Tsukuyomi.
It was the ultimate genjutsu, cast by Itachi Uchiha through his Mangekyo Sharingan.
"Welcome to my world," Itachi stated calmly. "Here, I control all of space, time, and mass. It doesn't matter how strong your body is, or how fast you are. Before Tsukuyomi, it is all meaningless."
"In this place, you will experience pain beyond your wildest imagination. But rest assured, no matter how much time passes in here, only a single second will have elapsed in the outside world."
Itachi took a step forward, his voice cold.
But to his surprise, there was no fear in Naruto's eyes.
Instead, Naruto simply asked, "Why have you come to Konoha this time?"
Itachi paused, a flicker of astonishment in his eyes.
"Instead of worrying about that, you should be more concerned with your own well-being," Itachi said coldly.
"My well-being?" A soft laugh escaped Naruto's lips.
"I think you've made a mistake about something." Before Itachi's shocked and disbelieving gaze, the shackles binding Naruto's limbs suddenly clicked open. Naruto stepped calmly away from the cross, rolling his wrists and looking up with a gentle smile.
"From the very beginning, your Tsukuyomi has been nothing more than a stage prop in my presence. All I did was play along with your little performance. And now, the show is over. You can…"
"Kneel."
As the word left his lips, Naruto's eyes turned sharp and piercing. An endless torrent of Reiatsu erupted from his body, and the entire Tsukuyomi world began to crumble with unstoppable force.
"You—!" Itachi felt as if his entire body was being crushed, his breathing becoming sluggish and difficult.
He stared at Naruto in horror, his eyes filled with disbelief. He had never imagined that the Naruto of today possessed the ability to break his Tsukuyomi.
Tap.
Naruto walked forward, the sound of his footsteps crisp and clear, his tone mocking.
"The genius rogue ninja of the Uchiha clan. The man who slaughtered his own people, leaving only his little brother, Sasuke, alive. Why have you come to Konoha this time? Who could your objective be? Let me guess." Naruto stopped directly in front of Itachi.
Itachi's eyes widened as he desperately tried to mobilize the chakra in his body. But for some reason, it felt as if his chakra had solidified, refusing to move. Even his prized Tsukuyomi had become Naruto's plaything.
He subconsciously touched his eye, but the feedback from his Sharingan told him that Tsukuyomi was still active. He turned his head, only to see the world at the farthest edges beginning to slowly disintegrate. The pieces of his reality were crumbling into fragments, falling into a hellscape of molten lava below.
Did that terrifying power seize control of my Tsukuyomi?
Itachi couldn't understand it. Even if his Tsukuyomi was overpowered, it should have simply shattered and dissipated. It shouldn't be behaving in this bizarre manner. His eyes told him everything was normal, but what he saw and felt was the undeniable reality:
His Tsukuyomi was now under Naruto's complete control.
"To be looking around during a battle… your talent for getting distracted is truly worthy of a Konoha genius," Naruto said mildly, before stomping his foot down and pinning Itachi to the ground.
Sizzle.
Itachi's face was pressed against the searing-hot ground. The sharp, burning pain sent a wave of fury through him. Not since defecting from Konoha had he ever suffered such a humiliation.
The feeling brought him back to that night.
He, too, had once pinned his beloved little brother under his foot, taunting him with cruel words:
"My foolish little brother. Run like a dog. Live in fear. Only when you have these same eyes as I do should you come back to me."
Now, the tables had turned.
Is Naruto doing this to stand up for Sasuke? As Naruto's best friend, Sasuke's strength must be considerable by now.
"I never thought you'd already have the ability to break Tsukuyomi," Itachi said, his tone complex.
"Tsukuyomi? Is it really all that?" Naruto tilted his head. "But you… now that you've destroyed the Uchiha clan, why come back? Are you aware that Sasuke has only just managed to earn the Third Hokage's trust? Your appearance could easily change the current situation. I imagine you wouldn't want your precious little brother to be dissected for research, would you?"
At those words, a thick, murderous intent exploded from Itachi's eyes.
No matter how many Uchiha he had killed, no matter how he tormented Sasuke, the one he loved most in his heart would always be his dear little brother.
"They wouldn't dare! Because I am here!" Itachi said through gritted teeth, his voice low and heavy.
"You?" Naruto lifted his foot, a skeptical look on his face. "With just your Tsukuyomi?"
He then chuckled softly. "I don't think so."
Hearing this, Itachi's perpetually stoic face actually flushed slightly. He pushed himself up, wiped his face, and looked at Naruto, demanding, "And you, Naruto Uzumaki? Your every action is suspicious. What is your objective?"
Knowing Konoha's usual tendencies, Naruto, as the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki, should have been under strict control. No matter how strong he was, he shouldn't have this much freedom.
"My objective?"
From the very beginning, Naruto's goal had been pure and simple.
To cultivate stronger opponents.
Sasuke was the one he believed had the potential to become his greatest masterpiece.
And Itachi…
For now, his potential seemed decent. Perhaps he could provide a little surprise in the future.
"Before you worry about my objective, you should worry about your own. Don't influence Sasuke's perception of Konoha. Do you really think Sasuke is as foolish as you believe?" Naruto turned, and the Reiatsu in his body flared, accelerating the collapse of the Tsukuyomi world.
Itachi's consciousness blurred, and a sharp pain shot through his eyes.
"Leave quickly. Don't worry, Sasuke's future will far exceed your imagination," Naruto's elegant voice echoed in his ears.
Consciousness returned.
Before Kisame's incredulous eyes, blood trickled from Itachi's Mangekyo. A wave of exhaustion washed over him, and his legs gave out, forcing him to one knee.
Under the morning sun, Naruto flashed a warm, gentle smile and said softly, "You have a Kage-level partner. It seems you're doing quite well for yourself."
With that, Naruto glanced towards Konoha in the distance. The power of Itachi's Great Dragon Fire Technique was significant; it had surely attracted the attention of the Leaf's shinobi by now.
"Until next time." Naruto tapped his foot lightly and quickly vanished from sight.
"Itachi-san!" Kisame rushed to help Itachi up.
Itachi gasped for breath, his eyes filled with deep apprehension.
"How did the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki's strength grow so quickly? He broke my Tsukuyomi with ease!" Itachi's mind raced. He was worried, unsure of Naruto's attitude towards Konoha. The only silver lining was that Naruto and Sasuke's relationship seemed to be good.
In their brief clash, neither of them had revealed their trump cards. But the instantaneous surge of Reiatsu that had crushed his Tsukuyomi had still taken a toll on Itachi's body.
"If we had truly fought, the outcome would be uncertain. But the Jinchuriki is still so young… his power is growing too fast," Itachi murmured.
Swish, swish, swish.
In an instant, countless ANBU shinobi surrounded Itachi and Kisame. Kakashi stepped out from among them, his expression grave.
"Konoha rogue ninja, Itachi Uchiha."
"So, it's Kakashi." Itachi wiped the blood from the corner of his eye.
"Those eyes…" Kakashi looked warily at Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan. Itachi Uchiha is a true heir to the Sharingan. Those eyes are terrifying. I have to prepare for the worst, and at least hold out until the Hokage and Jiraiya-sama arrive.
"Interesting. You must be the Copy Ninja, Kakashi. You have a Sharingan as well. I hear you can copy any jutsu?" Kisame said from the side, intrigued.
Kakashi glanced at Kisame. To be Itachi's partner, this ninja's strength was clearly not to be underestimated.
"What is your objective?" Kakashi asked grimly.
"I've come for the Fourth Hokage's legacy."
Itachi's answer sent a jolt through Kakashi. Just as I thought. They're here for the Tailed Beast.
"However, since our presence has been exposed, Kisame, let's retreat for now," Itachi said with a meaningful smile.
The two immediately formed hand seals. A torrent of fire and water jutsu poured forth. By the time Kakashi and the ANBU had dealt with the attacks, the two Akatsuki members had vanished from sight.
"'The Fourth's legacy'? They came for Naruto." Kakashi mulled over the words, his expression growing heavier. Two Kage-level shinobi. It seemed the ninja world was about to change.
Itachi is a fairly powerful Kage-level shinobi. If he and I were to fight to the death, I would likely sustain considerable injuries, Naruto mused to himself after leaving.
Although their clash was brief, the power of the Mangekyo had left a deep impression on him. Tsukuyomi was the most powerful genjutsu Naruto had ever seen. It was just that in the face of Reiatsu and chakra that could completely overwhelm Itachi's, the Mangekyo was left wanting.
Inside the Akatsuki hideout.
A battered Sasori and Deidara returned to the base, relaying the news of their failure to their leader.
"The Kage-level shinobi in the Sand can control sand. The entire desert is his domain. We were almost captured."
Recalling the details of the fight, both Deidara and Sasori looked terrified.
"A mysterious Kage-level shinobi? Since when did the ninja world have such a figure?" Nagato was inwardly shocked as he processed the information.
The Akatsuki had been around for some time and had naturally gathered countless pieces of intelligence. They had a decent understanding of the powerhouses in each of the great villages. After the Konoha Crush plan, much of the Sand's internal information had been exposed. The reigning Kage, the Fourth Kazekage, had been assassinated by Orochimaru, and the new Kazekage was merely the One-Tail Jinchuriki. The village had very few Kage-level shinobi left.
Originally, Nagato had thought that capturing the One-Tail would be the smoothest operation. He never expected that two Kage-level members would be unable to handle it. Deidara and Sasori were not rookies who had just reached the Kage level; they were both exceptionally talented and experienced powerhouses. And even they couldn't deal with that shinobi.
Nagato was confident that he himself could defeat Deidara and Sasori, but he knew it would take more than just a single one of his Pains to do so.
What made him even more wary was the sword that changed based on a command phrase. It could spread through the sand and wind, controlling them completely.
"What kind of Kekkei Genkai is that?" Nagato murmured.
Thinking of Itachi and Kisame heading to Konoha to gather intelligence on the Nine-Tails, Nagato suddenly felt a sense of unease.
The Leaf Village wouldn't have a similar powerhouse, would it?
Just then, Kisame and Itachi returned to the Akatsuki hideout.
And they brought bad news.
They had been exposed.