"Hmm?"
Kiyosuke, who had been hurrying along the road, suddenly stopped in his tracks.
Kakashi asked, "What is it?"
"I just sensed a strange chakra. Hinata, take a look."
"Yes. Byakugan!"
Hinata activated her Byakugan. Within a one-kilometer radius, every detail in three hundred and sixty degrees came into view.
Suddenly, she said, "Kiyosuke-sensei, at eight o'clock, three hundred meters away—there's a strange chakra fluctuation! No… it's gone!"
"Damn. Looks like it was an enemy scout. And he managed to slip away."
To avoid both his sensory detection and Hinata's Byakugan, there was only one possible culprit—Zetsu.
That creature, a fusion of White Zetsu and Black Zetsu, could appear and disappear without a trace. The Five Great Nations were practically its backyard, and it could obtain information at will. As an intelligence operative, it was nearly impossible to detect with ordinary means.
Even Kiyosuke had only caught the faintest ripple of chakra. That was why he'd asked Hinata to confirm, but to his surprise, Zetsu had already noticed them and vanished.
"We need to move faster," Kiyosuke said. "If we drag this out, reinforcements might show up."
"You're right," Chiyo nodded.
They had already crossed the Land of Wind and entered the Land of Rivers. By now, they were likely close to where Gaara and the others were. Otherwise, they wouldn't have run into enemy scouts.
Everyone picked up their pace. Since they'd already been discovered, they couldn't afford to give the enemy time to prepare. This was the best chance to capture members of Akatsuki.
They arrived at a clearing and suddenly halted.
Standing before them was a young man dressed in a black cloak with red clouds. His blood-red eyes radiated an ominous aura.
"Uchiha… Itachi?!" Kakashi called out the name slowly.
"It's been a long time, Captain Kakashi. And… Kiyosuke-sama," Itachi replied calmly. His Sharingan eyes were sharp, without a hint of near-sighted strain, and he looked perfectly healthy.
"Itachi?!" Naruto shouted. "Why are you here?! Why did you become a rogue ninja? Do you know how heartbroken Sasuke is?"
For Naruto and Sasuke, who never knew the full truth, Itachi's betrayal was a source of endless pain. To them, he wasn't just a clan prodigy—he was the older brother who had looked after them.
Naruto had practically grown up in Sasuke's home, treating Itachi as his own big brother. Like Sasuke, he could never accept Itachi's defection. Now that they'd finally run into him, he couldn't stop himself from demanding answers.
But Itachi didn't reply to Naruto's questions. He only said, "Naruto, you've grown. But I'm sorry. This is where you must stay."
"Tch. So you came here just to stop us? Do you really think you can?"
Kiyosuke met Itachi's gaze, subtly flashing him a signal.
Itachi cooperated, replying, "I know your strength. But I'll do everything I can to hold you back."
"You sure are loyal to your organization," Kiyosuke sneered. "What's the deal? Free meals, a roof over your head, health insurance, and… a girlfriend included?"
"You haven't lost your sense of humor," Itachi's lips curved faintly.
Kiba stepped forward boldly.
"Kiyosuke-sensei, leave this guy to us!"
Kiyosuke sighed. "You guys? Don't take this the wrong way, but even if all six of you tied yourselves together, you wouldn't stand a chance."
If even Itachi's real body would be difficult to handle, then this wasn't even the real deal.
The Itachi standing before them wasn't his true self—it was a Transformed Body clone, a jutsu similar to a shadow clone.
This was one of the Rinnegan's abilities. By dividing Itachi's chakra and infusing it into a living sacrifice, Pain could create a highly detailed "replica" that retained his powers.
The clone could use most of the original's abilities, but once the sacrifice's chakra was drained, the technique would dissolve, and the sacrifice would die instantly. A brutal jutsu that consumed every last drop of the sacrifice's chakra.
It was essentially a low-tier version of the Six Paths of Pain, designed to let Akatsuki members back each other up from afar.
This clone only carried a fraction of Itachi's chakra, but even that was more than enough to handle six kids—of course, only if he wasn't holding back.
After all, chakra was limited.
"Kiyosuke-sensei, you're crushing our morale. Is he really that strong?" Kiba asked defiantly.
"He joined ANBU at eleven, became a squad captain at fourteen," Kiyosuke said flatly. "He's leagues above you. He's a true genius."
"Itachi isn't an ordinary ninja. He's really strong!" Naruto added.
Kakashi warned, "Kiba, don't be reckless. I'll hold him off. The rest of you go ahead."
"I think you'll be stuck here for a while."
Another voice cut in. From the shadows of the forest, a tall figure emerged.
A shark-like face. A massive blade slung across his back—Samehada.
"Kiyosuke-sensei…" Hinata gasped. "Such massive chakra… I've only ever seen chakra like this from Naruto-kun and you."
"That sword… is he one of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?"
Chiyo's sparse eyebrows arched.
"At my age, I never thought I'd see one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist again. For Kirigakure to let someone like this defect…"
"We meet again, Kiyosuke-san," Kisame said politely. Whenever he met Kiyosuke, he always addressed him respectfully as "san."
"Oh, long time no see, Kisame-san. How's it feel, working as a duo with Itachi?"
At Kiyosuke's instruction, Itachi had gone undercover in Akatsuki. Kisame, under Yagura Karatachi's orders, had also infiltrated Akatsuki to gather intelligence.
Together—they were the undercover duo!
The only strange part was that Pain had actually sent both of them to block the team.
Oh… but then again, Pain didn't know they were undercover. That explained it.
"These are dangerous opponents, Kiyosuke," Kakashi said gravely.
He remembered clearly from the Third Great Ninja War just how difficult Kisame had been to deal with. But with Kiyosuke here, his tension eased somewhat.
"Um, what exactly are the Seven Ninja Swordsmen?" Naruto asked, confused.
"Hopeless. Do you ever read anything?" Sakura snapped. "The previous Seven Ninja Swordsmen were all taken down by Kiyosuke-sama! You don't even know his achievements?"
"Eh?! For real?" Naruto stared at Kiyosuke in shock.
The rest of the group also turned toward Kiyosuke with awe, and he found their admiration very satisfying.
Kisame, ever the gentleman, added,
"I've seen Kiyosuke-san's madness firsthand. To finish off the remaining Swordsmen, he stormed Kirigakure itself. He fought his way through nearly the entire village and escaped with only minor injuries. Something like that had never happened before."
Kiyosuke waved it off.
"Nothing much. After all, family should stay together, right?"