Naruto wore a smug look on his face, thinking: Itachi, let's see what you'll do next!
Itachi Uchiha suddenly drew his kunai and stabbed at Sasuke.
This action of Itachi's greatly shocked Naruto.
"Don't even think about it." Jiraiya quickly formed Hand Seals[b]Hand Seals[/b] and used the Summoning Jutsu[b]Summoning Jutsu[/b] to summon the Iron Wall Frog.
The Iron Wall Frog's arms were covered with iron armor, blocking Itachi's kunai attack for Sasuke.
Itachi thought to himself: As expected of Lord Jiraiya, one of the Sannin. He's really fast in taking action. I knew Jiraiya would definitely block this attack before I could reach Sasuke.
Itachi was taking a gamble, betting that Jiraiya would definitely make a move.
Just as Itachi had thought, Jiraiya really did make a move. Itachi never intended to kill Sasuke; his purpose was just to deceive Kisame.
Naruto was stunned, thinking: You're really something, Itachi. You actually used Jiraiya to get away with it...
Itachi stared intently at Sasuke. Seeing that his attack had missed and he hadn't taken Sasuke's life, there seemed to be a look of pity on his face.
Seeing Itachi's expression, Naruto thought: You're such a good actor, but I won't let you deceive us so easily.
Naruto had already left the mark of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu[b]Flying Thunder God Jutsu[/b] on Sasuke's body.
Not long ago, Naruto used the Flying Thunder God Technique[b]Flying Thunder God Technique[/b] to teleport behind Sasuke and even taunted him, saying Sasuke could activate his Sharingan[b]Sharingan[/b] first and they could have another round after he was ready.
Now, Naruto directly teleported to Sasuke's side and shouted, "Sasuke! I'm here to save you!"
Naruto used his sensor ability to detect Hinata's position since Hinata also had the mark of the Flying Thunder God Jutsu[b]Flying Thunder God Jutsu[/b]. Then he teleported beside Hinata.
Tsunade was dumbfounded!
Hinata was stunned!
Itachi Uchiha cursed under his breath!
"Hey hey hey..." Kisame burst out laughing.
Jiraiya roared, "Naruto, what the hell are you doing?"
"Sorry, sorry. Everyone makes mistakes. I messed up." Naruto scratched the back of his head and said.
It turned out that Naruto first used the Flying Thunder God Technique[b]Flying Thunder God Technique[/b] to teleport to Sasuke's side, then directly grabbed the Iron - armed Frog and teleported to Hinata's side, leaving Sasuke lying there.
Now, seriously injured and unconscious, Sasuke was lying right in front of Itachi Uchiha. If Itachi wanted to, he could easily kill him.
Jiraiya angrily scolded, "Naruto! You're just making things worse. You could have taken Sasuke away, but you took the frog instead!"
"Nooo!" Naruto shouted heart - wrenchingly. "Don't hurt Sasuke. He's my comrade. Please spare him."
Itachi Uchiha gritted his teeth. The kunai stuck in Sasuke's chest was clearly Naruto's doing.
But in the eyes of Jiraiya and Tsunade, who arrived later, it seemed more likely that Itachi and Kisame had done it.
"Hey, Itachi," Kisame said bluntly. "I'll take care of holding them off. You take care of killing Sasuke."
Kisame knew Naruto was acting strangely. It was really strange that Naruto would hurt Sasuke.
In Kisame's eyes, Naruto was not only acting strangely now, but Itachi was also acting oddly.
Kisame didn't want to expose Naruto's pretense for the moment. Instead, he deliberately cooperated with Naruto, aiming to force Itachi to kill Sasuke with his own hands.
If Itachi is willing to kill Sasuke, it means he is a loyal member of the Akatsuki Organization and not a spy planted by Konoha.
If Itachi is unwilling to kill Sasuke, then there's something wrong with Itachi. How could a cold - blooded killer who had slaughtered his entire clan still have feelings for his younger brother?
Seeing Kisame make a move, Itachi Uchiha's expression turned extremely cold, as if he was dead - set on killing Sasuke to prove his loyalty to the Akatsuki Organization.
Itachi raised his kunai and tried to stab Sasuke for the second time.
With a clang, Naruto suddenly showed up beside Sasuke. He raised his kunai to block Itachi's attack and saved Sasuke's life.
Naruto was stunned for a moment and thought to himself: How did I get here? I never intended to use the Flying Thunder God Technique[b]Flying Thunder God Technique[/b] to come here. I never planned to save Sasuke either. How did I end up here blocking Itachi's attack for Sasuke?
"Good job, Naruto." Jiraiya directly attacked Kisame, and Tsunade also made a move at the same time.
At this time, Naruto saw Itachi showing him a faint smile.
Naruto immediately came to his senses and thought: It's Tsukuyomi[b]Tsukuyomi[/b]! It's a Genjutsu[b]Genjutsu[/b]! When on earth did I fall into Itachi's Genjutsu[b]Genjutsu[/b]? I clearly wanted to force Itachi to show his true feelings for Sasuke, but instead I was used by him... How terrifying... This man...
Kisame brandished his huge sword, Samehada, vigorously. He could hold off Jiraiya and Tsunade for a short while, but he surely couldn't do it for long.
"Ouch!" Naruto's kunai dropped to the ground, and he shouted, "Itachi Uchiha, you're incredibly powerful. Just in that close - quarters fight with you, I was directly shaken by your power."
Naruto feigned being seriously injured, but actually, he wasn't hurt a bit.
He feigned being unsteady on his feet, staggered back a couple of steps, and then plopped down on the ground.
"Humph!" Naruto smirked smugly and thought, "Itachi! Let's see what you'll do next. Just now, you used Genjutsu[b]Genjutsu[/b] to manipulate me, making me unknowingly use the Flying Thunder God Technique[b]Flying Thunder God Technique[/b] to teleport here and block an attack for Sasuke. But what's next? If you don't kill Sasuke, you'll be seen as a traitor by the Akatsuki. You surely won't kill Sasuke."
"Humph!" Itachi Uchiha also flashed a smug smile and stared at Naruto confidently.
Naruto instantly sensed something was amiss. What was Itachi smiling about? What was so hilarious? The situation was extremely disadvantageous to him.
Sasuke, who was in a coma from severe injuries, was lying at Itachi's feet. Itachi could easily end Sasuke's life now.
Oh, no!
But Naruto was dead sure that Itachi wouldn't kill Sasuke. With this, he could force Itachi to break away from the Akatsuki Organization. That was Naruto's aim.
But now, Itachi was grinning! It was as if Itachi had seized control of the battlefield situation and turned the tide of the battle.
Naruto quickly squinted and saw that the person lying at Itachi's feet was actually Hinata!
"Hinata!" Naruto was utterly shocked. He quickly spun around and saw where Hinata had originally stood, there was a dying Sasuke lying there.
Naruto instantly realized that this was Itachi's Genjutsu[b]Genjutsu[/b], and this Genjutsu[b]Genjutsu[/b] had two possible scenarios.
The first possibility is that the person lying at Itachi's feet is still Sasuke, but the [Genjutsu] made Naruto see a false vision, making him mistake Sasuke for Hinata and Hinata for Sasuke.
The second possibility is that the person lying at Itachi's feet is actually Hinata. The previous [Genjutsu] manipulated Naruto. Without realizing it, Naruto himself swapped the positions of Hinata and Sasuke.
Naruto's spirit entered his [inner world]. In front of the cage where the [Nine-Tailed Fox] was sealed, Naruto rebuked, "Nine-Tailed Fox, what on earth are you doing? Am I under [Genjutsu]? Why don't you break it for me?"
The [Nine-Tailed Fox] let out a lazy yawn and said, "Our agreement was that I'd provide you with [Chakra] for three years. It never stated I'd break [Genjutsu] for you."
Naruto said discontentedly, "You're right inside me. All you need to do is stimulate me with [Chakra], and I'll break free from the [Genjutsu]. It's just a piece of cake."
"Humans are still humans after all. They just keep asking for more and more, with never-ending desires." The [Nine-Tailed Fox] transformed into a huge demonic form and stared at Naruto menacingly.
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