The sky was a spotless blue, without a cloud for miles.
No, in the sky above Konoha, a lone white cloud hung motionless.
No one knew when Yun had appeared or why it stayed there without moving.
Shihōin Naraku hid inside the cloud, looking down.
Below, Kakashi Hatake and Might Guy were fighting Uchiha Itachi, but Itachi had two helpers at his side.
"Kubikiribōchō? Zabuza Momochi? Then is that other slender one Haku?"
What kind of lineup was this?
Naraku could not for the life of him figure out how Zabuza Momochi and Haku had joined the Akatsuki.
By rights, that should not have happened.
Could it be that because he had killed Kisame Hoshigaki, the Akatsuki had recruited another of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist to fill the vacancy?
Thinking back on what he had seen and heard in the Land of Waves, Shihōin Naraku only now realized that Zabuza and Haku had joined the Akatsuki.
But after all those twists and turns, Zabuza Momochi still could not escape his fate of fighting Kakashi Hatake.
It was just a question of who would win this time.
Watching the familiar-looking clash of Water Release Ninjutsu below, Naraku was a little surprised.
The current Kakashi Hatake was different from before. Various provocations had driven his strength to grow faster and more dramatically.
By rights, Kakashi should have had an easier time defeating Zabuza at this point, but the battle below still looked evenly matched.
"What is this? Has Kakashi's passive ability kicked in? Fifty-fifty again..."
"Strange. Zabuza has gotten quite a bit stronger too. He's not at Kage Level, but he's definitely stronger than before."
"Could that be the result of training in the Akatsuki?"
Inside Konoha, at a tributary of the Naka River.
Uchiha Itachi, Zabuza Momochi, and