Outside Konoha's Perimeter
"What's going on?" Naruto felt weak all over, and his head was spinning.
"Just sleep soundly," Kisame said, grabbing Naruto and hoisting him onto his shoulder. "Let's go, Itachi-san..."
"Naruto!" Sasuke, seeing Naruto being captured by the shark-faced man, shouted anxiously. Feeling the pain in his left arm, Sasuke tried to use his right hand to initiate Chidori, but he couldn't replicate the feeling of doing it seal-less...
Seeing the two about to leave, Sasuke frantically searched his mind for a solution. Those two probably couldn't fly. If he could just snatch Naruto and fly away, it would work. But Sakura and Karin were still here.
If he snatched Naruto, Sakura and Karin would be in danger. If he let Naruto be taken away, Naruto would be in danger...
For the first time, Sasuke faced such a difficult choice. Who should he choose...?
"Itachi-san, should I kill this brat?" Kisame turned to look at Sasuke and asked Itachi.
"....." Itachi looked at Sasuke with icy eyes, silent for a moment, then turned and said, "Kill him."
"Looks like I can only escape with Sakura," Sasuke thought, his heart tightening at Itachi's words.
Perhaps Itachi had just been enjoying the feeling of a cat playing with a mouse, and now he was going to strike for real...
"Brat, prepare to die," Kisame said, raising Samehada and swinging it towards Sasuke.
Sasuke hastily flapped his wings, flying towards Sakura...
"......."
"Where's Sakura?" Sasuke was shocked to see that Sakura's previous position was empty.
He quickly turned back to look at Kisame, only to find that Kisame's blow hadn't landed. It had been blocked by a clone with the same body type as Sakura, but this clone was enveloped in a blue-white light.
"This... This is..." Kisame was a little surprised to see the sudden appearance of the light-figure blocking his attack.
"Who are you?"
"...."
"Looks somewhat like that little girl who was under genjutsu," Kisame said, gesturing with Samehada. "Hehe, you underestimate me too much."
"....."
The Storm Release clone couldn't speak. It clenched its right fist, and the hand suddenly deformed and reformed, transforming into a bone spear similar to Kimimaro's, then it viciously stabbed towards Kisame...
Kisame had never seen such a ninjutsu before, but he didn't take it seriously. After all, it was just a clone.
He raised Samehada horizontally in front of his chest, and the light spear directly struck Samehada...
"Screeeech!" Samehada let out a pained cry, then the handle extended and struck Kisame, expressing its dissatisfaction.
But the Storm Release clone didn't stop. Its left hand also deformed and reformed into a light spear, and it stabbed again, this time at Kisame's chest.
The entire process happened in an instant. While the right hand was stabbing Samehada, the Storm Release clone's left hand began to transform and thrust towards Kisame's body.
So, because of Kisame's carelessness, he didn't react in time and was pierced clean through by the Storm Release clone...
Sakura, hiding underground, saw the shark-faced man get pierced and quickly controlled the Storm Release clone to swing its left hand, intending to slice him in two...
The Storm Release clone's left spear did indeed slash diagonally across the shark-faced man's body, but apart from tearing his clothes and leaving a bloody trail, there was no other damage...
Sakura didn't know how the shark-faced man had blocked her attack, but that didn't stop her next move.
The Storm Release clone took a step forward and delivered a chakra-enhanced punch to the shark-faced man's chest. Spewing a mouthful of blood, the shark-faced man was sent flying.
Using a Storm Release clone to perform a chakra-enhanced punch was something Sakura had suddenly thought of. The Storm Release clone was even purer than a regular shadow clone; it was made entirely of Storm Release chakra. Since it was chakra, Sakura tried controlling the Storm Release clone to use the technique, and it actually worked.
"Good opportunity!" Seeing the shark-faced man sent flying, Sakura immediately tunneled to Naruto's side, then dragged Naruto underground. She only brought Naruto out of the ground once they reached a thicket of bushes. Naruto's face was already flushed red from holding his breath.
She placed Naruto next to Karin, and seeing Sasuke in the distance, Sakura ignored him and returned to the battlefield.
Because Sakura had used Earth Style to drag Naruto away from the battlefield, she had loosened her control over the Storm Release clone. Without Sakura's commands, the Storm Release clone simply stood dumbly in the middle of the field.
"Are you alright, Kisame?" Itachi had been watching coldly the entire time, but Kisame didn't blame Itachi for not intervening. The attack had happened too quickly.
"Cough... I'm fine, thanks to Samehada," Kisame said, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. "Itachi-san, did you see anything?"
"That clone is composed of Water and Lightning Release," Itachi said, his Sharingan observing the Storm Release clone. "It seems to be the Water and Lightning Release kekkei genkai, Storm Release."
"Storm Release... Is it from Kumogakure?" Kisame, upon hearing Storm Release, first thought of Kumogakure, but he immediately dismissed it. "No, that clone's appearance is clearly that of the Konoha brat from earlier."
"It seems so," Itachi nodded.
"I'm going to kill that brat," Kisame said, standing up. The wounds on his body from the Storm Release clone's attack were already slowly healing.
Kisame had been caught off guard and successfully ambushed by Sakura, and he was burning with anger. If Sakura and Kisame had fought head-on, ten Sakuras wouldn't have stood a chance against Kisame.
Sakura's successful sneak attack was due to Kisame's ignorance of the Storm Release clone's properties. If Kisame had known about the Storm Release clone's properties, it wouldn't have caused him any trouble.
"We're probably out of time," Itachi said, looking towards the other side of the forest. "I can already sense Konoha ninjas approaching. Let's retreat."
"Is that so?" Kisame stared at the Storm Release clone for a while, but ultimately didn't attack. "Brat, remember this. The next time I see you, it will be your death."
With that, he slung Samehada over his back, and he and Itachi quickly departed.
Sakura wasn't sure if they had truly left. She waited for a long time, and there was no movement. Only when Sasuke stood up and walked over to the Storm Release clone did Sakura emerge from underground.
"Sasuke, let me see your arm," Sakura said, seeing Sasuke's arm twisted at an impossible angle, looking extremely frightening.
"Where are Naruto and Karin?" Sasuke asked, looking at the Storm Release clone in front of him. "What is this?"
"A Storm Release clone," Sakura said, picking up Sasuke's arm to examine it. "Naruto and Karin are fine. I put them in a safe place. Hey... don't touch it. Do you want to lose your hand?"
Sakura saw Sasuke reaching out to touch the Storm Release clone and quickly stopped him. Seriously, if Sasuke put his hand on it, his right hand would definitely be crippled.
Dismissing the Storm Release clone, Sakura said, "This Storm Release clone isn't fully developed yet. Right now, its entire body is Storm Release. If you put your hand on it, it would probably be roasted."
Besides its piercing ability, Storm Release also possessed high temperature, likely due to the Lightning Release element.
"Ugh..." Sasuke groaned. Sakura was helping Sasuke set his bone.
Sakura discovered that Itachi had been quite precise with his attack. It wasn't a very serious fracture, but it was enough to incapacitate Sasuke. This was probably a brother's form of care.