"Who said our Team B lost?"
Itachi spoke calmly, his tone unwavering.
"Still trying to deny it? My clone already destroyed all your snow forts."
Kakuzu snorted, his voice laced with disdain, "If you don't believe me, let's all go and see for ourselves."
"Let's go then."
Kisame interjected confidently, clearly trusting Itachi.
"In that case, I'll take you there."
As he said that, Naruto grabbed the three of them and rushed to Team B's snow fort with Flying Thunder God Technique.
When they arrived, the snow fort stood completely intact. And the only damage was to the snow around it.
"How is this possible? I clearly..."
Kakuzu wanted to say something, but suddenly froze, "Itachi, could it be that all this is your Genjutsu?"
"Yes, it is Genjutsu."
Itachi replied, a faint smirk tugging at his lips, "I have long anticipated someone would try to destroy our snow forts, so I used Genjutsu as a decoy. You were so eager to claim victory that you didn't double-check, allowing my plan to succeed."
As he said this, his body trembled slightly.
"What a coincidence! My clone had just returned and your Team C's snow fort has been destroyed by my clone. The victor… is our Team B."
"Are you certain you destroyed all of them? I hid a snow fort in a place you'd never find."
Kakuzu argued, refusing to concede.
Unfortunately, Itachi replied indifferently, "The small snow fort hidden behind the cover was also located and destroyed by my clone. There's no room for doubt. If you still don't believe me, I'll show you your defeat."
"Let me take you there."
Naruto interrupted, teleporting the group again to Team C's territory.
Sure enough, Kakuzu's hidden snow fort had been completely demolished.
"The evidence is right here, Kakuzu. You lost!" Kisame laughed heartily, overjoyed at the outcome.
Though Kisame had previously won the previous game, this time, his team had beaten even Naruto's. This was a genuine victory, and it thrilled him.
"Wait!"
"Hold on!"
Just then, Kakuzu and Itachi frowned and spoke at the same time.
Kakuzu sneered, "Itachi, it seems you've noticed as well. Perhaps… neither of us won."
"What do you mean?" Kisame asked, confused by Kakuzu's words.
Itachi explained, "Naruto-kun's Flying Thunder God Technique needs to mark to teleport. The fact that Naruto-kun brought us to both Team B and Team C's snow forts so precisely means he had already located and marked them beforehand."
"This…"
Kisame was stunned for a moment, but soon he burst into laughter, "So what if Naruto-kun scouted ahead? It was his arrogance that got his snow fort destroyed first. That makes us, Team B, the winners."
"Well, you're not entirely wrong," Itachi acknowledged with a slight nod.
"No, something's off!" Kakuzu interjected, shaking his head, "My snow fort was incredibly simple. There's no way it collapsed with this much snow still piled up. Something doesn't add up."
"Doesn't add up? Of course, it doesn't!"
Naruto, who had been wearing a neutral expression, suddenly smirked and brought the group back to Team B's snow fort.
Upon closer inspection, Kakuzu noticed something strange, "The rules required the snow fort to be large enough to accommodate two people. But now, the interior is completely filled with snow. While the exterior is intact, this fort no longer qualifies… it's disqualified."
Kisame rushed forward to check and found Kakuzu's words to be true. His excitement deflated instantly.
"When did this happen?"
Itachi frowned.
Naruto smiled faintly and said, "As early as the snow fort construction phase, I had already sent shadow clones underground to track both Teams B and C. I watched your every move. The rules only prohibited destroying snow forts after the game began, and there was nothing against gathering intel beforehand. While you were heading to the meeting point, my shadow clones filled your snow forts with snow from the inside. From the start, you had already lost."
Naruto wasn't one to fight a battle unprepared. While Itachi and Kisame had thought multiple steps ahead, Naruto had already outmaneuvered them entirely.
As for why hadn't Teams B and C tried to scout Naruto's plans in return? That wasn't Naruto's problem. And even if they had tried, his Observation Haki would have detected their presence long before they could approach.
It was precisely because Naruto had sabotaged their snow forts early on that his subsequent act of nervously leading everyone back to his own snow fort had been pure theatrics.
Otherwise, if his snow fort were truly destroyed, the shadow clones guarding it would have relayed the information immediately, sparing him the need to rush back blindly.
Everything had gone according to Naruto's plan.
In truth, his exaggerated reaction was a ploy to enjoy the spectacle of his opponents celebrating their apparent victory, only to realize the truth and sink into despair.
Did it make him seem petty? Maybe. But Naruto believed the lesson was worth it. This experience would teach them not to try underhanded tactics behind his back. After all, none of them could be sure whether Naruto had accounted for their actions in his plans.
The group fell silent, until Itachi finally broke the tension, "As expected of Naruto-kun, your strategy was impeccable. But in my opinion, Naruto-kun may have used his ability to predict the future. That would explain how you easily manipulated us. If that's the case, it feels a bit… unfair."
"Haha, I've been discovered."
Naruto laughed heartily, but internally, he was slightly shaken.
In truth, his 'ability to foresee the future' was a bluff, but Itachi's suggestion gave him an idea. He could use this as an excuse to justify his seemingly omniscient strategies in the future.
After thinking quickly, Naruto said, "In this case, let's call this game void. From now on, to ensure fairness, I won't use my future-predicting ability during games."
This wasn't just a way to comfort everyone, as it also conveniently gave Naruto a plausible reason to claim he wasn't using such an ability in future games.
"Thank you, Naruto-kun!"
Hearing the game was voided and there would be no harsh penalties, the group collectively sighed in relief. Their initial frustrations quickly dissipated.
"Alright, it's getting late. Let's head back and eat."
Naruto teleported the group back to the meeting point, where a different sight awaited them.
Bang, bang, bang!
Blastoise, still under the effects of the Weapon Blessing and temporarily evolved, was relentlessly pummeling Hidan.
Though Blastoise couldn't deliver a killing blow, the pain it inflicted was very real. Hidan, who is battered and bruised, was almost unrecognizable under the relentless assault.
Seeing this, Naruto shook his head with a sigh, "Looks like there's still some punishment after all."
Kisame smirked, "Hidan had it coming. He just couldn't keep his mouth shut. If he's getting beaten, he has no one to blame but himself."
"Fair enough," Naruto said, dropping the subject.
He then took out the villa onto the empty space next to him, and handed the ingredients to Kakuzu.
While waiting for the meal, Kakuzu turned to Kisame and asked, "Kisame, what exactly happened?"
Kisame then recounted in detail the entire process of Hidan's trash talk.
Upon hearing the story, Itachi and Kakuzu exchanged glances before saying in unison, "He definitely deserved it."