บท 146: Ch.146 If It's That Person, It's Possible!
Obito clearly understood that if these three masked, cloaked Akatsuki members truly belonged to Nagato's faction, then his position within the Akatsuki would become precarious.
His collaboration with Nagato was fundamentally built on the premise that he could help Nagato gather the Tailed Beasts and resurrect the Ten-Tails. If Nagato no longer required his assistance to collect all nine Tailed Beasts, then the foundation of their partnership would be shaken.
"What is Nagato thinking? Why does he keep sending people to interfere with my plans?"
As Obito's thoughts scattered, his expression behind the mask gradually became more solemn.
Swish. Swish.
At that moment, Itachi and Zabuza appeared on the battlefield, standing on Obito's side.
Obito glanced briefly at Itachi and then looked satisfied, withdrawing his gaze.
In his mind, the operation to lure Sasuke out of the Hidden Leaf had not been fruitless. Although the results were somewhat different from his expectations, he confirmed how important Sasuke was to Itachi. Obito realized that as long as he held Sasuke, Itachi would have no choice but to stay on his side.
With Itachi and Zabuza now joining him, Obito's numbers had increased from three to five.
On Uchiha Shinji's side, he quietly observed the five opponents standing in a line: Zabuza, Itachi, Obito, Mōryō, and Shinnō, while analyzing the situation.
"Sasuke was lured out of the village by Shinnō, and it's clear that Shinnō and Mōryō were recruited by Obito. This means the whole incident of Sasuke leaving the village was orchestrated by Obito. But what's his real purpose? And why is Itachi standing with him?"
In the original timeline, Obito and Itachi had a relationship where they cooperated but also watched and guarded against each other. Uchiha Shinji believed that hadn't changed much in this timeline, so he could guess Obito's motives for luring Sasuke. However, it was difficult to discern how Itachi was responding to the situation.
Judging by Itachi's current stance, he seemed to be siding with Obito for the time being.
Whether Itachi was genuinely loyal or only trying to deceive Obito, Uchiha Shinji leaned toward the latter. Regardless, with the appearance of Itachi and Zabuza, the balance of power had tipped in Obito's favor.
After all, Haku had already exhausted his chakra, and Karin, after multiple battles and having some of her chakra extracted by Shinji's Wazunagi to replenish Haku, was also heavily depleted.
The only one still at peak strength was Uchiha Shinji himself.
On the opposing side, Obito and Itachi were both highly experienced and had many trump cards. Even in a one-on-one situation, Uchiha Shinji couldn't confidently say he would win. Facing both of them at once was even more daunting.
Add Mōryō, Zabuza, and Shinnō to the mix, and if a full-scale battle broke out, the situation could quickly spiral out of control.
But Shinji knew that in this kind of situation, showing weakness would be a mistake. So even as Itachi and Zabuza appeared on the battlefield, he remained standing still, calmly observing the opposition.
In the distance, the shinobi from the Hidden Leaf, as well as the Mist's assassination unit and the Stone Village's beheading squad, all looked at each other in confusion as they watched Akatsuki members stand off against one another.
"What's going on?" Kiba asked while coughing. "Why are Akatsuki members fighting amongst themselves?"
Neji, who was also injured and clutching his chest, used his Byakugan to observe from afar. "The last time in the Land of Demons, it was the same. It seems Akatsuki is divided into two factions internally."
Kimimaro added, "We should consider ourselves lucky."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
They had witnessed Akatsuki's terrifying power firsthand. If it weren't for this internal conflict, they could hardly imagine how overwhelmingly powerful the organization might be.
Meanwhile, Kakashi and the others were also closely watching the battlefield.
Kakashi had a keen sense that this was a rare opportunity to glimpse Akatsuki's internal workings, so he hadn't ordered the Hidden Leaf team to retreat just yet.
It was obvious to any experienced shinobi that after this battle, the Five Great Shinobi Villages wouldn't be able to sit back and ignore Akatsuki any longer.
A full-scale war would break out, and these eight Akatsuki members would become key targets for the Five Villages. Gathering as much intel now as possible would mean fewer sacrifices later.
That was also why the Mist's assassination unit and the Stone's beheading squad were lurking on the outskirts, reluctant to leave despite knowing they couldn't intervene.
Back on the battlefield, seeing that the three enemies had no intention of retreating, Obito frowned slightly.
"Two Mangekyō Uchihas and an Ice Release user..." He thought, carefully evaluating the enemy's strength. "The lead Uchiha has one Mangekyō dojutsu, Amaterasu. As for the other Uchiha, his dojutsu is still unknown."
During the battle in the Land of Demons, Shinji had used Amaterasu to deal with Mōryō, so Obito assumed that one of Shinji's Mangekyō Sharingan abilities was Amaterasu.
But there were two Mangekyō Uchihas on the other side, meaning four Mangekyō Sharingan in total. Normally, each Sharingan would have a different dojutsu. He only knew about Amaterasu; the other three dojutsu were a mystery, making him extremely cautious.
Mangekyō dojutsu were known to be incredibly unpredictable.
No one could guarantee that one of their abilities wouldn't perfectly counter his Kamui, so without enough information, Obito didn't want to fight these Uchiha just yet.
Itachi also didn't want to engage in a pointless battle here, so he spoke casually, "Continuing the fight might cause a rift in the organization."
Obito nodded slightly. "Agreed, let's end it here."
Itachi didn't say another word. He signaled to Zabuza with his eyes, and the two of them swiftly vanished into the night after a few leaps.
After they left, Obito placed a hand on Mōryō and Shinnō's shoulders and teleported them away in a distorted vortex.
The entire retreat took only a few breaths, and then Obito and his team were completely gone.
Only then did Haku and Karin finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Haku turned to Uchiha Shinji and said softly, "Master, I'm sorry. I acted on my own this time."
Karin added, "I'm also at fault. Please punish me."
Uchiha Shinji waved his hand dismissively. "We'll talk about that later. First, let's leave here. Karin, keep an eye out with your sensory abilities. There's an Earth Release user tracking us."
"Understood!"
Karin immediately activated her Kagura Mind's Eye.
Shinji glanced at the distant Hidden Leaf shinobi, determined a direction, and led Haku and Karin away from the battlefield.
Meanwhile, Kakashi was on edge, worried that Akatsuki might turn their attention to their group. Only after Akatsuki had fully withdrawn did he let out a long sigh of relief.
Asuma wiped the sweat from his brow, clearly feeling the tension ease.
The shadow clone of Uchiha Shinji, who had stayed with the Leaf team, approached and said, "Sasuke should be up ahead. Let's go check on him."
Instantly, all eyes turned to Kakashi.
Logically, their mission was to bring Sasuke back after he left the village, so continuing the search was natural. However, after everything they had just witnessed—especially the massacre of the Cloud ninjas at the hands of Mōryō—everyone felt a sense of trepidation.
Continuing the search for Sasuke meant possibly encountering Akatsuki again.
There was no guarantee they would be as fortunate next time.
After some deliberation, Kakashi finally spoke up. "We'll keep searching. If we haven't found Sasuke by the time we reach the edge of the Land of Fire, we'll return to the village."
"Alright."
"That's reasonable."
The team nodded in agreement.
Satisfied with this plan, Kakashi's team, along with Shinji's group, pressed forward into the night. Soon, they arrived at the canyon where Itachi and Sasuke had fought.
Reaching the middle of the canyon, the sight that greeted them left everyone in shock.
Even though they had already witnessed plenty of bloodshed and horrifying scenes that day, the spectacle before them still filled them with an eerie sense of dread.
Bodies of Sand Village shinobi lay strewn across the ground, many interlocked in death. A closer inspection revealed that all the Sand shinobi had died from killing each other.
The blood-drenched battlefield emanated an indescribable sense of horror.
Yūhi Kurenai, a genjutsu expert, carefully examined the area. With a serious expression, she said, "It must be genjutsu."
Asuma, puzzled, asked, "They all fell under a genjutsu?"
Kurenai shook her head. "I can't explain it. Normally, if one person falls under genjutsu, their companions should wake them up immediately. A large group of shinobi should be practically immune to genjutsu—unless..."
Kakashi finished her thought. "Unless the caster delayed the genjutsu's activation, placing the entire group under it simultaneously before triggering it. That would be the only way to achieve this result."
Kurenai looked at Kakashi and nodded. "Yes, that's the only plausible explanation. So, one person couldn't have done this alone. These Sand shinobi must have encountered a well-coordinated genjutsu squad."
Asuma, inspecting the tracks on the ground, remarked, "Judging by the footprints, aside from the Sand shinobi, there are only two or three others. One of them is definitely Uchiha Sasuke."
Kurenai furrowed her brow. "That's impossible."
"No, it is possible!" Kakashi said after a pause. "If it was that person, it's possible!"
Just then, Kiba called out from a distance, "I found him!"
The group rushed over to find Sasuke lying unconscious on the ground.
As a medical ninja, Shinji's shadow clone immediately pushed through the crowd to check on Sasuke. After a quick examination, he reported, "He's not in any immediate danger, but his mind has suffered extreme trauma, and he's on the verge of a mental breakdown."
Kakashi sighed. "The thing I feared most has happened."
At that moment, the Mist assassination unit and the Stone's beheading squad also arrived at the canyon and saw the bodies of the Sand shinobi.
"Damn it!"
"These Akatsuki bastards are outrageous!"
"We have to make them pay!"
The shinobi from the Mist and Stone villages were furious.
For a bounty hunting organization like Akatsuki to dare challenge the Five Great Shinobi Villages like this was unprecedented. Both the Mist and Stone shinobi felt a deep sense of offense.
And given the terrifying strength Akatsuki had displayed, this insult was particularly hard to swallow. What they struggled to admit was that they had genuinely felt threatened and fearful.
Kakashi then approached the leaders of the Mist and Stone units and said, "Everyone, we must put aside our differences and unite against the common enemy."
The Mist assassination unit's leader, Zabuza, glanced at the unconscious Uchiha Sasuke, surrounded by Leaf shinobi, and realized there was no longer any chance of capturing Sasuke. Reluctantly, he nodded at Kakashi with a cold expression.
The Stone's beheading squad leader, also realizing this wasn't the time to confront the Leaf, asked, "What's your plan?"
Kakashi responded, "We don't know enough about Akatsuki. We shouldn't act recklessly. I plan to return to the village and report the situation to the Five Kage."
Zabuza and the Stone's beheading squad leader exchanged glances before both nodded in agreement.
They knew deep down that had the Akatsuki members been more ruthless, they might already be lying dead alongside the Cloud and Stone ninjas.
After finishing their discussion, Kakashi wasted no time, marking the location of the canyon and swiftly leading the Leaf team back to the village.
The Mist and Stone ninjas also departed, heading in their respective directions.
Late into the night, while on their way back, Kakashi's group encountered Guy's team, who had been sent as reinforcements. After regrouping, they all returned to the village together.
As they returned to the Hidden Leaf, news quickly spread about Akatsuki's deception in luring Sasuke out of the village and the group's ruthless slaughter of shinobi from the Five Great Shinobi Villages.
At the Mist's temporary base, the Fourth Mizukage, after receiving the report, was astonished. After triple-checking the information, he muttered, "I didn't realize Akatsuki's strength was this formidable. Could they have been the ones controlling the Third Mizukage?"
At the Stone's temporary base, the Third Tsuchikage, Ōnoki, upon learning of the Stone beheading squad's losses, was furious. "That damned Akatsuki! We can't let them off easily!"
...
At the Cloud's temporary base...
Boom!
The Fourth Raikage shattered the wall with a punch, then ordered his attendants, "They dared to massacre my people in broad daylight! Notify Killer Bee and Yugito Nii. This time, I'm personally going to hunt down Akatsuki!"
...
At the Sand's temporary base...
The Fourth Kazekage wore a stern expression. "Four entire squads wiped out—Akatsuki's strength is greater than we imagined."
Chiyo nodded gravely. "Who would have thought that Sasuke's defection would trigger such a massive conflict, dragging all the Five Great Shinobi Villages into it, with so many lives lost?"
The Fourth Kazekage said, "We'll put our plans against the Leaf on hold for now. I have a feeling that if we let Akatsuki roam unchecked, it'll lead to a major disaster in the future!"
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