Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi

"Brat, I have to admire your guts, but it's a pity you have to die under my blade at such a young age," Kisame sneered, walking towards Kusuo step by step.

"Is that so?" Faced with Kisame's arrogant attitude, Kusuo's face was devoid of expression. He said calmly, "Then how about you take this slash from me?"

Sizzle!

He slashed with his sword. Simple and clean. A surging sword aura roared forth from the sea, rushing towards the shocked Kisame. It was as if the heavens and the earth were split in two by this one slash.

"This brat's casual slash has this kind of scale?" Kisame was greatly shocked. He could naturally see that Kusuo hadn't used his full strength, but his hands moved quickly, forming seals.

"Water Style! Water Shark Bomb Technique!"

CRASH—

Like a waterfall, a massive amount of water gushed out. The azure seawater formed the shape of a shark in the air and collided with the surging sword aura.

POW!

An astonishing explosion. The Water Shark Bomb was instantly shattered upon impact with the sword aura, turning into a sky full of water spray, which fell like a light rain.

Seeing this, Kisame's expression turned ugly. "I underestimated you."

With a swish, he directly picked up the greatsword Samehada in his hand. Relying on brute force, he stomped on the ground, shattering it. As he moved, the gnarled muscles on his body tensed, filled with a violent aesthetic.

Fast. Very fast!

Kusuo's eyes moved, tracking Kisame's movements. An afterimage rapidly approached and magnified in his eyes. Then, a heavy chop was about to smash down on his head.

CLANG!

Kusuo leaped. Unhurried, he blocked it with a backhand swing of his sword. Immediately following was a wide, heavy foot, kicking towards his chest.

Kusuo's eyebrow twitched. His figure shot backward, just barely dodging the kick. But immediately, a gale force wind passed over his head again. Kisame's greatsword Samehada had, at some unknown point, swung down at his head again.

Very strong. Is this the strength of an Akatsuki member?

As he parried Kisame's attacks, Kusuo was first surprised, then immediately felt a deep sense of pleasant surprise. As expected. This... this is more like it!

As expected of a ninja who had slaughtered his way out of the Hidden Mist Village. The thing he had done most in his life was kill other ninja. His experience was abundant, his strength not something an ordinary Kage-level could compare to. That series of chain attacks just now, each individual move was ordinary enough that Kusuo was confident he could easily block it. But the continuous method of attack had been ingrained in Kisame's very muscles, allowing him to launch attacks at will, anytime, anywhere.

And this kind of pressure gave Kusuo a completely different feeling.

Excitement. Kusuo smiled excitedly, revealing a flash of white teeth. It was a thirst for battle.

After a series of combination attacks, Kisame was surprised to find that he hadn't been able to take down this brat. Then he saw Kusuo's smile. This brat... he's smiling while fighting me? Just how much does he look down on me? No nervousness or fear at all.

"Very sharp, very fluid attacks. You're not just a flashy shell who has only mastered powerful ninjutsu. Your various combat instincts must have been ingrained deep in your muscle memory, right?" Kusuo praised.

Hearing this, Kisame was first stunned, then laughed loudly, hoisting Samehada onto his shoulder. "Even though you're just a half-grown brat, hearing such praise from an opponent is still quite satisfying. I'll have to get serious too."

At this point, the smile on Kusuo's face gradually faded, and his breathing began to grow heavy.

Hoo~

The originally black blade of his sword suddenly began to turn gray. Wisps of white vapor escaped from the corners of Kusuo's mouth, and the aura around his entire body abruptly changed.

Itachi, who was watching the battle from afar, saw this and his lips parted slightly. "His aura has become heavy."

The moment his voice fell...

DUANG!

RUMBLE———

An explosive roar rang in their ears, like a heavenly thunderclap descending upon the world. It was earth-shattering.

"Rock Breathing, Second Form! Heavenly Surface Smash!"

Kusuo's eyes were sharp. Using his sword as a hammer, he fiercely smashed it towards the ground where Kisame was. The powerful force created a crater several meters deep. Spiderweb-like cracks rapidly extended outwards from the center of the impact.

"Hoo~! That was close!" Kisame gasped, his heart still pounding. He had dodged the attack by a hair's breadth. He was deeply shaken. That brat's move just now was terrifying! In an instant, he had transformed from a slender youth into a burly strongman. If that blow had landed on his head, he would have definitely been smashed to pieces. His aura had completely changed.

"Although my movements have become heavy, this feeling of power... it's truly intoxicating!" Kusuo controlled the flow of his breathing, and after switching from Sun Breathing to Rock Breathing, his oxygen intake had increased dramatically. At the cost of speed, his strength had been elevated by several levels.

Earth counters Water!

"Rock Breathing, Fourth Form! Flowing Ripple Rock—Swift Increase!"

He threw out a kusarigama, which shot towards Kisame's position.

BOOM!

After the strike created another huge crater, he pulled back the chain with a backhand motion, and the sword in his right hand shot out with a hum. The chain and the sword alternated, repeatedly smashing towards Kisame's position. No matter where he dodged, the next second he was met with either the chain-sickle or Kusuo's heavy gray blade.

"Water Style! Bursting Water Collision Wave!"

During this time, Kisame had leaped into the air and spat out a water shockwave to counter Kusuo, but it was smashed to pieces. That's right! Smashed! The violence and weight of Rock Breathing had turned the nimble and sharp katana into a Clear Sky Hammer. Every attack carried the force of ten thousand catties, like rolling thunder, like a prehistoric beast stomping down. The very earth was being scraped away, layer by layer.

After a brief flurry of attacks, Kisame finally saw Kusuo stop. Both of them bent over, breathing heavily. In just a dozen breaths' time, they were both drenched in sweat, the heat radiating from their skin, which had begun to turn scorching hot. But one was attacking, and the other was simply dodging.

"This brat, what kind of monster is he from? To be so violent and crazy?" With this question, Kisame turned his gaze to Itachi.

Itachi's eyes also flickered with surprise. In his memory, this unique boy had never used any weapon other than a sword. Why today, was the aura he was emitting and the attacks he was using like he was swinging a giant hammer?

With deep doubt and surprise, Itachi gave Kisame a look to be careful, and was just about to make a move.

POW!

"Rock Breathing, First Form! Serpentine Rock—Twin Poles!"

Kusuo had already leaped forward with his chain and gray greatsword, then slashed down heavily.

"Uwaah!"

This time, Kisame couldn't dodge. The blow landed squarely on his chest, and he spat out a mouthful of blood, his entire person sent flying back a dozen meters.

He coughed up blood as he struggled to get up from the ground, his heart filled with shock and doubt. We both took a break at the same time just now, why did this kid recover so quickly?

Unfortunately, Kusuo wouldn't answer him. Because... Itachi had made his move. His speed was terrifyingly fast. With just a flash, Itachi's voice was already behind him, a kunai extending from his sleeve, stabbing towards Kusuo's waist.

Kusuo, still using the heavy airflow of Rock Breathing, his every move wide and powerful, completely ignored the kunai at his back and swung his sword down.

Itachi's calm eyes were slightly surprised. He hadn't expected this boy to choose such a life-for-a-life fighting style. In his hesitation, the gray blade had already swung onto his body, instantly smashing him to the ground.

Caw! Caw! Caw!

As expected, it was a crow clone.

Kusuo picked up his katana and held it again. Choosing to trade blows just now was indeed out of necessity. In his Rock Breathing state, his speed was not what it used to be, so he was at a great disadvantage when facing Itachi. Glancing at the blood-coughing Kisame on the ground, he quickly calculated. For the time being, Kisame should have lost his ability to fight. By the time he recovers, Jiraiya-sensei will surely have caught up.

So... "Hah!"

The gray sword blade suddenly turned blue, glowing with a mysterious light.

"Water Breathing, Third Form! Flowing Dance!"

Kusuo's body moved rapidly, and with his blade, he created three afterimages on the spot. Itachi narrowed his Sharingan, somewhat surprised. I can't tell which one is the real body!

"Don't bother looking. Because all three of these afterimages... are real!"

A fan-shaped slash carrying water spray came at him. Itachi calmly raised his fingers. His cheeks puffed out. "Fire Style! Great Fire Dragon Technique!" A fire dragon spewed from his mouth, raised its head, and crashed into the fan-shaped slash in Kusuo's hand.

SIZZLE!

A thick white mist was produced, along with the sound of a large amount of water evaporating. At the same time, the Great Fire Dragon was completely extinguished. In Itachi's widening pupils, a fluid sword light came at him.

"Amaterasu!"

With a distant sound of something turning, Itachi's eyes widened, and a line of bloody tears flowed down. A ball of black flame appeared out of thin air at the tip of Kusuo's sword. The black flame forced him to retreat, and he only dispelled it after retracting the water-ripple slash on his blade.

His eyes narrowed, and then he looked at Itachi with great caution. The Mangekyo Sharingan... what a troublesome thing. He possessed the Transparent World, which allowed him to see his enemy's movements in advance. This should have been a huge advantage, but against Itachi, it was useless. Although it could effectively prevent him from being hypnotized by Tsukuyomi, the instantaneous Amaterasu was impossible to dodge. This was an unquenchable black flame that was emitted from the line of sight. Although it was kind of useless in the original story and didn't kill anyone, that didn't mean Amaterasu was weak. On the contrary, against enemies in close combat, it could have a miraculous effect. At a long distance, one could predict it from micro-expressions, but at close range, getting hit was just a matter of an instant.

"But... this is what makes it interesting," Kusuo wiped the corner of his mouth and couldn't help but smile. Only something like this could make his blood boil.

Immediately... "Water Breathing, Seventh Form—Drop Ripple Thrust!"

He transformed into an assassin in the water. The tip of his sword continuously thrust forward, creating ten sword auras, some straight, some curved, heading in different directions, surrounding Itachi's body.

Kusuo danced on the surface of the water.

Tap! Tap! Tap!

Every step created a circle of ripples. Nimble. Nimble to the extreme.

Itachi once again couldn't distinguish his figure, and the Amaterasu in his eyes had no target.

In the distance, Kisame, who was still regulating his wounds, was dumbfounded. His whole person was staring at Kusuo as if he had seen a ghost.

"This is a monster, right?"

"When he fought me, he was like a thunderclap, like a great mountain, wide and powerful."

"And now he can use such flashy moves, like a ghost!"

In the instant the two of them were stunned, Kusuo's eyes had already captured Itachi's next move.

"I saw it," he said softly.

Schlick!

One slash. It was about to hit Itachi's body. This time, Kusuo saw it very clearly. There was no chakra fluctuation in Itachi's body. The one he was stabbing was definitely not a crow clone.

-------

Enjoying the story? Support the author and get access to early chapters by joining my Patreon!

Find me at My : pat*eon*com/RuneA

I, Herta's Fiancé, the Universe's Number One Male Fist (100 Chapter)

Zenless Zone Zero: I'm a Succubus in Sixth Street (190 Chapter)

Reborn in Type-Moon, My Sister is Aoko Aozaki (200 Chapter)

MyGO!! A Story Voiced by Me (80 Chapter)

BLEACH: Blade of Purification (70 Chapter)

Konoha: Starting the Game as Yoriichi (235 Chapter)

My Real Job is Spying on Konoha, but I'm Also its Hokage (80 Chapter)

The Pinnacle of the Navy! Starting from Being Captured by Garp (60 Chapter)

Watching Yu-Gi-Oh! short videos is making the veteran players lose...(50 Chapter)

Uma Musume : The Trainer Who Just Wants to Live (30 Chapter)

Zenless Zone Zero The Random Kamen Rider (40 Chapter)

Genshin Impact: It All Began With Me Being Stepped On by Arlecchino (30 Chapter)

If there's a particular novel you're enjoying on Patron, please give it a 'like' so I know to focus on it.