The Hasty End of the Battle, Susanoo Appears

Compared to Itachi's ease, Juzo was having a somewhat rough time right now.

That roar had been too loud, so he got ganged up on.

On top of that, Itachi's black flames were too frightening, and the Sharingan's bloodline limit was too famous. They instinctively chose to pick on the softer target first.

So Juzo was having a hard time. Even though his attacks were powerful and heavy, he still couldn't end the battle quickly.

After all, this wasn't an assassination, where he could hide in the shadows and launch sneak attacks.

If he stopped fighting, his Hidden Mist Technique would completely fall apart.

It was a case of being unable to get off the tiger's back.

After all, he liked the feeling of being inside the Hidden Mist Technique too much, so he had instinctively used it.

And now, he wasn't running for his life, nor was this a one-on-one fight, so...

He swung his blade in a domineering circle, blocking the siege of four ninja and violently knocking them back.

Juzo let out a heavy breath.

Fortunately, they weren't united. Quite a few people were still hiding in the shadows, playing dead.

With Itachi's identity exposed and Juzo's Executioner's Blade revealed, their identities had naturally been exposed as well.

Both of them were worth quite a bit of money, and they had other value besides.

Those hiding in the shadows were like starving wolves, ready to strike at any moment.

Once they made their move, the battle would be over.

"Senior, this is looking a little embarrassing for you... Forget Plan A. Let's use Plan D next."

Itachi slowly emerged from the thinning mist.

The mist had thinned because Juzo was no longer continuously pouring chakra into it to create more fog.

Once he realized he had acted rashly, he stopped, and the mist began to disperse.

"Plan D? When did we have something like that?"

Hearing Itachi's words, Juzo froze for a moment and asked rather foolishly.

After all, they had only made two battle plans in total. Plan A was for each of them to fight on their own. Plan B was for him to shed blood and sweat on the front line while Itachi supported him from the rear.

"We didn't before. We do now."

Itachi smiled faintly at Juzo's foolish look.

But the tomoe in his Sharingan had already begun spinning rapidly.

If he was going to use a technique like Amaterasu that might not even kill anyone, he might as well use Susanoo. Even its first-stage skeletal form would beat them until they cried for their fathers and mothers.

After all, in a sense, these people were merely cannon fodder.

They weren't enough to make Itachi wary.

And so, Itachi's Plan D came into being.

"Oh? Then tell me about it..."

Seeing Itachi brimming with confidence, Juzo instinctively wanted to ask what Plan D was. But then he remembered that there were too many eyes and ears here. If others overheard it, wouldn't that ruin everything?

"Watch my back."

As Juzo walked toward him, Itachi spoke softly.

The chakra within his body erupted rapidly, and his Mangekyo Sharingan slowly spun in his eyes.

A powerful surge of chakra burst forth from Itachi's body.

The faint mist around him was instantly blown away by that chakra.

Strands of blood-red chakra appeared around Itachi's body.

Bit by bit, skeletal ribs formed first, then slowly extended upward...

Arms, a head.

A half-body skeleton over ten meters tall appeared around Itachi, its hollow eye sockets glowing red and sending chills down everyone's spine.

Unlike the miniature Susanoo from last time, this was the first time Itachi had truly used Susanoo. Two streams of blood flowed from his eye sockets.

He was finally bleeding heavily...

"Two minutes..."

Itachi sensed the rate at which the chakra within him was rapidly evaporating and murmured softly.

Then, without the slightest hesitation, he decisively controlled Susanoo's enormous skeletal fist and smashed it toward the opponents who had just been intimidating Juzo and were now scared witless.

Juzo was also startled by Itachi's immense chakra, but he recovered moments later and guarded Itachi's rear.

His mental fortitude and reaction speed were exceptional.

Itachi had not told Juzo to guard his back without reason.

When Sasuke fought Danzo, the second-stage Susanoo—a skeletal form covered in veins and equipped with rudimentary weapons—had nearly been broken from behind by Danzo's Wind Release.

That showed that Susanoo's weakness in its early stages was its unseen back.

With one punch, four people seeing Susanoo for the first time were smashed apart—one and a half of them, at least...

Two of them reacted in time. The momentum generated by erupting chakra throughout their bodies allowed them to escape the attack's range.

One faced Susanoo's might head-on and was pinned by the fierce wind carried by the fist, utterly unable to move.

The other barely fled a few steps, but hadn't escaped completely...

The blood-red half-body skeleton's appearance left everyone in the area so shocked their jaws nearly dropped.

They instinctively fled in every direction, staying far away from Susanoo, which resembled a god of war.

As everyone knew, Susanoo was the projection of a god. It not only possessed terrifying destructive power, but also a faint divine might.

Those without firm wills would be cowed. Intimidated.

"Three seconds..."

After that punch, Itachi's face turned somewhat pale.

He had drunk too much and acted a little rashly.

He had only calculated how long he could maintain Susanoo, forgetting that making Susanoo attack also required an enormous amount of chakra.

His seemingly abundant chakra drained at a rate that left him dumbfounded when he used Susanoo.

His leisurely walking pace quickened.

His calm composure became somewhat hurried.

But no one else was stupid either. Seeing Itachi coming toward them, they used every ounce of strength they had, desperately using the Body Flicker Technique again and again to flee, even at the risk of tearing their muscles apart.

Quite a few sharp-eyed people grew excited inside.

They had naturally noticed Itachi's disheveled state.

The blood dripping onto the ground was flowing from Itachi's eye sockets.

It was obvious that this technique consumed a great deal of chakra, and they had not forgotten Itachi's age.

He wasn't even thirteen yet. Limited by his body, no matter how much chakra he had, how much could it really be...?

The solid skeletal figure rapidly faded and began to disperse.

Seeing everyone flee for their lives and knowing he lacked great speed, he stopped maintaining it.

He was utterly decisive, without the slightest hesitation.

Juzo, who had been following behind Itachi, was slightly stunned when the huge Susanoo figure before him dissipated.

But without hesitation, he stepped past the halted Itachi and stood in front of him.

He helped Itachi fend off the covetous gazes around them.

"Juzo, if you dare bring out alcohol during a mission again, I'll chop you up first..."

Itachi felt a slight warmth in his heart at Juzo standing before him, but his words remained unforgiving.

By now, how could he not realize that he had gotten carried away?

As someone immensely rational, he was deeply displeased by this situation.

A rational person like him did not like anything escaping his control...

"Uh... Let's talk after we survive..."

Juzo found Itachi's voice too gentle, even when he was scolding someone, to resist.

So he joked in response.

Even if they ran out of chakra, they only needed a brief rest to recover.

If it truly came to that, they could simply abandon the mission. No one could keep them there.

"Hmph. Stop fooling around."

Itachi rolled his eyes at Juzo's words.

Then he wiped the blood from his face and slowly headed toward Yamamoto Jisi and Kakashi.

Though Itachi looked harmless right now, no one dared step forward. Everyone was probing, weighing the pros and cons, waiting for someone unable to hold back to stick their head out and test the waters...

"Brothers, he's so young, so he definitely doesn't have much chakra. His chakra must be exhausted already! Charge! Take him down in one go, dig out his Sharingan, and claim their bounty!"

For example, someone was already inciting the crowd.

Itachi paused.

The person who had just shouted at the top of his lungs was so frightened that he turned and ran wildly...

Time to go, time to go...

Itachi's lips curled upward as he smiled calmly.

This situation was still within his control.

"Kid, I think you've got potential. Want to follow your big brother? Starve for a day... Pah! Eat nine stews a day!"

Itachi arrogantly planted one foot on a chunk of rubble about thirty centimeters high, stretched out a finger at Yamamoto Jisi, and spouted nonsense...

Kakashi and Yamamoto Jisi looked at each other, unable to understand what this boy was trying to do now.

He had been incomparably cold just moments ago. Why had he suddenly become such a frivolous rascal...?

Meanwhile, Juzo silently complained to himself, too embarrassed to watch.

He even wanted to draw a line between himself and Itachi...

This was too humiliating...

What happened to your cool image, hey...

At the same time, he resolved never to let this brat drink again. He was like someone with multiple personalities...

"I'm planning to return to Konoha, so I won't be following you..."

To Itachi's words, Yamamoto Jisi actually gave a serious reply.

The corners of Kakashi's mouth rose beneath his mask.

"Itachi, you should come back with me too. Your little brother is still waiting for you at home... If you don't go back soon, your little brother might start calling a thief his father..."

Kakashi spoke softly with the air of a victor. The beginning was still normal, but the latter half carried a pointed implication.

Upon hearing the first part of Kakashi's words, Itachi instinctively wanted to snap at him. But after hearing the latter half, he froze slightly.

Just as Itachi was about to say something else, Kakashi nodded at Yamamoto Jisi. The two turned into a puff of blue smoke and vanished from where they stood.

"They've left... Fallen leaves return to their roots..."

Itachi did not stop them from leaving, merely murmuring softly.

"Why didn't you stop them? If they leave, our mission fails..."

Not having heard what Itachi said, Juzo complained in confusion.

"If you want to chase them, go yourself. I don't have the strength to chase them."

Itachi spread his hands and pouted.

Sasuke was still in Konoha, and he was still technically a Konoha spy. How could he possibly attack Kakashi...?

But Kakashi's words left Itachi deep in thought. For the moment, he had no idea what Kakashi meant.

The person who had shouted had broken down and fled when Itachi stopped, dealing a huge blow to everyone around him.

Many people quietly left. Too afraid to provoke Itachi, they prepared to pursue Kakashi and the other man instead.

"Looks like the show is over..."

Looking at the few remaining people around them and the devastation all around, Itachi spoke softly.

Fortunately, when the fighting had just begun, the commotion had only been a little loud, and no civilians had been harmed.

By the time they truly began fighting in earnest, the nearby civilians had already fled far away.

"Yeah. The mission failed. We'll probably be mocked by the organization for a while."

Juzo complained gloomily. He did not chase after Kakashi. Itachi was not in good condition right now, so naturally, he could not leave him here to pursue Kakashi and Yamamoto Jisi.