Nearby, Kisame hoisted Samehada on his shoulder, a flicker of surprise on his shark-like face:
"Itachi-san, against a little Genin brat, you need to use 'that'? You really are, taking 'special care' of your little brother to an excessive degree, aren't you?"
"The mission takes priority." Itachi responded coldly, his gaze shifting to another direction in the inn.
Naruto stood there, looking this way with an angry expression.
"What did you guys do to Sasuke?"
Kisame hoisted Samehada and walked towards Naruto: "Nine-Tails brat, come with us quietly. It'll save you a lot of pain."
"No way!" Naruto shouted, biting his thumb to form hand signs. "Summoning Technique! Come out, Boss Gamabunta!"
However, only a tadpole appeared in his summoning array.
Kisame couldn't help but laugh: "That's your Summoning Technique?"
"But, to avoid trouble, I'll just cut off your hands." Kisame said, preparing to slice off Naruto's hands.
At that critical moment, Jiraiya suddenly appeared and deflected Samehada with a Rasengan.
"Pervy Sage!" Naruto exclaimed excitedly, then quickly shouted, "Quick, quick, save Sasuke!"
Jiraiya stared warily at Kisame and the distant Itachi, speaking in a low voice to Naruto: "Naruto, they're targeting you. You leave first and find Kakashi or Guy."
"Ah?" Naruto's eyes widened in shock. "They're targeting me? Why?"
Itachi, holding Sasuke, turned his gaze to Jiraiya: "It seems you know about our organization."
Jiraiya said in a low voice: "Don't think I was just sightseeing during my travels. You Akatsuki have been secretly active in the Ninja World. Did you really think you could fool everyone?"
Just as Jiraiya and Itachi were speaking, a voice abruptly sounded in the deepest part of Sasuke's consciousness: "You... desire power?"
Sasuke was suffering within the world of Tsukuyomi, but the moment this voice sounded, the illusion woven by Tsukuyomi suddenly froze.
Sasuke couldn't help shouting: "What do you mean? Who are you?"
The voice didn't respond, only repeated: "You... desire power?"
Sasuke clenched his fist and shouted: "Yes, I dream of it! As long as you can give me the power to kill that bastard, I'll do anything!"
"Very well, then, lend me your body, for now."
Outside.
Itachi was fully focused, wary of a possible surprise attack from Jiraiya, while maintaining Tsukuyomi.
In his hand, Sasuke remained limp, his eyes vacant.
However, the next moment.
"Hm?" Itachi's pupils suddenly contracted.
Sasuke's limp right hand, like a steel vice, suddenly reversed its grip and grabbed Itachi's wrist.
Crack!
The sickening sound of bone dislocation was clearly audible.
"Ugh!" Itachi, caught off guard, let out a pained grunt.
He felt as if his wrist bones were about to be crushed. Even more horrifying, Sasuke's strength continued to increase.
'Sasuke' slowly raised his head, his gaze calm, yet with an aloofness as if looking down on ants.
Itachi, enduring the sharp pain, tried to pull his hand back, while his other hand quickly formed hand signs.
But 'Sasuke' was faster.
The hand gripping Itachi's wrist suddenly exerted force, swinging Itachi's entire body up and then slamming him violently into the wall on the left.
Boom.
The wall cracked.
Before Itachi could react, he was swung again and slammed into the wall on the right.
Boom.
Debris flew everywhere.
Left and right, up and down.
'Sasuke', like a violent giant, grabbed Itachi and frantically slammed him back and forth in the narrow corridor.
Each impact was heavy and powerful, producing dull, loud sounds. Walls, floors, and ceilings all shattered.
Itachi was like a punching bag, completely powerless to resist, barely able to protect his vital points with Chakra. Blood continuously spilled from his mouth, his Sharingan filled with extreme shock and confusion.
All of this happened too fast.
From 'Sasuke's' sudden outburst to Itachi being battered like a toy, only two or three seconds passed.
"Itachi-san!" Kisame heard the commotion and spun around.
Seeing this scene, his shark eyes nearly bulged out.
He didn't hesitate, swinging the massive Samehada with the force to cut through anything, aiming a heavy slash at 'Sasuke's' back.
'Sasuke' didn't even turn his head. He merely casually extended his left hand backward.
His five fingers spread and firmly caught Samehada's blade, covered in spikes.
"What?" Kisame felt as if he had struck a mountain.
The recoil force split his hands. Even more unbelievable, 'Sasuke's' fingers gripping Samehada gently squeezed.
Crack.
A crisp, heartbreaking sound of breaking.
The sword that had been following him for many years, having devoured countless Chakras… the incredibly hard blade, Samehada, was crushed by 'Sasuke's' bare hands.
"No! Samehada!" Kisame let out a pained roar.
At that moment, Itachi, battered and with internal injuries, finally seized a chance to catch his breath.
The Mangekyo pattern in his eyes spun frantically as he overdrew his Ocular Power recklessly.
"Susanoo!"
A dark red skeletal Chakra Framework instantly materialized, enveloping him, attempting to form a defense and counterattack.
However, 'Sasuke' merely punched the newly formed, initial-stage Susanoo.
Boom!
That dark red Susanoo skeleton, under this seemingly ordinary punch, instantly became covered in cobweb-like cracks, then shattered with a crash!
"Pfft!" Itachi, as if struck by lightning, coughed up a mouthful of blood. His aura weakened to the extreme, his Mangekyo growing dim.
The shock in his eyes had turned into horror and despair.
'What kind of power was this? This was definitely not Sasuke! Definitely not!'
"Reverse Summoning Technique!" At the life-or-death moment, Itachi used the last of his strength and a pre-arranged measure, remotely controlling his crow summon, placed far away, to activate a Reverse Summoning Technique.
A puff of smoke exploded, and Itachi and Kisame's figures abruptly vanished, leaving only a few black feathers slowly drifting down.
'Sasuke' glanced at the place where Itachi had disappeared, but did not pursue.
That punch of his just now could have been heavier, directly killing Itachi.
But he didn't do that. It was better for the real Sasuke to kill Itachi himself.
The entire corridor instantly fell silent.
All that remained was a chaotic wreck, the calmed-down 'Sasuke', and Jiraiya and Naruto, their eyes wide, jaws nearly dropping to the floor.
"Sa... Sasuke..." Naruto stammered, pointing at 'Sasuke'. "You... you were this strong all along?"
"Dammit, I've fallen behind again!" Naruto was frustrated. Of course, he wanted Sasuke to do well, but the problem was, Sasuke was doing too well now.
Jiraiya, however, was suspicious: 'Could it be that Cursed Seal from that guy Orochimaru? Impossible, Orochimaru himself isn't this fierce.'
At that moment, the dark golden light in 'Sasuke's' eyes rapidly faded.
Then, his body swayed and he fell straight backward.