Chapter 108: Hyuga Gakuya Strikes

Uchiha Itachi lightly flicked his cloak and instantly summoned a swarm of crows. In the blink of an eye, Naruto was pulled into a genjutsu.

The crows circled around Naruto, their black feathers swirling in the wind.

Among them, a single crow with a Sharingan eye hidden in the flock shot toward Naruto like an arrow. Without thinking, Naruto opened his mouth—and the crow flew straight down his throat.

As the illusion faded, Uchiha Itachi had already turned and was walking away.

Naruto didn't chase him. Instead, he turned to the unconscious Sasuke, wanting to break the genjutsu.

"Get away from Sasuke!" Just then, the subordinates Hyuga Gakuya had assigned to protect Sasuke finally made their move.

Working in perfect sync, they launched a coordinated attack on Naruto. In response, Naruto summoned a horde of Shadow Clones to intercept them.

He kept Sasuke tightly guarded within the formation of clones. At that moment, Sasuke stirred faintly from the genjutsu, his expression twisted in pain as he forced himself to form a few hand seals.

In an instant, a plume of smoke erupted from the ground. A massive serpent burst out from beneath the earth, effortlessly swallowing Sasuke whole. The Shadow Clones protecting him were wiped out in the impact.

"Forget him! Sasuke-sama has been extracted. We need to move!"

"Understood!" They threw smoke bombs and retreated quickly from the battlefield.

"Damn it!" Naruto slammed his fist against a nearby tree, shouting, "Sasuke! I swear I'll bring you back!"

Not far away, Sasuke's teammates wore strange expressions.

Is this guy insane? Why's he obsessively chasing after another man?

No wonder he's so focused on Sasuke-sama. Don't tell me… he's into that kind of thing?

...

"Those bastards... How about we team up and take that guy down first? Then we can fight over the Three-Tails later," suggested Terumī Mei.

Killing Obito would do wonders for her reputation. After all, he was indirectly responsible for the death of the Fourth Mizukage, and he was the true culprit behind Kirigakure's dark history.

One way or another, he was the Mist's sworn enemy. Judging from the Three-Tails' earlier attack, Terumī Mei was sure he had personal reasons for being here.

"I'm in," Han replied after a brief pause. Obito was controlling the Three-Tails—clearly the most dangerous one here.

"Cut off the head, and the body follows. We'll force him to release the Three-Tails," Mei said coldly.

Han didn't answer. Instead, he leapt onto the Three-Tails' back, heading straight for Obito.

Both factions joined forces, launching an attack from the back of the beast, aiming to engage Obito head-on.

Just then, Hyuga Gakuya and Deidara arrived on the battlefield. The moment they appeared, all fighting came to a sudden halt.

A new faction had joined the chaos. Terumī Mei, Han, and the others immediately pulled back from Obito, leaping off the Three-Tails to avoid being caught between two enemies.

"You're really good at making an entrance," Deidara muttered. "Everyone's staring now. I think I'll enjoy your art from the sky."

"Suit yourself," Gakuya replied.

With that, Deidara rose into the air on his clay bird.

Hyuga Gakuya turned his cold gaze forward. His voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

"That eye doesn't belong to you. I suggest you resolve this yourself before I'm forced to take action."

Though his tone was calm and measured, the weight of his words crushed down on the battlefield.

Ao turned deathly pale. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead as he trembled, reaching toward his Byakugan with shaking hands—prepared to dig it out himself.

Before someone this powerful and terrifying, provoking him would be sheer stupidity.

"There's no need for that," Terumī Mei said suddenly, grabbing Ao's hand to stop him.

Her eyes were sharp as blades as she locked gazes with Gakuya, her voice laced with fury.

"Isn't that a bit too arrogant of you? Barging in and demanding my subordinate's eye just like that?"

"Heh." Gakuya gave a faint sneer, but didn't bother replying.

Instead, he raised his hand toward Ao in a strange, open-palm gesture. The movement instantly put the Mist side on high alert. Several ANBU operatives rushed forward to shield Ao.

"Boom…"

A soft sound escaped Gakuya's lips—then, in a flash, his relaxed palm clenched into a tight fist.

What followed was utterly horrifying.

The heads of the Mist ANBU—and Ao's—burst like balloons, instantly exploding into a grotesque mess.

Blood and brain matter splattered through the air like rain, staining everything nearby in a red-and-white horror show.

Terumī Mei stood frozen in the middle of the bloodbath, her body drenched in gore. Her face was grim, her eyes burning with shock and rage.

The lifeless bodies collapsed one by one, hitting the ground with a sickening thud. Blood poured endlessly from their necks, soaking the earth beneath them.

"I figured it'd be faster if I did it myself," Gakuya said casually, once again reaching his hand toward Mei.

In that instant, she felt like an invisible hand had wrapped around her throat.

"Get her out of here—now!"

The remaining Mist ninja rushed in front of her, shielding her as she was dragged away from the battlefield.

...

Hidden in the grass nearby, several Konoha shinobi had witnessed the entire scene. Horror was etched into their faces.

What kind of technique was that? Just a single motion—and everyone in front of him was dead?

Suppressing his questions, Kakashi forced himself to stay calm.

"Let's move. We need to find Naruto and get out of here. This level of battle is way beyond us."

"Got it!" Kiba and Sakura nodded at once.

Sakura leapt out of the underbrush, finding Naruto still preparing to go after Obito.

"Naruto! Kakashi-sensei said we need to retreat—now!"

"No. I'm going to kill Uchiha Obito," Naruto growled, eyes full of bloodlust.

"There's another one over there now—Hyuga Gakuya. He's with the Akatsuki too. You might end up being his next target," Sakura urged.

"This isn't the time for revenge. Let's get out of here first. We can still track Sasuke afterward."

Naruto hesitated when he heard Sasuke's name. Taking advantage of the moment, Sakura pulled him back toward the group.

The team quickly began to withdraw. There were wounded to care for, and the mission to recover Sasuke would have to wait.

...

"The Three-Tails and Five-Tails are both here. Might as well take care of them together."

"Gakuya, how about letting us handle this mission?" Kisame stepped in, offering to take over. If Gakuya went all out, there was no telling if Obito would survive the encounter.

And if Obito died, the Moon's Eye Plan would be finished.

What Kisame didn't know was that the real Obito had already died. The one standing here now was nothing more than a Reanimation wearing a mask.

Gakuya gave him a sideways glance and smiled faintly.

"Then I'll leave it to you. I'll go take care of the Five-Tails."

"No problem," Kisame replied—but the pressure in Gakuya's gaze made his heart pound.

It was as if the man had seen right through him.

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