◉◉◉◉◉
The two cloaked figures came to a sudden stop.
Itachi's eyes slid closed. He let out a breath, almost like a sigh.
"Kisame," he said flatly, "take Kakashi."
"As for the others… remove them from this world."
Kisame's mouth split into a grin, Samehada sliding into his hands with a splash as he surged forward across the water toward the trio.
With one barely conscious and the other two still blindfolded, this should've been an easy cleanup.
WHAM!
A blur of green shot in from the side. Kisame reflexively raised Samehada to block only to be launched backward, crashing into the riverbank.
"What the hell—?!"
The attacker landed squarely in front of Kakashi's fallen body.
Green jumpsuit. Gleaming white teeth. That unmistakable bowl cut.
"The Beast of the Leaf… the maniac MIGHT GUY has arrived!"
Kisame stared.
"…What is that outfit? Should call you a rare animal instead."
Itachi's expression hardened. "Don't underestimate him."
Of all of them, Guy was by far the most troublesome. No illusions, no tricks just raw, unstoppable taijutsu. And the Eight Gates Technique made genjutsu virtually useless against him.
Itachi didn't even consider using Tsukuyomi again. Not this soon. Not after what it had done to him.
Guy eyed the two of them, calm but serious.
Behind him—
SPLASH.
Kakashi finally collapsed into the water.
Guy flinched.
He was too late.
"Damn it, Kakashi…"
He caught his friend and hauled him over his shoulder.
Asuma, still with his eyes squeezed shut, called out, "Guy! Don't look at his eyes! Itachi's genjutsu is deadly!"
Guy flashed his signature smile. "I'm well aware. I've been training to counter the Sharingan for years specifically to one-up Kakashi."
"Open your eyes, both of you! When facing someone with a Sharingan, all you need to do is watch their feet. Read their movement from the ground up."
Kurenai and Asuma blinked. "That's it?"
"Sounds simple enough," Kurenai muttered, as she opened her eyes cautiously.
Asuma scoffed, "Yeah… for you."
Guy shrugged. "If you're struggling, don't worry. My team's Neji doesn't even need eyes to predict enemy movements. Compared to him, you two are fine."
'Wow,' Asuma thought, 'you really don't hold back, do you.'
"So what now?" he asked.
Guy gently laid Kakashi in Kurenai's arms. "You take Kakashi to the medical unit."
He turned to Asuma. "Cover me until my backup squad arrives."
Then he faced down the rogue ninja duo confident, resolute.
"I'll hold them off in the meantime."
Kisame narrowed his eyes. "You've got guts, I'll give you that."
But Itachi held up a hand. "Kisame, that's enough."
"We didn't come here to fight. There's no point staying."
Kisame's shoulders sagged with disappointment. "Tch. I was just getting warmed up…"
But he didn't argue. No one argued with Itachi.
With a shimmer, both figures vanished into the trees.
---
Elsewhere, in the Konoha.
Jiraiya sat slurping noodles at Ichiraku Ramen.
He glanced toward the door just as Naruto stormed past, muttering bitterly under his breath.
"Why do I have to go on some pervy research trip with you anyway?!"
Jiraiya followed casually behind, grinning.
"Oh come on, Naruto. This isn't just any trip. I'm interviewing a very special woman. Beautiful, powerful… You'd want to meet her."
Naruto kicked a pebble down the road. "I'm not some errand boy! I have the training to do!"
He pouted. "Besides, Kakashi-sensei barely taught me anything about Chidori and then just ghosted me."
Jiraiya blinked. 'You're wind affinity, kid. Chidori's lightning, of course, he bailed.'
He shrugged. "Maybe that's not your jutsu. But hey—this woman I'm meeting? Gorgeous. Wanna come meet her?"
Naruto scowled. "Do you think I'm dumb enough to fall for that kind of bait?! No way I'm going with you, you stupid pervy sage!"
Jiraiya sighed.
Time for that move.
"Suit yourself. I was just gonna take Sasuke instead…"
Naruto froze.
His brain stalled.
"WHAT?!"
No. Nope. Hell no. Not letting Sasuke go off on some bonding trip with that weirdo—
"I'm coming! Wait right here—I'm packing my stuff!"
Naruto took off in a blur.
Jiraiya chuckled, arms crossed. "Kids these days…"
Though honestly…
Sasuke wouldn't have been a bad travel companion either.
---
At the village gates…
Neji was already waiting.
He'd said his goodbyes to Izumi, Hinata, and Tenten, and each of them had packed way more than he needed. He'd accepted it with grace, slipping everything into storage scrolls.
After all, he had taught Tenten how to summon and seal gear.
As he organized his things, he felt two presences approaching.
"Yo. Naruto."
Naruto flinched instinctively and ducked behind Jiraiya.
"Neji?! What are you doing here?!"
Jiraiya scratched his head sheepishly.
"Oh, right… Did I forget to mention?"
Neji crossed his arms, smirking faintly.
"I'm coming with you."
"WHAT?!"
◉◉◉◉◉
~Support with 100 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
◉◉◉◉◉
For early access to advanced chapters on P-atreon:
P-atreon/iamxeno
(Just remove the - hyphen to access Patreon normally)
Thank you so much for your support and for reading!