Gento's heart suddenly stirred.
This ordinary-looking ninja had to be Konan in disguise!
And this time, with the system's prompt, it was absolutely not a paper clone.
This was Konan's real body!
He suppressed the excitement in his heart, keeping a calm expression on his face.
Right then, Mei Terumi leaned a bit closer and lowered her voice:
"Clan Head Gento, once the three of us make a move, we'll easily be recognized by the Hidden Mist Anbu, so we can't provide you with assistance."
"This time, we can only rely on you."
Her breath carried a faint fragrance, and there was a trace of helplessness in her voice:
"I'm counting on you."
Gento nodded.
With Orochimaru and himself, two Kage-level combat powers were enough.
The escort team was getting closer and had already entered the ambush range.
Without any hesitation, Gento's figure burst forward!
"Susanoo!"
Right from the start, Gento went all out.
A yellow giant manifested instantly, its massive fist carrying a howling wind as it slammed fiercely into the front of the escort team!
Boom!
A thunderous explosion rang out as debris flew everywhere.
Five or six Anbu were sent flying by a single punch, killed on the spot.
The battle erupted at once.
Orochimaru darted out from the shadows, forming hand seals:
"Ten Thousand Snakes Wave!"
Countless venomous snakes surged out from his sleeves, rushing toward the Anbu team like a tidal wave, binding seven or eight of them in no time.
Itachi's figure moved like a ghost, weaving through the crowd.
With every move, someone fell.
The kunai in his hand slashed across an Anbu's throat, but as the person collapsed, their body suddenly twisted and transformed into a strange white substance.
This was… a White Zetsu!
Gento caught a glimpse from the corner of his eye, his heart tightening.
There were White Zetsu created by Obito mixed among the Hidden Mist Anbu!
He knew this operation had to be swift.
If it dragged on too long, Obito, sensing the situation, would inevitably arrive.
So, he showed no mercy, aiming to complete the objective as fast as possible.
The battlefield quickly entered a fierce climax.
On the other side, Jugo entered his Cursed Seal state.
His body expanded, his arms transforming into massive claws as he sent two Anbu flying with a single swipe.
Kimimaro drew a bone blade formed from his spine, each strike taking a life.
However, the Hidden Mist Anbu were not weak either.
These ninjas, tempered by the Bloody Mist Village, were all powerful.
Even after being ambushed, they swiftly stabilized and began to counterattack.
Water Release and projectiles intertwined into a dense barrage.
What surprised Gento the most was one blue-skinned Anbu among them.
That person held a large sword wrapped in bandages, its blade strange and covered with barbs.
He charged into the battlefield, and with a single swing, forced Jugo back several steps.
Kisame Hoshigaki!
Gento recognized him right away.
Kisame's gaze swept across the battlefield before suddenly locking onto Itachi.
He grinned, revealing sharp teeth:
"Sharingan? Interesting!"
As soon as he spoke, he charged at Itachi with Samehada in hand.
Itachi remained calm, forming hand seals:
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive fireball roared forth.
Kisame swung Samehada, splitting the fireball apart with a single strike!
"Greatsword Samehada can absorb chakra!"
Itachi assessed the opponent's ability in a blink.
The two engaged in intense combat.
Kisame possessed immense strength, each strike of Samehada carrying overwhelming force.
Itachi was agile, his Sharingan capturing every opening.
Kunai clashed with the greatsword, sparks flying.
He had already begun thinking about how to cast genjutsu on his target.
At the same time, Gento's attacks grew increasingly ferocious.
He controlled Susanoo, carving a path toward the prison cage.
Every punch of the yellow giant crushed an Anbu into pulp.
Finally, he reached the cage.
The four Anbu guarding it sensed danger and formed hand seals simultaneously.
But Gento gave them no chance.
Susanoo blocked several ninjutsu before sweeping its massive hand, killing three in a single swipe.
The remaining one was sent flying, crashing into a rock, his fate unknown.
Right after, Gento landed on the ground and placed his hands on the iron cage.
Inside, Mangetsu Hozuki raised his head, watching him warily.
"Don't resist, I'm here to save you."
Gento gave a brief explanation.
He placed his hands on the two boys:
"Yomotsu!"
Spatial ripples spread, and Mangetsu and Suigetsu vanished.
Success!
Gento took a deep breath and shouted toward the rear:
"Objective complete, withdraw!"
Hearing this, the others in battle moved immediately.
Orochimaru's body turned into countless snake shadows and scattered away.
Jugo and Kimimaro followed closely behind.
Itachi feinted, forcing Kisame back, then vanished into the dense fog.
Kisame intended to pursue, but his gaze suddenly locked onto Gento, who was now deep within the encirclement.
He knew Gento would have difficulty retreating, so he charged toward him.
Gento pretended to retreat, turning and dashing in another direction.
At that moment, a figure suddenly lunged from the side.
It was Konan, disguised as an Anbu!
Seeing Gento's methods, her eyes trembled.
This technique… it was exactly the same as that day at the Akatsuki base!
It was him!
She instinctively moved to intercept.
However, the moment she got close, Gento suddenly turned around and grabbed her wrist!
"Got you!"
Gento smiled.
Konan's pupils shrank.
She instantly realized she had fallen into a trap!
From the very beginning, this man had never intended to retreat; he had been waiting for her to approach!
She had no time to think and instinctively tried to turn her body into paper.
But Gento was faster.
"Yomotsu!"
Spatial ripples swallowed the two of them.
In the next instant, Konan's figure disappeared from the spot along with Gento.
…
Abandoned mining area.
Kisame swung his blade down.
Only to find that the Uchiha in front of him had vanished without a trace.
"Damn it!"
He angrily swung Samehada, smashing it into the ground.
Boom!
Rubble scattered everywhere.
He panted heavily, scanning his surroundings.
All the enemies had already escaped.
Only corpses remained scattered across the ground.
"Damn it!"
At that moment, the space behind him twisted.
A man wearing an orange spiral mask appeared out of thin air.
"What happened?"
Kisame turned around and said through gritted teeth:
"Someone took the Hozuki brothers! There was an Uchiha ninja among the enemies, one who can use space-time ninjutsu!"
The single eye beneath Obito's mask narrowed sharply.
"Uchiha…"
He muttered, his voice filled with barely restrained hatred:
"One day, I'll go back… and kill them all!"
…
Yomotsu Space.
Konan climbed up from the ground and cautiously looked around.
It was a gray, dim world.
That Uchiha ninja was nowhere to be seen.
There were no sun, moon, or stars in the sky, only eternal gloom.
The ground was barren gray soil, stretching endlessly with no end in sight.
In the distance, faint silhouettes of mountains could be seen.
An indescribable sense of oppression filled the air, as if something were watching from the shadows.
She immediately tried to sense her surroundings, but found herself totally lost.
There were no reference points here… no sunlight, no wind, not even a single sound.
She formed hand seals, attempting to use a paper clone to scout.
The moment she mobilized her chakra, her expression changed.
The chakra within her body was draining away!
She could feel it being slowly absorbed by this space.
She clenched her teeth, forcefully suppressing the panic in her heart, and began to explore this gray world.
One step, two steps, ten steps, a hundred steps…
The scenery around her never changed.
Gray sky, gray earth. The distant mountains were always just as far away, never reachable.
Time passed.
Konan's face grew paler and paler.
Her steps became unsteady, her breathing rapid.
The loss of chakra made her increasingly weak.
That draining sensation reminded her of the days she starved as a child in the Land of Rain.
Her body went limp, her consciousness blurred, yet she had no choice but to keep walking.
After an hour...
She collapsed to the ground, gasping for breath.
She realized that this strange space had no boundaries.
And the chakra within her body was all depleted.
A trace of panic finally appeared on her usually cold face.
Without warning, a figure appeared in front of her.
Gento looked down at her from above, a faint smile on his lips.
Konan's pupils shrank.
She gritted her teeth and instinctively raised her hand, trying to form seals and turn into paper.
But nothing happened.
Her chakra pool was empty… she couldn't even gather a trace of chakra.
Gento said nothing, only raising his right hand.
Five iron rings flew out from his fingers, rapidly enlarging in midair as they moved toward her limbs and neck.
Konan hurriedly tried to dodge, but failed.
Clang!
The rings locked precisely onto her limbs.
The final ring clasped around her neck.
In the blink of an eye, her entire body froze in place, unable to move.
Gento looked at the cold and stunning face before him.
"This time, I've caught the real body!"
He gave a mischievous smile and beckoned to Konan:
"Come here yourself!"
Konan instinctively tried to resist, but found that her body was no longer under her control and began walking toward Gento on its own.
Damn it!
My body… won't listen…
...
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