In the space of Tsukuyomi, seventy-two hours passed, but in reality, it was just a moment.
When Kakuzu's consciousness returned to his real body, he immediately felt like his head was about to explode.
"Whoo~ Whoo~ Whoo~"
He breathed heavily, quickly calling back the mask monsters that had split off.
Only when all of his hearts were gathered in one body could he feel any sense of safety.
"Damn~"
"Itachi Uchiha, you ******!"
Kakuzu, drenched in sweat with a twisted expression, cursed as he looked at Itachi Uchiha, whose left eye was shedding blood tears.
Itachi remained the same, completely unaffected by Kakuzu's insults.
He calmly walked up to Kakuzu and softly said, "Goodbye, Kakuzu."
After saying that, Itachi prepared to strike.
Kakuzu thought he still had a chance to survive and hurriedly said, "Wait, do you remember? I even treated you to a meal once."
Facing Kakuzu's desperate struggle, Itachi showed no emotion.
"Amaterasu."
Itachi's eyes widened again, and a jet-black flame burst from his right eye, engulfing Kakuzu.
Kakuzu had truly tied his own fate.
If he hadn't gathered all the split mask monsters back into his body for the so-called sense of security, he wouldn't have been powerless against the black flames of Amaterasu.
"Ah~"
"Itachi Uchiha, even if I go to hell, I will curse you."
"I curse you, that in the days to come, you will live a life worse than death!"
The black flames of Amaterasu were formidable.
According to the setting, this is the strongest flame in the ninja world.
It can burn anything, and the black flames won't disappear until the target is completely burned away.
But despite such a powerful flame, its track record in the original series is quite disappointing—it hasn't killed a single person.
When it burned Sasuke, Sasuke dodged it with a substitution.
When it burned Killer Bee, Killer Bee used an octopus tail to substitute and escaped.
When it burned the Raikage, the Raikage quickly cut off his burning arm.
When it burned Obito, Obito used Kamui to escape.
When it burned Nagato after he was revived with Edo Tensei, Nagato repelled it with Shinra Tensei.
When it burned the Ten Tails, the Ten Tails separated its body to neutralize it.
When it burned Uchiha Madara, Madara easily countered it.
When it burned Kaguya, Kaguya directly absorbed it.
When it burned Naruto, Naruto's Tailed Beast cloak neutralized it.
Looking at all the events in the manga, Amaterasu's black flames only managed to burn White Zetsu, whose main ability is reconnaissance—a truly disappointing result.
But now, it's different. Kakuzu's situation proves that Amaterasu doesn't fail to kill; it just hasn't encountered the right opponent.
Wouldn't you agree, Kakuzu?
Kakuzu: ???
"Huh?"
Don't be fooled by how casually Itachi killed Kakuzu. After repeatedly using Tsukuyomi and Amaterasu, his already weak body was further strained.
"Itachi, how do you feel?"
Looking at Itachi, whose eyes were bleeding, Minato asked with slight concern.
"...I'm fine."
After watching the video of Itachi's review in the light screen, Minato didn't believe his words.
But he didn't say anything more. Itachi's biological father was right there, so it wasn't his place to speak up.
"Kakashi, send a message to the other four hidden villages. Tell them that we've taken care of Kakuzu and Itachi here."
"Yes, Minato-sensei."
After receiving the order, Kakashi began summoning the communication ninja hawks to relay the message.
"Once Kakashi finishes sending the message, you guys should head back to Konoha."
"Back to Konoha?"
Asuma asked with some confusion, "Aren't we continuing to the Hidden Rain Village?"
Minato shook his head and replied, "No need. Konoha has already done everything we could for this mission. As for the Hidden Rain Village situation, we'll leave it to the Hidden Cloud Village and the other ninja villages to handle."
Upon hearing this, Asuma understood the meaning behind his words.
Konoha had initially planned to do just enough to show face, and the reason Minato and the others were sent was simply to put on a show for the other major ninja villages.
What they didn't expect was that Konoha's lineup was much stronger than the other villages, which led Nagato to position Kakuzu here and make them fight.
If only Itachi had been here, they could've avoided the battle entirely.
Tch, why does it feel like Kakuzu died for nothing? (laughs)
"Minato, aren't you coming back with us?"
Looking at Fugaku, who was being supported and was a bit unsteady on his feet, Minato replied, "You guys head back first. Kushina and I still have some things to take care of."
"Then be careful."
"Mm, I will."
As Fugaku and the others left, Kushina, who had remained silent, finally spoke up, "Minato, what else do we have to do?"
"Hm, don't you want to see Obito?"
Hearing the name "Obito," Kushina's expression immediately changed.
"Do you have a way to meet Obito?"
Since they were resurrected, Obito had never returned to Konoha.
Even Rin couldn't meet Obito, despite wanting to.
"On that night, I left a Flying Thunder God mark on Obito. Now that I'm here, I can sense that the mark is not far from us. With my chakra, I can appear right in front of him instantly."
"Then why are we waiting? I can't wait to see him."
Just thinking about what happened that night, Kushina's expression darkened.
"I think you should calm down a little. The purpose of meeting Obito is to bring him back to Konoha."
"Don't worry, Minato. I know my limits."
"You knowing your limits, yeah, right."
Minato silently complained, then sighed helplessly.
It's understandable that Kushina was angry. Obito really did some inhumane things.
Even someone as kind as Minato had mixed feelings about Obito.
On one hand, Obito was the one who caused Kushina's death, making Naruto grow up without parents, and was the one responsible for the massacre of ninjas and civilians during the Nine-Tails incident.
On the other hand, Obito returning to Konoha could bring great benefits to the village.
Jiraiya and the others were desperate to know what the Eye of the Moon Plan was.
For the sake of the village, Minato could suppress his personal emotions and not think about those bad memories.
But Kushina couldn't do that.
Want Obito to return to the village?
Fine, first, let me beat him up.
In a certain part of the Land of Rain, Obito was lying on a dilapidated rooftop, lazily soaking in the rare sun of this country.
"I wonder if the Akatsuki will be able to withstand the attacks from the Five Great Shinobi Villages."
"Well~ who cares if they can withstand it, it's none of my business anyway."
Obito knew about Nagato's plan to capture the Tailed Beasts in advance.
But just as he said, he no longer cared about the Akatsuki's matters.
No matter what happened to the Akatsuki in the end, whether they successfully sealed all nine Tailed Beasts or were destroyed by the five major ninja villages, he didn't care.
The Rin he had been thinking about was already resurrected.
He couldn't possibly create a world with Rin and then let her die again, right?
If he did that, he wouldn't be infatuated; he'd just be plain foolish.
"I wonder when I'll be able to see Rin again."
"Rin, I miss you so much."
He stretched out his hand toward the sky, as if gently stroking Rin's cheek.
"If you want to see Rin, we can go back to Konoha now."
The sudden voice stunned Obito.
He quickly stood up and looked in the direction the voice came from.
"Sensei?"
"It's been a long time, Obito."
Crimson red hair swirled in the air as Kushina Uzumaki walked toward him, grinning menacingly.
Obito: Don't come any closer!!!
*********
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