Four massive snakes lunged toward Shisui, fangs bared to sink into him—but he didn't even flinch. In an instant, a skeletal half-body Susanoo erupted around him. It sprouted four glowing arms, each grabbing a snake mid-strike. With a slight twist of his will, the arms clenched. With several sickening crunch sounds, the snake heads were crushed into pulp.
Kabuto scoffed and sneered, "So this is the Susanoo?"
Shisui stared coldly at him, and with a flick of thought, he tightened his grip further until the snakes stopped thrashing completely.
Watching this, Itachi called out, "Shisui, don't go overboard. Naruto said we can't kill him!"
Shisui chuckled lightly. "Relax. Anyone who can make that much noise and cause this much trouble isn't going to die from a few crushed snake heads."
Kisame laughed, his shark-like teeth bared. "Itachi, you're always too cautious! Mr. Shisui, please understand, he's always like this."
He shook his head with an amused sigh.
"He was like this even when we went after the Four-Tails, Son Gokū. That Jinchūriki looked like some harmless old man, but damn, he gave me a hell of a fight. I was about to bash his skull in when Itachi just gave me that look and asked me to 'go easy' on him. Tch, really!"
Shisui smirked as he glanced toward his longtime friend. Itachi looked slightly embarrassed but didn't deny it.
Kisame wasn't lying—this was exactly how Itachi behaved.
As Shisui observed their banter, he found it slightly amusing. Despite Kisame's eccentric personality, he clearly respected and trusted Itachi deeply. It explained why he followed Naruto's lead so easily after being revived—seeing Itachi alive again was all it took.
Kabuto, meanwhile, narrowed his eyes at the exchange. "It seems... Naruto's targeting me now. How interesting. I suppose that means you're here to take me in. Let's see if you even have what it takes!"
Shisui's gaze sharpened. "We'll see about that. Itachi, ready?"
Itachi nodded. "Let's do it."
Shisui hurled the dead snake bodies aside. Itachi's half-body Susanoo flared to life as he rushed forward and yanked back Kabuto's hood—only to reveal five or six more serpentine heads writhing underneath.
No sign of Kabuto.
Shisui scanned the cave, then frowned. "He must have shed his skin and slipped away. And I'm sure he used the Body Replacement Technique the moment we entered. He's being extremely cautious."
Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan whirled as he surveyed the area. "There's chakra residue everywhere—on the ground, walls, and even hanging stalactites. He's split into countless snakes and spread them throughout the cave."
Kisame grumbled, folding his arms. "This is such a pain. He's just like Orochimaru—some lazy, wriggling snake hiding in holes."
Suddenly, laughter echoed throughout the cavern—sharp and grating.
Kabuto's voice slithered out from all around them. "As expected of Shisui of the Body Flicker. Your powers of observation are frightening. Yes, I used the Body Replacement Technique as soon as you entered."
He paused, his tone becoming mockingly respectful.
"I couldn't help it—the chakra in your eyes is terrifying. That green glow from your Susanoo... my instincts screamed at me. My very nature told me I'd die if I stayed."
Itachi's voice cut through the cave's darkness, calm yet firm. "Kabuto, surrender. Withdraw from this war and cooperate with us. It's your only chance."
He let the silence hang before adding:
"Also—Naruto's attitude toward you is far from hostile. In fact, before we came here, he specifically told us not to hurt you."
Kabuto's voice took on a bitter edge. "Naruto? He wants control of the Impure World Reincarnation. That's all. Orochimaru-sama already pledged himself to Naruto's cause. Now he wants me for the same reason—to seize control of the undead army!"
As he spoke, several snakes slithered from the shadows, fusing together until one monstrous serpent head opened its jaws wide—and a humanoid arm burst forth.
Kabuto's body emerged from the snake's gullet, drenched in slime.
"Itachi," he said, voice intense, "I'll admit you're strong, but the me standing here today is no longer who I used to be. I've transcended."
Itachi frowned. He could feel it—Kabuto's chakra had transformed.
Kabuto flexed his second arm as it slipped free of the snake's mouth, then leaped to the cave floor. The sound of wet mucus splattering echoed through the cave.
Kisame cringed. "Ugh. Still as gross as ever. Just like Orochimaru."
But Kabuto stood tall now, with a strange sense of pride.
"No," he said. "I am different from Orochimaru-sama now. I've evolved. I've gone beyond the snake... and become a dragon!"
He suddenly formed a hand seal. A surge of chakra erupted from him in a blast of wind and pressure that swept across the cave.
Kisame grinned savagely. "Now that's some chakra! I haven't felt a wave like that since I faced that walking disaster Naruto. Itachi! Let me take this one—I've been itching for a good fight!"
He flexed, his muscles twitching, and charged forward.
"Kisame, wait!" Itachi shouted, alarmed.
Kabuto sneered. "Fool. You overestimate yourself!"
He slammed his hands together, forming a new seal.
"Sage Art: White Rage Technique!"
From his mouth, a small red dragon burst forth, clutching a black orb of compressed chakra in its claws. As it flew, Itachi's eyes widened.
He activated his full Susanoo and dashed toward Kisame.
Kisame roared and unsheathed Samehada, swinging it at the red dragon—but the creature coiled around the black orb, forming a spiraling vortex.
In the next instant, the orb detonated.
A blinding flash of white light filled the cave, accompanied by a shrill, nauseating shriek that pierced through bone and brain alike.
Kisame froze mid-swing, clutching his ears and snarling in agony.
"Damn it! My ears… it feels like even my bones are vibrating! This bastard Kabuto...!"
Itachi reached him in time, enveloping both of them in Susanoo's protection.
"I told you to wait!" he growled, also grimacing in pain.
Kabuto's Sage Art had struck all their senses—sight, hearing, balance—with paralyzing precision. It was the perfect jutsu for disabling Uchiha eyes and high-level perception-based combatants.
Kabuto gave a twisted smile, then turned and ran.
He wasn't arrogant enough to believe he could win against all three—Itachi, Kisame, and Shisui—especially not when they had the upper hand.
Kabuto was a scientist, after all. Tactical retreat was just another part of the experiment.
The fact that Shisui and Itachi had been revived with full flesh and blood bodies had already thrown his logic into chaos. The chakra barriers he'd set up should have kept them away.
Yet, they found him.
Something was very, very wrong.
Better to regroup, analyze, and return stronger.
Itachi, even while covering his ears, didn't miss Kabuto's fleeing figure. Under the residual light of the explosion, he caught sight of movement.
"He's running—Shisui! Don't let him escape!"
"I'm on it!"
Shisui formed a hand seal, and in a flicker—twenty Shisuis burst into the tunnel behind Kabuto, each one executing the Body Flicker Technique in flawless sync.
Kabuto looked over his shoulder and felt his heart sink.
How!? How can anyone move like that in this terrain?
But he didn't know the truth—Shisui's Body Flicker wasn't bound by gravity, vibration, or environmental interference. It was more than just speed—it was a pure, untouchable burst of motion.
Shadowless, weightless, and absolute.
"Don't even think about escaping!" one of the Shisuis shouted.
From every angle, Shisui's shadow clones hurled kunai, sealing off all exits with terrifying precision.
Kabuto's pupils contracted. He's trying to corral me…
Fury surged in his chest.
This wasn't over.
Not yet.
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