuto smiled as he removed the ice covering Itachi.
Although he still had some methods that he had not used during this battle, Itachi had not yet eaten the Devil Fruit Nagasawa had prepared for him. Kabuto felt that maintaining his advantage over Itachi would truly be difficult.
"What was that Secret Technique you used just now? It looks somewhat like the Hidden Mist's Water Transformation Technique, but I feel yours is stronger." Itachi asked.
During the battle just now, it was precisely because Kabuto ignored that stabbing attack that most of Itachi's preparations failed, causing him to immediately fall into a disadvantageous position.
"Actually, it isn't a Secret Technique. It's more like an ability, an ability I gained after eating a Devil Fruit." Kabuto said, then demonstrated his elementalization to Itachi again.
"Then your Ice Release?" Itachi looked at Kabuto in surprise, remembering the fire fist Sasuke had used before he left.
"Sasuke also ate that Devil Fruit?"
Kabuto nodded and said, "That's right. Sasuke also ate a Devil Fruit. He ate the Flame-Flame Fruit and gained the power to produce flames."
"No wonder." Itachi finally understood why Sasuke had said it was simple.
In his eyes, Sasuke had performed a hand-seal-less Ninjutsu, while in Sasuke's eyes, he had merely thrown an ordinary punch.
At this moment, Nagasawa came out and gave Itachi a detailed introduction to Devil Fruits.
"It's truly amazing, but why have I never heard of them?" Itachi asked somewhat doubtfully. He had traveled throughout the Land of Fire and had never heard of anything so miraculous.
"Why would you need to hear about it? Isn't it enough that they exist?" Nagasawa replied with a smile.
As he spoke, Nagasawa took out the Magma-Magma Fruit and handed it to Itachi, saying, "This Devil Fruit is for you. It's called the Magma-Magma Fruit, a powerful Devil Fruit on par with the Ice-Ice Fruit Kabuto possesses."
Nagasawa had basically spent all the points he had accumulated over the past year or so on Devil Fruits. The top-tier Devil Fruits were truly expensive.
He had exchanged the Ice-Ice Fruit for Kabuto, the Flame-Flame Fruit for Sasuke, the Op-Op Fruit for Orochimaru, the Gravity-Gravity Fruit for Obito, and the Clear-Clear Fruit for Kakashi. The Magma-Magma Fruit was specifically reserved for Itachi.
Nagasawa thought that once Itachi awakened Susanoo in the future, that combination of Magma Sun Breathing and Susanoo would definitely have an overwhelming presence.
Itachi took the fruit and curiously examined it several times. He felt that this miraculous fruit called a Devil Fruit was not only strange in its function, but also looked unusual.
"Just eat it directly. Remember to eat every last bit of it." As Itachi's close friend, Kabuto reminded him with a smile.
Kabuto still remembered the taste of Devil Fruits. He simply could not understand how something so awful-tasting could exist in this world.
Therefore, after seeing Itachi obtain a Devil Fruit, Kabuto did not hesitate to give him a friendly reminder. This unforgettable taste naturally had to be remembered together.
Itachi nodded and calmly took a bite of the Devil Fruit. That single bite immediately broke his stoic expression. He could no longer maintain his poker face, revealing an expression that was three parts surprise, three parts discomfort, three parts helplessness, and a trace of disbelief.
"It's a little unpleasant." Itachi said with a frown.
Kabuto smiled without speaking, secretly enjoying himself inwardly.
Even he had found it somewhat unbearable, but because of Kabuto's words, Itachi still forced himself to quickly finish the Magma-Magma Fruit.
Before long, Itachi, whose ability to control his body was extremely strong, noticed the changes taking place within his body.
With a slight movement of Itachi's mind, his flesh-and-blood right arm instantly transformed into burning, scorching magma.
Although his arm had transformed into magma, Itachi discovered that controlling the magma was actually even more flexible and convenient than controlling his flesh-and-blood arm.
Itachi aimed at the seven-to-eight-meter-high block of ice created by Kabuto and fired a mass of magma. The scorching magma rapidly melted the ice, and soon only a puddle of water remained, with no trace of the ice block.
"This ability seems to counter my Devil Fruit ability somewhat." Kabuto noticed a problem.
"There is no such thing as elemental advantage. As long as your ice is strong enough, it won't be magma melting ice, but your ice freezing magma." Nagasawa said.
"I'll remember this defeat. Five months from now, I'll defeat you." Itachi issued a challenge to Kabuto.
During these five months, he would train twice as hard, make up for everything he had missed before, and properly develop his Devil Fruit ability.
"I'll continue my winning streak." Kabuto's momentum did not diminish in the slightest, not intimidated by Itachi after he had eaten the Magma-Magma Fruit.
To preserve his status as the victor, Kabuto hurriedly went to train after casually eating some food. He would not rest until he had completely out-trained Itachi.
Although Itachi was also eager to develop his new abilities and strive to defeat Kabuto, he still had matters from his journey to discuss.
Nagasawa brought Itachi to a grassy area beside a small river, listening to Itachi recount everything he had seen along the way, as well as the doubts that had arisen during his journey.
"Why could a rumor that was simply fabricated eventually develop to that extent? Even I was almost influenced by it. Wouldn't the person who spread it at the beginning verify it? Why did those nobles, despite having such favorable conditions, take pleasure in tormenting people from the countryside…"
"Because most people are only looking for entertainment. They don't care whether the information is true or false; they only care whether it can amuse them. Not everyone is a Shinobi. On top of that, the person mentioned in the rumor really did have poor character. It was handled improperly, and eventually it kept escalating…" Nagasawa answered each question one by one.
"However, I think you've actually understood quite a lot already." Nagasawa said with a smile.
"People are simply too complicated." Itachi shook his head, feeling that he still did not understand enough.
There were idealists who would do anything for lofty ideals, as well as purely evil people who enjoyed doing things that harmed others without benefiting themselves. There were simply too many different kinds of people.
"It's good that you understand that. However, if you want world peace, it isn't actually that troublesome. Perhaps before long, peace will enter its next stage." Nagasawa said slowly.
The Shinobi World was currently at peace, but it was merely a peace centered around the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
......
After reaching an in-depth cooperation agreement with the Chakra Technology Company, satisfied, Nagato released Sugiyama Nagi. After all, he was merely a minor character who could be killed with one move. Nagato did not really care about him, and besides, the Chakra Technology Company had offered far too much.
Nagato did not care about Sugiyama Nagi, but Sugiyama Nagi cared very much about Nagato. After returning to the Kara organization, he hurriedly gave Isshiki a detailed report on all of Nagato's information.
This included Nagato's appearance, as well as his performance when using his powers and a whole series of other details.
When Sugiyama Nagi mentioned Nagato's eyes, a trace of surprise flashed across Isshiki's otherwise calm expression.
He had not expected the leader of this Light Shinobi Village to possess the Rinnegan, although it was merely the lowest-level purple Rinnegan.
This kind of Rinnegan would not appear in orthodox Otsutsuki. It could only appear in a bloodline one level lower.
However, this also made Isshiki feel a little regretful. Even the lowest-level Rinnegan indicated that the bearer possessed considerable talent while inheriting the power of the Otsutsuki bloodline, and there was a high possibility that he could serve as a vessel for his Kāma.
But Nagato's current strength was clearly not something his severely injured body could casually handle. Unless Isshiki was willing to release his power, but that would be suicide.
"This Yahiko of the Light Shinobi Village has great ambitions. I'm afraid it's not just the Light Shinobi Village and Frost Shinobi Village. The small Shinobi Villages that have shown unusual activity over the past two years are probably all connected to him." Sugiyama Nagi said solemnly.
Isshiki remained calm.
"Having ambition is a good thing. Perhaps we can use him to help us accomplish some things." Isshiki shook the red wine in his hand and said indifferently.
He did not care what ambitions Nagato had. He was merely an inferior Otsutsuki descendant.
At this moment, Dalsi, who was undercover in the Light Shinobi Village, brought them some good news.
Although Sugiyama Nagi had been discovered in the Light Shinobi Village, because he had only met Dalsi at the very beginning and had done so extremely secretly, Dalsi had not been exposed. Only Sugiyama Nagi himself had been caught by Nagato.