Chapter 277: Don't Push Your Luck Too Far
On the road toward the Land of Rivers, Naruto and the others moved quickly through a dense forest.
Kakashi led from the front.
Naruto and Sakura followed close behind, while Lady Chiyo kept pace without difficulty despite her age.
They had been travelling for some time when the trees abruptly gave way to an open clearing.
Kakashi stopped.
Naruto halted beside him.
Someone was waiting ahead.
A man stood alone in the center of the clearing.
A black cloak patterned with red clouds covered his body.
Straight black hair framed both sides of his face, and two distinct lines ran downward beneath his eyes.
More importantly, his features bore an unmistakable resemblance to Sasuke.
Kakashi's visible eye narrowed.
"Uchiha Itachi."
The man looked toward him.
"It has been a long time, Kakashi."
His voice was calm.
Almost emotionless.
The brief exchange was enough to confirm his identity for everyone else.
Naruto studied him carefully.
So this was Itachi.
The man Sasuke had spent nearly his entire life wanting to kill.
The brother who had slaughtered the Uchiha Clan and left Sasuke behind.
Sakura recognized him as well.
Over the past three years, she had gathered what information she could about Sasuke's brother and the massacre that had shaped his life.
Lady Chiyo looked mildly surprised.
"So this is Uchiha Itachi."
Her aged eyes sharpened.
"The man who exterminated his own clan."
Itachi showed no reaction.
Naruto's hand settled on the hilt of Ryūjin Jakka.
"You came here specifically to delay us."
Itachi looked toward him.
Naruto continued.
"That means the Akatsuki has already started extracting the tailed beast from Gaara."
A brief silence followed.
Then Itachi answered,
"You figured it out."
Naruto met his eyes directly.
The Sharingan turned.
For a fraction of a second, Itachi attempted to pull Naruto's senses under his control.
Nothing happened.
Naruto's expression did not change.
The genjutsu could not reach him at all.
Itachi had expected as much.
Kakashi stepped forward.
"Do not look directly into his eyes."
Lightning gathered around his hand.
The sharp cry of concentrated chakra filled the clearing.
"Lightning Blade!"
Kakashi's Sharingan opened.
Then he charged.
Itachi shifted aside just before the thrust reached him.
At the same moment, Naruto crossed his hands.
Six three pronged kunai appeared between his fingers.
He threw them.
Whoosh!
The weapons scattered across the battlefield.
Itachi's gaze followed them.
He knew exactly what they meant.
Flash!
Golden light erupted.
Naruto vanished.
Then appeared beside another kunai.
Flash!
Gone again.
Golden light flickered throughout the clearing.
Lady Chiyo stared.
Her eyes widened.
"That technique..."
Another golden flash crossed the battlefield.
Her voice lowered in disbelief.
"The Flying Thunder God Technique."
Memories of the Third Great Ninja War returned immediately.
One man had once turned battlefields into places of terror for enemy Shinobi.
Minato Namikaze.
The Yellow Flash of Konoha.
Entire units had been ordered to flee on sight if they encountered him.
Lady Chiyo had never expected to see that technique again.
Much less used by someone this young.
"Konoha actually produced another Shinobi capable of mastering it..."
The battle had already accelerated beyond ordinary sight.
Naruto was the main attacker.
Flash!
He appeared on Itachi's right.
The three pronged kunai slashed toward his throat.
Itachi leaned away.
Kakashi attacked from the opposite side.
Itachi blocked.
Naruto vanished.
Flash!
He appeared above him.
Itachi twisted aside.
Another kunai flew past his shoulder.
Every marked weapon Naruto scattered became a threat.
Every point on the battlefield could become his next position.
Even Itachi's Sharingan found the pattern difficult to manage.
Kakashi understood that perfectly.
He continued applying pressure from the side.
Then, during another exchange, Kakashi spoke.
"How much has your eyesight deteriorated?"
Itachi's expression changed slightly.
Kakashi's gaze remained fixed on him.
"Those Mangekyō Sharingan eyes cannot remain unaffected forever."
For the first time, Itachi's calm expression showed a trace of surprise.
His eyes shifted toward Kakashi's left Sharingan.
"Could it be..."
Naruto caught the opening.
Flash!
He appeared directly in front of Itachi.
A Rasengan was already spinning in his palm.
Itachi's eyes widened.
Naruto drove it into his chest.
"Rasengan!"
Boom!
The spiralling chakra exploded.
Itachi was launched backward.
His body smashed into the ground and tore through the earth before disappearing into a cloud of dust.
Naruto did not wait.
Flash!
He appeared inside the dust.
The tip of a three pronged kunai pressed against Itachi's throat.
Then the smoke cleared.
Naruto froze.
The face beneath him was no longer Itachi's.
It belonged to an unfamiliar Sand Shinobi.
Dead.
Inside Ryūjin Jakka, the system immediately responded.
[Ding! Negative emotions detected from a Sunagakure Jōnin at the moment of death.]
[Gained 3000 emotion points.]
[Gained 5000 Demon Power.]
[Fifty percent of the Demon Power will be returned to the Sword Master.]
Asuramaru stared at the notification.
Then his expression darkened.
"What kind of fraud is this?"
He had expected emotion points from Uchiha Itachi.
Instead, the system gave him the emotions of some unfortunate Sand Jōnin used as a substitute.
Outside, Naruto stared at the unfamiliar corpse.
"So that wasn't his real body."
Kakashi approached.
"A substitution of some kind."
Lady Chiyo stepped closer and examined the corpse.
Her expression became grave.
"To sacrifice an actual Shinobi merely to create a temporary duplicate..."
She looked toward the direction of the Land of Rivers.
"They are desperate to delay us."
Naruto's expression tightened.
Lady Chiyo continued.
"Which means the tailed beast extraction may already be nearing completion."
Sakura looked toward her.
Then she glanced at Naruto.
A question had clearly been bothering her.
"Lady Chiyo."
Chiyo looked over.
"What happens to a Jinchūriki when the tailed beast is removed?"
Chiyo answered without hesitation.
"They die."
Sakura froze.
Her eyes moved immediately toward Naruto.
The meaning struck her all at once.
Gaara would die if they were too late.
And if the Akatsuki ever captured Naruto...
The same thing would happen to him.
Moisture gathered in Sakura's eyes before she could stop it.
Naruto noticed.
He smiled.
"Sakura."
She looked toward him.
"Don't worry."
Naruto's expression was calm.
"I'll save Gaara."
Sakura clenched her fists.
"But..."
Her voice became heavier.
"I'm worried about you too."
Naruto blinked.
Only then did Lady Chiyo fully understand.
Her gaze sharpened as she looked at him.
Uzumaki Naruto.
The boy who used the Fourth Hokage's Flying Thunder God.
The Shinobi carrying that mysterious sword.
The one Akatsuki had apparently taken special precautions against.
Could he be...
Konoha's Nine Tails Jinchūriki?
Naruto did not give anyone time to dwell on the subject.
"We need to keep moving."
Kakashi nodded.
"Agreed."
The group immediately resumed their pursuit.
Far away, inside the Akatsuki cave, the extraction ritual continued.
The Demonic Statue of the Outer Path towered over Gaara's motionless body.
Its enormous form absorbed the One Tail chakra without pause.
The projected figures of the Akatsuki members remained standing on its fingers.
Then Itachi spoke.
"I failed."
Several eyes turned toward him.
"I could not stop them."
A brief silence followed.
Even among the Akatsuki, Uchiha Itachi's strength was highly respected.
His Mangekyō Sharingan alone made him an opponent few would willingly underestimate.
Although the body created through the Shapeshifting Technique possessed only thirty percent of his chakra, being defeated this quickly still revealed a great deal about the approaching enemy.
Pain's Rinnegan focused on Itachi.
For the first time, the warning concerning Naruto carried greater weight.
He had been told that the Nine Tails Jinchūriki was dangerous.
Now there was proof.
Pain remained composed.
"It does not matter."
His voice echoed through the cavern.
"The sealing is almost complete."
He looked toward the two physical Akatsuki members still present.
"Once the extraction ends, Deidara and Sasori will handle the Nine Tails if the opportunity appears."
Neither objected.
Pain turned toward Zetsu.
"Recover the two corpses used for the Shapeshifting Technique."
Zetsu answered simply.
"Understood."
Time passed.
The sealing continued.
Eventually, the last of the One Tail chakra was drawn from Gaara.
Outside the cave, Naruto's group finally reunited with Team Guy.
Might Guy.
Neji.
Lee.
Tenten.
After a brief exchange of information, Team Guy moved to remove the seals maintaining the barrier around the cave.
Five seals protected the entrance.
Only after the Five Seal Barrier had been released could the stone wall itself be destroyed.
Once the final seal was removed, Naruto and the others gathered before the massive rock blocking the entrance.
The wall shattered.
Dust rushed outward.
The Konoha and Sand Shinobi entered.
Then Naruto stopped.
At the center of the cavern lay Gaara.
Motionless.
No chakra.
No movement.
No sign of life.
Deidara sat casually on top of Gaara's corpse.
His long blond ponytail shifted behind him.
The Akatsuki cloak covered most of his body, though his missing left arm was immediately obvious.
Nearby crouched Sasori of the Red Sand.
Deidara looked toward the newcomers.
His eyes settled on Naruto.
"So they got here already."
His grin widened.
"The yellow haired brat must be the Jinchūriki who defeated Itachi."
He rose slightly.
"I'll take him."
Sasori immediately looked over.
"We agreed on one each."
His voice carried obvious irritation.
"Do not push your luck too far."
Deidara laughed.
"But Sasori danna..."
His remaining hand moved slightly.
"For an artist, chasing greater stimulation is essential."
His smile widened.
"Otherwise, your senses grow dull."
....