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[NUT] Chapter : 19
🕑 Added 2025-05-28 10:39:51 +0000 UTCItachi ignored Juzo’s muttering. Perhaps he was comforting Juzo—or maybe just himself.
To be honest, he was tempted to set the whole crowd ablaze. They were too slow, too indecisive. Part of him even wanted to test if Amaterasu, supposedly incapable of killing outright, really couldn't kill anyone…
And truthfully, his instincts weren’t wrong. Very few had actually retreated. Many were just hiding deeper in the shadows—waiting. These were the ruthless types, the ones planning to take Kakashi down together.
“Go back? Go back where?” Yamamoto bellowed in rage. “I survived the war. I gave it everything I had. When it finally ended, I thought I could start over. I got married… and then her family attacked me in broad daylight—took her from me like I was nothing.”
His fists trembled with fury.
“I was the victim. And yet, I ended up in prison! If I hadn’t broken through to Jonin by sheer luck, I’d still be rotting in a cell!”
With a roar, he lunged at Kakashi, delivering a furious punch.
Kakashi’s eyes dimmed for a moment at Yamamoto’s words, sorrow flickering in their depths. But his body moved without hesitation. His hands blurred into motion, forming seals so fast they seemed like afterimages.
A solid earthen wall rose before him, a hound’s head carved into its surface.
Yamamoto’s fist slammed into the wall with a shattering crack. The stone dog’s head exploded, and deep fractures splintered through the thick Earth Release technique.
Kakashi’s heart sank slightly.
His power has increased. And that strike... it was stronger than before.
“You’ve already avenged her. The Hokage ruled in your favor. This doesn’t have to go any further,” Kakashi said, voice calm but firm.
Yamamoto let out a cold laugh. “If it weren’t for a comrade who sacrificed himself to free me, I’d never have had the chance to settle things myself.”
He slammed a powerful kick into the wall, toppling it completely.
Kakashi remained motionless, studying him closely. He had been watching the battle from the start, and one detail hadn’t escaped him: Yamamoto’s explosive strength was limited to his left arm and leg. After two blows, he needed several seconds to recover. During those windows, his attacks were no stronger than an average shinobi’s.
“Your friend gave his life for your freedom,” Kakashi said softly. “Do you think this—this—is what he wanted to see?”
Yamamoto froze.
In his mind’s eye, he saw again the bloodied face of his fallen friend and the gentle smiles of the woman he had loved and lost. Slowly, he lowered his gaze to his trembling hands.
“I can’t go back… to that rotten village,” he murmured, voice heavy with bitterness.
Kakashi’s tone remained gentle. “There’s darkness everywhere. When we’re weak, we’re swallowed by it. But when we’re strong… we can become light for others. We’ve suffered, yes—but shouldn’t we try to prevent others from suffering the same?”
It wasn’t often Kakashi tried to talk someone down. But tonight, he made the effort.
Watching the scene unfold, Itachi exhaled quietly.
“So that’s where Naruto gets his persuasive streak from… Guess Kakashi did teach him something after all.”
“What’s that?” Juzo asked, his spirits rising as he noticed Itachi muttering to himself. “Are we going in?”
Itachi gave him a long, side-eyed look.
“Forget it. Let’s just fight. Listening to this moral grandstanding is exhausting.”
Juzo grinned as Itachi, clearly fed up—and still a bit tipsy—finally caved.
As he spoke, Itachi removed his bamboo hat and tossed it aside.
After all, Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi both required a clear line of sight.
And with his eyes covered, they were useless.
“Burn. Amaterasu.”
Surrounded by spectators who were treating the impending battle like theater, Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. The three tomoe spun, reshaping into the lethal pinwheel.
He aimed for a dense cluster of onlookers.
Let’s heat things up a bit.
A ripple of chakra burst from him like a wave.
Five bounty hunters, who had been discreetly preparing in a corner, suddenly erupted into black flames. One of them—a familiar figure—was the same man who had once knocked on their door, trying to recruit them earlier.
The other four were allies of convenience, all schemers waiting to pounce.
They never got the chance.
The jet-black flames, summoned from the depths of hell itself, consumed them in seconds.
Even Itachi blinked, slightly startled by the speed and intensity of the fire.
“Uchiha Itachi… those eyes…” Yamamoto muttered, staring at the symbol carved into Itachi’s forehead protector.
Kakashi, on the other hand, was watching something else—those eyes. Those cold, unreadable eyes.
He sighed inwardly.
This kid… really is something else.
Kakashi glanced at Itachi’s calm, youthful face and, for a fleeting moment, saw another young man in his place—Uchiha Obito.
But those eyes… Itachi’s Mangekyō Sharingan felt starkly out of place against his otherwise serene expression.
Itachi, perceptive as ever, noticed Kakashi’s gaze lingering on his eyes. Still, he made no move to cast Tsukuyomi. He had no need for such an exhausting technique—not now. His earlier display had been enough to establish dominance.
Meanwhile, Juzo was visibly awed. Watching Itachi incinerate five enemies before the battle had even begun left him deeply impressed. His respect for his partner only grew.
Of course, Itachi was unaware of Juzo’s admiration. At that moment, he was lost in thought, wondering if using a Fire Release technique now might ruin his composed image. It felt… a bit crude.
My options are limited, he mused. Maybe I should head back to Konoha someday and learn a wider range of jutsu.
Stray ideas began forming—things like mastering the Rasengan or even the Rasenshuriken. After all, he possessed the wind chakra nature. And while the Rasenshuriken required Sage Mode to wield safely, its raw power was undeniable, even if the recoil was brutal without it.
While Itachi was momentarily distracted by these thoughts, Juzo sprang into action. Clapping his hands, he performed a swift sequence of seals and cast the Hidden Mist Jutsu.
Despite being only a C-rank jutsu, the mist was highly effective when paired with Juzo’s brute strength and close-combat skills. It was the cornerstone of his battlefield strategy.
However, there was one problem.
In a crowd this large—especially one filled with experienced shinobi—there were bound to be Wind Release users.
And sure enough, some had already begun dispersing the mist with gusts of wind.
Juzo knew this was coming.
In fact, aside from Kakuzu’s ever-changing partner, Juzo was probably the weakest member of the Akatsuki. But what he lacked in technique, he made up for in courage and tenacity.
Now, with the haze of alcohol numbing him and sharpening his edge, he charged headlong into the fray—alone.
Over thirty ninja stood before him, many at his level or higher.
His target? The Wind Release user who had scattered his mist.
“You bastard! Do you even realize how much chakra it takes to use the Hidden Mist when there’s no water around?!”
Juzo snarled as he used the Substitution Technique to close the gap, his body flickering into view. His frustration boiled over.
Itachi, of course, wasn’t about to let him fight alone. The moment he heard Juzo’s voice echo through the thinning mist, he activated the Body Flicker and vanished into pursuit.
“Damn it! These two seriously just charged in? Are they insane?! Kill them!”
Finally shaken from their indecision, some of the ninja lurking in the fog sprang to life, shouting in alarm.
The rest were stunned.
This wasn’t how things were supposed to go.
Weren’t they supposed to intimidate us with high-level ninjutsu first? Scare us into backing down? Why are they already fighting?!
And yet… Itachi’s presence burned into their minds. A boy of barely fourteen, charging without hesitation. He was unnervingly fearless.
“Today’s haul might be better than expected,” someone muttered with a grin. “Looks like I’ll be walking away with a pair of Sharingan eyes.”
Several ninjas quickly moved to intercept Itachi before he could reach Juzo.
But when greed clouds judgment, logic is often the first casualty.
Itachi sensed the chakra spike from one of the attackers—someone using Body Flicker to close in—muttering threats as he approached.
Itachi’s expression darkened.
Without a single hand seal or dramatic gesture, small fireballs erupted rapidly from his mouth.
This wasn’t a grand or flashy move—just a simple, effective technique: Phoenix Fire Jutsu. A modest C-rank, but enough to break their rhythm.
And despite the jutsu’s modest nature, Itachi called out its name softly as it was released.
Because for him, even the ordinary carried a quiet power.
The man who approached was no ordinary ninja. His body crackled with condensed chakra as he effortlessly kicked aside several small fireballs, striding through them with commanding ease. He landed in front of Itachi in a dramatic, almost cinematic fashion.
"Don’t toy with childish tricks like that, Uchiha Itachi."
Though his words were confident, the man didn’t dare meet Itachi’s gaze directly—he was cautious, clearly aware of the Sharingan’s dangerous power.
Itachi let out a quiet, unimpressed “Oh…” and took a slow step forward, raising his wrist ever so slightly.
The jonin instinctively tensed. His eyes tracked the movement, wondering whether Itachi was preparing a jutsu or reaching for a hidden weapon.
But then, Itachi spoke—his voice soft, almost hypnotic.
“You're already finished.”
The moment those words left his lips, reality shifted.
The world around the jonin warped—suddenly he was surrounded by trees. Twisting branches and thick roots sprang up, binding his limbs in an instant.
“Genjutsu? That’s impossible!”
Panic surged through him. He hastily raised his hands to perform a release technique, trying to break the genjutsu.
But in high-level combat, hesitation is fatal.
In the split second he hesitated, Itachi vanished.
When the fog of illusion cleared and his vision returned, the sound of a blade slicing through air came from behind, followed by a gust of cold wind that made his blood run cold.
"Please! Spare me! I won’t fight! I surrender!"
