Chapter 36: The Breaking Point

“Uchiha Itachi! You, who committed such horrific crimes, dare to return to Konoha? You have some nerve!” Asuma Sarutobi’s voice was a low growl, his chakra blades already sliding into his hands.

“So you both know Itachi,” Kisame said with a gruff chuckle, removing his own hat to reveal his distinctive shark-like features. “Allow me to introduce myself. Kisame Hoshigaki. I look forward to your… instruction.” The threat in his voice was palpable.

“There will be no instruction. I’ll be ending both of you here,” Asuma retorted, his arrogance a thin veil over his tension.

“Itachi,” Kisame mused, “the villagers seem to really despise you.”

Kurenai’s eyes were locked on Kisame, her expression grim. “I know who you are. Kisame Hoshigaki, former ninja of Kirigakure. Wanted as an S-class criminal for the suspected assassination of your daimyo and attempted coup. You’re both S-class fugitives.”

“Asuma-sensei, Kurenai-san,” Itachi’s voice was disturbingly calm. “Please, do not interfere. I have no wish to kill you.”

“Don’t give me that!” Asuma snapped. “You, who slaughtered your own clansmen? I know you wouldn’t appear here dressed like this without a purpose. What is it?”

Kisame’s patience finally snapped. He began unwrapping the bandages from the massive object on his back. “This chatterbox is annoying. Should I cut him up?”

“It seems we cannot leave peacefully,” Itachi conceded. “But do not overdo it. Your techniques are too… conspicuous.”

“Understood,” Kisame grinned, a cruel, predatory expression as he hefted his gigantic sword, Samehada.

What followed was a brutal, one-sided confrontation. Asuma, a skilled jōnin, was utterly outmatched by Kisame’s raw power and Samehada’s unique ability to absorb chakra. The shark-like man carved a deep gash into Asuma’s arm. Kurenai attempted to ensnare both intruders in a genjutsu, but Itachi’s Sharingan effortlessly reflected it back at her. As Itachi moved in for a killing blow on the disoriented Kurenai, Kakashi appeared in a blur, deflecting the attack and saving her.

Kakashi then copied one of Kisame’s Water Release techniques, using it to counter a subsequent assault. But the battle shifted when Itachi’s eyes changed. The familiar three tomoe swirled and moroped into a sinister, unknown pattern.

*”Don’t look into his eyes!”* Kakashi yelled, but it was too late for him. He met Itachi’s gaze, his own Sharingan flaring in a futile attempt to resist.

***Mangekyo Sharingan: Tsukuyomi.***

For Kakashi, seventy-two hours of unending torture commenced in a single, horrifying instant. When the illusion broke, he collapsed, his spirit shattered, utterly broken.

In the ensuing, lopsided conversation, Kakashi revealed he knew of the organization Itachi and Kisame belonged to—Akatsuki—and deduced their target was the Nine-Tails within Naruto. This revelation visibly surprised both intruders. Itachi then ordered Kisame to take Kakashi and eliminate Asuma and Kurenai.

Just as Kisame moved to obey, a green blur shot into the clearing. “DYNAMIC ENTRY!”

Might Guy’s powerful kick sent Kisame flying. “I’ve got a way to deal with you, Itachi!” Guy declared, striking his signature pose. “I won’t look at your eyes! I’ll fight by reading your body’s movements! And I’m the only one who can do it!”

As Kisame prepared to re-engage, Itachi stopped him. “Kisame, enough. We are not here to fight. It seems we cannot proceed further. We withdraw.”

“Tch. And I was just getting warmed up,” Kisame grumbled, but he complied. The two Akatsuki members vanished into the shadows, leaving the battered Konoha shinobi behind.

***

Meanwhile, Jiraiya had taken Naruto to search for Tsunade. Itachi and Kisame, learning of this, ambushed them at an inn. Using a clever diversion, Itachi managed to separate Jiraiya and moved to capture Naruto.

It was then that Sasuke arrived. Having overheard jōnin discussing Itachi’s return and his interest in Naruto, he had followed in a rage. Consumed by hatred, he attacked Itachi with a shrieking Chidori. The difference in their power was a chasm. Itachi disarmed him with contemptuous ease, breaking his wrist. Then, he subjected Sasuke to the same hellish Tsukuyomi, forcing him to relive the night of the Uchiha massacre. Sasuke’s mind broke under the strain, and he lost consciousness.

Jiraiya arrived just in time, summoning the esophagus of a giant toad to trap Itachi and Kisame. In a shocking display of power, Itachi’s left eye bled, and black flames that burned even chakra itself—Amaterasu—erupted, creating an exit. The two Akatsuki members escaped.

Jiraiya ordered a arriving Might Guy to take the catatonic Sasuke back to Konoha while he and Naruto continued their search. On the road, Jiraiya began teaching Naruto the A-rank jutsu created by the Fourth Hokage: the Rasengan.

They eventually found Tsunade, only to discover Orochimaru had already contacted her. When Jiraiya proposed she return to become the Fifth Hokage, she refused with scorn, calling the title “trash” that only a fool would want. This enraged Naruto, leading to a reckless challenge and a humiliating defeat. However, Tsunade was secretly impressed by his half-formed Rasengan and his determination. She made a bet with him: if he could master the Rasengan within a week, she would acknowledge him and give him the First Hokage’s necklace.

A week later, Tsunade went to meet Orochimaru alone. A fierce battle ensued. Jiraiya arrived to assist but was hindered by a drug Tsunade had given him earlier. The tide turned when Kabuto exploited Tsunade’s hemophobia, incapacitating her and wounding her severely. Naruto, fighting to protect her, was outmatched by Kabuto but managed to land a Rasengan at great personal cost. Inspired by Naruto’s bravery, Tsunade conquered her fear, activated her Strength of a Hundred Seal, and joined forces with Jiraiya to drive Orochimaru and Kabuto into retreat.

***

Upon returning to Konoha, Tsunade assumed the title of Fifth Hokage. Her legendary medical skills healed Kakashi’s psychological wounds and Sasuke’s physical injuries. She then turned her attention to Rock Lee, who had been critically injured by Gaara during the exams.

Hearing that the world’s greatest medic-nin had returned, Ino and a few others dragged a seemingly vacant Ren to see her, desperately hoping for a cure. Tsunade examined him thoroughly but found nothing physically or mentally wrong. “There’s no illness I can detect,” she stated, perplexed. “Perhaps the trauma of the massacre was too great. His mind may have chosen this emptiness to escape a reality he cannot accept.” The diagnosis left them heartbroken but resigned. They could only hope he would one day choose to return to them.

Once Sasuke recovered, Team 7 was summoned to the Hokage’s office. Tsunade had a mission for them.

“Alright! A mission! Finally, something to do!” Naruto yelled, practically vibrating with excitement.

“But… Kakashi-sensei isn’t here,” Sakura noted, looking around the empty office.

“Late as usual?” Naruto guessed.

“No,” Tsunade corrected. “Kakashi won’t be joining you. As you know, nearly every other jōnin, including Kakashi, is occupied with other critical tasks. This mission is for the three of you alone. It’s a B-rank mission: bodyguard duty.”

“B-bodyguard?!”

“Depending on developments, it could escalate to an A-rank escort mission,” she explained. “In the neighboring Land of Tea, the Motoyoshi Shrine holds a ceremonial race every four years. We’ve been hired to protect one of the runners.”

The mission took them to the Land of Tea, where they protected a runner named Morino Toshi. They faced ninja sent to sabotage the race, and during the battles, Naruto’s growing power became impossible for Sasuke to ignore. One of the enemy ninja, a former Konoha shinobi, even wielded the legendary Sword of the Thunder God, a blade once used by the Second Hokage.

In a fierce duel with this ninja, both Sasuke and Naruto were defeated and severely injured. But in the end, Naruto tapped into a deeper well of resolve and, with a perfected Rasengan, emerged victorious.

Back in Konoha, Sasuke was hospitalized again. Lying in his bed, he replayed the battles, each moment highlighting the widening gap between him and Naruto. His pride in tatters, he challenged Naruto when he came to visit. Sakura’s pleas fell on deaf ears. Their confrontation escalated to the hospital roof, culminating in a clash of their ultimate techniques—Chidori versus Rasengan. As the two devastating jutsu were about to collide, Sakura, in a moment of panic and desperation, ran between them. Thɪs chapter is updated by novęlfire.net

Kakashi appeared in the nick of time, grabbing both their wrists and redirecting the attacks skyward, saving Sakura’s life. The aftermath revealed the Rasengan had caused significantly more damage to the water tanks on the roof than the Chidori. Humiliated and enraged, Sasuke stormed off.

That night, the Sound Four—Orochimaru’s elite guards—slipped into Konoha. They found Sasuke, whispering poisonous truths in his ear: he would never gain the power to defeat Itachi within Konoha’s walls. Only Orochimaru could give him the strength he craved.

Sasuke wrestled with his demons alone and made his choice. Power, and revenge, outweighed everything else.

He returned home, gathered a few belongings, and left into the night. At the village gates, Sakura was waiting for him. She knew, with a terrible certainty, that if he left, he would never return. She poured her heart out, confessing her love and begging him to stay.

His response was a single, precise punch to her diaphragm, knocking her unconscious without a word. He stepped over her prone form and walked out of Konoha without a backward glance.

The moment he disappeared into the darkness, a figure emerged from the shadows nearby.

“Aha! A free show!” a voice said, laced with cold amusement. “Though the ending wasn’t as ‘happily ever after’ as one might hope.”

It was Uchiha Ren. The vacant look was gone from his eyes, replaced by a sharp, calculating gleam. He looked down at the unconscious Sakura, then out into the night where his brother had vanished.

“The pieces are finally moving,” he murmured to himself. “It’s time.”

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