A special thank you to all my patrons:
—Cain, Jacob Mooe, HADES, Varun Madhu, Gonzalo Sumalavia, kevin Williams, KD2001, merp., Jose Carrillo, Derek M, DancingMonkey65, Joseph, Jose Sierra, AR3S, Nuro, SPabloS, Nocturnal.
You can read 30 chapters ahead of everyone on p@treon.
P@TREON - [email protected]/lessaservantofcosmos
(just replace the "@" with "a")
ps: Please support me on P@treon. I can really use your help!
—————————————————————
"Itachi-san, since we've been spotted, shouldn't we take them out?"
Kisame grinned with a knowing edge. "Otherwise, by the time we reach Konoha, we might be walking into a trap."
Itachi remained silent for a few seconds before speaking slowly. "This is the Land of Fire's territory. The next town over is Konoha, and their ninjas could pass by at any moment. We need to eliminate them quickly."
"Understood. Leave the kid to me," Kisame said, his face alight with rare battle lust, his grin feral. "That kid's chakra reserves and that powerful Water Release technique gave me a bold guess. I want to confirm it myself."
As if understanding Kisame's words, Samehada, gripped tightly in his hand, quivered violently again, ravenous for Ryūsei's chakra.
"That's… Itachi!"
Meanwhile, Kurenai recognized Itachi, her red pupils contracting to pinpoints.
When she saw Kisame beside him, cold sweat broke out on her forehead, her voice trembling slightly. "And the 'Monster of the Hidden Mist,' Kisame Hoshigaki. Why are two S-rank rogue ninjas here?"
There was no time to think. Seeing Kisame charging across the water with Samehada in hand, Kurenai shouted, "Ryūsei, we need to escape! They're top-tier rogue ninjas—we're no match for them!"
"You're right, Teacher Kurenai."
Ryūsei nodded, his expression grave. "For such dangerous figures to appear together here, they must have a hidden agenda. Judging by their direction, they're likely heading to Konoha. Now that we've uncovered their identities, they won't let us leave. Escaping from two S-rank rogue ninjas is nearly impossible with our strength, so… Teacher Kurenai, you escape first. I'll stay behind to cover you."
"No way!"
Kurenai shook her head firmly. "I can't abandon you. If anyone stays, it's me."
"Don't be stubborn, Teacher."
As Kisame drew closer, Ryūsei said sternly, "You saw how I defeated Shikamaru. You know my Body Flicker speed. If I stay to cover, we both have a chance to survive."
"No arguments."
Kurenai drew a kunai from her pouch, her expression resolute. "If we die, we die together. I won't abandon my student to flee."
Seeing Kurenai's unwavering resolve, Ryūsei didn't press further. Instead, his lips curved slightly. "In that case, let's fight them together!"
"Alright. I'll handle Itachi," Kurenai declared, unintentionally making the boldest claim.
"Water Release: Water Shark Bullet Technique!"
Kisame's shout echoed as the water beneath the tree where Ryūsei and Kurenai stood morphed into a massive shark, its gaping jaws surging upward to snap at them.
Whoosh, whoosh—
Ryūsei and Kurenai vanished in a flicker.
Kurenai channeled chakra to her feet, landing on the water's surface and sprinting toward the motionless Itachi.
Ryūsei appeared on the water too, a board of flowing water forming beneath his feet, propelling him at high speed toward Kisame.
En route, Ryūsei drew a kunai, coating it with Water Release chakra to form a fluid blade.
"Such Water Release nature and shape transformation—my guess was right."
Kisame's battle lust and grin intensified, thrilled to find a kindred spirit.
A water-formed board appeared under Kisame's feet as well, and he shot toward Ryūsei at breakneck speed.
Like surfers on the sea, the two were moments from colliding.
Just before impact, Ryūsei leaped, switching his water blade from a reverse to a forward grip, slashing down at Kisame.
Kisame, gripping Samehada with both hands, swung upward.
Boom!
The water blade clashed with Samehada's spiny surface, unleashing a violent shockwave that spiraled into a massive vortex, sending ripples across the lake.
Ryūsei's water blade left no mark on Samehada.
Worse, the Water Release chakra coating the kunai vanished, absorbed by Samehada.
Ryūsei wasn't surprised—he knew Samehada's abilities.
He'd used the Water Blade Slash for close combat precisely for this moment.
As Samehada absorbed the chakra, Ryūsei puffed his cheeks, spitting several water needles at Kisame's startled face, targeting his eyes and head.
If struck, Kisame would be blinded instantly.
At that moment, a water-formed shark emerged, swallowing Kisame whole.
The shark blocked the water needles and dove into the lake with Kisame, swiftly retreating.
Seconds later, the shark leaped from the water ten meters away, dissolving into liquid.
Unscathed, Kisame slung Samehada over his shoulder, grinning at Ryūsei. "Such cunning tactics and Water Release, plus silver hair and red eyes—you're definitely a Senju descendant."
Ryūsei had no time to banter. Seeing his sneak attack fail, he glanced toward Kurenai's fight and decided to go all-out.
Raising his right hand, palm up, a blue chakra vortex formed, swiftly becoming a miniature blue tornado.
In a blink, the tornado grew bluer.
Moisture from the air fused into it, turning the vortex into water.
Ryūsei hurled the mini water tornado at Kisame.
As it left his hand, the chakra vortex's suction drew in lake water and air moisture, rapidly expanding the tornado. Within moments, it grew into a several-meter-high water vortex, roaring toward Kisame.
"A seal-less Water Release, a technique I've never seen. I underestimated you."
Kisame exclaimed in surprise, slinging Samehada onto his back and forming seals rapidly. With a pushing motion, he roared, "Water Release: Great Shark Bullet Technique!"
A colossal water shark, far larger than the earlier Water Shark Bullet, leaped from the lake, its massive jaws charging the oncoming water vortex.
The shark and vortex collided—not canceling out or locking in stalemate. The vortex shattered instantly, its Water Release chakra and liquid absorbed by the shark, swelling it to mountainous proportions as it barreled toward Ryūsei.
Zzzzt…
Electricity crackled. Blue-white arcs enveloped Ryūsei, and he vanished, leaving the giant shark to hit nothing.
When Ryūsei reappeared, he was airborne, several meters to Kisame's left, clutching a water javelin. Instead of aiming at Kisame, he hurled it at the lake a few meters away.
Seeing the javelin, Kisame's expression shifted dramatically. Without hesitation, he used Water Shark Bullet again, forming a shark to swallow him and dive into the lake, fleeing swiftly.
Boom—
An explosion erupted.
The javelin unleashed terrifying chakra, forming a massive water vortex that sucked in lake water, growing larger than the Spiral Water Vortex in moments.
"Water Release: Great Explosive Water Shockwave!"
Kisame, evading the Hard Vortex Water Blade, spat out an immense water stream, swelling the lake's receding water level and area.
Forming seals again, he shouted, "Water Release: Rain of Four Sharks!"
Tons of water formed four giant sharks, leaping vertically from the lake around Ryūsei. Rising meters into the air, they dove toward him.
"Water Release: Water Shockwave!"
Ryūsei clapped his hands, spinning surrounding water into a vortex that enveloped him.
The four sharks slammed into the vortex's high-speed water wall, fragmenting into thousands of tiny sharks. Unable to breach the wall, they spun like clothes in a washing machine until their chakra depleted, merging into the vortex and enlarging it.
The vortex expanded like a cascading waterfall, transforming into a great river—a whip of Poseidon—lashing toward Kisame.
Though formidable, its wind-up was too obvious.
Like Kisame's earlier giant shark, Kisame dodged the river's strike with a single flicker.
But the exploding river turned into a rain curtain, drenching Kisame, making his grin even more feral.
In mere minutes, Ryūsei and Kisame had unleashed multiple high-level and ultimate Water Release techniques, each draining enough chakra to exhaust a jonin instantly.
Their duel resembled a clash of sea gods.
While they fought fiercely, evenly matched, the other battle had already ended.
As in the original story, Kurenai, a recent jonin, had no experience facing the Sharingan.
With the Uchiha clan gone for years, the Sharingan was a legendary Bloodline Limit. Having never fought Kakashi, Kurenai didn't know the Three-Tomoe Sharingan of a true Uchiha was worlds apart from a transplanted one.
Though wary of Itachi, an S-rank rogue ninja, she went all-out with Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death to seize control of his body, planning to follow with offensive genjutsu.
But as her Yin chakra formed a tree, its vine-like tendrils binding Itachi, her vision warped.
Preparing to cast an offensive genjutsu, she found her body frozen.
Itachi, previously distant, now stood before her.
Looking up, Kurenai realized they'd swapped places—she was the one bound by her own Tree Binding Death.
Staring at Itachi in horror, she gasped, "Genjutsu rebound—when?"
"The moment you met my eyes."
Itachi's hand emerged from his sleeve, plunging a kunai into Kurenai's body. "I didn't want to kill you, Miss Kurenai. Blame it on you discovering us."
"As a former colleague, I'll give you a gentle death."
With that, Itachi's Three-Tomoe Sharingan morphed into a triangular shuriken pattern.
Yin chakra, irresistible even to tailed beasts, flooded Kurenai's brain through her eyes, seizing her neural chakra.
One glance, and Kurenai's expression turned vacant, puppet-like.
The vines and tree binding her vanished.
Kurenai, a kunai in her abdomen, collapsed into the lake, sinking slowly.
Blood tinted the surrounding water red.
"Teacher!"
Ryūsei's furious voice rang out. "Water Release: Water Dragon Bite Explosion!"
A massive water vortex formed beneath Itachi's feet.
The water coalesced into a giant dragon's maw, poised to swallow him.
Whoosh—
Itachi flickered away, evading the jaws.
A colossal water dragon then surged skyward, lunging at Itachi's new position.
"Fire Release: Great Fire Annihilation!"
Itachi's hidden hands formed seals rapidly, spitting a spark that became a massive flaming arrow, colliding with the dragon.
Boom—
An explosion roared, spreading thick steam like fog.
As if inspired, dense white mist materialized, turning the lake into a foggy zone.
Seeing the mist, Itachi remained expressionless but inwardly sighed in relief.
'Good—not reckless. Otherwise, creating an escape opportunity would've been tricky. This boy, more outstanding than Sasuke, was indeed the top student. Hopefully, he wouldn't take this out on Sasuke.' Itachi thought helplessly.
When the fog cleared, Ryūsei and Kurenai's chakra signatures had vanished.
"They escaped, Itachi-san," Kisame said, returning to Itachi's side, seemingly oblivious to his leniency. "Our identities are exposed. Should we still go to Konoha?"
"Proceed."
Itachi replied coolly. "Kurenai is under my Mangekyō genjutsu. She won't wake for a while. We just need to complete the mission quickly."
Kisame asked with slight concern, "Itachi-san, did you use "that" technique?"
"No. She doesn't warrant Tsukuyomi," Itachi said aloofly, donning his hat and striding toward Konoha.
Kisame followed, reminiscing. "It's been ages since I fought so freely. Shame the kid held back. I'd love to see his full strength. Wonder if we'll meet again."
"We will. The Nine-Tails host is in Konoha, after all."
"True. I hope the Leader's plan kicks off soon."