Kakashi and Sasuke teaming up almost caused Uchiha Itachi to slip up. Of course, this was because he was in Konoha at the time and couldn't activate Susanoo. When it came to ordinary ninjutsu and taijutsu, Sasuke was already on par with him.
Sasuke even combined his Lightning Body Flicker with Chidori, nearly landing a hit on Itachi.
In the end, to avoid drawing attention in the village, Itachi activated his Mangekyo Sharingan and simultaneously cast Tsukuyomi on both Sasuke and Kakashi.
With just a glance, Sasuke, who had been holding his own against Itachi, immediately fell.
The same happened to Kakashi; his single three-tomoe Sharingan couldn't withstand Tsukuyomi.
Sasuke felt even more embarrassed—just a glance had him down, making his earlier parity in taijutsu and ninjutsu seem like a joke.
At that moment, Sasuke realized the vast difference between an ordinary Sharingan and the Mangekyo Sharingan.
In the face of the Mangekyo Sharingan, whether it's a two-tomoe or three-tomoe Sharingan, they are no different from ordinary eyes. They offer no resistance. However, Sasuke didn't know how much he had shocked Itachi.
Previously, Itachi had guessed that with Sasuke's talent, he had reached the level of a strong Chunin. But he never expected Sasuke to nearly cause him to stumble without using Susanoo. Sasuke's strength was at the Jonin level.
Moreover, he had mastered Kakashi's Chidori, and his speed with the Lightning Body Flicker gave him an attack power similar to the Flying Thunder God Technique combined with the Rasengan.
Of course, Sasuke was not as strong as the Fourth Hokage, but he still surprised Itachi.
Especially during their taijutsu exchanges, Sasuke didn't fall behind at all. In their ninjutsu exchanges, Sasuke was equally matched.
Since Itachi wasn't known for having a large chakra reserve, he couldn't afford to engage in prolonged ninjutsu exchanges with Sasuke.
Thus, he had to use the Sharingan, and only by activating the Mangekyo Sharingan could he instantly take down Sasuke and Kakashi.
Without activating the Mangekyo Sharingan, Itachi couldn't suppress them. But Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan was overwhelmingly powerful. With just a glance, he took down both of them.
Even Kisame could see that if Itachi hadn't activated his Mangekyo Sharingan, he wouldn't have been able to defeat Sasuke and Kakashi quickly.
Sasuke's use of Chidori even shocked Kisame. After all, Sasuke was only 12 years old, and using an A-rank jutsu like Chidori at that age was truly astounding.
This was even after Sasuke had used many other jutsu, indicating that his chakra reserve had reached the Jonin level.
Kisame chuckled, "As expected of Itachi's brother, his talent is indeed exceptional. Itachi probably didn't expect him to grow to this level when he spared his life."
In truth, Kisame knew about Itachi's true identity, but he didn't mind. On the contrary, he admired Itachi for achieving what he had.
Itachi remained silent, now curious about how Sasuke had become so strong.
Kakashi's shadow, and even Gai's shadow, could be seen in his style, but Sasuke's fighting style was only a small part of those influences.
More prominently, it was a unique combat style. Sasuke's approach to battle was very similar to the Fourth Hokage's.
It was a combination of speed and powerful ninjutsu. Sasuke didn't know the Flying Thunder God Technique, but his lightning-fast body flicker was something that ordinary ninjas couldn't react to.
If it were the war era, Sasuke might have earned the nickname "Blue Flash."
Speed happened to be Uchiha Itachi's weak point; his body wasn't in great condition, and Sasuke's speed had already surpassed his.
Now, Itachi could only rely on his Mangekyō Sharingan and much more extensive battle experience to suppress Sasuke.
But aside from the Mangekyō Sharingan, if Sasuke continued to grow, his combat experience would eventually catch up to Itachi's.
Moreover, his physical condition was much stronger than Itachi's, so in the future, whether in taijutsu or ninjutsu, he would surpass Itachi.
As long as Sasuke could awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan, defeating Itachi wouldn't be impossible, and it was even highly likely.
Of course, in a few years, Sasuke wouldn't just awaken the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He would awaken the Rinnegan, and by then, Itachi truly wouldn't be his match. At that point, Sasuke would possess power at the level of the Six Paths. Itachi was very curious about who had allowed Sasuke to grow so quickly.
It had already exceeded his most optimistic estimates. "Who could it be?" Itachi wondered to himself.
On the other side, Yoruha and the others were leaving Tanzaku Town and heading towards Konoha.
As they passed through a small town called Yu no Mura, Tsunade looked at the entrance of Yu no Mura, took a deep breath, and turned to Jiraiya, saying, "There's a fun little town ahead."
As she spoke, her eyes remained fixed on Jiraiya. Jiraiya sighed, "We must hurry back now. The village is in a special period and urgently needs you to stabilize the situation." Tsunade smiled, "A day or two won't make much difference. Let's go."
Naruto, who was talking to Yoruha, heard Tsunade say this and quickly interjected, "Granny Tsunade, we need to hurry back to the village." Tsunade turned to Yoruha, who was looking down, seemingly kicking something on the ground.
Tsunade could only sigh, then leaned over to Jiraiya's ear and whispered, "I heard that the hot springs in this town are frequently visited by many beautiful girls, and it's mixed bathing too."
Jiraiya, who had been firmly opposed, blushed and wore a lecherous grin. Scratching his head, he laughed, "Hahaha, then let's relax a bit. We've been on the road for so long."
Naruto was stunned and quickly said, "Pervy Sage, weren't we supposed to hurry back?"
Jiraiya dragged Naruto towards Yu no Mura, laughing as he went, "We need to balance work and rest, work and rest." Seeing Jiraiya dragging Naruto away, Tsunade leaned in closer to Yoruha.
She smiled, "Yoruha, what will you choose?" Tsunade's face was almost touching Yoruha's. Yoruha turned his head slightly and said calmly, "What opinion could I have?
You are the Hokage, after all." Although Tsunade smelled quite nice, the thought that she was over 50 years old completely killed any interest. Even though Yoruha's mental age was already adult, he was far from being over 50.
Tsunade thought Yoruha was shy and teased, "What, is the little guy blushing?" Yoruha's mouth twitched slightly, feeling a bit speechless.
"Tsunade-sama, are we going in or not?" Tsunade chuckled, finding it amusing to tease Yoruha. After all, Yoruha was so powerful, yet his personality wasn't the least bit arrogant.
On the contrary, he was very easy to get along with. This personality was quite similar to her grandfather's. Of course, not as abstract as her grandfather, though.
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