Land of Water border, Nandou Lake.
Two kilometers away from the lakeside, Aoki Yoru stood on a tree branch, performing hand seals to sense his surroundings.
The next second, his expression changed abruptly.
In his perception, a massive, suffocating amount of Chakra was coiled deep at the bottom of the lake; that power was violent, murky, and cold, carrying an aura of destruction.
He opened his eyes abruptly, a layer of fine sweat already seeping from his forehead, and nodded to Kakashi-sensei, "That's right, there is indeed a massive amount of Chakra at the bottom of the lake."
Watching Kakashi rush towards the lakeside with five Anbu, Aoki Yoru's body went limp as he leaned against the tree trunk and breathed a sigh of relief.
Just now, facing that massive Chakra of the Three-Tails, he felt a profound sense of powerlessness for the first time.
"It seems I must find a way to make up for my physical deficiencies."
He did not want to experience that feeling of having his life and death out of his own control a second time.
Coming from a civilian background limited the amount of Chakra his body cells could hold; right now, he likely had only one-tenth of Naruto's capacity, and that was even without counting the Nine-Tailed.
To achieve a huge improvement in a short time, as far as he knew, there were only two options: Hashirama cells and White Zetsu cells.
His eyes then grew deep; although both were difficult to obtain, he had the advantage of foresight, so if he planned carefully, there was still a chance. No one could stop his plan to live on well.
Boom—
A violent explosion came from the distance, and he turned his attention towards it.
Kakashi and the other five deployed Lightning Release Ninjutsu towards the center of the lake from six different positions. Huge pillars of lightning blasted a black hole with a diameter of 10 meters into the lake surface, and the surrounding lake water surged crazily towards the opening.
"Roar—aaah—!"
A deafening roar resounded through the heavens and earth as the massive body of the Three-Tails broke through the water.
Its body was still wreathed in flashes of lightning, and cracks had appeared on the turtle shell on its back; clearly, the previous lightning pillars had injured it.
It was thoroughly enraged, and its murky beast eyes contained only ferocity. With a flick of its massive body, one of its tails swept towards an Anbu with a cat mask on the shore.
In Aoki Yoru's astonished gaze, the cat-masked Anbu advanced instead of retreating, picking up a Kunai to stab at it.
Aoki Yoru's mouth twitched as he watched the cat-masked Anbu's outrageous move in stunned silence.
"He couldn't possibly think that because the Lightning Release injured the Three-Tails, the Tailed Beast is nothing special, right!" he couldn't help but think.
"Why is this scene so familiar?"
Immediately, Aoki Yoru realized in a flash; wasn't this just a remake of Danzo stabbing a Susanoo with a Kunai?
This cat-masked Ninja couldn't be a Root Ninja, could he? Only Root could cultivate such an excellent specimen, carrying on the tradition of their boss.
Bang—
The Tailed Beast and the Kunai collided, and the cat-masked Ninja was torn to pieces before he could even scream.
"Four-Corner Sealing Formation!"
Seeing this, the four Anbu took out scrolls and performed a Sealing Technique.
The Three-Tails was instantly suppressed onto the lake surface, unable to move.
"Huh!"
Perhaps the commotion caused by the previous battle was too great; Ninjas from all directions were rushing here, and the fastest were Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
He sent a message to Kakashi, then suppressed his aura and burrowed into the ground, hiding himself.
"Hurry up, the enemy is already here!" Kakashi ordered the four Anbu.
Upon hearing this, the four no longer held back and poured all their Chakra into the technique.
This familiar feeling reminded the Three-Tails of those dark, sunless days when it was sealed; it went completely berserk, its body shaking constantly, and cracks began to appear on the sealing formula on its body.
The four Anbu gritted their teeth, straining to maintain the technique, the excessive Chakra output causing blood to stream from their mouths and noses.
On the field, Kakashi looked towards the depths of the forest with a serious expression.
Two figures slowly emerged and walked out of the forest; it was indeed Uchiha Itachi and Kisame Hoshigaki.
"It's Captain Kakashi, it's been a long time." Itachi said unhurriedly; Kakashi had been his squad leader when he first joined the Anbu.
Kisame beside him grinned, his appearance matching his sinister and eerie smile, "An acquaintance of Itachi-san? In that case, let me handle this; I also want to see the strength of the famous Copy Ninja." As he spoke, he reached to pull out the Samehada on his back.
"Let me do it. If you act, the commotion will be too great, and it will drag on for a long time. The powerhouses of the Hidden Mist Village are already on their way; we need to finish this quickly."
As he spoke, the black Three-Tomoe in his eyes spun, and the triple pinwheel-shaped Mangekyo appeared, scarlet and mysterious.
At this moment, Kakashi moved his headband aside, revealing his Three-Tomoe Sharingan, and stared at them tightly, not daring to relax in the slightest; this was a ruthless man who had personally killed hundreds of his own clan members.
"Captain Kakashi, you possess a Sharingan; do you know the difference between the Uchiha Clan's Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Kakashi only felt the world before him suddenly twist, and the next second, his body was ruthlessly nailed to a huge black cross by an invisible force, his limbs firmly locked, unable to move.
Itachi's figure slowly appeared within the genjutsu, looking at him expressionlessly.
"In this environment, time will be controlled by me." Having said that, he stabbed a blade into Kakashi's body.
Inside the genjutsu, Kakashi had already forgotten how long he had been tortured; every second was infinitely elongated, countless times blades repeatedly pierced him, his spirit was repeatedly crushed, and the despair was boundless.
At this moment, in the center of the lake.
Crack—
The Sealing Technique suppressing the Three-Tails finally shattered under its constant struggling, turning into scattered fragments and disappearing into the air.
Completely enraged, the Three-Tails looked up and let out a violent roar, a massive Tailed Beast Ball of interwoven pitch black and crimson rapidly condensing in front of its mouth.
The Tailed Beast Ball was immediately fired, causing a violent explosion on the shore, the white light instantly swallowing everyone present.
Boom—
Looking from afar, a huge mushroom cloud appeared at the battlefield.
The Fifth Generation Mizukage, Mei Terumī, who was rushing over, changed expression and said to her subordinates behind her, "It's a Tailed Beast Ball, hurry, something has happened over at the Three-Tails."
As the smoke and dust gradually dispersed, the battlefield was in a mess, with no remains left, and the Three-Tails had also disappeared.
On the other side, Uchiha Itachi covered one eye with his hand, a trail of blood flowing from his eye, panting heavily.
A translucent, huge skeleton frame surrounded him and Kisame, blocking the impact of the Tailed Beast Ball.
"Itachi-san, you rest for a moment, I will go meet this beast." Kisame drew Samehada and walked towards the Three-Tails.
"Lava Release: Melting Apparition Technique."
A mass of orange-yellow, viscous lava erupted with a pungent, burnt smell, rushing straight at Kisame.
It was the Fifth Generation Mizukage, Mei Terumī, who had just arrived.
"The Village's rogue Ninja, Kisame Hoshigaki, I didn't expect to meet you here." After saying this, she looked to the other side, "And the clan-slaying Itachi of Konoha."
"This time, neither of you will escape. To actually dare to plot against the Three-Tails is simply unforgivable."
Having said that, she and the Ninjas behind her surrounded them; this time, they were going to keep them both here.
5 kilometers outside the battlefield.
A small mound of earth suddenly protruded from the ground.
Aoki Yoru drilled out of the ground, holding the listless, panting Kakashi in his arms.
He had felt something was wrong after Kakashi confronted Itachi, so he created a Shadow Clone to use Earth Release to go over, and the moment the Tailed Beast Ball exploded, he pulled him into the ground and fled far away.
"Kakashi-sensei, what should we do now?"
"Go to the ship... leave... the Land of Water." He said, then passed out.
Aoki Yoru did not hesitate and immediately rushed towards the seaside at his fastest speed.