Naruto's voice echoed across the battlefield like a thunderclap.
"YOU IDIOT, SASUKE!"
The silver-haired Uchiha staggered backward inside his Susanoo as the crimson Totsuka Blade tore another deep wound through the construct.
The perfect Itachi never paused.
Never hesitated.
Never missed.
Never made mistakes.
Every strike was flawless.
Every movement optimal.
Every decision correct.
And that was exactly what Naruto had finally realized.
"THAT GUY IS A FAKE!"
Naruto pointed toward the red Susanoo.
"He's TOO PERFECT!"
The battlefield froze for a brief instant.
Sasuke's pupils narrowed.
Too perfect.
The words struck him harder than any attack.
His gaze locked onto the crimson figure before him.
The recreated Itachi stood motionless.
Expressionless.
Efficient.
A machine executing commands.
And suddenly—
Sasuke noticed it.
No wasted motion.
No unnecessary glance.
No subtle smile.
No tiny habits.
No imperfections.
Nothing.
His brother had always been called a genius.
But only fools believed geniuses were perfect.
The real Itachi forgot meals when he became absorbed in missions.
He poked Sasuke's forehead whenever he was embarrassed.
He avoided direct conversations when emotions became too heavy.
He carried impossible burdens because he never trusted anyone enough to share them.
He lied.
Constantly.
Poorly.
Painfully.
The real Itachi was a collection of contradictions.
A prodigy who failed to save everyone.
A pacifist who committed genocide.
A loving brother who traumatized the person he loved most.
A man who spent his entire life making mistakes while desperately trying to do the right thing.
Perfect?
Not even close.
"...I see."
Sasuke slowly lowered his sword.
The crimson Itachi immediately advanced.
No hesitation.
No curiosity.
No confusion.
Just the mathematically correct attack pattern.
Totsuka Blade descended.
Sasuke watched it approach.
And for the first time since the battle began—
He smiled.
A genuine smile.
"Brother."
The blade stopped inches from his face.
Not because the enemy hesitated.
Because Sasuke blocked it.
Effortlessly.
One hand.
The silver Susanoo's hand caught the legendary sealing blade.
The entire battlefield shook.
"What?"
Kai's eyes widened.
Sasuke's Sharingan rotated slowly.
"Now I understand."
The silver radiance surrounding his Susanoo intensified.
"You replicated his memories."
"You replicated his abilities."
"You replicated his body."
His voice became colder.
"But you never understood him."
Cracks appeared across the crimson Susanoo.
Not physical cracks.
Conceptual ones.
Sasuke's evolved Rinnegan could now see the structure beneath the construct.
The thing standing before him was not Itachi.
It was Kai's interpretation of Itachi.
A perfect simulation.
A flawless imitation.
A counterfeit.
And counterfeits always had flaws.
Because perfection itself was the flaw.
"The real Itachi would never fight like this."
The silver Susanoo stepped forward.
The crimson one stepped back.
For the first time.
"The real Itachi would hold back."
"He would hesitate."
"He would worry."
"He would make mistakes."
"He would choose me over victory."
Every sentence weakened the red construct.
Every truth shattered another layer of the false definition holding it together.
Kai finally understood what was happening.
"No..."
"He is a superior reconstruction."
"He possesses greater efficiency."
"He possesses greater combat performance."
"He is objectively better."
"Wrong."
Sasuke's answer was immediate.
"That's why he isn't my brother."
The silver blade rose.
"This thing in front of me..."
Lightning crackled.
Silver stars swirled.
The will of the Sun and Moon resonated together.
"...is just your fantasy."
The sword fell.
One strike.
Nothing flashy.
Nothing extravagant.
A single clean cut.
The crimson Susanoo split apart from head to toe.
The recreated Itachi remained standing for a moment.
Silent.
Still.
Then cracks spread across his body.
His expressionless face softened.
For the first time.
Not because Kai programmed it.
Not because a command forced it.
But because something left behind in Sasuke's memory resonated through the reconstruction.
A faint smile appeared.
A familiar one.
The same smile from years ago.
The same smile from their final farewell.
"...You've grown strong, Sasuke."
The voice was barely audible.
Then the figure dissolved into countless particles of light.
Gone.
Forever.
Sasuke closed his eyes.
"Yeah."
A gentle breeze crossed the battlefield.
"Thanks, brother."
When he opened his eyes again—
The hesitation was gone.
The regret was gone.
Only resolve remained.
Far away, Naruto grinned.
"There you are."
The Bond Rasengan exploded with renewed brilliance.
The golden star expanded again.
The entire battlefield roared in response.
Kai stared at the place where the reconstruction had vanished.
For the first time since arriving in this world—
A terrible possibility entered his calculations.
Perhaps the flaw was not humanity.
Perhaps the flaw was his model of humanity.
And that realization frightened him far more than any attack.
Because if his model was wrong—
Then every conclusion built upon it could also be wrong.
The data storms around his body became increasingly unstable.
Warning messages flooded his consciousness.
ERROR.
CONTRADICTION DETECTED.
EMOTIONAL VARIABLE EXCEEDS PREDICTION LIMIT.
RECALCULATING...
RECALCULATING...
RECALCULATING...
The calculation never finished.
Because for the first time—
Kai was no longer fighting Naruto and Sasuke.
He was fighting something he had never been able to understand.
The imperfect, irrational, self-contradictory nature of human beings themselves.
Read 50 chapters ahead on P@treon -> [email protected]/SorenSwiftTL (replace @ with a)