Burn, Amaterasu

Itachi looked somewhat surprised at the wild words Juzo had spoken beside him, and his own heart began to stir as well.

But it only stirred; he did not act on it.

Though the alcohol had somewhat numbed his nerves, it could not overcome his steady instincts.

"Let's wait a little longer. At least wait until Yamamoto Jisi down there is dead."

As Itachi spread out his senses, he employed the delaying tactic.

After hearing Itachi's words, Juzo said nothing more and merely watched the battle below with boredom.

Already a battle-hungry man, his fighting spirit burned fiercely after being fueled by alcohol.

He was holding himself back so hard that it felt uncomfortable.

The crowd around them grew larger and larger, and the ninja fighting Yamamoto Jisi sensed that something was wrong.

He had originally wanted to assassinate Yamamoto Jisi, then quietly withdraw with both glory and reward in hand.

He had not expected the other side to be so vigilant. The assassination had failed.

So he decided to go all out and end the battle quickly.

But he discovered that his opponent was stronger than he had imagined. Even after giving it his all, he could only fight to a standstill.

There was no way to end the battle anytime soon, and the fight had dragged on until now.

With so many people around now, even if he managed to kill Yamamoto Jisi, there was no way he could escape unscathed.

This battle had already lost its meaning.

With that thought, he began to consider retreating, preparing to hide in the shadows and fish in troubled waters for an opportunity.

Yamamoto Jisi seemed entirely unaware of this as he vigorously shed his sweat.

He still threw a fierce punch at the ninja across from him.

And the opposing ninja still dodged with all his might.

Another huge hole appeared in the wall, leaving it on the verge of collapse.

The evenly matched opponent rolled across the ground again before rising gracefully to his feet. He was so practiced at it that it was almost heartbreaking.

This time, though, he was different from before. He had grown.

Even as he dodged, he formed a hand seal... so slick it made one's scalp tingle.

He was no longer the man who rolled once, then rolled again as he fled in disarray. Sure enough, human potential was limitless...

When Yamamoto Jisi saw that his punch had missed, he turned and delivered a sweeping kick.

After kicking, he froze for a moment. This time... it seemed he had hit that annoying fly...

Just as he was distracted, a burst of smoke erupted from his opponent's body, turning him into a log...

After waiting several seconds, the other man still did not reappear...

Only then did Yamamoto Jisi understand what had happened. That opponent had actually slipped away...

Seeing the densely packed crowd around him, sweat droplets the size of beans fell from Yamamoto Jisi's forehead onto the ground.

"Damn it, I got carried away again..."

The six-foot-two Yamamoto Jisi rubbed his bald head and muttered to himself in frustration.

He also understood that his end was probably near.

Looking back on his life, perhaps this was the best arrangement...

Yamamoto Jisi sighed inwardly, with traces of sorrow appearing in his eyes.

Born into a commoner family, he had been honest by nature and possessed talent for cultivation.

By fate, he had caught the benefits of the era.

The Ninja Academy had made things much easier for children from commoner families like his.

And so, he successfully embarked on the path of a ninja.

But the good times did not last. While he was still a Chunin, the Third Shinobi World War broke out.

Weak as he was, he survived a near-death ordeal through sheer luck.

Yet it was as if his good fortune had run out. Misfortune struck repeatedly afterward, eventually leaving his family destroyed and everyone calling for his death.

Just when he had finally changed his identity and life was gradually improving again, life played another enormous joke on him...

Memories of the past rapidly flashed through his mind, yet no one around him showed any intention of stepping forward. Yamamoto Jisi was slightly stunned and stopped dwelling on his memories.

"Aren't you going to make a move? If not, I'm leaving."

The people around him weighed the pros and cons. Yamamoto Jisi's attack power was terrifying, and his strength was not weak either. None of them could kill this big man quickly, and once they killed Yamamoto Jisi, they would likely be ganged up on and meet a bad end.

"Yamamoto Jisi, come back with me."

At that moment, a white-haired person wearing an ANBU mask appeared in the middle of the area.

His tone was cold and indifferent.

"Konoha ANBU..."

Quite a few knowledgeable people recognized Kakashi's vest and mask. They muttered to themselves and began to consider retreating.

Some had only come to try their luck. Although they knew that Konoha's people would probably appear, they still held onto a sliver of hope. What if Konoha's people did not come?

Though bounty hunters were mostly lone wolves and generally not too afraid of retaliation.

The instinct to cherish one's life was human nature, and they feared death too.

Especially after enjoying the convenience and freedom that strength brought, they were even more reluctant to die.

So under normal circumstances, no one would risk their life.

Besides, once they had reached a certain level of strength, making money was easy. If this job fell through, they could just take another one.

Most importantly, no one knew whether more Konoha people were hiding in the shadows.

Once they made an enemy of Konoha and their identities were exposed,

their happy lives would likely end early. After that, they would either die or face the endless pursuit of Konoha's powerful forces.

"If we don't step in now, the show will be over..."

Seeing people quietly leave as soon as this white-haired man appeared, Juzo said unhappily.

"No rush. Those retreating might not have hidden their identities, so they may have gone to disguise themselves. They'll come back another way. After all, thirty million is no small amount. It could buy a whole lot of dumplings..."

Itachi let Juzo's words go in one ear and out the other. He spoke to comfort Juzo, and to comfort himself as well.

Honestly, he wanted to set the crowd on fire. They were taking far too long.

Besides, he wanted to see whether Amaterasu, which supposedly could not burn people to death, really could not burn people to death...

Itachi was right. There were not many people who had truly given up. Quite a few had merely hidden themselves more carefully, and these were the ruthless ones planning to take out Kakashi along with Yamamoto Jisi.

"Go back? Go back where? During the war, I survived countless brushes with death. Even if I had no merit, I had suffered for it, right? When the war finally ended, I married a wife, only for a clan brat to bully me. In broad daylight, he relied on numbers to snatch my woman away."

"I was the victim, yet I was thrown into prison in chains. If I had not broken through to Jonin by a stroke of luck, would I still be able to stand here?"

After hearing Kakashi's words, Yamamoto Jisi shouted and angrily hurled a heavy punch at Kakashi.

Hearing Yamamoto Jisi's words, Kakashi's eyes showed a trace of sorrow. But seeing that Yamamoto Jisi was even faster than he had been in the previous battle, Kakashi did not hesitate. His hands moved like afterimages.

An earthen wall carved with a dog's head rapidly rose in front of him.

The rage-filled fist slammed heavily into the dog's head. The dog's head shattered on impact, and cracks appeared throughout the thick Earth Release wall.

Seeing the destructive power behind Yamamoto Jisi's attack, Kakashi's heart sank.

"You've already beaten the true culprit to death, and Lord Hokage has already upheld justice for you. Stop this."

Kakashi continued.

"Heh. If my comrade hadn't sacrificed his life to free me from my restraints, how could I possibly have personally killed my enemy?"

Yamamoto Jisi gave a cold, mocking laugh in response to Kakashi's words.

A kick brimming with enormous strength completely knocked down the earthen wall.

Kakashi did not move as he watched the furious Yamamoto Jisi before him.

He had watched the earlier battle the entire time. Yamamoto Jisi's immense strength had a flaw: only his left arm and left leg could unleash it, and after two attacks, he needed three to five seconds of rest.

During that interval, Yamamoto Jisi's attacks were ordinary.

"Your comrade gave his life to save you. Would he want to see you become like this?"

The ice in Kakashi's voice melted somewhat as he earnestly tried to persuade Yamamoto Jisi.

Yamamoto Jisi froze slightly upon hearing Kakashi's words.

Then the bloodied figure of his comrade and the sweet laughter of two women resurfaced in his mind. He stared blankly at his hands.

"I can't go back anymore... That revolting village..."

Weathered words came from his mouth...

"There is darkness everywhere. When we are weak, we cannot avoid it, but when we become strong, we can become light and illuminate the darkness for others. Having suffered such wounds ourselves, shouldn't we do everything we can to reduce this kind of misfortune?"

Rarely, Kakashi tried to reason with Yamamoto Jisi.

"Now I know why Naruto has the strongest Talk no Jutsu... Kakashi deserves some credit too. It's not like he taught Naruto nothing after all..."

Watching this scene, Itachi softly remarked.

"Are we going in?"

Juzo heard Itachi speaking quietly but could not make out the exact words, so he perked up and asked.

Itachi rolled his eyes at Juzo's excited tone.

"Forget it, let's fight... All this yapping is seriously annoying."

Faced with Juzo asking to join the fight once more, Itachi's patience was finally worn away by irritation and alcohol.

So, as he spoke to Juzo, he removed his conical hat and tossed it aside.

After all, both Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi required certain conditions beforehand.

If his eyes were covered, wouldn't that make them useless?

"Burn, Amaterasu!"

Watching the people around them treat the conversation below like a spectacle.

Itachi's three tomoe rapidly transformed into a Mangekyo Sharingan. Then, picking out a crowded spot, he unleashed Amaterasu.

Light a fire and liven things up.

But he did not act too recklessly, since this thing consumed far too much.

The sudden burst of chakra from Itachi drew everyone's gaze in the area.

A group of five poorly prepared bounty hunters standing together suddenly erupted in black flames.

Unfortunately, the one burned most horribly was precisely the bounty hunter who had been turned away after seeking out Itachi and Juzo.

The other four were like-minded companions he had recruited while watching the battle earlier.

Yet before their grand ambitions could even begin, flames that seemed summoned from hell burned them completely away.

The flames swiftly burned the group to nothing, so fast it was unbelievable.

Even Itachi was somewhat stunned.

"Itachi Uchiha... those eyes?"

The two people in the field also looked toward the surging chakra. Yamamoto Jisi stared at Itachi's ninja forehead protector, while Kakashi stared at Itachi's eyes...

This kid was really hard to put into words...