"Ah, it's over..."
As he watched the sharp kunai thrust toward him, Shisui despairingly prepared to close his eyes.
But at that very moment, a figure suddenly appeared in front of Shisui and activated his Three-Tomoe Sharingan.
"Itachi!"
Staring at that familiar back, Shisui froze for a moment. Then wild joy flooded his despairing face.
"Oh no, it's Itachi!"
Qinyu was also horrified when he saw Itachi. He clearly hadn't expected Itachi to show up at such a critical moment.
"Argh!"
While Qinyu was still stunned, a huge stake suddenly pierced through his body. The kunai he had been about to plunge into Itachi stopped in midair.
"Is this Genjutsu?"
Though Qinyu knew it was Itachi's Genjutsu, his body remained completely motionless as he felt pain that seemed all too real.
The Genjutsu Qinyu was caught in was Itachi's Tsukuyomi-like Binding Technique.
Its defining feature was that, in the mental world created by the user, the captive felt as though stakes had been driven through his limbs. He lost all control over his body and even experienced the illusion of physical pain!
The Tsukuyomi-like Binding Technique could immobilize an opponent without Hand Seals; the user only needed to meet their gaze with the Sharingan.
"Shnk!"
Once Qinyu was trapped by his Genjutsu, Itachi drew the blade from his back and swiftly stabbed through Qinyu's heart.
Anyone who made it into Anbu needed to be decisive in killing. If he didn't deal with Qinyu and Danzo found out who had rescued Shisui, Itachi would be in trouble.
"Qinyu!"
When Qinyu fell after being stabbed by Itachi, Tuorong, who had been maintaining the binding technique, cried out in alarm.
"You'd better worry about yourself!"
A low voice rang out. Sasuke suddenly appeared behind Tuorong, then brought his blade down hard.
Tuorong was an excellent ninja in his own right. Perhaps sensing the danger, he stamped his foot against the ground and made a strange sideways shift to his left, narrowly dodging Sasuke's attack.
But Tuorong's movement meant he could no longer maintain the binding technique. The earthen hands beneath Shisui crumbled away instantly.
As the earthen hands broke apart, Shisui collapsed limply. Fortunately, Itachi caught him in time.
"Sasuke, let me handle him!"
Worried that Sasuke wouldn't be able to beat Tuorong, Itachi immediately called out.
"Brother, take care of Shisui. I can handle this!"
Sasuke gave Itachi a slight smile and answered with confidence.
Hearing Sasuke, Tuorong grew angry and snapped, "You little brat, how dare you look down on me?"
Tuorong hadn't been sure he could beat Itachi, but the idea that a brat who looked only six or seven could kill him made him extremely displeased.
"Enough talk. Come on..."
The Sharingan began to spin. Sasuke gripped his sword tightly, stamped hard against the ground, and charged at Tuorong.
"I'll capture Itachi's little brother and use him to force Itachi to hand over Shisui..."
A perfect plan flashed through Tuorong's mind. He gave a cold laugh, then suddenly formed rock around his right arm, creating a thick stone limb.
After using the Rock Fist Technique, Tuorong didn't retreat in the face of Sasuke's attack. Instead, he stepped forward without dodging, swinging his Rock Fist—with its surging force—straight at the sharp blade.
"Clang!"
A clear metallic ring echoed from the point where they clashed.
Tuorong blocked the attack with his Rock Fist, but Sasuke didn't lose heart. He kept swinging his sword. Tuorong stayed on guard, using his Rock Fist like a shield to defend himself tightly.
"Clang, clang, clang..."
As the pair traded a dazzling flurry of attacks and defenses, the sharp clangs of their weapons rang out almost without pause.
As their battle grew more intense, Tuorong, who had initially looked down on Sasuke because of his age, began to show surprise.
He hadn't expected Sasuke's attacks to be so fast. He couldn't keep defending like this for much longer; swinging his heavy stone arm was exhausting.
"I'd better end this quickly. If the other Root members find out I got held up this long by a brat, I'll never hear the end of it."
The thought flashed through Tuorong's mind, and his expression gradually turned vicious.
"Clang!"
His fist knocked the sword aside once more. Tuorong suddenly used the Body Flicker Technique to appear behind Sasuke.
"Brat, it's over!"
Confident that one punch would knock Sasuke out, Tuorong raised his fist and swung it down hard.
"Sasuke, watch out!"
From the force behind Tuorong's attack, it was clear that if Sasuke got hit, he would be seriously injured at best and lose the ability to fight. Seeing this, Shisui and Itachi both warned him at once.
"Thud!"
The instant the enormous stone fist struck Sasuke, his body turned into a piece of wood amid a puff of white smoke.
"Substitution Technique?"
Staring at the piece of wood, Tuorong looked confused for a moment. Then his pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints, and his face filled with horror.
"Uchiha Style: Gale Sword!"
With a low shout, Sasuke, who had tricked Tuorong with the Substitution Technique, appeared behind him and slashed him hard with a Flame Blade.
"Argh!"
With a piercing scream, Tuorong crumpled to the ground. His pale face, still marked by shock, was visible to everyone watching.
"Sasuke, you've grown a lot!"
Itachi nodded with approval at Sasuke's performance.
"Sasuke... you used your Gale Sword so well!"
Ignoring the pain in his body, Shisui took a deep breath and smiled at Sasuke as he approached.
"Shisui, I'm sorry we came so late."
Looking at Shisui's pale face and battered body, Sasuke's eyes reddened. His voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke.
Before he could reply, Shisui's body suddenly shook violently, and a large amount of blood spilled from the corners of his mouth.
"Brother, do you know anyone in the Uchiha Clan who can use Medical Ninjutsu?"
Realizing how dire Shisui's condition was, Sasuke asked urgently.
"Come on, let's find Izumi!"
After hearing Sasuke, Itachi hoisted Shisui onto his back and set off without hesitation.
Sasuke had no idea who Itachi meant by Izumi, but he hurried after them.
After Itachi and Sasuke left, silence returned to the area. Only the lingering stench of blood remained, a sign of the battle that had taken place.
The silence didn't last long. A series of whooshing sounds came from the trees, and moments later, numerous Root members swept into the area.
At last, Danzo's figure slowly appeared on the ground. He stared in disbelief at the three corpses, then drew a deep breath.
"Lord Danzo, Qinyu was under a Genjutsu before he died. The ones who rescued Shisui must have been members of the Uchiha Clan!"
A Root member carefully examined the bodies, swallowed, and spoke in a low voice.
Danzo's eyes closed slightly. When he opened them again, they were filled with murderous intent. "The Uchiha Clan! Soon, no one will know this clan ever existed!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Danzo turned and left, his expression exceptionally grim.
(Thanks to this person has died LL坑比 for the donation, haha! More and more readers have been donating lately. I hope a benefactor shows up!
Brothers with reading lists, please add my book to them and help bring more Naruto fans into our community!
Thanks again, brothers, for all your support!)