"Impressive reflexes and speed, but..."
Although the kunai in his hand was firmly gripped by the young man who had suddenly appeared, there was no trace of panic in Uchiha Itachi's eyes.
Because whether it was Yuhi Kurenai—well-versed in genjutsu—or the boy before him, who hadn't even awakened a Sharingan, neither could possibly escape the unique illusion of his Mangekyō Sharingan—
Genjutsu · Tsukuyomi!
"Close your eyes, Kage!"
The instant she realised Uchiha Itachi was about to use his ocular technique, Kurenai, only just regaining consciousness, shouted a warning.
"You can't look into his Sharingan!"
"It's too late. Without a Sharingan like mine, there's no way you can break my Genjutsu Tsukuyomi… Huh!?"
Itachi tried to wrench back his kunai—but the other's hand clamped tight. Worse, the boy used his grip to seize Itachi's palm along with the weapon.
"Impossible… You weren't affected at all?"
Itachi was stunned to find the boy completely absent from the mental space of his Tsukuyomi.
"I'm sorry, but your precious Sharingan seems to have no effect on me whatsoever."
Still clutching Itachi's palm with one hand, Uchiha Kage gathered chakra in the other, forming a Rasengan.
"That technique again..."
And at such close range!
Itachi tried desperately to break free, but it was too late.
Rasengan!
Kage drove the swirling sphere toward Itachi's chest.
But instead of tearing through flesh, the Rasengan hit nothing but air.
Caw—caw—caw!
With a flutter of wings, Itachi's form dissolved into dozens of crows that vanished into the sky.
"You prepared a substitution in advance?"
Kage frowned. In the instant before the attack connected, Itachi had replaced himself with a murder of crows and leapt to safety.
"You're not just some ordinary brat—you actually evaded Itachi-san's illusion."
The clash between Kage, Itachi, and Kurenai had lasted only seconds, yet to Hoshigaki Kisame, watching from the sidelines, it seemed an eternity.
"Your hand..."
Seeing Itachi forced to retreat, Kurenai's concern turned instantly to Kage's left hand, still dripping blood.
"That was far too reckless, risking yourself like that to save me."
Blood streamed down Kage's arm, but it was Kurenai whose heart ached.
"Don't misunderstand, teacher. I wasn't trying to save you—I just wanted to throw him off balance and stop him."
Though it seemed the plan hadn't quite succeeded, Kage had at least ensured Itachi wouldn't try the same illusion again.
"You!"
If there weren't a deadly enemy right in front of her, Kurenai would have gladly planted a sharp kick to her arrogant disciple's backside. Did he think she was blind? He'd clearly saved her, yet refused to admit it. Where had she picked up such a stubborn student?
"Still, teacher, those two aren't the kind you can beat with illusions—so don't use that move again."
Kage had wanted to warn her earlier, but she had already cast her genjutsu before he could speak.
"Neither of them?"
She understood Itachi's immunity—but the shark-faced man?
"That sword, Samehada [Shark Skin], is alive. It can rouse its wielder from an illusion at any time."
Kage's explanation cleared her doubts.
"No wonder he broke free so fast."
Kurenai nodded grimly.
"But in that case, I'm almost useless here. How do you plan to fight these two?"
Two opponents immune to genjutsu—just thinking about it gave her a pounding headache.
Am I really going to die here today? Damn it… I promised Father I'd raise the next generation before I died...
"It's simple—Taijutsu."
Byakugan, open!
I've been working on my Gentle Fist lately—let's see how it fares against Kisame.
"Taijutsu? Wait—what stance is that!?"
Kurenai's eyes widened. Kage had dropped into the opening form of the Hyūga clan's Gentle Fist.
"I don't know where you've picked up all this, brat—but you won't leave here alive."
Water Style · Great Exploding Water Wave…
No longer underestimating his foe, Kisame prepared to flood the battlefield, creating the water terrain he excelled in. There, with his underwater breathing and Samehada's chakra-draining power, he'd be unbeatable.
"We can't let him get the water out!"
But Kage had already predicted this.
Gentle Fist · Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms!
Fortunately, Kisame was an "honest fighter" who used long sequences of hand seals for the Great Exploding Water Wave.
Kage's rapid-fire Gentle Fist strikes broke the sequence before Kisame could finish—and, with Samehada set aside for the seals, Kisame could only take the storm of strikes with his body.
"This is the Hyūga clan's secret art… How does he know it?"
Both Kurenai and Itachi were stunned.
An Uchiha, using Gentle Fist?
But…
Itachi, who had intended to eliminate these Konoha ninja, hesitated. If even Kisame was struggling, perhaps retreat was wiser. Best not to kill Leaf shinobi unless necessary.
Only…
An Uchiha without a Sharingan, immune to Tsukuyomi?
The thought of such a dangerous stranger near Sasuke gnawed at him. Itachi resolved to keep pressing the attack.
"Your opponent is me!"
Seeing Itachi's dark gaze fixed on Kage, Kurenai lunged in with a kunai. She assumed he meant to strike her disciple mid-battle, so—even knowing she stood no chance—she resolved to buy Kage some time.
Itachi, still weighing his options, drew his own kunai to parry her.
"Kage… Kage-san can use Gentle Fist…"
And… better than me!
From the sidelines, Hinata froze, eyes wide as Kage's Eight Trigrams Sixty-Four Palms landed.
But… how?
Every stance, every movement—identical to the Kage I see in my dreams…