‘They are quite tenacious.’ Itachi thought as he dodged the volleys of shell-like spikes shot by a Hollow with a carapace back.
Quickly noting his disadvantages, Itachi led the group of Hollows in the direct opposite direction from where the people had run in and thankfully they quickly followed, being blinded by rage.
‘That worked too well, but these guys aren’t as stupid when it comes to fighting.’
It came as a grim reminder to him that the Hollows actually outclassed him in every important aspect of battle save his speed and intelligence. He also had to be extra careful as he was well aware that receiving one of their attacks was akin to a death sentence to him.
With his apparent disadvantages, Itachi went for the basic battle tactics taught to every genin teams back for dealing with stronger or large groups of enemies.
Hit-and-run.
“Arghhhhhh!”
An oblivious Hollow, the third one so far, screeched in pain for a few seconds as it felt a blade slice through the nape of its neck, only for his screams to stop when he turned around in reflex only for Itachi’s blade to slice through its mask, effectively ending his life.
Assassination missions were something any Uchiha worth his salt thrived in, exponentially so when it came to the prodigy that was Itachi.
With how efficient his energy control was and being able to use the Body Flicker technique, all it required was patience and he’d effectively dispatch this group of Hollows – and patience was something Itachi was intimately familiar with.
‘Four left. It looks like they are no longer as frenzied as before.’ Itachi saw as they slowed down their blind advance and cautiously looked around them, even blasting off those energy bombs of theirs to clear the dense forestation around them.
‘If this continues, they will likely disappear. A much intended outcome.’
He wasn’t interested in trying to kill them to the last one and would’ve preferred it if they pulled the same disappearing act they pulled on the Shinigamis.
‘There’s also a high possibility that the constant commotion will alert the Shinigamis.’ Now this was something Itachi had to look out for.
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The best outcome would be if they arrived and took the Hollows off his hands instead of him letting them retreat, while the worst would be if they surrounded him.
As far as he knew, the Shinigamis were the only fighting force and militia known to all residents of the Soul Society, something that made it easy for them to identify any opposition.
Dropping to the ground, Itachi sliced through a few trees that fell towards the smallest Hollow of the remaining group and as soon as their attention was drawn to it, he attacked the one on the left who had his back fully open to him.
However, as Itachi got to him, the Hollow quickly turned around with an energy bomb brewing in his mouth and shot it at Itachi whose eyes were slightly raised, but forcefully twisted himself midair and watched as the bomb flew dangerously close to his body and missed him by a hand's width.
Having missed his target who was trying to swat him away, Itachi’s following actions flowed without any hesitation in his eyes.
SWISH! PUCHI!
His sword left his hand and pierced through one of the Hollow’s eyes resulting in its shrill screams and haphazard movements as the others tried to attack Itachi.
‘Guess my opening is here.’
It was sudden and took all the Hollows by surprise as they were suddenly sprang on by a group of Shinigamis led by a blonde haired girl.
Itachi, who had already sensed them coming when they came near, paid no attention to the new arrivals and went straight for his sword.
He was prepared to lose the sword as he figured he’d get another down the line but somehow that thought didn’t look so comforting after he threw it away.
He was not a particular weapon user but he understood the sentiment of owning special weapons, as he too owned a few of them when he was alive.
Retrieving his sword from the Hollow that was easily taken care of by the blond haired girl, his steps didn’t pause as he immediately disappeared.
“Hey, come back you punk!” He heard her shout but that was no longer a concern.
Instead his focus was on the blade he was currently looking at. “I guess it’s not that surprising.”
He had felt the slight thrum on the blade after he retrieved it and the way his energy seemed to now be in harmony with the sword at his side made him realize something important.
“I guess that means we’re bonded now, don’t it?” He asked and despite receiving any sort of signal from the sword, Itachi nodded in content because unlike before, he could now feel the blade.
And with it came a reassuring thought – it wouldn’t be long before he got back his eyes.
……
Meanwhile, after Itachi retrieved his blade and swiftly retreated, Hiyori cursed and focused back on the two Hollows still alive.
“Lieutenant Sarugaki, these Hollows are troublesome!” One of her subordinates shouted, causing Hiyori to grit her teeth and jump back into battle.
The Hollows were strong, moderately so, she discovered, mostly the one with the carapace skin and its method of attack.
‘We should be fine.’ She thought and comforted herself with that thought.
As part of the Research Division, they weren’t the most battle oriented division and this task would have been to another division to handle, but all divisions were ordered to step in due to the increased rate of Hollows appearing in the Soul Society and the mysteriously disappearing souls. Hence why her infuriating Captain sent her out to gather any data she could.
‘Couldn’t he have asked that freak Mayuri instead?’ All her thoughts did was to anger her even more.
“Hadō #4: Byakurai.” Following her short incantation, a sharp burst of lightning shot out from her outstretched hand and struck a Hollow and sent it flying.
Not letting up, she continued the flow with another short incantation. “Hadō #33: Sōkatsui.”
A blast of blue flames crashed and exploded against the electrified Hollow and fully vanquished it.
“Lieutenant Sarugaki, who was that man stalling the Hollows? I don’t think I got a feel of his Reiatsu.” One of the Shinigami close to her asked after they finished their small battle.
“I don’t know. He was very fast though and I couldn’t get a good feel of his Reiatsu either.” She said with a frown. She thought about it before shrugging and deciding to leave all the headaches to her Captain. He was the smart-ass after all.