Meanwhile, in the Uchiha Clan Compound.
Akali was still directing Naruto through the final takes of her Easter egg video shoot!
Building on the massive success of her previous photo-only release, this time she was preparing a full photobook with a storyline. The working title was something along the lines of: *That Time I Prepared to Commit Suicide in the Woods After Work, Only to Be Repaid by a Fox and Turned Into a Succubus Maid*.
When it came to selling photobooks, those in the know understood completely: the standard edition came with just the gallery, the deluxe edition included a voice pack of the fox maid, and the collector's edition featured not only the voice clips but also animated video files.
With a combo of strategies straight from the 21st century, if she didn't drain the wallets of these Shinobi World natives who only knew how to fight and had zero development in entertainment or technology, Akali would debut on the red-light district streets herself!
As for coming to the Uchiha Clan Compound, well, that was purely a coincidence.
Akali had originally planned to shoot only in the woods, but while searching for a scenic spot with pleasant winds and clear waters, she just happened to wander all the way here.
However, since she had a need for indoor and urban settings anyway, Akali saw no reason to leave.
Yet, right in the middle of her filming:
*Ding! Emotion value from Naruto +99!*
*Ding! Emotion value from Sarutobi Hiruzen +99!*
*Ding! Emotion value from Uzuki Yugao +99!*
*Ding! Emotion value from Sasuke +9999!*
Amidst the modest batch of +99 emotion gains, Sasuke's +9999 shot straight to the top like a dark horse!
"Hmm, Sasuke?"
Akali paused mid-action.
She didn't quite understand. She had known all along that the Third Hokage was spying on her with his crystal ball, and Uzuki Yugao was an Anbu operative assigned to watch Naruto, so those reactions were perfectly normal. But where on earth was Sasuke's emotion value coming from?
She figured it out very quickly, though!
Because accompanied by a burst of rapid, heavy footsteps, Sasuke burst around the street corner, his eyes glowing crimson and his entire body radiating a violent killing intent, instantly locking onto Akali and Naruto.
Clearly, Sasuke's emotion value was because of them!
Anyone would be furious to discover someone filming borderline erotic videos on their own property, and quite rightly so.
If that was the case, though...
Akali couldn't help but glance at Naruto beside her.
Question: What do you do when you dress in cross-dresser gear to make some extra cash at your best bro's house, and your best bro catches you?
Scream at the top of your lungs to cover it up?
Wrong. True shock leaves you utterly speechless!
Just like Naruto at this moment!
Staring at the sudden appearance of Sasuke, Naruto—transformed into Naruko and wearing a white silk maid outfit—looked as though he had been struck by a petrification spell, freezing instantly in his tracks!
*Ding! Emotion value from Naruto +99!*
*Ding! Emotion value from Naruto +999!*
*Ding! Emotion value from Naruto +9999!*
Emotion values from Naruto flooded the screen furiously!
Those wildly trembling azure eyes made one wonder if he was about to suffer a bout of cyberpsychosis in the next second!
Therefore, to prevent Naruto from screaming about destroying the world, instantly undoing the Nine-Tails seal, and dragging everyone down with him, Akali hastily stepped forward, placing herself squarely between Sasuke and Naruto to block Sasuke's probing gaze!
This action also successfully drew Sasuke's line of sight away from Naruto and onto Akali!
By this point, verifying that the situation wasn't as extreme as he had imagined, the killing intent radiating from Sasuke diminished significantly.
Replaced by a surging battle intent!
With his Sharingan activated, Sasuke's hands were itching for a fight!
He needed an opponent to test his true strength!
So...
"Let me see just how much strength you've been hiding at the academy, Akali!"
Sasuke roared in a low voice, instantly raising his hands!
"Swish, swish, swish!"
Three kunai formed a perfect inverted triangle, instantly locking onto Akali's eyes, throat, and vital spots!
What made it even more formidable was that although the kunai had been thrown sequentially, they maintained a simultaneous pacing that left the target completely unable to exploit any time-delay for a counter-attack!
To say the least, with this level of kunai control, ordinary Chunin weren't even worthy of carrying Sasuke's shoes, and even a fair number of Special Jonin with poor shuriken techniques would have to resort to dodging.
And once forced to dodge, one would lose the initiative!
Fortunately, Akali did not belong to that minority!
While not as flashy and showy as the Uchiha shuriken techniques, Akali's shurikenjutsu was also a foundational skill of her own!
Facing Sasuke's attack, Akali similarly flicked her wrists, throwing three kunai in the exact same inverted triangle and synchronized trajectory, meeting blow with blow!
Moreover, despite being thrown a fraction of a second later, her kunai shot forward like cannonballs, arriving first at the centerline between the two of them!
In Akali's calculation, these three kunai should knock down Sasuke's weapons while maintaining their momentum to push forward and pressure Sasuke's position.
However, watching the impending collision unfold before him, Sasuke's eyes widened, his pitch-black single-tomoe Sharingan spinning rapidly!
"I see it!" Sasuke flicked his wrists, launching two more shuriken!
*Clang, clang, clank, clang, ping!*
The exact moment Akali's kunai struck down Sasuke's, the two high-speed spinning shuriken arrived ahead of schedule, slicing through the air.
Then, a shocking scene unfolded!
Under the influence of Sasuke's two shuriken, following a dazzling and dizzying flurry of impacts, Sasuke's batted-down kunai, along with the ones Akali had thrown, abruptly reversed direction together and came hurtling back toward Akali!
A total of six kunai linked with two shuriken formed an inescapable web of death, angling in to trap Akali and Naruto!
At this, Akali frowned slightly: "So this is the legendary Uchiha shurikenjutsu? It really lives up to the reputation!"
"Looks like I really do need to pull out some genuine skill today!"
Facing the inescapable net closing in on her, Akali flipped her wrist. Chakra surged in her palm, and a solid, blue-black kunai condensed entirely from chakra materialized.
And this was...
"My Secret Technique: Shadow Shroud!"
A blur flashed past!
At a speed too fast for even the Sharingan to catch, Akali threw out a lightning-fast...
No, not one, but five!
In Sasuke's shocked gaze, Akali's single kunai multiplied instantly from one to five as if utilizing the Shadow Clone Technique!
The five blue-black kunai surged forward like five wild bulls, crashing into Sasuke's meticulously crafted death web with an utterly unyielding and brutal momentum!
Then...
*Ding! Emotion value from Sasuke +999!*
Sasuke's shock morphed into sheer terror!
Because his kunai and shuriken—top-tier masterpieces crafted by the Ninja Cat workshop that ranked among the best across the entire Shinobi World—shattered into nothingness against Akali's overwhelming hardness, just like fragile membranes!
Crisp, decisive, and violent!
Even within a clan of weapon-crafting experts like the Uchiha, Sasuke had never witnessed such a collision of ninja tools!
Sasuke even found himself profoundly doubting whether those were even ninja tools at all!
Yet, there was no time left for Sasuke to ponder or question!
Because after smashing through Sasuke's ninja tools, Akali's kunai maintained their relentless momentum!
Before Sasuke could recover from his daze, they were right in front of him!
His crimson Sharingan reflected the oncoming blue-black kunai!
Sasuke had nowhere left to run!