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***
"You, the Fourth Mizukage, are truly heartless," White Zetsu said playfully, gazing at the masked man before him.
His eyes were filled with endless indifference.
The masked man didn't reply, but instead snorted inwardly.
'Heartless? The ninjas of this village wanted to sacrifice her life to secure victory in the war.'
'All this is just retribution!'
As night fell, the fog thickened over the Land of Water.
Itachi Uchiha, Shinichi Hattori, and Daisuke Kido remained outside Kirigakure, changing locations every so often.
Their position was only a few hundred meters from the village, to avoid further targeting by Kirigakure's Anbu.
Just as Itachi and Shinichi had suspected, they weren't the only ninja teams remaining outside the village, temporarily inactive.
However, those teams were hiding much farther away than Itachi and his companions.
After all, they lacked Itachi's abilities and dared not approach too closely.
This way, Itachi and his two companions wouldn't encounter anyone else while changing their hiding spots.
Late at night, Itachi, Shinichi, and Daisuke hid near the main gate of Kirigakure.
During the day, the three could communicate through sign language and body language, but at night, verbal communication was impossible to avoid revealing their location.
The fog was thick, and even if two people stood face to face, they couldn't see each other's movements.
That's why they had to find a safe place to hide.
Itachi and Shinichi agreed that the main gate of Kirigakure was the safest spot.
The night deepened.
Under such circumstances, sleep was inevitable.
Itachi's nerves were on edge, for he was wary of more than just the opponents he would face in the exam.
Suddenly, in the darkness, a faint sound of footsteps could be heard.
Shinichi and Daisuke couldn't hear it, but Itachi could.
"That noise."
Itachi raised his eyebrows and immediately listened carefully in the direction of the sound.
With his concentration, the sound became clearer.
"Rustle, rustle!"
After a moment, Itachi finally caught the sound of numerous footsteps.
"So many people approaching Kirigakure at this time!?"
Itachi was astonished.
Since they were still some distance away, even he couldn't judge their number or strength.
But one thing was certain: they were not friendly!
"Shinichi, Daisuke, move toward Kirigakure immediately!"
Itachi, no longer bothering to hide, spoke immediately.
"Itachi, what are you talking about all of a sudden?"
Daisuke asked, puzzled.
"Hurry up, don't waste time!"
Itachi suddenly raised his voice.
"Daisuke, stop talking, and do as Itachi says."
Shinichi frowned slightly, but he trusted Itachi's judgment and didn't ask any questions.
"Thisā¦"
Daisuke was about to say something, but Shinichi grabbed him and quickly approached Kirigakure.
Shortly after the two men left, Itachi heard increasingly loud noises coming from directly ahead.
This indicated someone was rapidly approaching.
From the increasingly clear sounds, Itachi could tell the approaching person was incredibly agile!
He should have retreated back to the surroundings of Kirigakure with Shinichi and Daisuke, but at this distance, with their speed, they would soon be caught up.
Furthermore, if they were discovered by the Kirigakure ninjas before they had a clear understanding of the situation, they would have failed the exam.
Swish!
Just as Itachi was about to react, two figures appeared from the mist.
"Chi!"
Itachi's eyes suddenly trembled, turning blood red.
Shinichi and Daisuke were no longer present, so three magatama instantly appeared within his pupils.
The mist significantly limited even the Sharingan's insight, which could discern the flow of chakra within the human body.
Yet, Itachi could still sense the two men charging toward him, attacking from both sides and launching direct taijutsu attacks at close range.
When the two men's taijutsu attacks landed, Itachi was naturally within striking distance of them.
Therefore, at this distance, Itachi finally saw the faces of the attackers clearly.
Before him, two middle-aged men, their expressions etched with madness, launched a fierce attack.
Their attire was somewhat peculiar, resembling that of the Kaguya clan.
Both of these strong men possessed considerable strength, their high-speed taijutsu movements imbued with immense force, creating a sound as they scraped against the air.
At this moment, the magatama in Itachi's eyes trembled slightly, his Sharingan fully perceiving their movements.
With a swift movement, Itachi took two steps back, easily escaping their attack.
"A brat?"
"A brat, how could he evade our combined attack?"
The two strong men exclaimed in slight surprise, but their attacks continued unabated.
They attacked again, their speed and force even fiercer than before!
"This kind of taijutsu movement, coupled with the large crowd still approachingā¦"
Itachi, drawing on the previous exchange and the intelligence he had gathered so far, was already recalling the major events he knew had occurred in Kirigakure.
When the First Mizukage established Kirigakure, he united most of the ninja clans of the Land of Water, but some smaller clans remained unaffiliated.
After the Fourth Mizukage, Yagura Karatachi, assumed control of Kirigakure, in an effort to consolidate the power of the Land of Water, he carried out a large-scale massacre of the smaller clans that had coexisted with Kirigakure for decades.
Some clans were even completely wiped out.
Among these smaller clans, the most powerful was the Kaguya clan.
The Kaguya clan, both men and women, were fierce warriors, skilled in taijutsu and possessing the unique Shikotsumyaku kekkei genkai.
According to Itachi's knowledge, the Kaguya clan had once overestimated their own strength and attempted to attack Kirigakure, leading to their complete destruction.
However, even Itachi was unclear as to the exact circumstances and timing of the Kaguya clan's annihilation.
Judging by the current situation, Itachi was facing members of the Kaguya clan who had launched the attack on Kirigakure.
Naturally, he didn't believe this was a coincidence.
"The Kaguya clan chose this time to attack Kirigakure. This was all part of that guy's plan!"
Itachi understood the masked man's plan.
He intended to eliminate him while the Kaguya clan attacked Kirigakure and caused chaos in the village.
This way, even if the Fourth Hokage knew about this, he wouldn't be able to do anything to Kirigakure, which was also a victim.
...
"If that's the case, then with just these guys before usā¦"
Itachi raised his eyes.
If the masked man's plan was as he suspected, the Kaguya clan alone would have no chance of killing him.
The masked man must have been well aware of Itachi's strength during their battle with Pain.
Regardless of Itachi's own strength, behind him in Kirigakure were powerful figures like Konoha's Ino-Shika-ChÅ and Iwagakure's Kitsuchi.
Even Mei Terumi, who would later become the Fifth Mizukage, wouldn't ignore the Kaguya clan attacking Kirigakure.
"Crack."
Just as Itachi was pondering this, unusual movements emanated from the bodies of the two Kaguya clan members before him.
With the penetrating power of his Sharingan, Itachi immediately observed protrusions on the skin of their palms.
Then, both of the two strong men's palms were pierced, but instead of bleeding, bone sprouted like spikes.
"Thisā¦"
Itachi's eyes trembled slightly.
He had been on the defensive the entire time, as the two men before him were incredibly powerful, leaving Itachi no opening to counterattack.
Even the combined might of jÅnin-level ninjas from the major ninja villages could not temporarily suppress Itachi.
Therefore, these two strong men were undoubtedly elite within the Kaguya clan.
And the bone spikes that suddenly appeared in their palms were the Kaguya clan's kekkei genkai ability.
Dead Bone Pulse!
Unlike ordinary nature transformation techniques or dÅjutsu-based kekkei genkai, the Kaguya clan's Dead Bone Pulse allows for the free manipulation of all bones for both defense and attack.
Even within the Kaguya clan, those who can awaken the Dead Bone Pulse ability are extremely rare.
"Although you don't look like someone from Kirigakure, die!"
A Kaguya clan member, holding the bone spike, shouted at Itachi with a frantic look in his eyes.
Then, he and another Kaguya clan member, also using the Dead Bone Pulse ability, attacked from both sides.
The Kaguya clan were all fierce fighters, but they had previously considered Itachi merely a child, so the two of them initially held back.
They hadn't anticipated Itachi's ability to dodge their combined attack.
So, now they considered Itachi a true enemy, and naturally, they went all out.
Yet, faced with this pincer attack, Itachi's face showed no sign of surprise.
He formed hand seals with incredible speed.
"Ah, ah, ah!"
A swarm of crows instantly appeared around Itachi.
As they appeared, the crows transformed into pitch-black shuriken, hurling themselves at Itachi's left and right.
Then, Itachi's hand seals shifted.
He knew a little about the power of the Dead Bone Pulse, and the destructive power of shuriken alone was no match for the Kaguya clan members, who could only defend themselves with bones.
On either side of Itachi, black feathers continuously fell from the crows transformed into shuriken.
Soon, dense masses of feathers coalesced.
"Explode!"
Itachi whispered, forming hand seals with one hand.
Buzz!
On the inside of each feather, an ignited explosive tag was attached.
Flames erupted, flickering and shrinking before suddenly expanding.
"Boom!"
Hundreds of explosive tags exploded in unison, sending flames soaring into the sky and creating a tremendous roar.
The blast spread so rapidly that even the two elite members of the Kaguya clan, skilled in taijutsu, could not dodge at close range.
With a swish!
Itachi, having anticipated the explosion, was thrown backward.
Itachi had deliberately caused the explosion.
Given the level of defense in Kirigakure, the ninjas should have noticed immediately when he and the two Kaguya clan members began fighting.
Yet, even then, the Kirigakure ninjas hadn't made a single move.
Undoubtedly, the masked man had planned this all along.
So, Itachi intended the explosion to alert Shikaku Nara, Kitsuchi, Mei Terumi, and the others within Kirigakure.
However, he didn't hold out much hope for them.
Since the masked man had chosen this moment to eliminate Itachi, he must have been fully prepared.
Amidst the explosion before him, the two members of the Kaguya clan rushed out.
Bones pierced their skin, growing outwards, forming barbed shields.
These shields absorbed most of the damage from the explosion.
However, the blast still left them with some injuries, staining the bone spurs red with blood.
Their eyes, gazing at Itachi, held a dark, murderous intent.
Like mad beasts, they pounced upon Itachi, intent on tearing him apart.
In their previous encounter with Itachi, the two Kaguya clan members had not only failed to gain an advantage but had also been injured.
This was the ultimate humiliation for them.
Facing the menacing gaze, Itachi narrowed his eyes slightly, then turned without hesitation, charging towards Kirigakure behind him.
Itachi had no intention of killing the two Kaguya clan members.
It wasn't because he was merciful, but simply because it was unnecessary.
Whether the Kaguya clan's intended attack on Kirigakure would cause damage to the village was of no concern to Itachi.
He simply didn't want to waste his energy on such a pointless confrontation.
Itachi was certain that by the time he had detected the Kaguya clan's movements, significant changes had already occurred within Kirigakure.
To prevent Kirigakure from aiding Itachi, and to provide an explanation to the leaders of Konoha and the other four major ninja villages once the plan was concluded, the masked man had to exacerbate the situation to the point of affecting the entire village.
From Itachi's understanding of the man, though he was controlling the Fourth Mizukage, the lives of the Kirigakure ninjas were worthless to him.
As long as he could achieve his goal, even if the entire Kirigakure village perished in the blink of an eye, the masked man wouldn't react with a single emotion.
The same was true for Itachi: as long as the things he held dear remained unharmed.
He cared nothing more about the safety and lives of others.
Itachi knew full well that he was human, not a god.
The laws of the ninja world were based on the survival of the fittest.
As a Konoha ninja, he could sacrifice his life to protect the village and the Land of Fire.
But beyond that, Itachi had no energy to care.
Itachi was different from the Fourth Hokage, for he had witnessed the world's darkest depths.
A ninja could possess kindness, but he certainly didn't need to be overly compassionate.
With Itachi's speed, the two Kaguya clan members couldn't catch up.
As he rapidly approached Kirigakure, a shadow suddenly shot out.
Itachi looked and saw that the shadow was a fist, wrapped in dense, thick black lines!
.....
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