In the sky, Sasuke urged Garuda downward. He needed to get Naruto to solid ground—Naruto had lost all means of protecting himself, and after everything he'd endured for Sasuke, the least Sasuke could do was give him a moment to recover.
But the white-robed man didn't relent.
While evading the incoming barrage of attacks, Sasuke analyzed him carefully. His ability to hover in the air—was it also through ocular power?
The white-robed man wasn't using anything impressive. Just basic ninjutsu. Yet each technique forced the strongest duo in the shinobi world into sloppy evasion. They couldn't dare take a hit head-on.
Earlier, a single Fire Release had shattered Sasuke's Susanoo. Now the sky rained ninjutsu, every strike exploding with the force of a tailed beast.
His eye power wasn't phasing—he was altering the damage output of his jutsu, twisting even the weakest techniques into lethal blows.
Sasuke questioned Naruto repeatedly as they dodged. Naruto—still barely conscious—explained every detail of the one-sided fight. Piece by piece, a pattern emerged.
"While he's phasing… he can't move," Sasuke muttered. "If he moves, his Mangekyō burns too much chakra. When you fired the first Tailed Beast Ball, he was shifting position—and using his eye ability at the same time."
Naruto nodded weakly.
"That was the only moment he showed strain."
They had finally found a weakness—or at least, the closest thing to one. After all, consuming eye power was natural for any Mangekyō. But with no other openings, they had no choice but to exploit this.
But what if the enemy simply… never moved?
They reached a lower altitude. At this height, they could dismount and land safely. The white-robed man also landed, standing calmly across from them.
Boruto stood silently at Naruto's side. He needed time to heal, and Boruto quietly supported him.
Sasuke faced the masked man. His posture was relaxed, almost elegant—like a man enjoying a game. The contrast made Sasuke's blood boil.
With all the strength he'd painstakingly attained… was he really facing an opponent so absurdly lopsided?
Peace in the ninja world had never allowed for complacency.
Sasuke cast his hesitation aside and charged. Chidori crackled violently as it wrapped around his Kusanagi sword, electricity shrieking as he slashed toward the target.
The opponent didn't even take it seriously.
In fact, while Sasuke attacked, the man casually pulled out dried rations… and ate them.
Sasuke gritted his teeth, glaring. He used his Rinnegan to detect spatial distortion in the area. If this were Kamui, he could force his way into the alternate dimension and end this.
But.
He sensed nothing.
No alternate dimension. No spatial warping. No hidden portal.
Only the faint disturbances caused by his own blade swinging through the air.
"Mirage."
Boruto's voice cut through the tension.
Naruto, startled, looked sharply at Sasuke's attacks—every strike passed straight through the enemy. Not because the enemy was phasing—
No.
Because the enemy wasn't there at all.
A projection. A decoy. A false image.
In an instant, Naruto's brain snapped into clarity. Sage Mode still wouldn't activate—the space felt restricted. They could only rely on their eyes.
"Sasuke!" Naruto called out. "Search the surroundings. Carefully. The real body might be hiding nearby."
"What are you saying?" Sasuke asked.
"The one in front of us might not be real," Naruto replied. "It's like a hologram."
Hearing Naruto's tone, Sasuke immediately pulled back and scanned the field. With the Sharingan's clarity, he inspected every blade of grass, every rock, every shadow.
The white-robed man stayed still, unconcerned. Let them search. He wasn't worried. His method wouldn't be exposed so easily.
Only once all hope dies will they understand true despair.
Finally, Sasuke lowered his gaze. "I found nothing."
Naruto's frown deepened. His logic was correct—so how was the real enemy hidden so perfectly?
Boruto raised his hand timidly. "Uncle Sasuke… why not use genjutsu?"
Naruto froze.
Sasuke blinked, stunned.
Naruto: (OH MY GOD—HOW DID I NOT THINK OF THAT?!)
Sasuke stared at Boruto, startled by the insight. Then he looked sharply at the white-robed projection.
The mask turned away instantly—too quickly.
There. A reaction.
Recognition.
Fear.
A real opening.
"Well done, Boruto!" Naruto burst out. "You really are my son!"
The atmosphere shifted. The masked man's gaze snapped to Boruto, and murderous intent poured so thickly from him that Boruto staggered backward.
Now he couldn't stay frozen anymore. If he didn't move, genjutsu would break his technique. If he did move, his Mangekyō would bleed chakra.
Either way, they'd found the path to victory.
Sasuke felt heat in his veins—hope, anger, humiliation, all mixing. This battle had humiliated him to the core. Now he finally had something to hit back with.
He created shadow clones, surrounding the white-robed man's image in a full circle—forcing a direct clash of genjutsu, or a head-on battle.
With Rinnegan-level ocular power, his genjutsu was nothing to scoff at.
The field changed instantly. But even now, the masked man's destructive power was terrifying—ordinary Fire Release struck with the might of a tailed beast, and every explosion shook the ground.
Finally, he abandoned all restraint.
His white Susanoo rose from the earth, towering over them. It lacked the Eternal Mangekyō's stability, so it couldn't form a perfect humanoid—but its presence alone was overwhelming.
Sasuke's anger spiked. The enemy was finally serious.
He glanced back—Boruto was using Healing Palm Technique on Naruto, forcing chakra into him with everything he had. It numbed physical fatigue, but Naruto's mind was still spent. He needed rest.
Sasuke turned back, breathing slowly.
He already knew the truth—they had lost this battle.
But still, he shouted, "Where is Sarada?!"
"Alive," the white-robed man answered lightly. "But you won't be seeing her for now."
Naruto's face fell.
Even knowing they were outmatched, Sasuke refused to stop. He charged at Susanoo again. Flames of Amaterasu roared across the white armor, eating at its defenses. Chidori surged along the Kusanagi sword, its chirping cry sharp enough to split bone.
The thundering rush echoed across the battlefield. Amaterasu weakened the white armor further, and Sasuke thrust the blade in anger.
The man in white formed quick hand seals. A cold glint flashed behind his mask.
The Kusanagi pierced Susanoo, breaking through the weakened plating with terrifying force. One more hit, maybe two, and he would've broken through completely.
But—
"Wood Release: Wood Splintering Technique!"
A spear of wood shot up from beneath him.
Sasuke didn't even see it coming.
It tore clean through his body.
Pain exploded a hundredfold as the masked man's Mangekyō amplified the damage. A scream ripped from Sasuke—wild, raw, agonized.
"AAAHH!!"
The white-robed man wasn't done. He pulled out a kunai slowly.
Sasuke was pinned to the wooden spike, unable to move—unable to even gather chakra properly.
"DON'T—!!"
A strangled cry escaped Sasuke.
The kunai sank into his chest—straight into his heart.
Blood splattered across the white Susanoo like red ink on untouched snow.
Sasuke's vision dimmed. He could feel his life draining—his heartbeat fading—his consciousness slipping into darkness.
The enemy raised the kunai to his neck.
It was over.
A girl's scream echoed across the battlefield—broken, terrified, desperate.
Then—
"Uncle Sasuke!!! Use the Rinnegan!!!" Boruto roared.
Sasuke's eyes snapped open.
In the instant the kunai touched his throat—
Amenotejikara.
His body vanished, replaced by Boruto's shadow clone—
—which was instantly killed.
Boruto reeled, breathless. "T-That was close!!"
With both fighters down—Naruto unconscious, Sasuke critically wounded—Boruto wasted no time. He used the Flying Thunder God Technique and escaped with both of them.
Far away, a soft sobbing echoed in the unseen distance. Tears mixed with blood. Life seeped away slowly, quietly, swallowed by despair.
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A/N: Advanced Chapters Have Been Uploaded On My Patreon
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