Whether Sasuke Can Endure It or Not

The situation changed too quickly, even Kakashi, who wasn't far away, couldn't react.

He was still frozen, confused.

What happened? What happened?!

Just now, Sasuke had lost, and suddenly another Akatsuki member appeared to save him. But before they could succeed, Kisame suddenly betrayed them, and the figure named Zetsu was sealed by Itachi...

'A power struggle within Akatsuki? But who is this Kabuto they keep mentioning?'

'What is Black Zetsu? What is the Infinite Tsukuyomi?'

Kakashi had too many questions. Unfortunately, he wasn't an intelligence expert like Jiraiya, so he knew nothing about the secrets behind all this.

Currently, he didn't know that Akatsuki had already split, didn't know that Itachi was only pretending, and didn't know Black Zetsu's plan with Obito...

That's why he was so confused, not knowing what to do.

Meanwhile, on Itachi's side, Totsuka no Tsurugi had successfully sealed Black Zetsu and White Zetsu completely.

"Did it work?"

Kisame approached, asking cautiously.

"It seems so. The seal of Totsuka no Tsurugi is very strong, there's no way he can escape."

Itachi dispelled his Susano'o, answering confidently. Of course, he had no intention of sealing Black Zetsu forever.

Later, Black Zetsu would be handed over to Nagato to be completely destroyed.

Itachi himself wasn't very interested in Black Zetsu.

If it weren't for Nagato's orders and the fact that Zetsu threatened Sasuke, he wouldn't have even bothered attacking Zetsu.

But once it was confirmed that Zetsu was endangering Sasuke—just like Orochimaru before—Itachi wouldn't show the slightest mercy.

After receiving confirmation from Itachi, Kisame sighed.

"I didn't expect it to be this easy to finish him off..."

Honestly, even though the result was satisfying, Kisame felt something was missing.

Too smooth?

Or too easy?

Like when someone painstakingly levels up, learns strategies, buys items, gathers strength... Then prepares to face the strongest boss in the game—but instead kills it with one attack, without even feeling the satisfaction!

Everything ended too quickly... It felt unsatisfying!

"Did you think he could fight hundreds of moves against you?"

"That's not what I meant. But he said he had lived for thousands of years, even easily manipulating Madara and Obito. Shouldn't such a monster be very strong?"

Kisame wasn't to blame for being suspicious. After all, in his eyes, the Fourth Mizukage—his village leader—was controlled by Obito. While Obito himself was played by Black Zetsu...

From that perspective, Black Zetsu was the mastermind behind all masterminds.

Itachi wasn't too impressed, only commenting: "He's just a conspirator who likes to hide behind the scenes. In terms of cunning, he is indeed extraordinary, but his strength is ordinary. Otherwise, he wouldn't always be hiding."

"Often, the enemy is not as strong as we imagine. What we fear is only ignorance. Once we know, there's always a way to defeat them."

Kisame patted Samehada, smiling in relief: "That's right. Everything has been arranged by the leader. It's completely different when you have information."

"The leader didn't even need to show up, yet he could perfectly trap Zetsu..."

This was the importance of intelligence. Without Nagato's information obtained from Tenshou Sennin...

Without the betrayal of the loyal Kisame...

Without Itachi's brilliant acting...

Let alone capturing Black Zetsu, they wouldn't even be able to defeat Obito, let alone know that Black Zetsu was the real mastermind.

Conversely, if Black Zetsu knew just a little more information, perhaps he wouldn't have shown up at all.

And if that happened, Itachi and the others could spend their entire lives never finding Black Zetsu.

They would die before they even had a chance to catch him!

"By the way, Itachi, do you really believe the leader is guided by a Sennin?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's true."

Itachi couldn't be sure, because he had never met Tenshou Sennin, but seeing Nagato's change after being resurrected, it might be true...

Otherwise, how did Nagato suddenly come back to life and know everything?

"If that's true, what about you and the village of Konoha—"

Kisame was about to continue, but suddenly a figure landed from the sky.

"Leader!"

"Leader."

Nagato (Edo Tensei) landed beside Kisame and Itachi, then praised them both:

"Good. You two did a good job."

Clearly, the real Nagato was hiding nearby, observing the entire battle.

First, to test Itachi's "loyalty." Second, to ensure there were no mistakes.

If Itachi didn't follow his plan, Nagato would have intervened himself and finished off Itachi along with Black Zetsu!

But the result was satisfying.

Itachi really lured Black Zetsu out and sealed him instantly!

"This is thanks to the leader's information and strategy, which allowed us to capture Zetsu easily."

Itachi praised sincerely.

This was just a matter of capturing Zetsu, not destroying Konoha or hurting Sasuke. After all, eliminating Black Zetsu meant reducing one potential threat to Sasuke. So Itachi fully supported it.

That's why he put in his full effort.

"Don't be modest. You two were excellent. Without your cooperation, perhaps Zetsu wouldn't have come out..."

Nagato knew Zetsu's strength wasn't special, but what was dangerous was his ability to hide and his very cautious nature.

If Itachi and Kisame hadn't played this drama, how could Black Zetsu have appeared?

"That's right! Itachi's acting was amazing! I almost thought you were really controlled by Kabuto, your attacks on Sasuke were so brutal!"

Kisame joked casually.

He felt Itachi hit Sasuke harder than when he was alive.

Susano'o's attacks were launched relentlessly at Sasuke, whether Sasuke could withstand them or not, Itachi kept raining down attacks...

Someone who didn't know would think Itachi was really controlled by Kabuto and trying to kill Sasuke!

Compared to Itachi's perfect acting, Kisame felt he still had a lot to learn.

"It's fine. I knew his limits."

As the owner of the Mangekyou Sharingan, Itachi fully understood Susano'o's durability and could estimate Sasuke's condition and limits.

That's why he could attack without hesitation. If it wasn't harsh, how could Black Zetsu have come out?

"That's right. No one understands Susano'o better than you. By the way, where's your brother, Sasuke?"

Kisame looked around, only then realizing Sasuke wasn't visible.

It wasn't possible that after winning, the most important "prize" had disappeared, right?