Konoha: This Uchiha is extremely sneaky

Chapter 549 Itachi's Dilemma

Just as Kabuto held his breath, trying his best to hide himself and pondering the origin of Hanzo's change, a look of surprise flashed across his eyes.

"Who is it?"

Behind his glasses, his eyes were fixed on the spot where he had been sitting cross-legged. He sensed that the warning device he had placed there had been activated by a stranger.

"It's you... Itachi Uchiha!"

Although he couldn't see the person's face, the conspicuous fan-shaped clan emblem on the back, the ponytail at the back of the head, and the figure made him recognize the person's identity.

"So it was you. This is both unexpected and yet perfectly logical."

It's not surprising that Itachi came to save his younger brother himself; the only thing that puzzled him was Hanzo's condition.

"If you're the one pulling the strings behind the scenes, it's not surprising that Hanzo the Salamander would employ such tactics."

"The only thing I'm curious about is how you bypassed my Impure World Reincarnation and manipulated his consciousness. Was it illusion... or something else?"

Still concealing his presence, Kabuto had no intention of revealing himself.

He originally planned to retreat directly and abandon the exposed stronghold, but after some thought, especially after seeing Hanzo the Salamander.

He knew that if he didn't deal with this guy, even if he retreated to the next stronghold, Hanzo would find his location by following the connection between the caster and him.

"Sasuke, wake up!"

Itachi half-squatted down next to Sasuke and patted his face, but received no response. He frowned.

He had just been following behind Hanzo, controlling him to fight Kabuto, and took the opportunity to sneak into the cave. Apart from setting up an explosive tag trap along the way, he headed towards his younger brother.

He had tried many methods, but none of them could wake his younger brother, which left him in a difficult situation.

"There's no need to try anymore. He's been poisoned by a secret medicine I specially concocted. Without my unique antidote, he won't be able to wake up."

"I advise you not to move him lightly, otherwise..."

Hehehe!

Just as Itachi was pondering whether there was any other way to awaken Sasuke, Kabuto's ethereal voice came from all directions.

This guy is really being cautious.

Itachi dismissed the subtle threat in Kabuto's words with disdain.

With his gaze sweeping over Anko beside him, Itachi pulled out three gas masks from a scroll behind him and put them on the faces of the three of them.

Although this would make it difficult for them to breathe, these are minor issues compared to inhaling salamander toxins.

"Kabuto, I advise you to surrender and dispel the Edo Tensei as soon as possible. As for Sasuke and Anko being unable to move, are those the explosive tags beneath them?"

Itachi casually dismantled the explosive tag trap that Kabuto had set up, then stepped forward, his crimson eyes fixed on Kabuto's hiding place.

"hehe!"

"Itachi, I have to admire you. You saw through my bluff so easily. You truly deserve the title of 'Sharingan Itachi'."

"You are very perceptive. Unlike most Uchiha, your eyes can not only see through other people's actions, but also seem to see through their hearts."

"However, do you think it's that easy to rescue Sasuke and Anko? Aren't you underestimating an unknown person like me?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a large number of pythons suddenly emerged from around the cave, slithering and lunging at everyone present.

In particular, the ground between Itachi, Sasuke, and Anko was split in two and continued to widen, separating Itachi, the unconscious Sasuke, and Anko.

That wasn't all. Two small white snakes suddenly appeared out of nowhere from Sasuke and Anko's bodies, their mouths wide open, fangs bared, and lunged to bite at their necks.

Whizzing!

Although Kabuto's attack was sudden and caught Itachi's eye, it did not cause any ripples on Itachi's face.

With a slight flick of his arm, two exquisite shuriken, bought from Granny Cat, traced two graceful arcs and embedded themselves in the heads of the two little white snakes.

The immense force of the attack pulled the two white snakes away from Sasuke and Anko's bodies. As for the surrounding pythons, they posed no threat to Itachi whatsoever.

However, this resulted in Itachi, Sasuke, and Anko being positioned quite far apart.

Kabuto wasn't surprised by any of this. He remained hidden in the shadows, his hands rapidly forming several hand seals.

As the inscription was completed, the stalagmite-shaped rocks at the top of the cave began to shake continuously. With this shaking, fine cracks began to appear at the base of the stalagmite, followed by a series of cracking sounds as the rocks broke.

These broken stalagmites, some as tall as an adult and others about half a meter high, broke off and, thanks to the cave's nearly twenty-meter height and gravity, crashed down to the ground.

"Heh, so you risk your own safety to save your brother, only to watch your fellow villagers die, or you save Hongdou, only to watch your own brother perish?"

"Should we prioritize our own safety and ignore our younger brother and fellow villagers, just watching them die?"

"Uchiha Itachi, let me see, let me see what choice you, this renowned genius, will make between yourself, your younger brother, and your fellow villagers?"

Dou Piaomiao's voice came again, with a hint of smugness in it.

The surrounding pythons, and even the small white snakes on Sasuke and Anko, were all his methods, and the timing of their activation was always impeccable. Even with Itachi's extraordinary strength, he still had to choose between protecting his younger brother, his fellow villagers, and his own brother.

Given the length and size of these stalagmites, their weight is astonishing. If they were hit by them falling from this height, given Sasuke and Anko's unconscious state, they probably wouldn't even need medical ninjas to save them; they would be dead on the spot.

Despite Kabuto's increasingly loud voice, Itachi did not respond to the provocation. Instead, he stared intently at the falling stalagmites with his Sharingan.

Using Susanoo is undoubtedly the best solution, but... at this distance, Susanoo seems to be a bit too far away.

Looking back at Hanzo the Salamander beside him, he saw that he was now separated from Hanzo by a large number of pythons, and he could not even see a figure.

Kabuto clearly didn't intend for him to use Hanzo's power to rescue Anko and Sasuke.

As for using ninjutsu to intercept him, Itachi immediately abandoned the idea. He knew that Kabuto's ninjutsu might not be as powerful as his own, but he could still intercept it.

Doing this is a waste of time and makes no sense.

"It really is a difficult choice!"

Even a genius like Itachi didn't expect that Kabuto would put him in this situation in the blink of an eye.

(End of this chapter)