The moment the black flame ignited on Makoto's hand, he vanished.
The next second, he appeared in the audience seating area, standing beside Mrs. Yukinoshita.
Flying Thunder God Technique.
He took the kunai from Mrs. Yukinoshita's hand.
This was the one he had given her earlier for safekeeping.
Boom—
The spot where he had been standing was suddenly engulfed in black flames shooting skyward.
Sasuke stumbled back in terror, his whole body trembling as he stared at the masked man.
"Y-You...!?"
Makoto smiled and looked at Itachi: "You come back to the village all this way to see your little brother, why hide your face?"
The mask slowly came off.
Revealing a face that was seven-tenths similar to Sasuke's.
Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai... all the Konoha's Ninjas' expressions changed drastically.
On the high platform, Hiruzen's pupils shrank sharply.
Sakura's eyes nearly popped out: "He looks just like Sasuke!"
The players were completely confused.
Tobe Kakeru, missing an arm, looked around in bewilderment: "Who is he?"
"Uchiha... Itachi."
Sasuke gritted his teeth and spat out the name.
Hiruzen abruptly stood up from his seat, about to demand how Itachi dared to return to the village privately—
To his left, the Fourth Kazekage, Rasa, suddenly attacked.
A kunai pressed against his throat.
"Kazekage-dono, you!?"
Rasa didn't answer, muttering to himself: "This isn't going according to plan... No choice."
Before he finished speaking, he had already grabbed Hiruzen and jumped onto the roof of the arena.
His four guards kicked aside the Hokage's bodyguards, followed close behind, and tore off their disguises in one swift motion—
Revealing the forehead protectors of Otogakure.
The Sound Four of Otogakure, Orochimaru's subordinates!
The moment Orochimaru, disguised as the Kazekage, took Hiruzen to the rooftop, the four landed around them, simultaneously forming hand seals and pressing their palms to the ground.
"Ninja Art: Four Violet Flames Formation!"
Meanwhile, the Fourth Mizukage, Karatachi Yagura, who had been sitting to Hiruzen's right, remained standing and spoke in a voice that was completely unlike his own:
"Itachi is too impatient."
Then, before everyone's horrified eyes, Yagura's small body began to peel away like a flower blooming, revealing a brand new figure from within—
The masked man, Uchiha Obito.
"Wh-What's going on!?"
The entire venue erupted.
The audience was dumbfounded, the Konoha's Ninjas were dumbfounded, the players were dumbfounded.
'The Kazekage had taken their Hokage hostage, and the Mizukage was an imposter?'
'What, what was happening?!'
Yakushi Kabuto, disguised as an Anbu, frowned.
'Damn, this wasn't going according to plan.'
Originally, they were supposed to cast a Genjutsu first to knock out the low-level combatants before making their move...
'Well, this wasn't impossible either.'
"Move out!" Kabuto gave the order.
In the audience seats, countless people tore off their disguises… forehead protectors of Sunagakure and Otogakure were exposed in the sunlight.
The next second, the bloody massacre began.
In less than a second, several audience members fell.
A blur shot towards Tobe Kakeru!
"Wai—"
Before Kakeru could finish, a kunai had already pierced his throat.
Blood sprayed.
Hayato, Yumiko, Yui... everyone was stunned.
It wasn't that they had never seen blood before.
They had experienced real combat in previous exams, had even killed, even if mostly out of necessity.
But this was the first time they had seen someone from their own world die right in front of them.
"Kakeru—!"Hayato screamed uncontrollably.
A Sunagakure's Ninja charged at him with a kunai.
At the last moment—
Haruno suddenly drew her kunai, blocked the blow for Hayato, and engaged the enemy.
"What are you all standing around for? Fight back!"
All the players snapped out of it, forming hand seals, drawing weapons.
"Mom! Sonoko! Get behind me!" Ran shielded her mother and best friend.
Eriri drew her kunai and stood in front of her mother.
"Airi, Marina." Makoto called out.
The two sisters immediately stepped forward.
"Makoto, this is..."
"Don't worry, I already moved Kayoko-san away beforehand."
Makoto's gaze was fixed on the Itachi not far away. "You just need to protect yourselves."
Those crimson Sharingan met his.
"Stay back."
"Getting caught up in this, even I can't guarantee your safety."
The sisters didn't hesitate. They protected the non-combatants like Mrs. Yukinoshita and Sayuri as they retreated, while also guarding against the approaching Sunagakure and Otogakure's Ninjas.
"Uchiha Itachi—! I'll kill you!"
Sasuke had gone mad.
He was supposed to go after Gaara, but the moment he saw that face, he forgot everything else.
Chidori erupted again, the lightning glare blinding. He dove down from the high wall, heading straight for Itachi.
Facing the formidable Chidori, Itachi's expression didn't waver.
At the last moment, he shifted his body slightly, letting the Chidori graze past him, then precisely grabbed Sasuke's left arm.
Completely outclassed.
Sasuke glared at him with furious, unwilling eyes.
Then, another roaring gale.
Rasengan!
A cerulean blue energy sphere, like a slam dunk, came crashing down on Itachi's head!
Itachi dodged again, the Rasengan brushing past his nose.
But this time, it wasn't so easy.
Bang!
The moment the Rasengan missed, Makoto turned into a puff of smoke.
'A clone!?'
Both brothers were momentarily stunned.
The sound of howling wind came again.
Makoto charged from diagonally behind Itachi, his right hand already forming a Rasengan—
"Can you dodge this one?"
'A blind spot.'
'Unavoidable.'
Itachi's icy expression finally changed.
Both eyes simultaneously transformed into Mangekyo Sharingan.
An orange-red skeletal shield instantly materialized around him—
Boom!
The Rasengan slammed into the skeleton of the Susanoo. The ribbed shield barely budged.
"What Ninjutsu is that!?"
The retreating players and the struggling Konoha's Ninjas' faces changed drastically.
'It could block a Rasengan?'
But Makoto showed no sign of surprise on his face.
He didn't even give Itachi a second to breathe.
"Sasuke, move."
Sasuke snapped back to reality.
He was within the Susanoo's protection… he could hit Itachi!
"Die!"
Even with his left hand twisted, Sasuke endured the excruciating pain, risking a broken bone. He roared and suddenly drew a kunai with his other hand, stabbing it towards Itachi's throat!
Itachi's head snapped around.
His left Mangekyo spun wildly.
"Aaaaaaahh—!!!"
Sasuke's scream echoed through the arena.
He instantly fell into a stupor.
Tsukuyomi.
"Sasuke—!" Naruto, tied up by an Otogakure's Ninja, screamed.
Makoto couldn't help but laugh: "Heh heh heh heh... Seriously? You haven't seen him for years, and the first thing you do is hit your little brother with Tsukuyomi? Wasn't the Night of the Massacre enough viewing?"
He didn't know what Itachi's problem was, needing to show his little brother a replay of the massacre night every time they met.
Itachi didn't answer.
He just forced himself to stand upright, struggling not to fall.
Every cell in his body was screaming in pain.
Makoto's smile remained: "Amaterasu, Susanoo, Tsukuyomi... using that many Dojutsu in a row, it must be pretty rough on your body, huh?"
He tilted his head slightly, looking at him.
"Someone like you, how much strength do you have left to fight me?"