"No, Konoha was prepared for this. We need to retreat first..."
Watching Delta clash with Shisui Uchiha, Ōga immediately began to consider fleeing.
The situation was obvious. They had fallen into a trap.
Konoha had clearly arranged for these two to secretly protect Kawaki, waiting for them to take the bait.
If they dragged this out any longer, who knew how many more Konoha shinobi would arrive as reinforcements?
Besides, Ōga was not a modified human built for combat. There was no benefit in staying here.
Escaping amid the chaos was the correct choice.
Having made up her mind, Ōga turned and ran toward the alley exit, only for Itachi Uchiha to suddenly block her path.
A single side kick stopped her in her tracks.
As Ōga looked into Itachi's scarlet eyes, a strange gleam flashed through her red pupils.
The next instant, Itachi's expression went blank.
Ōga snorted and controlled Itachi into drawing a kunai and holding it against his own throat.
Just as she prepared to make him drive it in, a cold, level voice suddenly sounded beside her ear.
"I advise you to take a proper look before acting."
Ōga froze.
Then, the world before her blurred.
When she regained her senses, she found herself still standing where she had been, except there was now a kunai in her hand.
Its icy blade hovered less than ten centimeters from her throat.
"Genjutsu?"
"When did he..."
As Ōga muttered to herself, the world before her changed once more.
Several enormous, rusted iron nails pinned her body firmly in place.
"Until the battle is over, stay quiet here."
Itachi stood beside Ōga, his gaze fixed on the battle between Shisui and Delta.
Ōga, meanwhile, had fallen into complete despair.
Her opponent's mental power was far beyond hers.
There was no escaping today.
Bang!
Delta's legs transformed into gray, blade-like Scientific Ninja Tools as she launched a heavy kick at Shisui.
Shisui raised his short blade and blocked the strike, but the tremendous force still sent him flying backward.
"Fire Release: Fireball Jutsu!"
While airborne, Shisui rapidly formed hand seals in front of this mouth, then a massive fireball blazing with heat shot toward Delta.
Yet Delta neither dodged nor moved aside. She merely let out a disdainful snort.
"Absorb."
Light flashed from her right eye, and the enormous fireball vanished instantly.
Then Delta's left eye opened wide, and an identical fireball burst from it, roaring toward Shisui.
"She can absorb ninjutsu and reflect it?"
Because of Yuzuru Uchiha's interference, the shinobi world had already diverged drastically from its original course.
So Shisui was not particularly shocked by Delta's abilities.
"Earth Release: Earth-Style Wall!"
A wall of earth rose from the ground and blocked the returning fireball.
Seeing this, Delta flew into the air. Her eyes turned blackish-purple.
"Destruction Beam!"
The black-purple beam arrived in an instant, melting straight through the earthen wall before striking Shisui.
"Hahahaha! I win!"
Seeing her attack hit Shisui, Delta burst into triumphant laughter.
The Destruction Beam possessed terrifying destructive power. Any cells struck by it would immediately die.
Even the strongest regenerative ability could not restore the damaged area.
Shisui had been hit. He was no different from a dead man.
But before the smile on Delta's face could fade, the Shisui before her turned into a puff of white smoke and disappeared.
"A Shadow Clone?"
"You bastard!"
Delta realized she had been played. The fury in her heart finally erupted.
"Come out! I'm going to kill you!"
At her roar, Shisui appeared again.
"Mirage Body Flicker Technique!"
Nearly a hundred phantom clones surrounded Delta and attacked her simultaneously.
Shisui's plan was simple.
Since she could absorb ninjutsu, he would defeat her with the most extreme form of taijutsu.
Blade flashes filled the alley as Delta immediately fell into a disadvantage.
Whenever she attacked one of the clones, it became intangible like a mirage.
But whenever a clone attacked her, every strike was completely real.
In mere moments, Delta's body had been cut into scattered pieces.
"This can no longer be considered human, can it?"
Shisui frowned deeply.
He had never expected that beneath Delta's severed body would be a mass of intricate mechanical components.
At that moment, a flying-device-like core rose into the air and shot toward the sky.
Then it prepared to flee into the distance.
Shisui's expression changed. He realized what was happening, but it was already too late to stop it.
Just then, a pitch-black spatial rift tore open in the sky.
Flames engulfed the core and reduced it to ashes. Then Yuzuru stepped out from the rift.
"Shisui, Itachi, you both did well."
Shisui gave a bitter smile when he saw Yuzuru approach.
"I was careless. I nearly let the enemy send their information out."
Yuzuru waved dismissively.
"It would not matter even if they did."
"Since these people dared to attack Kawaki in Konoha, it means they desperately want Kawaki's body."
"They will come again."
Shisui and Itachi nodded thoughtfully as Yuzuru slowly walked over to Ōga.
Ōga swallowed hard and muttered, "How could this be? Delta was killed so easily..."
Delta might have had a terrible temper, but her strength was undeniable.
Even within Kara, she had been among the strongest.
Yet she had been defeated so easily, and even the core containing her stored data had failed to escape.
Delta...
She was truly dead.
Hearing Ōga's words, Yuzuru smiled.
"Do not be so surprised. This is Shippuden, after all."
Delta's abilities truly were troublesome.
She could fly, wield a Destruction Beam that countered regeneration, absorb and release ninjutsu, and revive endlessly as long as her core remained intact.
Unfortunately for her, she had faced Shisui.
"Father, should I interrogate her?"
"There is no need. As long as Kawaki remains in our hands, Kara's members will eventually come to us themselves."
"Then what about her..."
"Kill her."