The situation wasn't particularly optimistic. Guy seemed to have plenty of experience dealing with the Sharingan, it was turning out to be more troublesome than expected. And with the example of Kakashi right in front of him, the element of surprise for using Tsukuyomi was already lost. Unless he used Susanoo, but that would be overkill and not worth the cost.
Itachi analyzed the situation, trying to find a reasonable way to end the fight.
Meanwhile, Asuma and Kurenai stood no chance against Kisame in his fused form; they wouldn't be able to hold out much longer.
He needed to disable Guy before the ANBU arrived, take Kisame, and end this conflict.
What… should I do? Itachi pondered.
Just then, Guy came charging in with blazing fists. His eyes remained locked on Itachi's shoulders, ankles, and elbows, skillfully avoiding direct eye contact with the Sharingan. Clearly, he was very familiar with fighting against it.
Their taijutsu clash was as fast as lightning. In their head-on exchange, Itachi suddenly threw several shuriken that ricocheted off each other, coming at Guy's back from bizarre, nearly impossible angles. However, Guy effortlessly dodged the attack by naturally twisting his body, and using the momentum of his spin, launched a fierce spinning kick aimed directly at Itachi's head.
Itachi barely managed to block it with his arms but was still sent flying by the tremendous force. He used the momentum to retreat and dissipate the impact, quickly forming hand signs.
A massive fireball whooshed out, radiating intense heat and forcing Guy to pause his pursuit for a moment.
He took a brief breath.
The taijutsu master had already suppressed him.
The idea of taijutsu overpowering the Mangekyō Sharingan still felt absurd.
The Sharingan could clearly see every movement Guy made, but his body could barely keep up.
What Itachi didn't know was that Guy was actually holding back. His real strength would only come out after opening the Eight Gates, and for now, all he needed to do was stall. The ANBU and other jonin would arrive soon.
This was Konoha, after all.
---
After Kisame transformed into his sharkman form, Asuma and Kurenai were clearly struggling. The couple stood back to back on the water's surface using chakra, each covering a direction.
He attacked from underwater, striking with both ninjutsu and taijutsu.
He was like a raging deep-sea shark.
"It's time to end this," his voice echoed from beneath the water.
Suddenly, the surface churned violently. A huge column of water shot into the sky, and Kisame's figure burst forth from it, swinging Samehada downward with a surge of violent chakra.
Asuma and Kurenai quickly split up. Even so, the impact from the water blast forced them back. Asuma charged forward with his chakra blades to intercept Samehada, while Kurenai formed seals to use a genjutsu, but Kisame immediately flared his chakra to dispel it.
This moment perfectly highlighted the awkwardness of being a pure genjutsu-type kunoichi. Against opponents of equal or greater strength, genjutsu could only serve as a support tactic and was rarely a decisive factor.
Just like in the original story, when Sasuke fought Itachi, against high-level opponents, genjutsu had to be paired with taijutsu and ninjutsu.
Pure genjutsu alone was a dead end.
"This guy can even absorb chakra infused into weapons!" Asuma gritted his teeth, his chakra blade trembling slightly.
He had been a bit careless. Even though they had intel on Kisame, they still couldn't stop him from entering his shark form. They shouldn't have given him any breathing room once the fight started.
"Only just realizing that now? Pretty slow," Kisame sneered, revealing a savage grin. In a straight-up weapon clash, it was still uncertain who would win between them. But while he appeared to be a brute-force swordsman, he was actually a ninjutsu-type ninja, with his trademark being the shark transformation and chakra absorption.
At this moment, Asuma deeply felt the helplessness of being a conventional ninja. The tide of battle was tilting, time ticking away, but he didn't feel despair. He might lose alongside Kurenai in this fight, but if they kept going, they would eventually win.
Reinforcements could arrive at any second.
Kisame, who was also well aware of this, began to feel a hint of urgency. Now that his abilities had been exposed, even entering this form wasn't enough to quickly eliminate his enemies. If he tried to gather a large amount of chakra to unleash a big jutsu, he'd be stopped immediately.
His gaze flicked briefly toward Itachi, that fight didn't look like it was ending any time soon either. In fact, Itachi was even being pressured by that thick-browed guy.
Damn it, Zetsu, you really screwed me over.
Missing one strike, he dove back underwater, dodging Asuma's Flying Swallow while trying to amass chakra and form more complex seals, he had to settle this quickly.
Sensing the shift, Asuma and Kurenai launched a fierce attack to prevent Kisame from completing his jutsu.
Fire and wind swirled together, while violent water pillars blocked the raging flames and sharp winds.
"Hahaha!"
The water surface erupted violently. A massive shark-shaped water projectile condensed in Kisame's hands and launched toward Asuma and Kurenai with overwhelming force. The sheer chakra pressure made the surrounding air feel heavy and thick. As the water attack flew, even the surface of the lake was torn open into a deep trench.
The Great Shark Bullet Technique wasn't just any Water Release, it could absorb the opponent's chakra and become stronger, meaning that under normal circumstances, clashing head-on with it was suicide.
No matter what, I can't let Kurenai get hurt... Asuma gripped his blades.
At that moment, both Guy and Itachi noticed the dramatic shift on the other side of the battlefield.
Guy landed a heavy kick that knocked Itachi back, then instantly gathered chakra, opening the sixth gate, and shot off at high speed toward the scene to assist.
Itachi immediately followed close behind. Guy's heart sank, he assumed Itachi was trying to intercept him and prevent his rescue.
But what happened next wasn't what he had feared.
What is he really planning? He was confused. But his feet didn't slow down.
Then Itachi shouted, "Kisame! Be careful!"
"Don't worry, I'll be done over here soon! I'll be over to help you in a second," Kisame replied, still wearing the confident smile of a winner.
Sorry, Kisame. A fleeting look of complex emotion flashed in Itachi's eyes.
He took a deep breath.
What Kisame saw was a pair of Mangekyō Sharingan, blood-red with triple-bladed windmill patterns, rapidly expanding before his eyes.
Time stretched infinitely. Every second felt like a century. He tried to resist, but his body wouldn't move.
Caught completely off guard, he was instantly trapped.
The massive water shark that was about to consume Asuma vanished into nothing. The flood of chakra forming around it also dispersed.
Itachi… so it really was you… how… disappointing… That was Kisame's final thought before he lost consciousness.
Although he had accepted the mission to monitor Itachi from the very beginning, in their time fighting side by side, he had begun to genuinely trust Itachi, even viewing him as a real teammate.
But now… The betrayer Kisame had been betrayed.
Sorry… I was an undercover agent, Kisame.
And I even took you out for dango… Itachi.