Uchiha Itachi vs. Kimimaro

The new technique, with its thunderous power, shocked the missing-nin Lightning Strike, and a gust of wind caused the Kakkō inside the cave to flicker and nearly go out.

Their initial anger and murderous intent vanished instantly, replaced by terror as they looked at Shuichi. "This level of Ninjutsu, coupled with Konoha Forehead Protector... could it be...?"

After unleashing his lightning, Shuichi didn't stop. Holding up a hand that was glowing with lightning, he casually swung it at the few people lying on the ground nearby, sending out sharp blades as thick as pencils, just like the glow sticks he used to play with in his previous life.

The evolved version of the Chidori Senbon, named Lightning Senbon, was incredibly lethal. It pierced the heart of the missing-nin at an angle and even penetrated deep into the ground. After a few screams, the cave quickly fell silent.

"I don't know these guys, but they're probably not any good." Shuichi's calm voice echoed in the cave.

He pulled a handbook from his pocket, opened it, and called out to the remaining people one by one, "Iname, former Special Jonin of Sunagakure; Ryuseki, Chunin Kirigakure..."

"You have massacred more than three civilian villages in the past year, your crimes are heinous." Shuichi pen and flipped through the pages of the missing-nin handbook, marking them with crosses, then closed the book. "Today is the day for blood to be repaid. I hereby formally sentence you to death."

"Go to hell! Don't be so arrogant!"

Iname roared with a ferocious expression, "Even ants try to survive, let alone humans!" He immediately threw several Kunai and stuck them into the cave wall.

As if something had been triggered, several explosions rang out, and the cave ceiling collapsed instantly. Countless boulders carrying immense kinetic energy crashed down from above, causing the ground to shake violently. "Boom..."

After Iname made his move, he didn't intend to fight Shuichi the death. Instead, he used the Body Flicker Technique to rush straight to the nearest wall behind him.

Having survived countless chases, he had long since prepared an escape route for himself, making him exceptionally experienced in escaping. Unfortunately, the person he was about to face was no ordinary Jonin.

Before he even landed in the blink Senbon Body Flicker Technique, a senbon needle, precisely predicting his landing point, hurtled towards him. Just as it was about to pierce Iname's shoulder, Shuichi, maintaining his chakra ball, flashed out from above his head and slammed it down with lightning speed, shouting, "Rasengan!"

"Bang!"

"... I can now use the Flying Thunder God Second Step Technique, so it seems I can reduce the amount of practice I need in the future."

As Ryuseki and the others fled from Iname, they also rushed frantically toward the cave entrance. The earth-shattering sound that followed was like a death knell.

Just as the light was about to arrive, a slender ninja tool flew in from the side to the entrance, followed by a figure appearing to block their path, "Konoha Consecutive Great Whirlwind!"

Boom boom boom...

The surviving missing-nin only felt a blur before their eyes, then were sent flying backward with immense force, crashing into the rocks inside the cave. "No!"

The desperate screams quickly subsided. Shuichi watched as the landslide slowed and subsided, large plumes of dust drifting past him. After confirming with his X-ray vision and senses that all his targets were dead, he vanished in a flash...

In the Land of Fields, the mission of Yūhi Kurenai's squad is progressing smoothly.

The second target location had no missing-nin of Jonin rank, and coupled with Itachi's exceptional ninja skills, they quickly eliminated the enemies and headed to the final location.

This is a small village located halfway up a mountain. Although it doesn't occupy a large area, there are signs of human activity in many surrounding areas.

According to the Konoha Squad's intelligence, this village was recently raided, and many villagers were massacred by missing-nin, after which it became one of the enemy's strongholds.

"Swish swish swish!"

When the village was deathly silent, three figures suddenly leaped out from the dense forest beside it and landed at the village entrance, assuming a fighting stance.

"There's no chakra fluctuation within a few hundred meters, so there shouldn't be any danger!" Kurenai exclaimed.

"Something's not right. There seems to be a bloody smell here... and an even stranger odor." Ishikawa Tatsuki frowned. "Something must have happened in the village not long ago. Those missing-nin probably escaped after the fight? Otherwise, how come we haven't seen a single corpse?"

"Should we split up to search for clues? There are several roads leading to the back of this mountain where we can retreat. If the enemy hasn't gone far, we still have a chance to catch up."

After a moment of silence, Kurenai looked at Itachi, feeling that he was perfectly capable of acting alone, and besides, the three of them wouldn't be too far apart. So she immediately gave the order, "Separate and search. If you find any trace of the enemy, blow the whistle."

The team quickly followed the plan, first swiftly scanning the village, then heading straight for the back mountain, splitting up at forks in the road to search along different paths.

The weasel ran forward cautiously, but saw no obvious tracks around him or under his feet, suggesting that no one had ever walked this path.

After wandering around in the somewhat dim bamboo forest for a while, the scene before us suddenly brightened up. It was a small pool of water surrounding the mountain, and the light was coming from the reflection of the water's surface.

After getting closer, the weasel examined the water closely. The water was relatively clear, and the rocks at the bottom were clearly visible.

There was nothing unusual; it didn't seem like there was an underwater cave for escaping and removing odors...

"Crack!"

"Who?"

Suddenly, a soft sound reached Itachi's ears from the side, causing him to immediately turn his head to look. At the same time, he lowered his center of gravity to prepare for battle and put the communication whistle in his mouth.

"Hmm? A child?"

Itachi, who was about to send a signal, was suddenly stunned. Not far away was a child even younger than him, with two red dots between his eyebrows under his white hair, wearing a slightly loose white robe, staring at him expressionlessly.

"Who are you..."

Itachi hesitated for a moment before he was about to ask a question, but the child, like a madman, pushed off with his feet and began to sprint forward, his hands somehow producing sharp weapons as he charged straight at him.

A beep—the signal instantly echoed through the valley. The other side attacked without saying a word; they were definitely the enemy.

Itachi guessed that there might be other powerful figures lying in ambush nearby, and he was already on high alert. This child might be used to force him to reveal a weakness, so he had to be careful of attacks from the shadows.

Behind the bamboo grove, Orochimaru, his face pale, revealed an excited expression. "Is that Shuichi-kun's new disciple? Itachi from the Uchiha Clan! Just how talented is this kid that he's taken a liking to? Let me see for myself..."

Kimimaro may be small in stature, but his movements are incredibly swift. His feet move with a speed so fast that it's like a blur. This astonishing speed immediately made Itachi realize that his opponent was definitely not weak, and if he focused on his surroundings, he might end up losing.

Whoosh! The moment the two were close, Kimimaro struck first, a powerful bone spur grazing Itachi's ear. After dodging, he quickly drew a Kunai and slashed at Itachi's wrist.

"Clang!" The Kunai and the bone sword clashed, and the force was evenly matched. However, Itachi was not surprised. Instead, he took the opportunity to observe the enemy's weapon.

"This is... bones? The Kirigakure Kaguya Clan?" In a flash, his mind raced, and combining Kimimaro's appearance, he quickly recalled this information, "Weren't they exterminated?"

These thoughts flashed by quickly, but Itachi's hands did not pause for a moment.

Noticing that the Kunai had a nick after the collision, he deftly deflected the opponent's bone knife, took a light step back with his feet, twisted his waist and swung his arm to throw the Kunai. The entire Taijutsu movement was completed in one smooth motion, and the killing method was clean and neat, like an art.

"Sizzle!"

At such close range Kimimaro had no chance to dodge, but the Kunai, though aimed at his chest, did not penetrate. Instead, a sound like an eggshell breaking rang out, and the sharp blade seemed to have only pierced the surface of his skin before being bounced to the side.

"Shikotsumyaku, the strongest Taijutsu Kekkei Genkai in the Shinobi World, truly lives up to its reputation!" Itachi thought to himself.

Kimimaro was quite confident in his defense. Kunai, he charged straight at it without stopping. However, Itachi had already gathered his chakra at his feet when he jumped back. When he landed, he used the Body Flicker Technique to jump to the side like a dragonfly skimming the water, causing his opponent's pursuit to miss.

"Brush!"

"Drip!" He chose to land precisely at the pool of water he had previously observed. With his superb chakra control, he stood firmly on the water's surface, and with a slight movement of his hands, a Shadow Clone appeared. The shadow clone's Hand Seals were so fast they were dazzling, and the Ninjutsu Shadow Clone exceptionally smoothly. "Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

Boom... A fireball as tall as two people came towards Kimimaro, but its size made it difficult to hit him. With his extremely fast movement speed, he dodged the fireball by running sideways and then charged at Uchiha Itachi again.

But just as they reached halfway, Uchiha Itachi and his Shadow Clone suddenly vanished, as if they had never appeared on the water's surface. This bizarre sight stunned Kimimaro.

"It's over. Could it be that there were no hidden enemies?" Itachi maintained his Hand Seals on the water's surface, while his Shadow Clone circled behind Kimimaro, who remained motionless. The next Kunai to pierce Kimimaro's brain, causing his opponent to die instantly within the Genjutsu.