Ten-Ten was lost. She didn't know what to do.
The situation couldn't be worse. The architect was unconscious, underwater, and near the spot where Tazuna had fallen, two water clones of this Kisame stood guard. Neji was in a trap from which he couldn't escape without outside help. If the kunoichi attacked the clone holding Hyūga, the other two replicas would immediately attack her. If she chose those standing on the water and "guarding" the client, the first clone could cancel the technique and strike her from behind. Although that wasn't necessary; she might not be able to handle even the two standing below. It wasn't certain that she would be able to incapacitate even one of them.
The copies grinned quite broadly, enjoying the girl's confusion. And the kunoichi clenched her teeth in impotent rage. She was angry primarily at herself, at her weakness and helplessness. If Lee were in her place, he would surely have dealt with the clones without any problems.
" Damn it, Neji... What do I do? "
— Time for thinking is over, little girl, — Kisame drawled. — You will die together with your friend and the old architect.
Both copies standing on the water disappeared from sight. Suddenly, Ten-Ten received a powerful blow to the back. The girl was knocked down by the attack of a huge sword, and she dropped the fūin scroll from her hands. However, before the kunoichi could submerge into the water, Kisame's silhouette appeared before her, meeting her with a blow to the stomach.
Ten-Ten, flying back ten meters, heard a distinct crack in her ribs and felt a sharp pain in her side. She plunged into the water. Before the girl could recover, a strong hand grabbed the kunoichi, and, pulling her out of the water, lifted her up.
— Khe…
The mercenary's hand squeezed her throat like a vise.
Kisame let out a short chuckle and said in a creaking voice:
— Or maybe you won't die. Not immediately anyway. Perhaps it would be better to beat you in front of your friend. And then lock you in the same prison. I wonder how long you both can last without air? Heh-heh-heh…
Suddenly, a noise was heard. As if something was approaching. Kisame frowned. Trying to understand what it was, he slightly loosened his grip.
Ten-Ten instantly drew a kunai from the holster in her sleeve and struck the mercenary – he predictably dissolved into water droplets.
— Minus one, — the girl croaked, clearing her throat. — Two more.
— Not so fast, little one, — a kick from the side sent the kunoichi flying again. She cried out, as the attack landed on her broken rib. Landing, she still managed not to submerge into the water, standing on the surface with the help of chakra.
The noise grew louder. After a couple of moments, it stopped, plunging the surroundings into silence… However, suddenly the tree trunk on which the clone holding the water prison stood exploded, scattering into large chunks of wood. Kisame's copy lost concentration, and the jutsu dissipated, freeing Hyūga. The boy fell down, coughing and greedily gasping for air.
Kisame, drawing his sword, jumped towards Neji. However, the genin was ready to use his technique:
— Kaiten!
A whirlwind of chakra dispersed the water copy of the sword and threw the clone back. Unfortunately, it wasn't dispelled.
A pillar of water erupted from the pond directly in front of the mercenary replica that was standing opposite Ten-Ten, instantly destroying the second copy.
— What the… — the words of Kisame, who had turned towards the noise, were interrupted by a slap that dispelled the last clone, turning it into steam.
— Well, looks like I made it in time, — said an unknown bald man.
Landing on one of the thick branches that floated in the water not far from the "explosion," the guy looked around.
Neji and Ten-Ten froze in place. They hadn't really understood what had happened. But now a bald shinobi from their village stood before them with the architect on his shoulder.
The unknown man looked very strange, and in general, his belonging to the shinobi could have been questioned if not for the Konoha protector tied around his neck. Actually, from the ninja uniform, he only had dark jonin pants and a hitai-ate on him. A gaudy, but at the same time darned, Hawaiian shirt stood out from the usual image characteristic of most shinobi. All his clothes, for obvious reasons, were wet. However, the bald man's appearance remained absolutely unperturbed.
But the most striking feature of the guy was his face – foolish and indifferent at the same time. At least, that's how it seemed. Combined with his bald head shining in the sun, the man did not inspire confidence. Nevertheless, it was he who had saved the kids.
The bald man examined the genin for a while, then turned his gaze to the water, which began to gradually disappear, and the piece of long log on which he stood began to slowly sink.
— Strange, — he scratched his cheek. — It doesn't seem that hot now for the water to evaporate so quickly.
— It's from chakra, — Hyūga replied automatically. — Without direct control and support from the one who used the jutsu, water from elemental chakra quickly dissipates into the environment.
— Ah-ha… I see, — the bald stranger drawled, although the look on the guy's face showed that he didn't understand anything.
— Thank you, shinobi-san, — Ten-Ten nodded lightly, placing her hand on her broken rib. — You're from Konoha, right? How did you end up here?
— Oh yeah, I have some kind of assignment, — he waved his hand. — My partner will be here soon, and we need to help some Might Gay and his team.
The genin stared at the bald shinobi in bewilderment, then exchanged glances with each other.
— Um… Maybe Mighto Guy? — Hyūga suggested.
— Maybe, — the man didn't argue. — And who's this old man? — he shook the carcass on his shoulder.
— Damn! The architect! — Ten-Ten exclaimed and rushed to Tazuna. Due to stress, the girl had completely forgotten about him.
The bald guy dumped the old man on the wet ground – the water from Kisame's jutsu had almost disappeared, leaving behind only shallow puddles. The kunoichi immediately began to examine the client, forgetting about her own injuries.
The architect's heart was still beating. True, barely audibly. Ten-Ten began to perform indirect cardiac massage and was about to perform artificial respiration, but the bald guy unceremoniously picked up the architect by the scruff of his neck, lowered him onto his knee with his stomach down, and lightly patted him on the back.
— Khe-khe… — was immediately heard from the architect. The liquid that had filled the old man's lungs came out and began to disappear before their eyes.
— Just swallowed some water, — the bald shinobi said calmly. — Nothing serious.
Ten-Ten sighed with relief. Their client was alive. And had even regained consciousness, despite the poisoning and the fact that the old man had almost drowned. And the genin were lucky too. Death had literally breathed down their necks today; they had never been on such a dangerous mission before. However, the genin had still survived this encounter with the clones of an S-rank mercenary, and moreover, they had managed to save the architect's life. And all thanks to an unknown Leaf ninja whose name they still didn't know.
— Saitama! — a female cry was heard. — There you are.
***
Saitama turned around.
— Well, you finally came, Anko. You missed everything.
As soon as the bald hero arrived on the scene, he oriented himself instantly. The presence of water in no way prevented him from finding the drowning architect and saving the old man. And then he was able to dispel the clones that were tormenting the kids without any problems…
— I already figured it out, — Anko grumbled and flipped her bangs back, revealing her Konoha protector. — How are you? Are you alright? — Mitarashi asked the genin. — Where's your teacher? What happened?
The genin were silent for a while – apparently deciding whether to speak or not – but, seeing the girl's demanding gaze, they began to tell about what had happened in a jumbled manner.
As it turned out, the situation was very difficult. Guy's team had survived two attacks just today. And if the Third had dealt with the first "wave" of mercenaries practically without any major problems, and most importantly, without losses, then the following shinobi in black cloaks with scarlet clouds had already forced Guy and his personal student to hold back the mercenaries to give the two kids with the client a chance to retreat. And the latter were lucky that Saitama had arrived so timely. Otherwise, all three would have been dead, and the mission would have failed. Clones of an S-rank shinobi were not something that genin could easily handle, especially after they had already had a very tense fight.
— …So now the teacher might need help, — said the girl named Ten-Ten. — These mercenaries are very strong. We've never seen sensei so serious. And our teammate – Lee…
The young kunoichi hesitated for a moment.
— He's… uh… not exactly in an adequate state, — Ten-Ten finished.
— So, we're moving out. Did I get that right? — Saitama drawled, picking at his ear.
The guy seemed either not to have heard what the genin had told him or didn't want to hear it. During the story, he yawned every now and then, missing most of the information. His bored look showed how indifferent he was to everything that was happening around him.
— Saitama, I'm begging you, — Anko began, — at least on this mission, be serious.
— What are you even talking about? — the bald guy didn't understand. — I'm always serious. Especially when I'm hungry.
As if to confirm the jonin's words, the surroundings were filled with the long howl of his stomach, which had been craving sustenance since the night.
Mitarashi rubbed her face with her hand. Although she really wanted to rub Saitama's face properly.
Apparently, this was the role of this bald guy. And perhaps he really was always serious, just pretending to be a fool with the habits of a materialistic hedonist. And his indifference might be feigned. In reality, he might always be vigilant. If everything was really like that, then Saitama, in addition to being a powerful shinobi of Kage level, was also a rather talented actor.
Dismissing extraneous thoughts, Mitarashi, as the senior in rank, gave orders to the kids to hide in the forest with the architect and not to show themselves. If everything went successfully, they would meet in half an hour at this place and escort Tazuna to his house, so to speak, with the entire group. At the same time, Anko would be able to help Ten-Ten with the treatment of both the architect and the others. Hyūga was required to periodically monitor the area for enemy shinobi.
— Alright, Saitama, — Mitarashi jumped upwards, taking to the upper paths. — We're moving out. But remember, don't go headfirst into danger. We're up against very strong ninja.
— Uh-huh, — the bald guy nodded and rushed forward, to the east, to the place where the battle of the strong shinobi was taking place. Anko cursed and rushed after him along the upper paths.
If someone needed Saitama's help, then that someone would get it soon. And strong enemies were good. Maybe, just maybe, this time they wouldn't go down with a single punch…
***
Guy found himself in a strange place. Above him was a blood-red sky with dark clouds. A wasteland all around. And Mighto himself was attached to a huge cross, driven vertically into the ground.
He tried to wrench his hands free from the restraints, but to no avail. The jonin lowered his gaze to the only shinobi standing before him.
— You are in Tsukuyomi, Guy-san, — Itachi began. A katana materialized in his hands. — This is the illusion of the Mangekyō Sharingan. Within it, absolutely everything is under my control: time, space, sensations. I can even see your thoughts here. By looking into my eyes, you have already lost…
— This is just genjutsu, — Guy replied calmly.
Uchiha shook his head.
— This is not just genjutsu, and you will soon experience all the consequences of Tsukuyomi. I didn't want to bring it to this. But you yourself chose this path, — Itachi made a sharp thrust with his sword.
The blade entered Mighto's stomach, but Guy only frowned.
— The pain is quite real, — Mighto said. — Is this illusion created for torture? Or for moral suppression and driving the opponent mad? However, it doesn't matter. You won't succeed anyway, boy. My will is strong, and you won't break it.
Uchiha shifted his gaze from the Green Beast to the blade in his hand. Then back to the Beast. Pulling out the katana, he plunged it in again, but this time into the jonin's shoulder.
However, only a predatory grin appeared on Guy's face. Itachi, however, showed not the slightest change in emotion. With the same indifferent expression, he thrust the sword into various pain points on the victim's body. True, the victim only grinned in response. Occasionally, a predatory growl came from the beast's chest. But no moans, cries, or anything else. Guy's will was indeed strong. Especially considering the fact that all the painful sensations experienced here exceeded the real ones threefold…
After some time, the wasteland was filled with countless copies of Itachi with katanas. The copies thrust at Mighto from all sides. They struck pain points, left numerous cuts, chopped off the jonin's fingers, flayed Guy's skin, gouged out his eyes, pierced his heart. All the damage regenerated after a few short hours, and Uchiha began again. In the real world, a person would die from such injuries. But not here. Not in Tsukuyomi, where everything obeyed Uchiha's desires. It seemed these tortures had no end. It was unknown how many days or weeks passed before Itachi got tired of it.
Now Guy no longer reacted to the pain in any way. The missing-nin made a final thrust with his sword, right into the victim's forehead, and Mighto's head was pinned to the cross, and the surrounding illusion seemed to begin to dissipate…
Guy opened his eyes, seeing a frowning Itachi before him. Kisame stood behind him. The Konoha jonin was in a stupor for a couple of moments, trying to realize where he was, but when understanding came, he immediately pounced on Uchiha, striking with his nunchaku. Taking into account his past experience, Mighto now only looked down, at his opponents' feet.
The missing-nin dissolved into a multitude of crows, which gathered to the side of Guy. Samehada was already rushing at him from the front, which he blocked with his nunchaku. He shouldn't have done that.
The Mist shinobi's thrust was very powerful, and the chain almost snapped from the tension. Mighto's hands trembled. Although he didn't show it, Tsukuyomi had affected him, and he now felt quite exhausted.
Kicking the Beast away, Kisame began to prepare some kind of technique.
— Suiton: Exploding Water Wave.
An incredible amount of water erupted from Hoshigaki's mouth, turning the surroundings into a huge lake with the tops of trees sticking out. Guy jumped onto one of these treetops. However, water fangs burst forth from the water, almost piercing the jonin through.
Using a substitution, Guy ended up ten meters away from Uchiha. Standing on the surface of the water, he understood that he would most likely have to use the Hachimon. Tucking the nunchaku behind his belt, he crossed his arms in front of his head, preparing to open the Gates.
Uchiha jumped out of the water in front of him, and Guy looked away so as not to meet Itachi's eyes. Two more copies of Uchiha with kunai in their hands appeared behind him.
— Eight Gates! — Guy roared. — The First Gate…
Ignoring the enemies, Mighto received several not too painful jabs to the chest. Uchiha's finger, charged with chakra, could have pierced a tree, but to Guy's trained body, these thrusts were like tickles.
Dispelling the clones with one side kick, he pushed off the surface, again crossing his arms in front of himself, moving away from Itachi.
— The Fifth Gate! The Gate of Limit! Open! — Guy shouted…
In the air, he was struck by Samehada, which devoured some chakra and tore the jonin's clothes, revealing a bloodied shoulder.
— What? — Guy wondered, flying to the side.
— Samehada absorbs chakra, animal, — Kisame drawled, grinning predatorily.
But that wasn't what surprised Mighto. Retreating a couple of dozen meters, he was surprised to find that the Gates hadn't opened. The Beast tried to open the First, Second, Third… but to no avail.
— You can stop trying, Guy-san, — Itachi stated indifferently, approaching Kisame. — I have temporarily blocked your tenketsu. So you won't be able to use the Hachimon right now.
Guy frowned. Without opening the Gates, he wasn't sure he could defeat these enemies. Mighto took the nunchaku out from behind his belt.
— Well then, if fate is testing me, I will defeat you both without the Gates. In the name of the Power of Youth!
The jonin rushed at the mercenaries. He moved between them like lightning, delivering a hail of blows. But the opponents kept turning into water or crow clones. Once, a copy of Itachi exploded right under him. Kisame attacked from underwater with shark bombs and other water jutsu, inflicting some non-critical damage. Sometimes Samehada got to the jonin, absorbing chakra, while Kisame seemed to only get stronger.
— Surrender, Guy-san, — Uchiha stated firmly.
— I will not surrender! In the name of the Power of You…
The words stuck in his throat. Mighto felt sick at what he saw.
— Heh-heh-heh, animal, — Kisame appeared from the direction Guy's team had come from today. — Your students resisted for a long time. Then they hid. But I found them anyway. We had a great time playing, and they turned out to be not so hopeless after all.
— This can't be… — Guy whispered.
One of Kisame's clones stood before him. In his hands, by the hair, he held the severed heads of the genin, from which blood was still dripping.
— Eh, too bad the byakugan self-destructed. Such eyes could have been useful, — the mercenary continued, shaking Hyūga's head. — The little ones managed to amuse me. They even dispelled three clones. Well, and the old man's head finally rests in the bag… mission accomplished.
— This is the end, Guy-san, — Uchiha said in a detached voice.
A moment later, another copy of Kisame slowly rose from the water. However, the clone was not alone. Next to him, Rock Lee hung suspended in a huge water sphere, unable to escape the water prison.
— Lee! — Guy shouted. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Two members of Team Three were dead. Their mission had failed. And Lee was being held hostage! — Lee, hold on! The Fifth Gate! Open!
However, nothing changed. Guy still couldn't use the Hachimon. He clenched his teeth until it hurt.
— It's a great pity that you refused a peaceful resolution to the conflict, — Itachi shook his head. — But there is no choice. Now we will have to kill you.
A sword appeared in the missing-nin's hand, which instantly passed through Kisame's water sphere.
— No-o-o-o! — Guy roared, falling to his knees.
The katana pierced his student, hitting him right in the heart. The water prison subsided. A lone trickle of blood flowed from the genin's mouth. The boy glanced at his sensei. Tears welled up in his eyes, but, making a last effort of will, he raised his hand with his thumb extended upwards and gave a strained smile, winking at his teacher.
In the next moment, Itachi pulled the sword out of his chest and with one precise blow severed Lee's head. A scarlet fountain erupted from the genin's neck, and his head, spinning in the air, fell into the water.
A crimson veil clouded Guy's vision. The last seconds of Lee's life flashed before him again and again. He watched the death of his beloved student as if in slow motion.
Maito growled. The nunchaku fell from his hands. Clenching his fists, he rushed towards his opponents with a roar, but, to his surprise, the distance between them did not decrease, but on the contrary, became greater and greater, until the mercenaries disappeared completely. In the next moment, Guy found that the pond on which he stood had turned scarlet. The sun had disappeared. And corpses began to rise from the water right in front of him. The corpses of his students.
— Neji, — Mighto croaked.
The long-haired genin looked at him with empty eye sockets, from which blood trickled down in two thin streams. Ten-Ten rose next to Hyūga. Her whole body was torn to shreds, along with her clothes. She raised her hand and wanted to say something, but only something indistinct, gurgling, escaped her mouth…
— Guy-sensei, why? — a quiet voice sounded from behind Guy. The jonin, turning sharply, saw Lee. A wound gaped in the student's chest. — Why, sensei? Why didn't you save us? Why did you let us die?
A long cut spontaneously formed on the genin's neck, from which blood gushed. And then Lee's head fell from his shoulders.
Guy closed his eyes, tears welling up in them… He covered his head with his hands.
— No. This is all unreal, — he whispered. — I'm still in the illusion. Uchiha's bijū…
***
Tsukuyomi was a rather chakra-intensive technique. But Itachi needed to incapacitate the Konoha jonin as quickly as possible, because if Mighto managed to open the Gates, it wasn't certain that Kisame and Uchiha would be able to retreat, and using Amaterasu and Susanoo before their main target arrived would be too wasteful. Therefore, he activated the Mangekyō in his left eye.
In the real world, only a second had passed.
Dispelling the jutsu and deactivating the Mangekyō, Itachi exhaled loudly. He rarely had to use Tsukuyomi, but he was confident in this technique. Until today.
The thing was, ordinary torture using illusory pain had no effect on Guy. Therefore, after sixty hours of "vivisection," having thoroughly analyzed the situation, he realized that he should engage his imagination and smoothly transition Guy to the "second level" of illusion. In other words, Uchiha created genjutsu that affected the psyche and touched upon hidden fears. Thus, for the last twelve hours, Mighto had witnessed the death of his students and related illusions without the possibility of dispelling the technique.
After the genjutsu dissipated, Guy slowly opened his eyes. Along with this, a powerful killing intent descended upon the surroundings. The Green Beast surveyed the area with a grim gaze and growled, preparing to leap, but suddenly, as if remembering something, he retreated.
— What's wrong, animal? Scared? — Kisame said in a creaking voice.
— Retreat! — Uchiha ordered. — Quickly.
— What? — Hoshigaki asked, bewildered. — We'll tear him to ribbons right now…
He was interrupted by the Konoha jonin's roar:
— I won't let them die. I will protect them even at the cost of my own life. The Seventh Gate: Gate of Shock! Open!
A blue aura enveloped Guy. His skin turned red. His veins bulged. A crater formed on the ground around him from the energy he was releasing. Cracks from the crater spread in different directions. Now the jonin looked more like some kind of demon.
Uchiha tensed, preparing to leave a crow clone in his place. However, contrary to his expectations, the jonin did not rush at them. He rushed to his student, only to disappear with him from the battlefield the next second.
— What a coward? — Kisame sneered contemptuously, relaxing. — Used such a powerful technique just to run away. And you told me to retreat?
— No, — Itachi shook his head. — Unfortunately, it's too late to retreat.
— What are you talking about? — the swordsman didn't understand. — He just ran aw…
He was interrupted by a blow that knocked Kisame off his feet. Samehada fell from his hands, and the mercenary's body crashed through a dozen trees before anchoring itself to the ground with chakra. Hoshigaki vomited blood, lost his balance, and fell to his knees.
Uchiha, realizing that escape was impossible, formed a seal. A crow appeared next to him, only to dissipate into black smoke the next moment. Itachi had called for reinforcements. He and Kisame needed to hold out against this monster for half a minute, maybe a little more.
Using his Sharingan, Itachi noticed that Guy had removed his student from the battlefield so as not to hold back in the fight. And although the drunken genin tried to dodge and attack his sensei in the Drunken Fist style, Guy's aura simply knocked out the thick-browed boy, inflicting many serious but non-lethal injuries. Mighto had acted harshly enough. But now his beloved student was no longer in danger.
Guy appeared before Itachi, about ten meters away from him.
— I once heard that the last of the Uchiha is going to take revenge on you, — Guy said in a growling voice.
Uchiha, seeing a chance to stall for time, decided to keep the conversation going. After all, the more they talked, the better. Reinforcements would arrive, which might force Guy to retreat.
— My brother is the only one who has a chance to kill me, — Uchiha said in a detached voice. — With all due respect, Guy-san, but you, even with all the Gates open, will not be able to do it.
— I'm sorry to disappoint your brother… — Mighto continued, still releasing his unrestrained blue aura.
— But he won't be able to avenge his clan on you. Because I will kill you myself…
Maito roared and rushed at Uchiha. Itachi, however, was ready to use a crow clone substitution. He was only a couple of meters away, and Uchiha had already begun to form the jutsu without any seals.
However, suddenly a bald head flashed before him. Before Itachi could use his technique, he saw the Green Beast flying, smashing through dozens of trees like a fiery meteor. Mighto had been sent flying by a single slap from the bald guy who had so suddenly appeared before Uchiha.
Itachi blinked once, then again. He was trying to process the information he had received through the Sharingan and correlate it with what he already knew…
— Hey, you alright, kid? — the bald guy asked, turning to Uchiha.
— Um… yeah, — the mask of indifference was about to crack, but Itachi pulled himself together and asked: — And you are Saitama?
— Yep, — the guy scratched his bald head. — I'm Saitama. B-class hero… hmm, I mean Konoha jonin. Well, since I saved you from that creepy monster-looking guy, maybe you could treat me to something? I'm starving…