Chapter 22: Lucci VS Shisui

"Where did these monsters come from?"

Kaku was struggling in his battle.

The most frustrating aspect was that his enemy refused to engage him in direct combat, rendering the techniques he had mastered over the years completely ineffective.

His only long-range attack was [Rankyaku].

But he couldn't hit his opponent at all, and from time to time, he would even be deceived by illusions.

He would kick what appeared to be his target, only to strike a wooden log that would then transform into stone.

'Just the slightest contact and my arm went almost completely numb,' Kaku thought grimly.

'Close combat is definitely not a suitable option against these people.'

On his side, Itachi maintained complete focus.

The battle between ninja and these CP9 agents resembled the conflict between the Survey Corps and the Titans in Attack on Titan.

The Survey Corps possessed flexibility and opportunities to kill giants, but they absolutely could not afford to make mistakes.

A single error could result in instant death at the hands of a titan.

"Let me try the new technique Shisui developed."

"[Genjutsu: Sharingan]!"

The name remained the same, but the essence had changed and adapted to this new world.

Itachi assessed the situation and decided he had no intention of prolonging this fight.

The opponent only possessed a limited repertoire of techniques.

Aside from transforming into a giraffe and enhancing all physical capabilities, Kaku had few other substantial abilities.

This battle had demonstrated the fighting capabilities of people in this world.

Itachi felt there was no need to continue, the data had been thoroughly memorized by his Sharingan.

Kaku was turning his head, searching for Itachi who had vanished from his sight, when he suddenly lost focus and found his thoughts drifting to memories of training at the CP9 base.

‘Those are the days…’ Kaku thought with a smile.

At that moment, Itachi had already flashed in front of Kaku, gripping his kunai and preparing to stab it into Kaku's abdomen.

Bang!

But just before the strike could land, Lucci appeared and kicked Itachi with tremendous force, sending him flying.

He crashed into a nearby house and was buried under falling rubble.

"What are you doing, Kaku?!"

Lucci glared at Kaku with a dark expression.

Kaku, no longer receiving Itachi's continuous mental power output, immediately snapped back to awareness and instantly understood what had transpired.

"This guy used some kind of strange technique that can affect the mind…"

Kaku quickly defended himself.

At the same time, he felt relief at seeing Lucci's return.

These enemies proved far too troublesome, and with two other opponents watching eagerly from the sidelines, he couldn't concentrate properly on the fight.

"Itachi!"

Izumi, who had been engaged in her own battle, noticed that Itachi had been knocked away.

She couldn't help but become distracted with worry.

‘An opening.’

Blueno pressed his advantage directly against Izumi, his fist thrusting forward like a bullet.

But immediately, his entire body went numb.

He looked down to see that a kunai crackling with electric current had pierced his right calf.

"Don't get distracted, Izumi."

Yami spoke with cold authority.

He was the one to interfere.

Izumi was startled by the reprimand and quickly steeled her resolve.

As for Blueno, his body quickly recovered.

After all, his physical conditioning differed completely from people in the ninja world.

A single kunai charged with electrical current couldn't render him completely ineffective.

He continued raising his hand to punch Izumi.

Bang!

"Huh?"

Blueno couldn't help but feel stunned when he saw the Izumi in front of him dissolve into smoke.

Swish!

Swish!

Barbed wire immediately erupted from the ground, trapping Blueno directly in its coils.

Izumi pulled the threads from her hidden position in a corner.

This trap had already been prepared earlier, though it was true that she had been distracted by concern for Itachi, it didn’t mean she was useless.

[Fire Release: Dragon Fire Technique]

Izumi directly employed Fire Release ninjutsu.

A fire dragon rushed along the steel threads directly toward Blueno.

Blueno attempted to use his Devil Fruit ability to escape, but the time required to open his portals simply wasn't sufficient.

Just before the fire dragon was about to strike him, a stream of bubbles blocked its path.

However, the bubbles couldn't withstand the nature-transformed fire technique and were easily penetrated.

The fire dragon directly burned Blueno, though its power was significantly weakened in the process.

"Who are you people?!"

Lucci regarded Yami and Shisui with obvious hostility.

He had actually wanted to rescue Blueno moments earlier, but as soon as his body moved, he sensed danger.

It emanated from the two men standing calmly not far in front of him.

"Retreat and regroup."

However, Yami ignored Lucci entirely and issued direct orders to his team.

Upon hearing the command, Yashiro, Izumi, and the others immediately abandoned their fights and returned to positions behind Yami.

Fukurou and the other CP9 agents hesitated briefly before choosing to stand beside Lucci.

At the same time, Itachi crawled out of the rubble without any serious injuries, having used the [Susanoo] skeletal arm for protection.

But since he had only recently awakened his Mangekyō and lacked skill with the technique, he had still sustained some damage.

“Kalifa!”

Soon, Lucci and his companions were shocked.

They witnessed Kalifa being forcibly marched out of an alley with someone's hand gripping her throat.

But they were immediately stunned when they realized that the person restraining Kalifa looked exactly like the individual standing not far in front of them issuing orders.

"This is a Devil Fruit user whose abilities have been restricted by Seastone. She has almost no capacity to resist."

Yami explained matter-of-factly.

"Bang!"

At the same time, his shadow clone dispersed.

He had maintained a shadow clone in secret, and when he discovered that Kalifa had just rescued Blueno, he easily approached her position and restrained her with Seastone handcuffs.

Even top tiers might struggle when constrained by such restraints.

A user like Kalifa, who had only recently consumed her Devil Fruit, was utterly powerless and easily subdued by the shadow clone.

Kalifa appeared frustrated but remained helpless in her current situation.

"What is your purpose? Tell me"

Lucci demanded with a cold expression.

He realized that the people confronting him weren't from the World Government; otherwise, there would be no need for such elaborate tactics.

Moreover, the World Government had issued kill orders regarding CP9, so there would be no reason to capture Kalifa alive.

"I want to use you as sparring partners."

Yami looked at him briefly, before he said that.

"Shisui, are you feeling well enough?"

Yami spoke directly, then turned to address Shisui.

Lucci's current strength probably approximated someone who had opened the Sixth Gate.

Under perfect conditions, Shisui wouldn't have any problems handling such an opponent.

But now that he was injured and couldn't demonstrate his full capabilities, the outcome remained uncertain.

However, Lucci was also wounded, so Yami directly asked Shisui.

Neither side was operating at peak strength. The fight would certainly be entertaining.

"No problem."

Shisui nodded with determination.

Itachi regarded Shisui with some concern, while Izumi worried about the blood trickling from Itachi's shoulder.

"When you attempt something like this, don't you consider that if you fail, you'll all die here?"

Lucci possessed his own sense of pride.

How could he not feel annoyed at being looked down upon and treated as mere training material?

Losing to Luffy once had already pushed him to his breaking point.

Now, these ignorant individuals actually dared to challenge him directly.

"If you defeat him, I'll release her."

Yami stated concisely without any unnecessary words.

Maintaining composure represented the first principle of being a ninja.

"You’re underestimating me too much,”

Lucci's expression hardened.

But he wasn't careless.

Not knowing anything about the capabilities of his opponents, he immediately entered his hybrid form.

His body directly transformed into a half-human, half-leopard configuration.

Then he used [Soru] and rushed directly toward Shisui.

"So fast."

Itachi, Izumi, and the others were all shocked.

They discovered that this person's movement speed operated on a completely different level from the enemies they had just faced.