Chapter 51 (Patreon)

Kisame brought Samehada down at Naruto, but Naruto raised a strange cyan blade and stopped the strike.

Boom!

The cyan sword did not appear to be a physical weapon. Countless tiny wind blades had been compressed together and shaped through Wind Style, forming a genuine [Wind Sword].

It resembled the way Sasuke would one day extend the Chidori into the [Chidori Sharp Spear], only Naruto had accomplished it with Wind Style instead of Lightning Style.

Yet the Wind Sword vanished in the very next instant.

Samehada had devoured the chakra holding it together.

Surprise crossed Naruto’s face, followed by just the right trace of panic.

“Hmph. You are no ordinary brat,” Kisame said with a triumphant grin. “Shaping Wind Style into a sword is impressive, but Samehada can swallow chakra.”

Samehada was Kisame’s greatest source of pride. Few things pleased him more than watching an opponent’s confidence collapse the moment the blade consumed their chakra.

“That’s impossible!” Naruto shouted stubbornly.

He formed another Wind Sword and swung it straight at Kisame.

Kisame gave a disdainful snort and raised Samehada to meet it. He could already picture the shock returning to Naruto’s face.

Whoosh!

Just before the two blades touched, the Wind Sword exploded apart.

Dozens of razor-sharp wind blades scattered from it, tearing toward Kisame and Itachi from point-blank range.

If the attack landed cleanly, Kisame’s shark-like face would be left beyond recognition.

Unfortunately, both men possessed strength worthy of the Kage level. They reacted the instant the blade burst, springing backward in opposite directions.

Naruto’s attack did not end there. Every wind blade remained under his control, changing direction in midair to pursue them. Although Itachi and Kisame avoided the worst of the assault, several blades grazed their cheeks and sent droplets of blood into the air.

Naruto immediately pressed his advantage. He held both hands like blades and swept them forward in a crossing motion.

Thousands of tiny wind blades appeared at once and surged toward them.

Kisame planted his feet and held Samehada in front of him. The great blade swallowed the chakra from every wind blade that reached it, causing them to disperse before they could touch him.

Itachi inhaled and released a massive fireball. It forced its way through the doorway, filling nearly the entire room as it rushed toward Naruto. The flames moved so quickly that he had no chance to evade.

Boom!

Naruto disappeared inside the fireball—only to burst into white smoke.

It had been a shadow clone.

Naruto’s real body had slipped into another room some time ago. He now stood at the far end of the corridor, staring at Itachi and Kisame. Drawing in a deep breath, he expelled another torrent of wind.

Rumble!

An enormous mass of wind blades spiraled into a cylinder that completely filled the narrow corridor. It thundered toward the two Akatsuki members, ripping apart everything in its path and setting off a chain of violent explosions.

Itachi and Kisame turned toward the attack, faint surprise appearing on both their faces. Perhaps Naruto’s tactics had caught them off guard, or perhaps they had not expected such power from his Wind Style.

“Fire Style: Dragon Flame Jutsu!”

A blazing dragon erupted from Itachi’s mouth and tore through the incoming storm, smashing apart one wind blade after another.

Fire Style naturally held an advantage over Wind Style. At the same time, wind could feed flames and make them even stronger. The result depended on how the two were used and which shinobi possessed the greater power.

In this clash, the fire dragon and the first wave of wind blades consumed one another and vanished together.

Naruto, however, possessed the [Wind God’s Body] and an enormous reserve of chakra. His Wind Style did not stop with a single wave.

The moment Itachi’s fire dragon disappeared, another torrent of wind blades emerged from behind it and continued down the corridor.

Itachi’s eyes shifted into the three-tomoe Sharingan. His gaze locked onto Naruto, and he cast a genjutsu.

Poof!

The Naruto releasing the technique disappeared in a cloud of white smoke.

Another shadow clone.

“What a cunning brat,” Kisame said, raising an eyebrow.

At that moment, Sasuke appeared at the entrance to the corridor.

He had finally found them.

“It has been a long time, Sasuke,” Itachi said.

His expression did not change. He merely regarded his younger brother in silence, his eyes as still as dark water.

“Itachi Uchiha…” Sasuke’s face twisted with hatred. “I’m going to kill you.”

His two-tomoe Sharingan opened, and the Chidori shrieked to life in his left hand.

“I did exactly what you told me. I hated you. I despised you. I survived until this day for one reason—to kill you!”

“Aaaah!”

Sasuke charged. Lightning flashed around him, tearing sparks from the floor as the Chidori’s piercing cry filled the corridor. For one brief moment, his attack looked truly formidable.

Itachi caught his left wrist with ease.

Boom!

He forced Sasuke’s hand aside, and the Chidori plunged into the nearby wall.

One movement. That was all it took to subdue him.

Disbelief filled Sasuke’s eyes.

Itachi’s gaze remained perfectly calm. He looked at Sasuke with a cold detachment that made his younger brother seem utterly insignificant.

Naruto appeared nearby and silently pressed a hand to his forehead.

Sasuke, think for once! Did you really believe learning the Chidori made you invincible? Kakashi is still lying in a hospital bed after facing him!

Naruto was about to launch another attack when Jiraiya, who had already returned and concealed himself nearby, finally stepped forward.

With a dramatic flourish, he struck what he clearly believed was an impressive pose.

“A man like Jiraiya would never be led astray by a woman’s charms! In fact, beautiful women are the ones who can’t resist throwing themselves at me!”

An awkward silence settled over the corridor.

Everyone stared at him.

Naruto covered his face again.

“Could you take this seriously for once? After all these years, have you still not figured out why Lady Tsunade keeps rejecting you?”

Jiraiya’s face flushed at once. He coughed and hurriedly returned to the matter at hand.

“You came here to take Naruto, didn’t you?” His expression hardened as he faced Itachi and Kisame. “I won’t let that happen. Since both of you are here, I might as well deal with you together.”

“Don’t interfere!” Sasuke suddenly shouted, his hateful gaze fixed on Itachi. “He’s mine to kill!”

He pulled back his right fist and tried to strike Itachi.

Thud!

Itachi drove a foot into his stomach and sent him flying to the opposite end of the corridor. Sasuke curled around his abdomen, his face turning white from the pain.

Naruto grimaced at the sight.

Itachi really showed no mercy to his own little brother.

Even so, Sasuke stubbornly forced himself back to his feet.

“Stay out of this! I lived for this day. I’m going to kill him myself!”

Then, for the third time, he launched himself at Itachi with no regard for his own safety.

“Aaaah!”

Smack!

Itachi knocked him away with a single backhand.

Sasuke crashed down once more.

Itachi walked toward him and looked down from above, his expression unchanged.

The moment he came within reach, Sasuke seized the opportunity and attacked again.

Thud! Smack!

Itachi struck him down yet again. This time, blood spilled from Sasuke’s mouth.

At last, doubt began to creep into Sasuke’s heart.

He had trained desperately for years, enduring everything for the sake of this moment. Yet now that Itachi stood before him, he still lacked even the strength to fight back.

What had all those years of effort amounted to?

At that moment, the first seed of his eventual defection quietly took root.

Itachi seized Sasuke by the throat, lifted him, and slammed him against the wall.

“Why are you still so weak?” Itachi asked coldly. “Because your hatred is not strong enough.”

His Mangekyō Sharingan turned.

Once again, Tsukuyomi dragged Sasuke into its world.

Naruto bared his teeth as he watched, feeling a reluctant surge of sympathy for Sasuke.

Back on the night of the Uchiha massacre, Sasuke had witnessed the destruction of his entire clan, yet his Sharingan had still failed to awaken.

Itachi had been forced to use Tsukuyomi on him. Only after that crushing mental torment did Sasuke finally awaken… a one-tomoe Sharingan.

Naruto could almost imagine what Itachi must have thought at the time.

The entire clan was slaughtered. Your own brother killed our parents in front of you. And after all of that, you awakened only one tomoe? Who was that supposed to impress?

Still, Sasuke was his little brother. Itachi could only endure the disappointment.

Now that Sasuke had grown and developed his Sharingan further, Itachi was probably at least somewhat relieved.

So he decided to push him harder.

Even though using the Mangekyō Sharingan worsened his eyesight and consumed precious ocular power, Itachi cast Tsukuyomi once more. He forced Sasuke to relive the deaths of his parents and the massacre of the Uchiha Clan all over again.

Unfortunately, Sasuke was still Sasuke. Itachi’s effort was completely wasted.

Not a single new tomoe appeared.