Chapter 77 – The Ferret's Final Sunrise
Itachi flicked his wrist.
Countless shuriken flew.
"Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Claw Red!"
Tiny fireballs clung to every blade, turning the volley into a spectacular rain of flame that engulfed Asuma's entire surroundings.
"True One-Text Slash!"
Asuma danced through the storm, chakra blades flashing. A net of wind blades shredded every incoming projectile mid-air.
First exchange—dead even.
Then Itachi appeared one meter in front of Asuma.
Three-tomoe Sharingan stared calmly.
Shit!
Asuma's heart dropped.
Rule number one against an Uchiha: never meet their eyes.
He had just finished blocking the shuriken. One moment of catching his breath, and Itachi capitalized.
Too late.
In a blink, Asuma was crucified inside a genjutsu cross.
Kakashi noticed instantly.
He knew exactly how broken Sharingan illusions were—he'd owned one.
He tried to break off from Kisame to help.
A wall of shark-skinned muscle blocked him.
"Sorry, can't let you interrupt Itachi-san."
Samehada barred the way.
Kakashi swallowed his panic. He'd only traded blows for a few minutes, but he already had Kisame's measure.
Elite swordsmanship, monstrous water jutsu, and that absurd chakra reserve—"tailless tailed beast" wasn't just a nickname.
"All I can do is buy time until the Fifth gets here…"
Kakashi tightened his grip on the White Fang dagger, ready to go all-out.
Then the reinforcements he prayed for arrived.
Just not the ones he expected.
"Amaterasu!"
A voice colder than winter.
Unquenchable black flames ignited out of thin air, swallowing Itachi and Kisame.
Both Akatsuki ripped off their burning cloaks and flung them away. The lake itself caught fire.
Izumi materialized a dozen meters in front of them.
Aike, Nami, Carina, and Kaya stepped onto the shore behind her.
"You…"
Kakashi's shoulders sagged with relief.
"Itachi's finished."
His expression was complicated as he glanced at Aike.
With these five here, escape was impossible.
Izumi's Eternal Mangekyou outclassed Itachi's. And the other four were walking natural disasters.
Checkmate. No solutions.
Kakashi handed the battlefield over without hesitation and rushed to Asuma.
"Asuma! Wake up!"
"Stop yelling. His mind's shredded. You could scream yourself hoarse and he wouldn't hear you. Get him to the hospital."
Aike called lazily from the railing he was leaning on.
"Mind shredded?!"
Kakashi paled—the Sarutobi clan only had two seedlings left. Asuma couldn't die.
He shouted a quick thanks and vanished toward the hospital with Asuma on his back.
On the lake,
Itachi stared at the woman in front of him, emotions swirling behind an expressionless mask.
"We meet again, Izumi."
"Yeah. I've dreamed of this moment every single night."
Izumi's voice was pure ice.
"You've hidden long enough. Time to go downstairs and atone to the clan—and to my mother."
The second the last word left her mouth,
a gigantic skeletal hand erupted from her Susanoo and smashed down toward Itachi with murderous force.
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