Chapter 274: Tricked! (1)
"The Eye of the Moon Plan!"
"We know all about it!"
Onoki said coldly.
"Hm?"
Itsuki was surprised and looked at the two of them suspiciously. "You know about the Eye of the Moon Plan?"
"Oh, did the man with the mask tell you?"
"That's right!" Raikage responded coldly. "Since we know, there's no way we'll let you succeed."
Itsuki shook his head and said, "You actually believe that mysterious man over me?"
So, we're supposed to believe you? Raikage's lips twitched, and he replied coldly, "We don't trust anyone, but the Akatsuki is a dangerous organization. We absolutely won't allow you to control all of the tailed beasts."
"That's a good reason!"
Itsuki nodded in admiration. Whether the Eye of the Moon Plan was real or not, it was true that the Akatsuki had control of all the tailed beasts.
Could they tolerate that?
Absolutely not! Tailed beasts are the kind of thing where either everyone has them, or no one does.
Uchiha Itsuki was already so powerful! And he was also the Mokukage of the Fire Village.
Fire Village had allied with the Sand and Mist Villages.
Rumor had it that Itsuki also controlled the Akatsuki organization.
If he gained control of all the tailed beasts, there'd be no point in fighting.
So, after discussing it, the Stone and Cloud Villages made a quick decision.
In a short period, they gathered all their strength to launch a surprise attack on the Akatsuki!
The best outcome would be killing Uchiha Itsuki, destroying the Akatsuki, and reclaiming the tailed beasts.
Even if that wasn't possible, they'd at least aim to kill most of the Akatsuki members and release the tailed beasts.
The Stone and Cloud Villages planned to keep two tailed beasts each.
For this purpose:
Raikage used his brother, Killer Bee, as bait.
To maintain secrecy, they collaborated with the masked man and approached the Akatsuki quietly.
That's the whole story!
"Killer Bee's recovery is pretty fast!"
Itsuki looked at the Fourth Raikage, A, with interest. "How did you manage it? Tsunade? No, it must be that masked man."
Tobi had some control over Hashirama's cells.
Hashirama Senju could heal his wounds in an instant.
Although it was unclear how, in the original story, he defeated Madara Uchiha but still ended up dying.
Were his injuries too severe?
If his injuries could heal instantly, what kind of wound would slowly lead to his death after defeating Madara Uchiha?
This is the ninja world!
It's not some mystical fantasy realm!
Unless the Sage of Six Paths decided he was no longer useful and killed him secretly.
"Yeah, it was the masked man!"
Raikage admitted bluntly.
Their relationship with the masked man was purely one of mutual use, so they didn't mind exposing him.
If they could shift Itsuki's attention to the masked man, they'd be even happier.
"Enough talk, let's go!"
Itsuki stretched his body and smiled. "Onoki, little brat, Raikage, boy, come, let me test your strength."
Onoki's veins bulged again.
Every time Itsuki said something like that, it reminded him of that man.
The man who had humiliated him the most.
Uchiha Madara!
"Attack!"
At Onoki's command, he and his group rushed toward Uchiha Itsuki.
Raikage followed closely behind.
However, as they moved forward, he discreetly glanced to the side.
Darui was standing there and nodded slightly at Raikage.
The Akatsuki's core members:
Zetsu had fled.
Orochimaru, Konan, Deidara, Zabuza Momochi, and Kisame Hoshigaki were battling numerous ninjas.
Sasori, Hidan, and Kakuzu were injured and unable to fight for now.
As a result, Itsuki faced the elite forces of the Stone and Cloud Villages alone.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
Boom!!
Standing still, Itsuki unleashed a fireball.
It was still hundreds of meters wide.
But this time, it was even more intense—the thick flames rolled like lava toward the ninjas.
"Water Style!"
All the water-type ninjas from the Stone and Cloud Villages quickly performed Water Style to counter Itsuki's attack.
Bang!
However!
To everyone's surprise, as soon as the two forces clashed, the Water Style was immediately overpowered.
"Not good!"
Onoki shouted in alarm, forming hand seals with both hands and giving orders: "Use Earth Style!"
"Yes!"
Another group of ninjas stepped forward.
"Earth Style!"
They performed Earth Style jutsu, creating stone walls to block the fireball.
Unfortunately...
The stone walls shattered as well.
With no other choice, the ninjas scattered to avoid the attack.
Still, a significant number of them were hit.
They were vaporized on the spot.
No trace of their existence remained.
"So powerful!"
Sweat began to form on Onoki's forehead.
Was Madara Uchiha this strong?
He didn't know!
A simple Fire Style technique, in Uchiha Itsuki's hands, had unleashed such overwhelming power.
Unbelievable!
"Everyone, be careful!"
A ninja shouted, "We're facing Uchiha... urgh!"
Before he could finish, Itsuki appeared right in front of him.
With a light swing of Itsuki's hand, the ninja's head flew into the sky.
"No more talking!"
Itsuki's Sharingan gleamed with a crimson light as he said, "Now, dance with me!"
Swish!
Leaping into the air, Itsuki slammed down hard, crashing into the midst of the Stone and Cloud Village ninjas.
Screams filled the air.
As Itsuki landed, two ninjas were crushed underfoot.
Then, spinning his body, he twisted another ninja into a spiral.
In the process, several kunai flew through the air. With a swift kick, Itsuki sent them flying back, hitting two more ninjas.
In just one round, five ninjas had died at Itsuki's hands.
"Attack!"
Instead of being frightened by Itsuki's strength, the ninjas became furious.
With a loud shout, they launched a combined assault.
Shuriken and kunai flew toward Itsuki from all directions.
Itsuki's eyes gleamed red as he dodged all the attacks with minimal movement.
"Come on, let's dance!"
Itsuki laughed wildly.
He quickly formed hand seals and shouted, "Fire Style: Phoenix Flower Jutsu!"
Boom, boom, boom!!
It was like a meteor shower.
Countless fireballs rained down from the sky.
Boom, boom!
In an instant.
The entire area was engulfed in a firestorm.
"How is this possible?"
Raikage roared in anger, "Phoenix Flower Jutsu can be used like this?"
This was no mere Phoenix Flower Jutsu; it was as if fire itself was raining down from the sky.
Onoki's face darkened as he said, "Raikage, stop holding back. Use all your strength. If we don't, we won't just fail to defeat them—we'll be wiped out."
Raikage didn't reply, but his silence signaled agreement.
Lightning began to envelop his entire body.
Onoki moved behind him, placing both hands on Raikage.
"Ultra Light-Weight Rock Jutsu!"
Boom!
In an instant, Raikage felt as light as air.
He paused for a moment, then smiled with joy.
The Ultra Light-Weight Rock Jutsu? He knew this technique, but he didn't know it could be used this way!
With this, his combat power had more than doubled!
Swish!
With incredible speed, Raikage closed the distance to Uchiha Itsuki and threw a lightning-fast punch!
"Huh?"
Itsuki's eyes flashed with surprise.
Such speed!
Crack!
The skeletal form of Susanoo appeared, blocking in front of Itsuki.
"Bang!"
With a muffled sound, the Raikage's fist smashed into the skeleton, sending Itsuki flying.
"What a great opportunity!"
Onoki, delighted by the sight, quickly formed hand signs.
"Particle Style: Atomic Dismantling Jutsu!"
"Buzz!"
A deep white light, carrying a destructive force, shot towards Itsuki.
Swoosh!
Just as the destructive energy was about to touch him, Itsuki suddenly vanished.
"Bang!"
He reappeared behind the Raikage.
Itsuki kicked him, sending the Raikage flying.
"Your speed is fast, but mine is faster!"
Itsuki's cold voice rang out.
The Raikage's strength lay in speed.
But Itsuki used the Flying Thunder God Technique.
This was space-time ninjutsu.
No matter how fast, you can't beat space-time!
However!
As Itsuki was about to attack again, the ninjas from Iwagakure and Kumogakure arrived. Their combined assaults forced Itsuki to halt, glaring at them as he began to approach.
If you seek death, I'll grant it to you!
...
"What a surprise!"
Itsuki's display of strength astonished the members of the Akatsuki yet again.
One person was not only overwhelming the Raikage and Tsuchikage but was also killing the elite ninjas of Kumogakure and Iwagakure, pushing them back repeatedly.
The number of ninjas who had perished by his hands was already beyond count.
Orochimaru grinned, a bit obsessed as he stared at Itsuki.
Too powerful!
If he could take that body for himself, he would undoubtedly reach the pinnacle of the ninja world and uncover its endless secrets.
In contrast...
Several individuals harboring ill intentions towards Itsuki had rather grim expressions.
With Itsuki like this, there was no point in making any other plans.
"Forget about that, look over there!" Deidara suddenly spoke. "Are we just going to watch that guy be taken away?"
The person Deidara pointed to was none other than the Eight-Tails!
At that moment, Darui, along with a few other ninjas, had reached the front of the Eight-Tails. While healing him, they were also escorting him away from the battlefield.
Seeing this, the Akatsuki members frowned.
Facing such a large number of ninjas was already proving to be a struggle.
The Kumogakure ninjas saving Killer Bee were clearly the best among them.
Facing them now, even the Akatsuki had a high chance of being taken out.
"Hehe, if we don't act, who knows what Itsuki will think!" Orochimaru grinned wickedly.
"Hmph!" Sasori snorted, "You talk a big game. Why don't you make the first move then?"
"No rush!"
Orochimaru quickly formed hand signs.
"Summoning Jutsu!"
"Boom!"
A three-headed snake appeared!
It roared loudly, launching a frenzied attack on the ninja army before charging towards Killer Bee.
"So that's it..."
Deidara sneered. "I thought you had something better planned. Orochimaru, are you afraid?"
With that, Deidara's palm opened.
From the mouth in his hand, he spat out some white clay.
After a brief wriggle, the clay transformed into birds and flew toward Darui.
"In the end, it's all ranged attacks!"
Kakuzu sneered, and his body wriggled as well, producing a masked beast.
The masked beast roared and charged forward.
Orochimaru cackled. "Kakuzu, that seems to be your last heart. Aren't you worried someone might take you out?"
"No need for your concern!" Kakuzu replied coldly.
The relationships between members of the Akatsuki were hardly ideal, with many wishing for the death of their comrades.
Kakuzu was relatively more respected.
This was primarily due to his calm demeanor, even when faced with provocation.
The others also began to launch long-range attacks. At the very least, they used shadow clones.
However!
These attacks alone caused great trouble for Darui.
What was initially a covert operation to extract Killer Bee had turned into a direct confrontation.
Moreover!
This clearly caught Itsuki's attention.
That was not good news!
If that guy charged in, Darui wouldn't be able to stop him.
Darui felt an intense headache.
The fierce battle raged on.
Itsuki rampaged across the battlefield, repeatedly knocking away the Raikage and Tsuchikage, and slaughtering countless ninjas.
Orochimaru and the others' brutal attacks terrified the other ninjas, who were hesitant to advance.
If it weren't for the presence of the Iwagakure and Kumogakure forces behind them, they might have already fled.
Darui, too, unleashed his full power, displaying astonishing strength as he carved a bloody path to take Killer Bee to safety with the support of other ninjas.
Just as they were about to escape, something unexpected happened.
A figure emerged from the ground.
"This is as far as you go!"
With a cold snort, the figure raised his palm toward Itsuki.
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Boom!!!"
A massive repulsive force formed, crashing into Itsuki like a tidal wave.
The skeletal armor in front of Itsuki appeared but was still blown away, sending him flying several hundred meters.
Immediately after!
The figure charged toward Killer Bee.
"Zzzt zzzt zzzt!"
Black lightning surged around Darui's body.
"Bansho Ten'in!"
The figure merely opened his hand, and Darui suddenly lost his balance, being pulled toward him.
In mid-air, Darui managed to regain control and prepared to counterattack when another powerful repulsive force struck.
"Shinra Tensei!"
"Bang!"
Darui and his comrades were all sent flying.
The figure calmly walked toward Killer Bee.
"What do you think you're doing?" The Raikage's deep voice sounded. "Get away from my brother!"
He was closing in on the figure at high speed.
"Now you call him your brother? What were you doing when you used him as bait?" The figure scoffed.
He looked up.
Not only had the Raikage prepared for battle, but Onoki was also ready, and the Akatsuki members' eyes glimmered with murderous intent.
If they all attacked at once, the figure would be in for a tough fight.
The key was Itsuki!
The figure's initial attack on Itsuki, nearly a sneak attack, demonstrated his fear of him.
If Itsuki arrived within a few seconds, the figure would certainly be in big trouble.
Thus!
The figure formed a hand sign.
"I'll end this with one move!"