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Pain had long grown used to the bickering among Akatsuki members. They were all strong personalities brilliant, brutal, and often annoyingly headstrong.
"Scorpion. Deidara. The ones outside are your problem now," Pain said flatly. "But listen capture the jinchūriki alive. Everyone else? Eliminate them."
Sasori glanced at Itachi. "So… what kind of person is this Nine-Tails jinchūriki, anyway?"
Itachi's expression didn't change. He remained silent until Pain gave a nod.
"Tell him."
Itachi's reply was short: "He's the one who shouts the loudest in a crowd."
"…Huh?" Sasori blinked. "What kind of answer is that?"
Deidara frowned. "You seriously don't have a better description than that?"
Before either could press further, Itachi's projection flickered out.
Offline.
Sasori gave an irritated snort. "Tch."
Pain didn't bother replying. He simply formed a seal and ended the communication.
Boom.
The massive Gedo Statue vanished. The other projections blinked out. Deidara and Sasori landed softly on the ground.
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Outside the cave, Kakashi's team finally arrived. One glance at the massive boulder and Kakashi's expression darkened.
"That's the Five-Seal Barrier."
From a distance, Guy's team looked up at the sound of Kakashi's voice. Guy grinned.
"You're late, Kakashi!"
"Ran into a bit of trouble," Kakashi replied casually as his team landed beside them.
Lee's face lit up at the sight of his friends. "Naruto! Sakura!"
"Yo!" Naruto called back, full of energy.
Neji nodded, satisfied. Same old Naruto.
Beside him, Granny Chiyo smirked. "You weren't talking about me when you mentioned 'trouble,' were you, Kakashi?"
Kakashi chuckled. "No, of course not."
Sakura looked between the teams. "So you beat us here after all."
Tenten eyed Chiyo curiously. "Who's the granny?"
Kakashi offered a quick intro. "She's a councilor from the Sand Village."
After some brief greetings, Kakashi and Guy exchanged a wordless, burning stare—two warriors, one shared thought.
"Let's do this," said Guy.
Kakashi nodded. "Right."
Everyone turned toward the massive boulder, sealed with a large 禁 ("Forbidden") tag.
Pakkun looked up at Kakashi. "I'll head out. I'd just get in the way if things turn rough."
Kakashi nodded. "Thanks, Pakkun."
With a puff of smoke, the ninja hound vanished.
Guy studied the seal. "We need to break the barrier first, don't we?"
Kakashi shrugged and looked at Neji. "Actually, Neji already figured it out. I'm just the backup."
Neji stepped forward. "This Five-Seal Barrier works by placing 'Forbidden' seals in five different locations. This one here is the central seal. There are four more."
Naruto immediately perked up. "Where are they?!"
Neji answered without hesitation.
"One's northeast on a rock, about 500 meters out. Another southeast on a tree trunk near the shoreline, 350 meters. Third is northwest 650 meters up a cliff wall. Fourth is southwest 800 meters deep in the forest."
Guy pulled out a small pouch from his backpack.
"Good. We'll use wireless comms to coordinate. Distance is just right."
Neji, Lee, and Tenten each strapped on an earpiece and tested their connection.
Tenten whispered, "Comms are good."
Guy gave Kakashi a thumbs-up. "We're faster. We'll handle the far ones. Tune into channel 174."
Kakashi nodded. "We're counting on you."
That lit Guy's fire. "Team Guy! Full-throttle youth mode—move out!"
"Scatter!"
The team vanished, splitting off to each target. Neji went for the cliff rock. Lee darted into the forest. Tenten ran toward the shoreline. Guy scaled the mountainside.
"Lee, shift a little south," Neji's voice crackled through the comms as he formed a seal.
A [Phantom Clone]—his system-enhanced version of Shadow Clone—dispatched to the target while Neji himself crouched above the cavern in disguise, wearing a mask engraved with the character for "Nian".
He observed the cave from above, pinpointing chakra signatures and guiding the others to their marks.
Kakashi arrived at the center seal. He grabbed the talisman.
"Now!" Neji called.
All five locations had their seals torn off in perfect sync.
"Sakura!" Kakashi shouted.
"On it!"
With perfect chakra control, she channeled strength into her fist.
Boom!
The boulder cracked. Fissures raced across its surface. And then—shattered.
But that wasn't the end.
In each of the four locations where seals were removed, copies of the retrieval team appeared—perfect doppelgängers.
Guy's voice came through the comms, serious now. "Neji…?"
"…Same here," Neji's clone replied calmly. An exact replica had appeared before him as well.
Tenten stared at her copy. "What the heck is this?"
Lee fell into a stance. "A trap."
Guy scowled. "We should've known. It went too smoothly."
Neji nodded. "Even removing the barrier triggered a contingency. They expected us to split up… and set these safeguards in place."
He added, "Shadow clones wouldn't have worked. They disappear with a single hit. These countermeasures need the real deal."
Still, Neji was curious.
How much could these copies mimic?
Could they replicate his system skills? His Haki? His Six Powers techniques?
And most importantly… if he beat himself, would he get experience points?
And how much?
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~Support with 200 PowerStones = 1 Bonus Chapter
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