"This sword really is troublesome."
Uchiha Kage frowned slightly as he watched Kisame recover in mere moments, gripping Samehada's hilt.Not only could it absorb chakra, but it could also return that stolen chakra to its wielder, healing injuries in the process.
"You're being careless, Kisame."
Glancing briefly at his partner, now standing again, Uchiha Itachi activated his Sharingan, his gaze fixed with growing curiosity on the boy before him.Itachi had always made it a point to remember the faces of those he killed—but the name Uchiha Kage and his appearance did not exist in any Uchiha clan record.
When Danzo later told him he had missed a child that night, Itachi had been deeply puzzled.Could the masked man from that night have deliberately left this one alive—planting him as a sleeper inside Konoha?
That thought only made Itachi more determined to keep the young man here.
"Pressure, Masne—that jutsu just now…" Kisame muttered. Even though Samehada had absorbed part of the attack, the remaining power still made his body ache."The Uchiha really are full of geniuses."
"Yeah," Kage replied coolly, "but the most outstanding genius is still the one next to you—the man who wiped out his entire clan."
Uchiha Kage didn't particularly care about the Uchiha clan's fate, but even as an outsider, Itachi's act of slaughtering his own people left no room for goodwill.
"Itachi Uchiha."
Kage met the three-tomoe Sharingan without the slightest sign of backing down.
"Shino-san, are you alright?"
Hinata found Aburame Shino lying bloodied amid the rubble.
"It's… it's nothing. Just a surface wound."
Shino forced himself upright with her help, letting her wrap the injury in a quick bandage.But as his eyes swept over the devastated street, a heavy sense of powerlessness settled over him.
Against ordinary bandits, his taijutsu alone could crush dozens.But against a true elite ninja… he could barely withstand the aftershock of a single jutsu.
Sometimes the gap between ninja was even greater than the gap between ninja and civilians.
"You two stay here. Don't move. I'll find a way to deal with them."
Yuhi Kurenai emerged from another pile of debris, relieved to see her students unharmed.Though covered in dust, she was otherwise unscathed.
Earlier, she'd struggled against the two S-rank missing-nin because she'd never found a moment to cast her signature genjutsu.But now—with Uchiha Kage standing between her and the enemy—she saw a chance.
Hmph. That annoying disciple is fine… but even this shark thinks he can look down on a Konoha Jōnin?
"Sensei, I can still—" Hinata began.
Thanks to Kage's protection, Hinata was in even better shape than her teacher.
"HINATA! If we jump in, we'll just hold them back. Follow sensei's orders."
Shino's voice cut across her protest. They had no way to influence a battle like this.It would be better to wait for the outcome, then act.
"…Alright."
Hinata stopped moving forward but kept her eyes locked on the fight.If Kage were in danger, she wouldn't hesitate.But Shino was right—right now, she would only be a burden.
Fate was strange that way.
To avoid running into any Konoha ninja who might be on a mission in the Land of Fire, Uchiha Itachi had deliberately led Kisame toward Konoha Village, assuming the chance of meeting them was zero.
At the same time, to avoid getting caught in a fight, Yuhi Kurenai's team had abandoned their mission and turned back toward the village.
Both sides had been trying to avoid trouble—yet here they were, on the same road.
Uchiha Kage didn't want this meeting. Neither did Uchiha Itachi.But now that it had happened, Itachi's priority was clear: eliminate the Konoha ninjas quickly.
And that boy… there was something about him.Best to remove any potential threat to Sasuke as soon as possible.
"A loser without even a Sharingan isn't qualified to judge me."
Itachi's three-tomoe Sharingan spun faster, the murderous aura around him intensifying."Today's the perfect time to fix the mistake I made that night."
"The one who's wrong is you, traitor. Since I've met you here, I'll just help clean up the Uchiha's trash."
Just a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan and he acts like no one else could possibly compare.
Kage calmly stooped and picked up a ninja fragment from where he'd struck Kisame earlier.Fighting both at once was risky, but if he could knock away and absorb their fragments during battle… the odds might change.
"Wait, Itachi-san. Let me wear the brat down first."
Kisame stripped away all of Samehada's bandages, his round eyes locking on Kage's form.
The sword writhed in his hands like a living thing, its mouth opening to reveal rows of jagged teeth.
"Sorry, Uchiha survivor—but you just angered Samehada. It wants you for bait." Kisame's grin was all teeth.
"Don't you dare harm my students!"
Demonic Illusion: Tree Binding Death!
Yuhi Kurenai's long black hair stirred though there was no wind.As she formed the last seal, her body shimmered like a bubble and vanished.
"Genjutsu?"
Both Kisame and Itachi felt the chakra and tensed—yet moments later, Kisame's legs and torso were snared by thick roots bursting from the ground.
"Interesting. Even knowing it was coming, I still got caught. Impressive." Kisame struggled as the branches thickened and engulfed him entirely.
Itachi was bound as well—but only for a moment.
"As expected of you, Kurenai-senpai. But using genjutsu in front of the Sharingan… unwise."
Demonic Illusion: Mirror Heaven and Earth Change!
Before Kurenai could claim victory, Itachi reversed the technique, casting her own illusion back upon her.
"What?!"
Finding herself trapped by the very branches she'd conjured, Kurenai's eyes widened in disbelief.
In the real world, Itachi stepped forward and drove a kunai toward her throat.
"That's enough, Red-senpai."
Pshhh!
The blade bit into flesh, drawing blood—
"Kage!?"
Snapping free from the illusion by biting her lip, Kurenai's vision cleared to see a young man standing between her and Itachi, one hand gripping the kunai's edge.