"Itachi? Wake up!"
A familiar voice echoed faintly in his ears.
When the white-cloaked weasel opened his eyes again, he found himself being shaken awake by his teammate—Hoshigaki Kisame.
"...?"
Itachi Uchiha blinked, disoriented. His entire body felt weak, as though he'd just crawled out of a nightmare.
"You're finally awake," Kisame sighed in relief. "After the last battle, my clone dispelled and I regained consciousness—only to find you had passed out cold."
It wasn't just unconsciousness. Kisame's eyes narrowed at the sight of fresh blood pooled near Itachi's lips. Judging by the blood splattered around and the stain on Itachi's robes, his teammate had violently coughed up blood.
But... why?
They had only used Pain's Elephant Transformation Technique. That meant their real bodies should've remained safe. Even if the clone took damage, it shouldn't have affected the original.
So why did Itachi look like he'd just walked through hell?
"Itachi... what happened? Who were you fighting?" Kisame asked grimly.
Itachi's eyes trembled as the memory surged back.
The illusion world created by that so-called "Uchiha Obito"... Itachi couldn't even count how many times he'd died there.
Slaughtered, torn apart, crushed—killed by countless Uchiha again and again.
Every possible method of dying had been inflicted upon him in vivid, agonizing detail. His mind had nearly broken.
Even his Mangekyō abilities couldn't free him. He would think he escaped—only to find he had fallen into a deeper layer of illusion.
His salvation came only when the clone's chakra dropped below the threshold and the technique ended.
But as soon as his consciousness returned to his real body in the Land of Fields... his soul felt as if it had been gouged out.
He'd coughed up blood and collapsed.
"…It was all... illusion."
Itachi finally steadied his breath and forced himself upright. "I was trapped in his genjutsu... from the very beginning."
Kisame looked stunned. "You too?!"
He nodded. "I also thought I was fighting Uchiha Obito, but thinking back… I never even saw him. I was just flinging jutsu into thin air, believing I was locked in a fierce battle."
Embarrassment crept into his voice.
"In reality, I was probably battling air the whole time—inside a damn genjutsu!"
He imagined himself, standing alone in a vast desert, using Water Style over and over against a fake opponent. It was humiliating!
Still… Itachi had also been caught. That made Kisame feel a little better.
"So, Itachi… did you actually see who was behind it all?"
Itachi's face darkened. "I saw 'Uchiha Obito' in the illusion… but I don't think it was really him."
"The real enemy never even revealed themselves."
To think someone could trap both of them so completely—without even showing their face...
That level of genjutsu mastery was terrifying.
"And Orochimaru never mentioned anything about this…" Itachi muttered coldly. "He definitely concealed information about the true strength of those Otherworlders."
"That bastard!" Kisame snapped. "We need to tell Pain. If we're dealing with this level of power, maybe all of Akatsuki needs to get involved."
Itachi was silent. His gaze drifted toward the distant Wind Country.
After this… would Akatsuki still have all its members?
---
Wind Country – Outskirts of the Loulan Forest
A forest had suddenly sprung up in the desert like an oasis of green. Kakuzu and Hidan arrived at the tree line.
"What the hell…?" Hidan scratched his head. "Is this the First Hokage's Wood Style? Hey Kakuzu, didn't you fight him once? How strong was he really?"
Kakuzu said nothing. His green eyes locked on the forest. A bead of cold sweat trickled down his temple.
The scale of this forest... It was far beyond what he remembered.
This wasn't the First Hokage he'd once fought. No, this version was probably stronger—possibly from another timeline.
Suddenly, a calm voice echoed from within the trees.
"You said you fought me before?"
Senju Hashirama stepped out from behind a tree, brow furrowed in confusion. "Where are you from? I don't recall meeting you."
"…Are you the First Hokage?" Hidan asked, hefting his scythe casually. "Kakuzu, go get him! He's just another walking corpse, right?"
But there was no reply.
He turned.
Kakuzu had already backed several meters away, silently retreating.
"Huh? What's up with you?"
"Shut up, Hidan!" Kakuzu hissed. "Don't go spouting nonsense in front of him!"
The last time he "fought" the First Hokage, it was just a Wood Clone.
And he barely survived that.
Now, Hashirama was here in the flesh—or at least, a much stronger form.
A few others emerged from the forest—Shiro Kakashi, Uchiha Obito, and Kurosaga.
"I recognize those two," Kakashi said coolly. "Kakuzu, a Takigakure rogue-nin who's rumored to be immortal… and Hidan, from Yugakure's cult of the so-called evil god."
Obito raised a brow. "Did either of them actually fight you back then, First Hokage?"
"They don't look like much," he added skeptically.
"I remember now!" Hashirama said with a smile. "Kakuzu of Takigakure! He was sent to assassinate me back when Konoha had just been founded."
"...Takigakure sent someone to kill you?" Obito blinked. "Were they insane?"
"What happened then?"
"Not much," Hashirama said with a chuckle. "He showed promise, so I just sent a Wood Clone to spar with him a little… and then I let him go with a warning to his village."
Obito turned slowly toward Kakuzu, expression blank.
"…You fought a clone and told people you fought the First Hokage?"
If Obito had eyebrows, they'd be halfway up his forehead.
Kakuzu winced.
"Unbelievable," Obito muttered.
Even Hidan frowned. "Wait, seriously? Kakuzu, tell me that's not true—"
"Shut up, you idiot!" Kakuzu snapped. "We're getting out of here!"
"You're kidding, right?" Hidan said incredulously. "You're scared now?"
"Yes!" Kakuzu growled. "There are way too many of them, and they're all freakishly strong. Even if the others arrive later, we might not last that long!"
Kurosaga raised an arm.
With a soft hum, the sand around them began to rise, turning black as iron particles swirled under magnetic control.
In seconds, an enormous iron curtain blocked their escape route.
"Trying to run?" Kurosaga smirked.
"Damn it!" Kakuzu growled. "They're really not going to let us go!"
"These Otherworlders don't play by the same rules…"
"Why run?" Kurosaga said calmly. "You've come so far. Might as well stay a while."
"I'll sacrifice you to the evil god first!" Hidan roared, charging with his scythe.
"Oh? A cultist?" Kurosaga's voice dropped. "Then I really don't need to hold back."
Kakuzu muttered under his breath, "Hidan… delay them. Stall until backup arrives!"
"What's gotten into you today?" Hidan frowned. "You used to kill bounty targets for fun!"
"You idiot, this is different!"
Kakuzu glanced around—no sign of Deidara or Itachi's team. He suspected they weren't coming.
But he and Hidan still had their trump cards—five lives and immortality.
That might buy them enough time.
"Fire Style: Head Hard Work!"
A fireball roared forward.
"Wind Style: Pressure Damage!"
A fierce wind blasted behind it, amplifying the flames!
The inferno crashed into the iron curtain, heating it red-hot and cracking it.
"Earth Style: Earth Spear!"
Kakuzu hardened his fists and smashed through the molten metal.
"Let's go!" he shouted, bolting through the gap.
Kurosaga nodded, raising his hand again.
The iron sand surged forward and formed spinning rings in the air—small, dense, electrified loops.
Kakuzu charged without hesitation.
ZAP!
Electric sparks shot across his body. Ka
kuzu jerked mid-run and collapsed, momentarily paralyzed.
"You actually ran into it?" Kurosaga shook his head. "Never studied physics, huh?"
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