My Sign-in System in Naruto

For ninjas, critical intelligence often determines the outcome of a decisive battle.

For example, Asuma's death.

Or the hypothetical scenario of Pain's invasion what if Might Guy had been in the village at the time?

Even if Guy could open the Eight Gates, if he didn't know that the Six Paths of Pain were corpses, he would only be sacrificing himself for nothing.

But now, Haru possessed all the information about Uchiha Itachi.

Tsukuyomi, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Izanami…

As long as Haru avoided looking into Itachi's Sharingan, he wouldn't fall victim to genjutsu.

As for Amaterasu and Susanoo, Itachi would never reveal them. Doing so would only make the village fear the Uchiha clan's power even more.

It would also strengthen the Uchiha clan's resolve to launch a coup.

As for Izanami, Haru wasn't worried about it at all.

As long as he remained true to himself and understood his own path, Izanami wouldn't trap him in an endless loop.

Besides, Haru hadn't come here today to settle a score with Itachi.

His real goal was to show Itachi his strength, to make him believe that Haru could achieve everything he had claimed.

"Invincible, huh?"

Itachi shook his head helplessly. He couldn't understand why Haru was so confident.

But if he didn't make Haru realize his own weakness, it would only lead him down the wrong path.

"Face reality, Haru."

Itachi's voice was low as he smoothly drew his sword with his right hand, appearing behind Haru at a speed impossible for ordinary people to follow.

He gripped the sword with both hands and thrust it forward.

Thud!

Haru neither dodged nor moved, standing perfectly still as Itachi's blade pierced through him.

"Huh?"

Itachi was momentarily stunned. When he had appeared behind Haru, he had deliberately slowed his movements and released a wave of killing intent.

Yet, Haru still hadn't tried to avoid the attack.

He was too weak.

Itachi couldn't help but frown. When he had heard Haru's bold claims, he had assumed the guy had some skill.

But this?

However, since they were both Konoha ninjas, Itachi hadn't aimed for a vital spot.

'This is bad…'

Kakashi, hiding in the shadows, cursed inwardly, his mind reeling with shock.

He thought he understood Haru's strength. Haru had handled the assassination squad from Root with ease, so how could he fail to dodge Itachi's attack?

Moreover, Itachi had clearly slowed his movements.

Was the gap really that huge?

Even Haru was no match for Itachi?

'Itachi… just how strong are you…'

Just as Kakashi was about to rush out to save Haru, Haru's actions took both Itachi and Kakashi by surprise.

Slap!

Slap!

Haru grabbed the blade protruding from his chest with both hands, and his body began to change at a visible rate.

The color of flesh and blood faded, replaced by the texture of solid wood.

Both Itachi and Kakashi widened their eyes.

'A substitution jutsu? No…' Kakashi swallowed hard, quickly dismissing the idea. The substitution jutsu involved replacing oneself with a wooden log to create an opportunity to counterattack.

But what Haru had transformed into was a wooden statue carved in his own image!

'This is the same technique as Yamato!'

Kakashi immediately lifted his forehead protector, revealing his Sharingan in the darkness to search for Haru's real body.

After all, Kakashi's mission was to protect Haru in secret, preventing Root from attempting another assassination.

But from the moment he had followed Haru from the Senju compound, he hadn't seen Haru perform a single hand seal, let alone use a ninjutsu.

'When did he…'

'A Wood Clone?' Itachi muttered to himself. 'So he has the same Kekkei Genkai as Yamato… No.'

Itachi shook his head, rejecting his own assumption. It wasn't that Haru had the same ability as Yamato.

It was Yamato who had the same ability as Haru.

Haru was the true inheritor of Wood Release.

At that moment, Itachi finally understood why Haru had spoken so confidently about being invincible.

Even comparing himself to the God of Shinobi, Hashirama Senju.

It wasn't because Haru was ignorant. It was because he had awakened a power that no Senju had inherited in a century.

Boom!

Just as Itachi was about to use his Sharingan to locate Haru, a hand suddenly shot out from the ground, grabbing his ankle.

Meanwhile, his sword remained firmly embedded in Haru's Wood Clone, unable to be pulled free.

'From below?'

Itachi raised his hand, skipping the hand seals, and unleashed the Uchiha clan's signature fire jutsu.

Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!

The flames instantly illuminated the entire forest, allowing Kakashi and the Root ninjas hiding in the shadows to observe the battle more closely.

Kakashi, in particular, was baffled. Despite having the Sharingan and superior dynamic vision, he hadn't been able to catch Itachi's hand seals.

What was going on with these two?

Why did their fight feel so… unnatural?

But what happened next shocked Kakashi even more.

Instead of retreating from the massive fireball, the figure gripping Itachi's ankle climbed out of the ground with all its might, lifting Itachi high into the air.

'This is…'

Itachi widened his Sharingan, finally getting a clear look at the thing beneath him.

It wasn't Haru at all, but a massive wooden figure at least five meters tall, with a dragon-like serpent coiled around its body.

Most importantly, its eyes were merely decorative. Itachi couldn't use genjutsu on it.

'Wood Human Technique…'

Kakashi, watching from a distance, rubbed his Sharingan, wondering if the stress of the past few days had affected his vision.

Just the Wood Clone had been shocking enough, but now Haru had even mastered a technique like this?

Itachi was equally stunned. Eight shuriken appeared in his hands out of thin air, and he aimed them at the wooden figure's weak points, combining them with his fire jutsu to launch an attack.

He wanted to destroy the giant.

Boom!

Despite its bulky size, the wooden figure's defenses were astonishing, and its speed was equally impressive. It firmly gripped Itachi's leg and slammed him into the ground.

Boom!

Then, it lifted Itachi again and smashed him down on the other side.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

After a series of repeated slams, the wooden figure seemed to grow bored of its toy. It dangled a battered Itachi upside down for a moment before tossing him to the ground.

Finally, Haru's real body emerged, standing on the wooden figure's shoulder, looking down at Itachi.