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The bandages on Sasuke's hands slowly unraveled, revealing two glowing seals—each marked with the character for "sword."
"No matter how you use those eyes," Sasuke said coldly, "I'll turn illusion into reality through hatred."
"And your reality," he added, voice low and sharp, "ends in death."
The two brothers immediately fell into fighting stances.
Bang!
Shuriken flashed into Sasuke's hands. Both hurled their weapons at the same time, the steel stars clashing midair in a shower of sparks.
More and more shuriken filled the battlefield—Itachi and Sasuke locked in a dazzling contest of precision and speed.
The sharp ring of metal echoed across the ruins, the air alive with fiery sparks.
They charged straight at each other. Their forearms collided with a violent crack.
Itachi met Sasuke's strength head-on—then, in a blur, a shadow clone leapt over his shoulder.
Sasuke's instincts screamed. He managed to form a clone even in the middle of our exchange?
The clone flicked three kunai at lightning speed. Sasuke's curse mark pulsed, and a massive white snake burst out from his shoulder, wrapping protectively around him as the kunai bounced off its scales.
The snake lunged toward Itachi, fangs bared. Itachi flipped back, landing lightly several meters away.
Boom!
The snake vanished, replaced by a massive spinning shuriken in Sasuke's grip.
He hurled it straight at Itachi, who barely managed to parry it with his kunai.
But the weapon wasn't normal—lightning flickered across its edge, charged with Sasuke's Chidori Stream. The shuriken ripped straight through Itachi's defense, piercing his body—
—and then Itachi exploded into a flock of black crows.
The birds scattered and vanished, and when Sasuke looked up, Itachi was already right in front of him.
In a single instant, Itachi's Mangekyō Sharingan locked eyes with his. Then—
Wham!
Itachi's kick smashed into Sasuke's chest, sending him flying into a stone wall.
Lightning flared around Sasuke's hand again. He tried to rise, but Itachi was already there. His movements were impossibly fast—one hand clamped down on Sasuke's wrist, stopping his Chidori, the other drove a fist deep into Sasuke's gut.
Sasuke gasped for air, his vision swimming.
Itachi's face was unreadable as he reached for Sasuke's eye."Forgive me… Sasuke."
"This is my reality."
"I'll take this light for myself."
Sasuke's scream tore through the silence. Blood trickled through his fingers as he clutched at his eye.
Itachi held up a bloody Sharingan in his hand. "I told you—without the Mangekyō, you can't beat me."
He stepped closer, his tone flat. "And now, I'll take the other one too."
Before he could move, the curse mark on Sasuke's back flared violently. A monstrous hand burst out from behind him, forcing Itachi to leap back in alarm.
Itachi narrowed his eyes. "So that's the power of the curse mark…"
But in the next instant, Sasuke's Sharingan vanished—absorbed into the illusionary vessel Itachi had prepared earlier.
Sasuke panted, his body trembling. Then, out of nowhere, another Itachi appeared behind him and seized him from behind.
"That's the difference between our eyes," Itachi said quietly.
He began reaching for Sasuke's remaining eye—
—but the curse mark erupted again, summoning a giant serpent that tore through the clone.
The entire battlefield froze.
Then—like glass shattering—every image splintered apart.
When the fragments fell away, the two brothers were back where they started, unmoving.
Sasuke gasped, collapsing to one knee, drenched in sweat.
From the shadows, White Zetsu murmured, "Didn't expect Itachi to end it this fast."
Black Zetsu frowned. "Why?"
"Because Sasuke's already trapped in Tsukuyomi," White Zetsu said. "He can't move. It's over."
But then, both of them froze.
Itachi was the one kneeling now, clutching his eye in disbelief.
"You… broke my Tsukuyomi?" he whispered.
Sasuke slowly stood up.
Zetsu was stunned. "What the—? How is Sasuke still standing after being hit with Tsukuyomi?"
...
[Live Chat Feed]
Hokage_GhostFace: "Come on, Itachi, that was the weakest Tsukuyomi ever. Nobody just stands up after that!"
Hokage_Kakashi: "Funny you say that. He sure didn't hold back on me. You know how long I was in the hospital?"
Hokage_Gai: "Wait, what's going on? I don't understand any of this!"
Hokage_Sasuke: "Shut up! I beat him fair and square with my own strength!"
Shinigami_Aizen: "That Itachi doesn't look right to me…"
DB_Friza: "Holding back? How boring."
GodOfDestruction_Beerus: "Cursed eyes, huh? Weird species. And yeah, that guy's body looks messed up."
Hokage_Sasuke: "Stop saying he held back! He was trying to kill me!"
Hokage_Naruto: "Sasuke, chill, man!"
Marine_Admiral_Aokiji: "Those eyes… they give off a bad vibe."
Marine_Admiral_Kizaru: "Ooooh, how scary~!"
Hokage_Deidara: "No way Itachi lost! I've fought him—Sasuke's not that good!"
Hokage_Sasori: "Deidara, shut up. You talk too much."
...
Back on screen
Black Zetsu's voice rumbled. "No… he didn't fall into Tsukuyomi."
"He broke it."
White Zetsu was wide-eyed. "Impossible! He only has regular Sharingan! How could he overpower the Mangekyō?"
Black Zetsu's tone deepened. "The Sharingan is just a tool."
"Its strength depends on the ninja who wields it."
"Even a shuriken can lose to a master of throwing stones."
"What matters… is the power behind it."
"That means Sasuke's talent has already surpassed Itachi's expectations."
Itachi rose slowly, his aura shifting—calm, but deadly serious now.
Zetsu shivered. "He's changed… looks like Itachi's done playing around."
"Maybe we'll finally see Amaterasu."
Itachi's fingers blurred through hand signs.
Sasuke instantly hurled his shuriken, trying to interrupt him.
Zetsu gasped. "So fast—he's not giving Itachi any time to cast!"
The shuriken split in midair.
"The Shadow Shuriken Technique!"
Sasuke's hands crackled with lightning—Chidori Flow surged into the spinning blades.
Itachi twisted midair, slipping perfectly through the narrow space between them.
But Sasuke gave a sharp tug—thin silver wires glinted in the air, pulling the shuriken back toward Itachi.
Itachi's eyes widened. "Trap Shuriken Technique!"
Sasuke yanked hard, and the shuriken shattered into fragments—one shard sliced into Itachi's leg, dropping him to one knee.
Sasuke smirked. "Got you."
Black Zetsu frowned. "Something's off… Itachi wouldn't fall for that."
Itachi ripped the fragment from his leg, sweat beading on his forehead.
...
[Live Chat Feed]
Hokage_Kakashi: "That's… some top-tier acting."
...
Back to the fight
Suddenly, pain flashed through Itachi's eyes.
Sasuke grinned. "That's the backlash from using Tsukuyomi, huh?"
"Feels good, doesn't it?"
He clapped his hands together. "Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
A massive wave of flame roared from his mouth. Itachi started to counter—but his eyes throbbed again, forcing him to leap away instead.
Lightning flared around Sasuke's hand. "Chidori!"
He charged, electricity crackling violently.
Itachi dodged again—
Boom!
The attack blew a hole through the ceiling, smoke filling the room.
From the haze, Uchiha Itachi burst out, hands flashing through seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!"
"..."
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