Ambush

"Sasori? What are you doing here?"

Hearing the knock, Itachi Uchiha looked at the hunched old man in the black mask before him and frowned slightly.

Having just finished a war-related commission with Kisame, Itachi had returned to the Akatsuki base in Amegakure to rest.

"Itachi!"

"The leader sent me to find you. There's a new mission: kill the organization's traitor, Orochimaru."

Sasori of the Red Sands' voice remained as old and hoarse as ever, without the slightest emotional fluctuation.

Itachi Uchiha's frown deepened. The task of hunting down Orochimaru had always been handled by Deidara and Sasori. Why did they need him now?

"The organization has confirmed Orochimaru's location? But even if we're killing Orochimaru, shouldn't Kisame be coming with me?"

"Kisame has another mission."

Sasori of the Red Sands' voice seemed to brook no doubt as he spoke coldly:

"The organization has found Orochimaru's trail. He was seriously injured by Tobirama Senju and this is our best chance to kill him! Besides, I'm short on a strong corpse right now. Orochimaru would make an excellent Human Puppet."

"Get ready. I'll wait outside."

With that, Hiruko's hunched figure turned and gradually disappeared into the darkness.

Sasori's behavior was no different from usual. Everything seemed perfectly normal, and even Itachi Uchiha, who was skilled at observation, sensed nothing amiss.

Still, Itachi was puzzled. Why did this mission require him? But since it was an order personally issued by the Akatsuki leader, he could not easily refuse.

After briefly preparing some ninja tools, Itachi Uchiha quickly followed Sasori.

The two raced toward the Land of Rice Paddies.

As they ventured deeper into the Land of Rice Paddies, nothing unusual appeared along the way. Everything seemed calm.

Yet a powerful sense of unease rose within Itachi.

Hiruko, controlled by Sasori, continued forward steadily, but the unease in Itachi's heart grew stronger.

The three tomoe in his eyes slowly spun as he studied Hiruko's figure. The chakra circulating within Sasori was perfectly calm, showing no abnormal signs.

He could detect nothing unusual.

But sometimes, the absence of anything unusual was the greatest abnormality of all.

He silently heightened his guard, shifting his entire body into a combat stance.

When the two reached the edge of a massive waterfall, one in front of the other, Itachi Uchiha suddenly stopped.

"Wait!"

Itachi Uchiha called out to Sasori of the Red Sands.

Sasori of the Red Sands turned to look at Itachi Uchiha, his voice hoarse. "What?"

"I want to contact the leader and confirm the details of this mission." Itachi Uchiha stared at Hiruko's expressionless eyes.

"You can, but you'd better be quick. I hate waiting most of all."

Sasori's answer was calm, his attitude exactly as usual. Even his habitual phrase was no different from before.

Yet seeing Sasori act so unconcerned, Itachi Uchiha nearly attacked him outright.

For Sasori to be so confident in letting him contact the leader, did that mean even the Akatsuki leader intended to attack him?!

These thoughts flashed through Itachi Uchiha's mind, but his hands showed no abnormality. He pretended to use the Illusory Body Technique to contact Pain.

Yet countless thoughts raced through his mind. If his fears were true, then... how was he supposed to escape this ambush?

Having infiltrated Akatsuki for so long, Itachi knew exactly what kind of desperate criminals filled this organization.

If the leader, Pain, had joined this ambush, he did not know how to handle it.

If the other members had designs on him as well, he would almost certainly die!

All sorts of possibilities flashed through Itachi's mind. He had to find the best chance to escape.

Very soon,

Itachi Uchiha looked as though he had received an answer through the Illusory Body Technique, and his entire demeanor relaxed considerably.

He looked toward Sasori of the Red Sands, nodded lightly, and said, "No problem. Let's go!"

"Fine."

Sasori's tone remained as lifeless as ever.

But this time, after hearing Itachi Uchiha's response, he did not take the lead and guide the way ahead.

Instead, he stood quietly where he was, waiting for Itachi Uchiha to approach.

Both seemed to harbor their own schemes, yet both understood the other's intentions. Above the massive waterfall, aside from the roar of crashing water, the silence was terrifying.

Twenty meters,

Ten meters,

Five meters!

When Itachi Uchiha was less than five meters from Sasori, his steps stopped in that very instant.

His hands flashed toward the ninja tool pouch at his waist. The Three-Tomoe Sharingan in his eyes spun like windmills, while his hands seemed dreamlike as they continuously snatched, swung, and hurled objects around him.

In an instant, countless densely packed kunai and shuriken shot toward Sasori of the Red Sands.

Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique!

With Itachi Uchiha's superb skill in throwing ninja tools, coupled with the overwhelming firepower of the Shuriken Shadow Clone Technique, even an ordinary Jonin would be unable to withstand so many hidden weapons!

Even against Sasori of the Red Sands, it would be enough to buy him time!

However, Sasori of the Red Sands was no ordinary Jonin. As Sunagakure's genius prodigy,

he had realized the other party had seen through the plot the moment Itachi Uchiha stopped walking.

Thus, when Itachi Uchiha threw his various ninja tools, Sasori had already controlled Hiruko's iron tail to sweep forward.

The tail, forged from refined steel, swept every projectile aimed at him out of the air, producing a series of crisp metallic clangs.

Then the iron tail spun in the air before swiftly stabbing toward Itachi Uchiha's heart.

It was not over yet.

The instant Itachi Uchiha sensed something was wrong and began to retaliate, eight figures burst from within the waterfall. The moment they appeared, they attacked Itachi Uchiha almost simultaneously!

Hidden Shadow Snake Hands!

Banshō Ten'in!

Paper Shuriken Technique!

In an instant, the dense barrage of attacks nearly engulfed Itachi Uchiha.

Before him was Sasori's piercing iron tail. At the same time, the Deva Path stood beside Sasori, generating a powerful suction force that gradually dragged Itachi toward the iron tail.

Behind Itachi, two giant pythons intertwined as they opened their enormous jaws toward him.

Above his head, countless paper shuriken descended upon his body like raindrops, blotting out the sky.

In such a fatal situation, even a slightly weaker Kage Level fighter would almost certainly die.

Yet Itachi's expression did not change.

Dragged by the Deva Path's attraction force, his body crashed straight toward Hiruko's iron tail, coated in deadly poison.

But at that very moment,

Clone Great Explosion!

Itachi Uchiha suddenly shouted as he formed a hand seal.

At once, with a deafening BOOM!

A world-shaking explosion erupted around the waterfall, centered on Sasori's Hiruko.

In a single instant, terrifying energy and flames spread in every direction, swallowing Sasori's Hiruko in the blink of an eye.