Bang!!
Jūzō Biwa's Kubikiribōchō descended with devastating force, striking directly at Kitagawa Minamoto.
But in that infinitesimal moment, Kitagawa Minamoto's form dissolved into a mound of earth upon impact.
"An... Earth Clone?"
Jūzō Biwa frowned. He hadn't detected the precise moment when the youth had executed this substitution technique.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Before he could fully process this development, a barrage of senbon and kunai hurtled toward him from multiple vectors!
"Tch, elementary tactics."
Jūzō Biwa sneered, his Kubikiribōchō rotating in a mesmerizing defensive pattern.
The cacophony of metal against metal reverberated sharply as he deflected every projectile with consummate precision.
As befitting a member of the Seven Ninja Swordsmen of the Mist, his swordsmanship alone possessed sufficient mastery to overwhelm most adversaries.
Amidst this defensive display, his eyes locked onto Kitagawa Minamoto's position.
"Located you, impudent youth."
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
Kitagawa Minamoto wasted no opportunity, forming hand seals and projecting a massive incendiary sphere directly toward Jūzō Biwa.
"Water Release: Water Formation Wall!"
Jūzō Biwa refused to underestimate his opponent. As a battle-hardened shinobi, he understood the peril of complacency.
Even the most accomplished Jōnin could fall to a Genin through carelessness.
Moreover, Kitagawa Minamoto's earlier reference to Anbu reinforcements had instilled caution, compelling him to engage with full capability.
Zzzz...
The fiery conflagration collided with the ascending aqueous barrier, generating a dense cloud of vapor that rapidly enveloped the battlefield.
The scalding mist proliferated swiftly, obscuring visual perception throughout the area.
Confronted with the impenetrable vapor, Kitagawa Minamoto appeared momentarily discomfited. He rapidly formed hand seals.
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
With a sequence of fluid movements, multiple earthen fortifications emerged from the ground, establishing a defensive perimeter around him.
"His hand seal execution demonstrates remarkable velocity..."
Through the obscuring mist, Jūzō Biwa observed the scene with clarity.
Having acclimated to the perpetual fog of the Land of Water throughout his career, this environmental condition presented minimal impediment.
He soon dismissed the tactical maneuver with contempt and initiated his own sequence of hand seals.
"Naïve. Attempting to engage a Mist shinobi within vapor? In that case..."
"Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique!"
Jūzō Biwa's Chakra surged powerfully, manifesting as a colossal aquatic serpentine entity that cleaved through the mist.
The massive construct crashed against the earthen barriers with overwhelming force.
Boom!!
The protective walls disintegrated instantly beneath the water dragon's impact, dispersing debris and aqueous particles throughout the atmosphere.
Capitalizing on this moment, Jūzō Biwa accelerated forward.
With his opponent's defenses compromised, this presented the optimal opportunity to strike decisively.
"What...?"
As he navigated through the airborne debris and water droplets, Jūzō Biwa suddenly perceived an anomaly.
A distinctive Chakra signature began to intensify within the atmosphere, eliciting an inexplicable sense of foreboding.
"What... is this phenomenon?"
He focused his perception and observed Kitagawa Minamoto standing amidst the structural devastation, his eyes firmly closed.
Surrounding him was an otherworldly, crackling energy—purple lightning unlike any manifestation Jūzō Biwa had previously encountered.
The arcs of violet electricity danced chaotically, illuminating the mist with an ethereal, transcendent luminescence.
"I've been anticipating your approach."
Kitagawa Minamoto abruptly opened his eyes and raised his gaze, a calculating smile playing across his features.
"And I express gratitude for creating the ideal environmental conditions."
Upon concluding this statement, the purple lightning enveloping him erupted with explosive intensity, surging outward like a cataclysmic deluge breaching containment.
Jūzō Biwa's countenance blanched.
He observed helplessly as the electric arcs propagated through the mist, conducted by the innumerable water droplets suspended in the atmosphere.
The deafening reverberation of thunder overwhelmed his auditory senses as the lightning surged inexorably toward his position...
Simultaneously, on the opposite side of the battlefield, Kakashi and Itachi Uchiha had already engaged in combat.
"Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!"
"Earth Release: Earth Style Wall!"
Itachi's hand seal velocity was extraordinary, even leaving Kakashi struggling to maintain parity.
But this was anticipated. Itachi Uchiha embodied prodigious talent, demonstrating exceptional proficiency across ninjutsu, taijutsu, and genjutsu.
His versatile combat methodology rendered him a formidable adversary, capable of adapting to any tactical scenario.
Kakashi also recognized that Itachi's battle intelligence was exceptionally sophisticated.
He favored methodically dismantling his opponent's techniques, employing counterattacks to exploit vulnerabilities.
In that respect, the two shinobi shared remarkable similarities...
"I must identify a method to induce a tactical error. Only then can I redirect my attention to assisting Minamoto."
Kakashi's mind calculated rapidly as he formulated strategy.
But in that momentary analytical distraction, Itachi materialized behind him with preternatural speed.
"Kakashi-senpai, vigilance should never waver during engagement."
Itachi's voice maintained its characteristic equanimity, but the kunai in his grasp had already penetrated Kakashi's back.
"As expected of your caliber, Itachi."
Kakashi rotated slightly, lightning suddenly crackling across his physical form.
"However, you appear to have mistaken my identity."
Zzzzzzz...
The Kakashi that Itachi had struck dissolved into a mass of electrical energy, which reversed trajectory toward Itachi, inducing temporary paralysis.
In that precise moment, the authentic Kakashi erupted from beneath the earth, the Chidori in his hand blazing with intense luminosity.
"Is that your assessment?"
Yet, Itachi's expression remained impassive, his voice maintaining its characteristic serenity.
"Then what of your own situation, Kakashi-senpai?"
"What...?"
Kakashi's expression transformed with sudden realization. He comprehended too late that the Itachi before him was merely a shadow clone.
More alarmingly, the Chakra within the clone exhibited erratic, unstable behavior!
Boom!!
A massive detonation erupted as the shadow clone self-destructed, generating concussive shockwaves throughout the vicinity.
Kakashi reacted with exceptional reflexes, withdrawing just in time to avoid the primary force of the explosion.
Though disheveled, he emerged relatively unscathed from the encounter.
"This opponent... represents exceptional danger."
Kakashi's Sharingan rotated as he scanned the surrounding area, simultaneously searching for Itachi's position while harboring increasing concern for Kitagawa Minamoto.
The thunderous reverberations and fluctuating Chakra signatures from the opposite side of the battlefield only intensified his apprehension.
But with Itachi obstructing his path, intervention remained impossible.
"Kakashi-senpai, that ocular power appears incongruous with your natural abilities."
Itachi emerged from the dissipating smoke, standing with composed dignity before Kakashi.
"Your Chakra reserves are approaching depletion."
"An accurate observation," Kakashi acknowledged, shaking his head resignedly.
"However, delaying your advance suffices for my purpose. Once the Anbu arrive, escape becomes impossible for either of you."
"Is that truly your belief?"
Itachi's voice retained its frigid quality, though his cognitive processes accelerated.
After a momentary pause, he continued.
"Yet you've fundamentally misinterpreted a critical element. You lack comprehensive understanding of the Sharingan's utilization, nor can you access its ultimate potential. Today..."
As he articulated these words, Itachi's eyes briefly closed.
When they reopened, they had metamorphosed into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"...I shall demonstrate the authentic power of the Sharingan."
A peculiar Chakra emanated from Itachi's eyes, distorting the spatial fabric surrounding them.
"Damn it!"
Kakashi felt his respiration falter as the world around him underwent profound distortion.
When his vision stabilized, the environment had transformed into monochromatic grayscale.
He discovered himself immobilized upon a cross within a desolate, surrealistic dimension.
"This is the realm of Tsukuyomi. Within this domain, I exercise absolute control over all elements—space, time, and physical matter."
Itachi approached with measured steps, a blade manifest in his hand.
As he drove the weapon into Kakashi's abdomen, the excruciating agony caused Kakashi's eyes to widen in torment.
"And do not misconstrue this as mere illusion. The suffering you experience here translates with equivalent intensity to your physical form. For the next seventy-two hours, I shall repeatedly impale you with this blade."
Slash!
Slash!
Two additional strikes followed in rapid succession, each generating waves of unbearable torment throughout Kakashi's consciousness.
"This genjutsu..."
Kakashi clenched his teeth, struggling to endure the overwhelming sensation.
But within this distorted realm, innumerable manifestations of Itachi surrounded him, their blades gleaming with cold, merciless luminescence.
The sheer magnitude of torment pushed Kakashi to the threshold of his endurance, his eyes bloodshot as he struggled desperately to break free from the illusion.
"Remain assured. Time remains abundant."
Itachi's voice resonated ominously, layered with unsettling tranquility.
"Now, let us proceed..."
As Itachi elevated his blade once more, his movements abruptly ceased.
Even Kakashi, despite his overwhelming agony, perceived this anomalous interruption.
Within the distorted realm of Tsukuyomi, a faint, ethereal purple luminescence began to manifest in the distant periphery...
[TN-Final: Original Term - "紫电" - Final Translation: "Purple Lightning" - Justification: This is Kakashi's signature Lightning Release technique developed after losing his Sharingan, officially translated as "Purple Electricity" in canonical materials.]