Mission Objective Changed: Kill the Jinchuriki

Yamanaka Fu circled around to the front of Susanoo and gave Aburame Ryoma a meaningful look. Aburame Ryoma immediately leaped forward, flicking both sleeves to release all his Kikaichū at once. They swarmed over Susanoo, completely blocking "Uchiha Itachi's" vision.

Another Root Ninja concealed himself in a visual blind spot and rapidly formed Hand Seals.

"Earth Style: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"

At the same time, Yamanaka Fu rapidly formed Hand Seals with both hands.

"Secret Technique: Mind Body Switch Technique!"

But this time, his secret technique took effect for only an instant. It merely made "Uchiha Itachi's" head swim slightly before Yamanaka Fu was forced out, vomiting blood as his comrade caught him and swiftly retreated.

Yet that brief moment was enough. The Earth Style ninja had already passed through Susanoo's defenses underground, bursting from the earth with a cold gleam flashing from the short sword in his hand as it reached "Uchiha Itachi's" neck.

"Got him!"

Ignoring the blood gushing from his mouth, Yamanaka Fu stared fixedly at his Earth Style comrade, waiting for that single slash to sever "Uchiha Itachi's" head.

But to his surprise, "Uchiha Itachi" merely glanced downward. His Earth Style comrade froze where he stood, still holding the pose of swinging his blade, unable to move.

"Heh..." Uchiha An gave a cold laugh. "No enemy dares raise his head before an Uchiha!"

With that, he casually drew the short sword at his waist and gave it a careless swing, lopping off the Earth Style ninja's head.

Under the tremendous pressure of the severed carotid artery, the Earth Style ninja's head was propelled skyward by a spray of blood. It spun through the air, flying out beyond Susanoo's abdominal cavity and straight toward Aburame Ryoma.

Aburame Ryoma instinctively reached out and caught his comrade's head. As he lowered his eyes, he met the gaze of his comrade's unclosed eyes—only to see a pair of blood-red Sharingan.

"Damn it! Sharingan Genjutsu!"

Aburame Ryoma hurriedly activated the insects within his body to break the Genjutsu. At the same time, he flung his hands outward, trying to throw away his comrade's head, which had become the medium for the enemy's Genjutsu—but it was already too late.

That single instant of delay was all Susanoo needed to launch its attack.

The massive energy Giant Palms descended from above with overwhelming force, covering everything beneath them—head and insects alike—as they slammed down upon Aburame Ryoma.

With a wet, muffled sound, Aburame Ryoma was crushed into pulp. Blood splattered everywhere, staining the ground within a radius of several yards.

"Ryoma!" Seeing Aburame Ryoma die so miserably, Yamanaka Fu cried out despite himself.

Within Root, Yamanaka Fu and Aburame Torune were Danzo's most valued right-hand men. Though Aburame Ryoma was not as powerful as Aburame Torune, his loyalty had long been proven. Sooner or later, he would surely have become one of Root's elite ninja.

Yet now, the rising star he had thought so highly of had fallen here, filling Yamanaka Fu with heartbreak.

"Hahaha..." Seeing Yamanaka Fu's pained and regretful expression, Uchiha An felt immense satisfaction. He covered his forehead with one hand again and laughed madly.

"You could all see the flaw in Susanoo's defenses at its feet. Did you really think I wouldn't know about it?"

"You damned fleas!"

"If we fought head-on, it really wouldn't be so easy for me to kill you."

"But I don't have that much time to slowly wear you down. The best way, of course, is to dig a pit and wait for you to jump into it yourselves!"

"Yamanaka Fu, you made this battle plan, didn't you?"

"When you made it, did it never occur to you that this might be a trap?"

"How does it feel to lose a comrade?"

"Hm?"

"Hahaha..."

"Damn it!" Yamanaka Fu's eyes nearly split with rage. Overcome by fury and grief, he spat out several more mouthfuls of blood.

The only comrade remaining behind him hurriedly consoled him in a low voice.

"Lord Yamanaka, every Root Ninja will face this day sooner or later. We were prepared to die long ago, and we will never harbor any complaints because of it."

"This is not Lord Yamanaka's fault. Please do not lose your composure."

"We still have a mission to complete. Please, Lord Yamanaka, devise a new battle plan. Even if you need to use me as bait, I do not mind."

"Everything is for Lord Danzo!"

Yamanaka Fu took several deep breaths and swept his gaze across the battlefield. His thoughts raced, and he knew that the two of them alone could not possibly complete the mission of recovering the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki.

After a brief consideration, Yamanaka Fu decisively changed the mission's objective.

"The mission to recover the Jinchuriki will be difficult to complete. We can change the mission instead—kill the Jinchuriki and release the Nine-Tails."

"Even if the Nine-Tails causes some damage to the Land of Fire, as long as it remains within the country, the Sealing Squad that arrives later will eventually be able to seal it again."

"In that case, the battle plan is changed."

"Feign an attack on Uchiha Itachi. Find an opportunity to kill the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki and release the Tailed Beast!"

Root had always regarded mission completion as its highest principle. The enormous price paid for it had never been within their consideration.

Therefore, after hearing this, the Root Ninja did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately agreed.

"I understand. I'll use Earth Style to infiltrate again."

"An unconscious Nine-Tails Jinchuriki will be easy to kill. One slash is all it takes."

"Please continue buying me some time, Lord Yamanaka. Don't let Uchiha Itachi interfere with me."

Yamanaka Fu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with his sleeve and nodded heavily.

"Focus on killing them. Even if it costs me my life, I will never let Uchiha Itachi have the chance to stop you."

The two began circling Susanoo once more, one after the other.

This time, with no Aburame Ryoma to draw Susanoo's attention for them, they simply decided to attack head-on.

Yamanaka Fu moved to the front of Susanoo and opened with Fire Style.

"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"

Although Yin Release was what he excelled at most, it was not as though he could not use other jutsu; he was simply less proficient with them.

Under the cover of the flames filling the sky, his comrade circled behind Susanoo and began using Earth Style to launch an attack from underground.

"Heh, what a boring trick!"

After merging with all of Uchiha's memories and emotions, the Uchiha Clan's arrogance had also seeped into Uchiha An's soul.

Though he knew the enemy's renewed assault must have some other scheme behind it, he remained supremely confident.

To a certain extent, a ninja battle was a battle of intelligence. Uchiha An, who knew his enemies inside and out, had no reason to lose.

He simply did not believe those two were qualified to hurt him!

However, the enemy's target had never been him.

The moment he saw the Earth Style ninja burst from the ground, rush toward Uzumaki Naruto lying on the ground, and swing his blade, Uchiha An knew he had miscalculated.

"You've got some nerve!" he shouted, about to move in for the rescue, when his mind suddenly swam. That irritating Yamanaka Fu was interfering with him again.

Yamanaka Fu, staking his very life on this, unleashed interference more powerful than ever before. Although Uchiha An expelled his Chakra from his body as quickly as possible, it was already too late. When he looked up again, the Earth Style ninja's blade had already struck Naruto's neck with tremendous force.