Itachi's Measure

In the city of Kazekage, the sound of fierce battle erupted into the sky.

Facing the culprits who had almost destroyed their hard-earned assets, the nearby Sand Ninja couldn't hold back any longer and drew their kunai to attack.

However, they quickly realized they were in over their heads.

Accompanying Uchiha Itachi were eight Konoha Ninjas, all of them formidable Jounin.

As they clashed, the closest Sand Ninja fell like leaves before a scythe.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

One of the Konoha Jounin, skilled in the art of Kenjutsu, swiftly dispatched seven or eight Sand Ninja with the Konoha Style Sword Technique.

On the other side, another Konoha Jounin, covered in hardened jutsu, swung his fists and shattered dozens of puppets attacking from behind. He then struck the ground and shouted, "Earth Release: Earth Spear!"

Instantly, sharp rocks shot up from the ground, accompanied by the cries of the Sand Ninja puppeteers.

"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"

"Wind Release: Great Breakthrough!"

On the other side, two more Konoha Jounin combined their jutsu, covering the area with blazing flames, and even more gruesome screams filled the air.

There was a strict hierarchy in the world of ninjas: Genin, Chunin, and Jounin.

The difference between Genin and Chunin might be relatively small, considering team leadership abilities, but the gap between Chunin and Jounin was like a chasm.

(Note: Genin from Konoha are not considered here.)

Even among the formidable Konoha Village, the number of Jounin was limited.

You can imagine how powerful the Konoha Village was when they gathered nine Jounin in Kazekage, mostly composed of Genin and Chunin.

Facing the initial group of Sand Ninja, mostly composed of Genin and Chunin, was like taking candy from a baby.

However, their arrogance had its limits.

As time passed, more and more Sand Ninja heard the sounds of battle and hurried to the scene.

The Konoha Ninjas, who were not numerous enough to ignore the quantity, had no choice but to retreat from the city as quickly as possible.

At that moment, the Sand Ninja, who had already arrived but were not strong enough to engage the enemy, wisely stayed back and threw shuriken, kunai, poison smoke, and other ninjutsu at a distance.

Some even controlled massive ballistae, launching arrows at the Konoha Ninjas.

In this series of attacks, the injuries on the Konoha group began to pile up.

"Leave me behind!"

Soon, a reinforcement of five hundred Sand Ninja arrived, with several elite Jounin among them. With Wind Release ninjutsu boosting their speed, they rushed out, intending to stop the Konoha group.

Seeing this, Itachi halted and turned his back to the Konoha team, calmly saying, "Leave this to me; you go ahead."

The eight Konoha Ninjas hesitated for a moment, but in such a critical moment, they didn't foolishly protest with words like "Captain, if you're going, we're going with you." Instead, they lowered their heads and rushed forward to escape. Itachi, as their mission leader, bought them time.

At that moment, with the Sharingan's three tomoe activated, Itachi single-handedly faced the oncoming Sand Ninja reinforcements.

The first few elite Jounin among the Sand Ninja sneered when they saw him, saying, "You think you can stop us alone? Do you consider yourself a Hokage?"

"Uchiha Ninja? The earlier incident was indeed the work of Konoha! Now, you will pay for it with your blood!"

"Get him!"

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

The sounds of rapid movement exploded.

The next moment, the Sand Ninja elite Jounin, who had activated their Body Flicker Technique, immediately formed an encirclement, intending to take down this presumptuous Uchiha Ninja in one strike.

"Just a mere three-tomoe Sharingan..."

As one of the Sand Ninja elite, Jounin was about to show a triumphant smile, he suddenly noticed Itachi's Sharingan, which had condensed into three intersecting black Mangekyou, reflecting in his sharp blade.

"This is..."

Thinking of certain rumors about the Uchiha, the Sand Ninja elite Jounin's face was about to show fear when the sharp blade, which did not belong to him, suddenly cut across his neck, rendering him motionless.

The next second, even before the other Sand Ninja elite Jounin could react, Itachi, who had already activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, rushed towards him.

A one-sided slaughter began.

"Be careful!"

"Don't look into his eyes!"

"Why am I under a genjutsu even though I didn't make eye contact with him?"

"Ah~"

"This is another Mangekyo... Run!"

"...

Tear!

With the last splash of blood, when Itachi retrieved his ninja, all the charging Sand Ninja elite Jounin lay dead in a pool of blood.

Seeing this scene, the other Sand Ninja, who had arrived in time but hadn't been strong enough to engage the enemy, were left in shock.

Unbelievable.

These were the famous elite Jounin of the Sand Ninja who had just rushed out.

Yet, in such a short time, they were all killed by a young Uchiha from Konoha.

Who was this person?

Uchiha Shisui?

No! His appearance was different!

At this moment.

While the Sand Ninja reinforcement troops were deeply shocked that their elite Jounin were slaughtered like chickens, the Uchiha, who had remained in the rear, walked onto a power line pole.

Looking back at the Konoha Ninjas, who had already escaped thanks to the sacrifice of the eight Jounin, he calmly said, "Leave this to me; you go on ahead."

The eight Konoha Ninjas were momentarily stunned, but at this crucial moment, they didn't say anything foolish like "Captain, we're leaving together." Instead, they buried their heads and rushed away, fulfilling Itachi's mission of buying them time.

At this moment, with his Mangekyo Sharingan activated, Itachi stood alone, stopping the advance of the majority of the Sand Ninja forces.

This moment echoed with a scene from the past.

While standing on a power line pole, the young Itachi, in the darkness, drew his ninja with the same purpose, but the blade was aimed at his own clan members.

Now, his blade was stained only with the blood of his enemies.

Swoosh!

Itachi's figure disappeared from the power line pole.

In the next instant, he appeared.

In the Sand Ninja, who were even stronger than when he faced them earlier. Concentrating chakra around him, he manifested a massive red skeleton, and a magnificent and brutal slaughter-fest officially began.

Explosions, rending noises, screams, and more filled the air incessantly.

...

The strong wind howled.

Inside the city of Kazekage, amid the swirling dust, an even more intense and unmistakable smell of blood permeated the air.

With a deafening roar, accompanied by the final earth-shattering explosion, the formidable force known as the Red Susanoo dissipated in the next moment.

After several leaps, Itachi, who had successfully completed the rearguard mission, appeared on top of the Kazekage city walls.

Facing the nearby Sand Ninja, after a swift battle, when he pulled his sword from the chest of the last Sand Ninja, another Sand Ninja who had pretended to be dead pounced on him.

With his usual calm expression, Itachi extended his left hand in an instant, and his fingers moved within the opponent's field of vision.

Immediately, the Sand Ninja fell victim to Itachi's genjutsu, allowing Itachi to effortlessly finish him off.

In the next second, the section of the city wall where Itachi had been was empty by the time the Sand Ninja below had dispersed the crows that had suddenly appeared.

At that moment, the visibly angry Wind Daimyo, who had finally dared to step out from behind, shouted to his subordinates, "Go after them! Make sure these damned Konoha Ninjas don't escape from the Land of Wind!"

"Yes!"

The Sand Ninja forces immediately sprang into action.

Simultaneously, messenger hawks were dispatched from Kazekage to the borders of the Land of Wind and the Land of Rivers to set up a wide net to capture these audacious Konoha Ninjas.

However, the Sand Ninja's plans were ultimately in vain.

While they did manage to track down the initial group of eight escaping Konoha Ninjas, after a fierce battle, they only managed to capture two of them, and the crucial Itachi was nowhere to be found.

This left the Fourth Kazekage Rasa and the high-ranking Sand Ninja infuriated, and they immediately removed the city lord of Kazekage from his position and threw him in jail, awaiting punishment.

On the other hand, in the Land of Rivers, within the Hidden Konoha Village's headquarters, Tsunade, dressed in her dark Konoha Ninjas attire, with her mature and fiery figure, patted Itachi on the shoulder and said with a hearty laugh, "Well done!"

Itachi forced a smile, his shoulder aching.

Unaware of his discomfort, Tsunade continued, her face full of playfulness, "We've just destroyed more than half of their resources; Rasa must be heartbroken."

"Keep stalling!"

"After all, our Konoha Village is prosperous! Let's see how long those poor Sand Ninja can hold out!"