I'M NARUTO UZUMAKI

Mitsuo Isofu

Stepping lightly on the rippling water, Naruto ignored the giant tortoise, its four legs upturned, and instead focused intently on the masked man before him, his wind blade at the ready.

The masked man—perhaps he shouldn't be called that—was better known as Uchiha Itachi, the wielder of the Sharingan.

In terms of cooperation, Obito had deceived him. Rather than showing up in person to aid him in the mission, he sent Uchiha Itachi to deceive him, but Itachi himself had also tricked Obito and saved Loquat Juzang.

From the start, there was no trust between them, and mutual calculation ruled the day.

As Naruto locked eyes with Uchiha Itachi, the latter did the same. The man before him was an ally of the masked man, one who had taken control of Kirigakure in place of the masked man, his task to help the other party infiltrate the village under an enemy guise.

This mission wasn't difficult for him, but the relationship between the masked man and the other party made things hard to predict.

After a brief silence, Naruto smirked and spoke up: "I didn't expect the masked man to keep his word. You must be his subordinate, right? The infamous Uchiha Itachi, the one who massacred his clan?"

The moment Naruto identified him, Itachi's expression shifted slightly. However, he responded calmly, "It was Madara who sent me here. What's the next step?"

Naruto sneered. "He's not Uchiha Madara. He's just some fraud playing at being Madara. Be careful working under him; you might find yourself sold out one day."

"As for cooperation, it's simple. Use wide-area ninjutsu, and if your chakra runs low, retreat quickly. Just make sure you don't die trapped in Kirigakure's encirclement."

After finishing his words, Naruto summoned a hovering wind blade in his palm, throwing it at Itachi with lightning speed.

Sensing the destructive power of the wind blade, Itachi reacted swiftly, dodging sideways, but the already torn fire-cloud cloak was further damaged, threatening to fall apart.

Landing on the water's surface, Itachi didn't hesitate. He quickly formed the hand seals for Fire Style, unleashing his ninjutsu.

Suddenly, massive wind blades and enormous fireballs materialized above the lake, their fiery glow intertwining with the wind's force, creating a dazzling display on the water's surface.

Both Naruto and Itachi were powerful ninjas, their chakra reserves seemingly inexhaustible in such a short span of time.

Outside the battle zone, Kirigakure's citizens, who had recovered from the shockwave of the Tailed Beast Bomb, observed the fight, murmuring among themselves, speculating on the identities of the combatants. It was clear that neither Naruto nor Itachi were Kirigakure ninjas.

Guideng Manyue and Terumi Mei approached Master Yuan, who looked at them with confusion. "Master Yuan, the two battling over there—one is the mastermind behind controlling the Fourth Mizukage, and the other is the reinforcement Manyue called in," she explained.

"The mastermind and the reinforcements?" Master Yuan asked, eyeing Ghost Lantern Manyue with skepticism.

While he was curious about how Manyue had summoned reinforcements, he realized that their only option now was to deal with the Fourth Mizukage and the masked man. With their current strength, they couldn't take on the masked man and his forces alone. For now, they had no choice but to wait and adapt.

Meanwhile, in the nearby forest, Obito and White Zetsu were observing the battle between Naruto and Itachi.

For Obito, the cooperation with Naruto was secondary. He didn't expect a lasting alliance after just one meeting.

The reason he'd sent Uchiha Itachi was to gather intelligence on Naruto and the situation. After all, neither Naruto nor Itachi had revealed their full strength yet.

As the battle wore on, Obito began to frown. It was clear to him that the two were deliberately holding back, putting on a fake fight. He wasn't gaining any useful information about their chakra levels.

But chakra alone wasn't the determining factor in battle, especially for an Uchiha like Itachi.

What Obito truly needed was to understand Itachi's Sharingan techniques so he could prepare for them.

Making a decision, Obito activated Kamui, shifting to the bottom of the lake. There, he searched through Mizukage's remains to find Yagura, still in a comatose state, before using the Sharingan's genjutsu to take control of him.

Once that was done, Obito roused the Three-Tails and disappeared into the lake's depths.

Naruto, still fighting atop the lake's surface, sensed a disturbance below the water. He dashed across the lake, narrowly avoiding a water cannon's attack. His gaze turned cold as he locked onto Obito's position in the forest, and he swiftly formed a Rasengan in his palm, throwing it toward the source of the disturbance.

The Rasengan, a powerful area-of-effect technique, was second in potency only to the Tailed Beast Bomb.

In an instant, a flash of white light erupted. The ground trembled, and Obito, caught in the explosion, coughed up blood, his face etched with fear.

Though Naruto had fought alongside Jinchuriki and Kage before, this was his first time facing someone who could use an attack on par with a Tailed Beast Bomb. It made sense now why the masked man had chosen to cooperate with Naruto; the other party's strength was formidable.

Itachi, too, was taken aback. He finally understood why the masked man had sought an alliance with Naruto: the power he wielded was extraordinary.

But then, the explosion reminded him of the blast outside Konoha that fateful night.

Could it be that the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki didn't lose control that night, and the explosion was caused by the person standing before him?

A fleeting thought crossed his mind. Was the person in front of him… Naruto, the Nine-Tails Jinchuriki? For a moment, Itachi doubted, but quickly dismissed the thought. Naruto was younger than Sasuke—far too young to have Hokage-level strength.

Itachi reasoned that no Hokage would allow a powerful Jinchuriki to roam freely; they'd fear the risk of abduction.

Casting one last look at the mysterious figure, Itachi shifted his attention to the rampaging Three-Tails and began to formulate an exit strategy.

There was no need for him to continue fighting. Revealing his full strength would only benefit the masked man.

His Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu techniques were reserved for the masked man. After weighing the risks, Itachi turned and retreated into the distance, disappearing into the vast forest.

Naruto didn't stop him. On one hand, he wasn't ready to deal with Itachi and Obito just yet. On the other hand, the Three-Tails had already turned its attention to him, and he needed all his focus to subdue this wild beast.

Pulling his thoughts back into focus, Naruto rushed toward the rampaging Three-Tails.

After a few swift movements, Naruto was on top of the beast, using his Rasengan again to smash into the turtle's shell, sending it crashing to the bottom of the lake, causing the island in the center of the lake to reemerge.

With his next move, Naruto dove into the water and discovered the Jinchuriki, Yagura, trapped within the Three-Tails' body.

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