"Gate of Opening, Gate of Healing, Gate of Life, Gate of Pain, Gate of Limit, Gate of View, Gate of Wonder—Seventh Gate: Open!"
A thunderous roar erupted from beneath the lake. A surge of colossal chakra burst outward, spiraling violently and forming a fierce vortex of chakra wind in the center of the water!
"What?! This chakra—!" Kisame's eyes widened. He instinctively leapt back.
But in the very next moment, Guy appeared directly in front of Kisame, like a ghost!
"So fast!" Kisame was taken aback—then he was smashed backward by Guy's kick!
Before Kisame could even finish flying, Guy had already closed the distance, throwing a storm of straight punches with brutal speed!
"Eight Gates Released Formation: Daytime Tiger!"
The friction of his fists against the air ignited the atmosphere, sending flame-like shockwaves outward, vivid and radiant like a peacock spreading its tail!
"It's over," Neji muttered.
With a bang, the clone that had been using the Water Prison Technique disappeared on the spot.
The sheer heat from the technique vaporized all the water from the battlefield in an instant!
After the chaos settled, the four stood there, staring at the man in front of them with furrowed brows.
"Who the hell is this?"
A man clad in Akatsuki robes raised a single middle finger and said, "World peace," then fell silent.
Guy squinted. "I don't know what that gesture means, but it pisses me off for some reason."
Neji, Tenten, and Lee nodded in agreement. "Yeah, same here."
---
In the Akatsuki cave...
"The technique has been released," said Pain, arms crossed. "Well, it did its job in stalling them."
Before he could finish, Zetsu interrupted.
"Another enemy has appeared."
Pain turned toward Deidara, displeased. "It's getting noisy again, Deidara."
Deidara scratched his head nervously. "This time, the Jinchūriki is stronger than the last two..."
"Hmph! That's why I told you, your explosives are too flashy for stealth missions," scoffed Sasori.
"Come on, Sasori-danna. Your trap setup was excessive too."
"What did you say?!" Sasori snapped.
"Enough! Stop arguing! Focus on gathering the chakra!" Pain shouted, frustrated. "It's your turn!"
---
"Stop!" Kakashi suddenly came to a halt, his gaze locked on a distant figure.
The others halted behind him.
"Who is that?" Sakura asked, confused.
"It appeared sooner than expected," Kakashi murmured, narrowing his eyes.
Chiyo squinted at the silhouette. "Is it... someone from the Uchiha clan?"
"Yo!" Naruto stepped forward with a casual wave. "Long time no see, Itachi!"
"Itachi?" Chiyo turned to Naruto in shock. "Is that the boy who exterminated his entire clan? By the way, don't you care that Sarutobi let that bastard roam free?"
Naruto: "...I'm f***ed."
Itachi looked grim. "You've lost your mind... I better send a clone before this becomes a disaster."
"Ignore the madwoman, Kakashi, Naruto-kun," Itachi said calmly, but he was clearly stalling.
"Itachi's Genjutsu is cast through his eyes," Kakashi whispered. "Don't look him in the eyes, and you'll be fine."
"Then how do we fight him?" Sakura asked.
"Actually," Chiyo interjected, "in one-against-many battles with the Uchiha, as long as one person distracts them from the front and the others sneak around, even if they get caught in a Genjutsu, they can be woken up by the others."
Then Chiyo pulled out a massive iron mace. "I'll go around. Yellow Fang, distract him from the front!"
Everyone: "...You're waking people up with that thing?!"
Naruto scratched his chin and strode forward.
"Be careful, Naruto!" Sakura called out, concerned.
Kakashi frowned, still suspicious that Naruto might be the divine figure from Kannabi Bridge.
"Leave on your own, or do I have to force you?" Naruto asked, eyes fixed on Itachi.
Itachi: "...I don't want to lose face in front of a brat!"
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" Itachi exhaled a massive sphere of flame.
"Sigh..." Naruto sighed as he walked forward, hands unmoving. "Earth Style: Earth-Style Wall!"
The ground surged upward into a thick wall. The fireball smashed against it, flames splitting to either side.
When the wall crumbled, Naruto stepped through, unhindered.
"He didn't use any hand seals?!" Kakashi was astonished.
At that moment, Itachi's Sharingan spun wildly—Naruto was pulled into a Genjutsu!
"Seriously, Itachi?" Naruto muttered. With a snap, his eyes turned into a glowing purple Sharingan variant—the Rinnegan. He shattered the illusion instantly.
"If it were really you here, maybe you'd slow me down for a few minutes," Naruto sneered. "But you send a clone to stall me? Weak."
Itachi scowled. This guy's not one of the Six Paths and you want me to stall him with a clone?! Are you kidding me?!
Chiyo and Sakura stood frozen, stunned.
"As expected of someone said to rival Hanzo. I haven't fought him, but that display just now? Truly masterful," Chiyo muttered.
"Die!" Naruto declared suddenly.
"What?!" Itachi turned—only to see Naruto pointing directly at his forehead.
Boom!
Itachi's clone flew backward and smashed into a distant boulder.
"Strange Strength Technique: focus your chakra into one point and detonate it instantly," Naruto said, blowing his finger like a pistol. "Pretty basic."
Sakura: "Three years of medical ninjutsu training and he just does it casually?!"
"Konoha's Yellow Fang is terrifying..." Chiyo whispered.
Naruto: "...mmp."
---
Back in the Akatsuki hideout.
Pain had just finished using the Astral Projection Technique. Not even a minute passed before Itachi's clone returned.
"What happened?" Pain asked, clearly displeased. "You just got there."
Itachi stared blankly. "The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki... is part of the support unit this time."
Everyone fell silent. Then they remembered the chaos from two years ago.
"Zetsu, what's going on?" Pain demanded.
"My clone didn't see the Nine-Tails Jinchūriki," Zetsu replied. "It's likely he used an illusion to mask his presence."
Pain remained quiet for a moment. "Forget it. The Nine-Tails was far off anyway. Guy delayed us long enough. That should suffice."
"And those two you nearly blew up with your jutsu? Those are my subordinates!" Sasori snapped.
"Tch. They should be grateful," Pain sneered. "They got to experience the power of Akatsuki firsthand."
He glanced at Gaara's unconscious body beneath the Gedo Statue and sighed.
"Heh... almost time. Better hurry before the Fourth Hokage's brat shows up..."
Nagato thought grimly.
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