Bang!
With a thunderous crash, Naruto hit the rocks and immediately collapsed unconscious on the ground. His earlier injuries had nearly left him unable to stand, and after this heavy blow, he had completely lost consciousness.
"Naruto!"
Extremely worried about Naruto, Sasuke shouted and prepared to race toward him.
"Ah!"
But just as Sasuke was about to move, that same invisible force slammed into him.
Under the impact of the powerful force, Sasuke's face flushed red. A moment later, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His body fell limply toward the ground in the distance, like a kite that had lost its wings.
"Thud!"
Under the watchful eyes of the others, Sasuke's body skidded dozens of meters across the ground before finally coming to a stop. That showed just how powerful the blow he had taken was!
"Sasuke!"
Watching Sasuke's battered figure, Haruno Sakura cried out in anguish. She would rather have taken that blow herself.
"Sigh, if only I weren't being held here!"
Seeing Sasuke ambushed and knocked down too, Kakashi sighed helplessly from inside the Water Prison.
Ordinary people certainly wouldn't understand why Naruto and Sasuke had been attacked out of nowhere, but Kakashi, with his Sharingan activated, saw it clearly: Iwayano had attacked them using an invisibility technique.
"Heh heh, you should be proud to die by my Camouflage Invisibility Technique!"
As Kakashi's sigh faded, Iwayano's transparent body returned to normal, and he gave a sinister laugh.
"I... I'm not done yet. I can't die here. Shisui, my brother, my father, my mother... They're waiting for me to come home!"
At the sound of Iwayano's sinister laugh, Sasuke's dazed mind suddenly cleared a little. Then, under the others' astonished gazes, he trembled as he slowly struggled to his feet.
"You're certainly stubborn!"
Looking at Sasuke as he slowly stood up, Iwayano's face broke into a sinister smile. He took out a Kunai and walked toward Sasuke, one step at a time.
But after Iwayano had taken only a few steps, a slender figure suddenly appeared in front of Sasuke.
"From now on, I won't let you hurt Sasuke again!"
She took out a Kunai too, and her voice rang out coldly.
"Sakura, get out of the way!"
Watching this unfold, Sasuke wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and hurriedly shouted. He knew very well that Sakura's strength was no match for Iwayano's. Fighting him would be suicide.
"Heh heh, there's no need to shout. I told you already: you'll all be going to the afterlife together today."
Iwayano merely smiled at Haruno Sakura stepping forward to protect Sasuke, then charged straight at her.
As Iwayano rushed toward her, Haruno Sakura didn't try to dodge. She swung her Kunai and engaged him directly. The sharp clinks of their weapons rang out again and again.
Their strength was worlds apart. After a few exchanges, Haruno Sakura could no longer hold off Iwayano's attacks.
Watching Haruno Sakura struggle to keep up, Iwayano gave a cold laugh. In the blink of an eye, he appeared in front of her. Without hesitation, the Kunai in his hand flashed like a streak of black light, stabbing viciously toward Haruno Sakura, who had no time to dodge.
"Shnk!"
A piercing sound rang out as Iwayano's Kunai plunged into Haruno Sakura's left arm.
With no other choice, Haruno Sakura had used her arm as a shield to block Iwayano's attack.
"I may be weak, but I'll keep fighting to protect my friends!"
Enduring the pain in her arm, Haruno Sakura forced out those words. Then she jerked her arm and thrust the Kunai in her right hand at Iwayano.
Because they were so close, this was Haruno Sakura's one chance to land a hit on Iwayano.
Haruno Sakura's sudden attack caught Iwayano off guard, but he was a seasoned fighter and quickly reacted, taking several steps back.
"Die!"
Once he had dodged Haruno Sakura's attack, Iwayano swung his right leg and kicked her hard in the stomach.
A dull thud rang out. Haruno Sakura spat out a mouthful of blood and flew backward as if she had been hit by a bull.
"Sakura!"
Seeing the slender figure flying backward, Sasuke cried out, his eyes nearly bursting with anguish.
The next moment, ignoring his fragile condition, Sasuke hurriedly leaped forward and caught Haruno Sakura in midair.
"Sakura, are you all right?"
When he landed, Sasuke looked down at Haruno Sakura's pale face in his arms and asked in a panic.
"Sasuke... I'm sorry..."
Haruno Sakura looked up at Sasuke's anxious face through half-closed eyes and summoned the last of her strength to speak.
"I did my best."
Her consciousness was fading, and Haruno Sakura could no longer continue. Her faint murmur faded away as her eyes closed.
"Damn it! I have to break out!"
Inside the Water Prison, seeing Haruno Sakura in such a terrible state, Kakashi surged against it again. While Sasuke and the others had been battling Iwayano, he had kept trying to escape the Water Prison.
But each time he pushed against it, the water pressure became even more intense.
This time, the pain caused by the pressure almost made Kakashi pass out.
"Heh heh, still struggling?"
Feeling the movement inside the Water Prison, Sanli sneered. But before his laugh had even faded, he heard a shocked, anguished roar.
"Ah!!"
Sasuke's voice was hoarse. It felt as if a boulder had crushed his chest, and the pain was unbearable.
He stared blankly at Naruto, then looked at Sakura in his arms. Lowering his head, Sasuke murmured to himself, "Why... why..."
"Why did you hurt my friends?!"
His body trembled uncontrollably. Under the sting of this anguish, Sasuke lowered his head and closed his eyes. A strange chakra awakened inside him and began to invade his mind.
"Heh heh, what are you yelling about? You're next!"
In response to Sasuke's anguished roar, Iwayano only sneered.
But faced with Iwayano's sneer, Sasuke said nothing. He clasped his hands together, lowered his head, and quickly formed Hand Seals.
"Chidori!"
As he completed the Hand Seals, silver lightning appeared in Sasuke's hand.
Lightning snakes coiled around it, their dazzling glow almost blinding. The electricity enveloped his entire body, radiating a violently surging energy.
At the same time, Sasuke suddenly opened his eyes, and they had changed dramatically.
His black pupils turned crimson in an instant. Four black Tomoe appeared in his eyes.
But the lightning shone too brightly, and Sasuke's head was lowered, so Iwayano and the others failed to notice the change in his eyes.