"What is that?"
"A mirage?"
"No, it's a Genjutsu, it must be a Genjutsu!"
"But what kind of Genjutsu can affect so many people at once..."
"I don't know..."
"That eerie red moon, the nine-tomoe pattern, it's terrifying."
Countless crimson pillars of light fell from the sky, scattering into satin-like curtains of light, shining on all the Ninjas present. The divine yet sinister glow gradually consumed them.
And at that moment. even the Uchiha Jonin with their Three-Tomoe Sharingan could not help but be immersed in the bloody moonlight.
They widened their eyes, trying to see every detail of that red moon.
Soon, very different scenes appeared in each person's eyes: children playing and fighting, gentle women, a shop called [Ichiraku Ramen], and even three stone carvings with human faces, one of which vaguely resembled the First Hokage, Senju Hashirama.
These were the scenes each person desired most, playing like slides in their hearts, like final memories before death, perfect yet filled with an aura of destruction.
'Mangekyo Sharingan...'
'No!'
'It must be the Eye of the Moon Plan simulated by Reiatsu, right?'
Sora did not speak. He just silently watched the blood moon gradually falling in the sky, the nine black tomoes reflecting a sinister light, yet leaving no strange trace in Sora's eyes.
However, the other Ninjas present were not so lucky.
At some point, the crimson Three-Tomoe Sharingan of those Uchiha Jonin had become filled with a bleak white. Black circular ripples were etched on the pale white, making their faces look especially frightening.
Soon, the bodies of these Uchiha Jonin, whose eyes had become abnormal, also began to stiffen. The skin exposed outside their clothes continuously developed wooden textures, and their entire aura visibly turned pale.
Thump thump thump!
Finally.
Under the illumination of the bloody moonlight, the bodies of those Konoha Ninjas completely turned into wooden structures, becoming decayed, broken logs that fell powerlessly onto the amber-colored lake surface.
"This..."
"It's too much!"
"What exactly happened?"
Seeing those Konoha's Ninjas turn one by one into rotten wood floating on the lake, Mei, Kurumi, and Yuzuki all felt their scalps go numb, a sense of horror arising from nowhere.
"Yuki Sora..."
"I swear on these eyes, I will definitely kill you here with this ultimate illusion power!!!"
Shisui's Mangekyo Sharingan shone with a bewitching light. Waves of extremely powerful Ocular Power ran wild, filling the entire blood moon space.
This was his exclusive domain. Here, he was invincible.
"Turn to dust in this world!"
"Kotoamatsukami - Radiance!!!"
Following Shisui's fierce shout, the blood moon hanging in the sky suddenly burst forth with extremely brilliant light.
The endless crimson light also fell from the sky like a tide, instantly submerging Sora.
But, facing Shisui's ultimate move, Kotoamatsukami, Sora's expression was far too calm.
He just sighed deeply, then let the overwhelming crimson light completely swallow him.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Powerful energy shockwaves tore at Sora's body. Countless chaotic currents ran wild, as if trying to turn everything around into powder.
Buzz buzz buzz!
Light and shadow flickered.
Now, Shisui looked from afar at Sora, deeply trapped in the thick crimson light. A confident, bold smile appeared on his face.
"Yuki Sora, you are indeed a very powerful Ninja. I can clearly feel how terrifying your power is. But even so, you are no match for me now."
"Because..."
"I am Uchiha Shisui. As an Uchiha, I possess power comparable to the God of Ninja, Senju Hashirama. The power called Mangekyo Sharingan!!!"
"Yuki Sora, right here..."
"Disappear completely from this world!!!!"
Shisui madly poured out his Ocular Power, wanting to use the power of Kotoamatsukami - Radiance to evaporate Sora directly from the world.
In the distance, Sora stood firm on the lake surface, still so calm and composed.
Suddenly, he raised his eyes.
Sora looked towards the crazed Shisui in the distance, but a trace of a disdainful smile suddenly appeared on his face. He said lightly, "The power of the Mangekyo Sharingan... also seems... just so-so."
As the words fell, Sora slowly raised his right hand, then casually and lightly pointed towards the direction where Shisui was.
Abruptly, the world turned upside down.
Shisui, who had just shown a confident smile, found his body wrapped in clusters of thick, gloomy crimson light.
The terrifying crimson light turned into endless blades. In just an instant, Shisui's skin was shredded to pieces, revealing the bloody muscles beneath and the still-pulsing blood vessels.
Thump!
Thump!
Thump!
Under the white ribs, a twisted heart beat continuously.
Shisui was stunned.
He looked down in confusion. When he saw the horror happening to his body, the unspeakable, intense pain finally assaulted his heart.
"Ahhhhhhh!"
"No!!!"
Shisui watched as his own body was dissolved inch by inch within the thick crimson light. It was a truly horrifying scene, as if the cruelest punishment had descended upon him.
Then, amidst the earth-shattering screams, Shisui ultimately turned into a pool of steaming blood, falling onto the lake surface and quickly merging into that amber-colored lake.
…
The real world.
Battlefield.
"Huff... huff... huff..."
Shisui painfully covered his eyes. His crimson Mangekyo had, at some point, turned into a grayish-black. He knelt on the ground, gasping for breath incessantly, his spirit completely broken.
Not just his spirit, Shisui's body was also severely injured. Thousands of fine, broken wounds appeared on his body, causing his skin to split and flesh to tear.
Blood continuously spurted out, actually forming a terrifying lake of blood around him.
"Why..."
"Why is this happening!??"
The intense physical pain gave Shisui's brain a moment of clarity. He recalled every detail of the previous battle but still could not find any possible flaw that might have appeared on him.
'Kotoamatsukami...'
'It clearly hit!'
'So why was the one injured in the end myself!??'
However, just as Shisui was dazed, a scream that was both extremely familiar and utterly shocking to him suddenly came from not far away.
"No!!!"
"Shisui-nii, why did you attack Father, why!!!!"
It was Itachi, who had rushed to the battlefield, screaming with a grief-stricken expression. The young Itachi looked with utter despair at everything happening on the field, and turbulent emotions surged in his mind.
"I..."
"Attacked who?"
Shisui was dumbfounded.
Enduring the severe pain, he barely raised his head, only to discover with immense astonishment that, not far in front of him, Fugaku was staring at him with a confused and bewildered expression, as if something unbelievable had happened.
Then, under Shisui's stunned gaze, Fugaku, who had come with good intentions to support but inexplicably took a hit of his Kotoamatsukami, stiffly fell headfirst to the ground, his spirit so collapsed he did not even have the strength to say a word.
"Fugaku-sama?"
"Why???"
"How is this possible!!!!"
Shisui felt his scalp was about to explode, 'Had the world gone mad!???'
'How could my Kotoamatsukami - Radiance have landed on Fugaku-sama!!!!'
"Child's play..."
"Ends here."
Looking at the kneeling, blood-soaked Shisui, Sora smiled slightly. He raised the Zanpakuto in his hand and casually swung it towards the kneeling Shisui.
Instantly, a Vacuum Ice Blade formed in the void and flashed past like a meteor, directly tearing through Shisui's body.
Squelch!
Accompanied by the crisp sounds of flesh and bone separating and snapping, Shisui's body swayed lightly, then, under the horrified and desperate gaze of Itachi in the distance, broke into two halves.
One second…
When Sora's slash fell, Shisui did not even have the ability to hold on for one second. In the blink of an eye, he was cut by the ice blade, and his life vanished along with it.
"Shisui the Body Flicker, what a pity..."
Sora smiled inexplicably. He reached out a finger, gently pointing at Shisui's shattered corpse.
Then, a pale blue human-shaped light shadow was pulled out from the corpse and imprisoned within the spiritual void of Sora's mind.
'Soul Manipulation...'
'The Mangekyo is a bit weak, but this Uchiha Shisui's soul has high research value. An eight-year-old Mangekyo, right?'
Sora's expression suddenly became subtle. He pondered to himself, 'There is a shadow of Uzumaki Kushina on Uchiha Shisui. Both are inexplicably becoming stronger, their progress completely breaking normal limits. Is the world rejecting me?'
'Or...'
'Is there something hidden in the shadows, planning all this?'
Sora's inner thoughts were quite complex because he had detected a trace of a strange aura on both Kushina and Shisui.
First, the Nine-Tails Chakra Mode, then awakening the Mangekyo at eight years old. One came out of nowhere, the other was advanced by who knows how many years.
In short...
It is quite abnormal!
The feeling was as if an invisible force was helping these two cheat and level up.
In short...
This strange atmosphere felt very odd to Sora.
'Then...'
'Will Uchiha Itachi awaken the Mangekyo early because of Uchiha Shisui's death?'
Sora's gaze passed through the Konoha's Ninjas who had long turned into rotten wood and landed on the despairing, collapsed Itachi not far away.
'He looks about four or five years old.'
'So, a four-year-old Mangekyo wielder?'
Sora lifted his foot and kicked the unconscious Fugaku, who had been hit by Kotoamatsukami - Radiance, over to the front of the distant Itachi.
Then, he also slowly walked over.
Tremble!
A frantic tremble!
In the distance, Itachi, looking at Shisui's severed corpse, seemed on the verge of breaking completely. The usual cool expression was gone from his face, his delicate features now twisted.
"No..."
"It should not be like this, Shisui-nii, Shisui-nii..."
"Why!!!"
Amidst the turbulent, frantic emotions, a miraculous change was also occurring within Itachi.
Now, a surge of icy cold energy suddenly flowed out from within Itachi's brain, traveling along the brain's pathways into the blood vessels around his eyes.
Hum!
A faint humming sound rang in his ears.
Itachi suddenly felt his eyes begin to burn. His vision also started to blur, and gradually, a crushing pain erupted.
As if...
Something was transforming his eyes!
The next instant, the intense pain vanished as quickly as it came, replaced by vision that became clear again, and a feeling of power surging within his body.
He looked up and opened his eyes.
Itachi's eyes turned crimson. Fierce and sharp three tomoes hung beside his pupils, emitting a sinister and cold aura.
'Three-Tomoe?'
Sora chuckled lightly, thinking to himself, 'Is it because the mental stimulation is not enough? Or... without Indra's Chakra Reincarnation, even a cheated Uchiha's limit is only this much?'
'Then...'
'Let me add more fuel to the fire!'
Sora raised his Zanpakuto, preparing to strike at the unconscious Fugaku on the ground.
However,
Just at this moment,
A flash of snow-white sword light abruptly came from the shadows. With an unbelievable sharpness, it pierced the air, silently slashing towards Sora's back.
Silent.
Yet extraordinarily brilliant.
Clang!
Sora used the Zanpakuto in his backhand to barely block the sneak attack from the shadows. However, the terrifying power hidden within the slash still forced him to leap into the air, using the jump to dissipate the recoil force on his Zanpakuto.
"Finally..."
"Have you appeared?"
As Sora landed after his flip, his gaze focused on the newcomer. But when he clearly saw the appearance of the person coming, a look of surprise, rarely seen, appeared on Sora's face.
'It is actually...'
'Him!??'