Uchiha Itachi did not stare at Sasuke the whole time. The spot where Sasuke had just stood was almost unavoidably burning with black flames.
A scorched smell spread around, and the trees and bushes not far behind them burst into flames with crackling sounds.
As soon as Sasuke ran away, Uchiha Itachi suddenly closed that eye.
Sasuke frowned slightly, looking hesitant. From Uchiha Itachi's pained expression, it really didn't look like he was fine.
Because he was worried about this, Sasuke didn't really pay attention to whether Uchiha Itachi was holding back or genuinely unwell at this moment.
If Uchiha Itachi had kept staring at Sasuke, he could indeed have burned the kid to charcoal.
But obviously, Uchiha Itachi had no such intention. He closed his eyes just as the Amaterasu flames had almost completely burned out.
Thinking of it as a slight rest for his eyes that were not feeling well, Uchiha Itachi covered one of his eyes.
It's hard to say how to describe this situation properly.
Although Uchiha Itachi's eyes were indeed in great pain, this repeated action of opening and closing clearly made his eyes unable to bear it.
If he had just glared continuously until it burned, it would have been fine, but this stop-and-go action actually made his eyes hurt more.
Uchiha Itachi silently sighed deeply in his heart, and his temples throbbed with pain.
Although he tried his best to control the feeling of his lungs churning, he couldn't help but let some blood seep from the corners of his mouth.
He couldn't worry about this situation anymore.
Sasuke had no means of protection. If the Amaterasu burned him, he would truly be finished.
Even though it was becoming difficult to see clearly, Uchiha Itachi still painstakingly controlled his gaze to prevent it from burning Sasuke.
Every time he opened his eyes again, it felt like the last time he would use that eye in his life. Perhaps it was because he was near death, but Uchiha Itachi felt a subtle sense of disgust.
For such a fate, for such eyes, he had given Sasuke a choice, but he himself had not.
Although all paths were chosen by himself, he was always bound by his beliefs and goals, and by an identity he could not choose.
It seemed he only had this one path, and it was only natural that he had only this one path.
It wasn't that he regretted doing all this. As long as it was for Sasuke, anything was acceptable.
He was just purely tired of being alive.
The Amaterasu had burned almost everything around them. The blood vessels in Uchiha Itachi's eyes had become frighteningly dense.
Blood continuously flowed from his eyes, smearing down his cheeks and mixing with the blood at the corners of his mouth.
Just as the Amaterasu was about to reach Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi and Sasuke moved almost at the same time.
Uchiha Itachi suddenly closed his eyes, while Sasuke, taking advantage of the black flames still being some distance away, sharply used Chidori to open a hole in the ground and jumped straight down.
Uchiha Itachi, covering his eyes, suddenly knelt down, his palms full of slippery blood.
Perhaps due to the intense pain in his eyes, Uchiha Itachi's ears began to ring, and the blood that had been churning in his chest could no longer be contained.
"Cough ~ [...]". Uchiha Itachi closed the eye he used for Amaterasu and forcefully coughed while covering his mouth.
Slippery, warm blood instantly soaked his palms, and blood continued to seep through his fingers, running down the back of Uchiha Itachi's hand.
Drop by drop, the blood fell to the ground, soon forming a small pool.
Uchiha Itachi painfully opened the eye he used for Amaterasu. The sharp pain had been too intense, and for a moment, he felt numb.
Within the range that eye could see, there was nothing left.
Only the other eye, which still possessed the Mangekyou Sharingan, remained. Uchiha Itachi's eye opened emptily and blankly.
When the vision of both eyes became extremely blurred, the loss of an eye was an immediate realization.
The blind spot increased, and he couldn't see anything to his side.
Uchiha Itachi frowned almost imperceptibly. He had only opened his eyes tentatively, and this eye, which had almost completely lost its sight, stung again.
"..."
Uchiha Itachi silently pursed his lips, then tightly covered one of his eyes.
Zenitsu, who had been dodging the Amaterasu attack, poked his head out of the ground. The two different eyes looked at Uchiha Itachi with interest.
"What a shame, you were just a little bit away from burning Sasuke."
White Zetsu looked down at Uchiha Itachi, who was spitting blood in the middle. The gap Sasuke had opened in the ground with Chidori was quite obvious.
If this body hadn't weighed him down, he would have killed Sasuke just now.
Black Zetsu looked thoughtfully at Uchiha Itachi, who was kneeling in the center of the ground, and said.
"...He doesn't look right. He didn't dodge attacks he should have, and now he's spitting blood."
"His body has looked problematic for a long time."
White Zetsu had no strong opinions about the two of them, but based on the current situation, Uchiha Itachi would almost certainly die in this battle.
Of course, Sasuke wouldn't be much better off. Given Uchiha Itachi's current condition, he could probably push him to his limit.
"Can't be helped, looks like we'll have to collect the eyes."
Sasuke darted underground. He was unaware of Uchiha Itachi's situation on the ground. In the dim underground, only the gap he had cut above him allowed a little light to enter.
He was almost out of chakra. Uchiha Itachi had been staring at him, so he probably figured that out.
If he went up again, and couldn't absolutely suppress Uchiha Itachi, he would have died for nothing.
When he had seen Itachi deal with opponents before, using Amaterasu hadn't felt like much, but when Amaterasu was actually chasing him, he had to admit it was quite troublesome.
Wherever his gaze focused, an unquenchable flame would ignite. Once he went up, he couldn't let Uchiha Itachi have time to stare at him.
Sasuke thought for a moment, then looked at the gap above him and formed hand seals.
"Fire Release, Great Fireball Technique."
Destroying the ground nearby, and then directly manipulating the effect of the sky to bring down lightning.
After using the Great Fireball Technique, he should still have some chakra left.
If it were Uchiha Itachi, he should be able to avoid or block it.
Sasuke thought for a moment. He truly believed in his brother's strength.
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