"Orochimaru, your plan failed three years ago. Don't continue to be crazy. Tsunade, the old man, and I are all waiting for you."
"Waiting for me to die?"
Orochimaru sighed, gently shook his head, and his gaze became indifferent.
"Life is too fragile, and there are too many things in the world I wish to explore. What I pursue is something you will never understand."
"Actually, we are all the same kind of people. You are looking for some 'Child of Destiny' to change the Ninja World, and I am also using my own method."
"If I tell you to give up your ideas, will you stop, Jiraiya?"
"It seems we can only see who is stronger, Orochimaru."
Jiraiya felt a little heartache, but Orochimaru laughed.
"It's been your wishful thinking all along. Haven't you realized that, Jiraiya?"
"Then…"
The two of them gazed at each other, and in the next instant, they simultaneously formed hand signs and pressed them to the ground.
Bang!
Accompanied by a huge cloud of smoke, the already trembling earth became even more turbulent, and two figures, like small mountains, suddenly appeared.
They gazed at each other from afar, and a suffocating aura permeated the entire battlefield.
However, at this moment, Jiraiya suddenly spoke in confusion.
"Huh? It's not Manda? What's going on?"
"…"
When Orochimaru heard this, his face instantly darkened.
He had that Takemi to thank for this. If it weren't for him, would Manda have died?
But at this moment, he and Jiraiya suddenly frowned, and they abruptly turned their heads to look into the distance.
They saw a gigantic sphere, like a planet, frantically gathering in the sky.
Clang—
Clang—
Clang—
The sound of metal clashing was incessant, even as the earth trembled to a suffocating degree.
But the battle between Sasuke and Itachi did not cease. Instead, it intensified.
No matter what was happening outside, no matter how terrifyingly the earth trembled, Sasuke still maintained a powerful offensive.
The high destructive power of Purple Electricity, combined with Lightning Release Chakra Mode and the mobility of Flying Thunder God.
Even a 'healthy' Itachi found it difficult to cope, but the difference in ocular power still allowed him to evade and counterattack.
'Sasuke has been avoiding eye contact with me. It seems he's received good training.'
He wanted to use Tsukuyomi to 'test' Sasuke, but it seemed he couldn't do that in the current situation.
"Why did you leave me alone?"
Sasuke attacked while shouting in a low voice.
"Do I need you to make decisions for me? How dare you arrogantly make decisions for me!"
Facing Sasuke's roar, Itachi was stunned. In that instant, he found Sasuke's short sword already slashing towards his head.
This forced Itachi to evade, and upon landing, he swiftly dodged the Flying Thunder God kunai before speaking.
"You know?"
Whoosh!
In an instant, Sasuke had already appeared at the kunai's location, transforming into a purple light and instantly rushing towards Itachi.
"Takemi didn't hide it from me. He said I had the right to know the truth."
Sasuke roared, swinging his short sword frantically.
"I know the beginning and end of everything. I know what all of this is about, but I want to ask you one question…"
Purple flowing light exploded, and in the roar, everything around was instantly destroyed. As Itachi quickly dodged, Sasuke once again pressed closer.
"Do you truly know who the Hokage is?"
Truly know…
Who the Hokage is?
Sasuke's words deeply stimulated Itachi's heart. He hadn't expected Sasuke to know all of this.
The village actually revealed everything from back then?
"I know what happened back then. The Nine-Tails incident made the relationship between the Uchiha and the village terrible, because the Uchiha can control Tailed Beasts."
Sasuke roared while continuously launching attacks.
"Although Takemi teased me, saying father didn't dare to act back then, I was also extremely angry about why the village didn't trust us."
"But I also understand that with Madara as a precedent, the village didn't dare to easily trust us, and father also had his concerns."
"Their positions were both right and wrong. There's nothing more to say about what has happened, but what about you?!"
"Hokage-sama had already agreed to compromise, what exactly did you do?!"
Whoosh!
Accompanied by his roar, Flying Thunder God erupted again. He quietly arrived at a tall tree, and Purple Lightning roared as it struck towards Itachi.
Boom!
A dull sound bloomed on the ground, and deep pits continuously appeared.
Itachi dodged somewhat frantically, but his heart was extremely conflicted.
After a moment, he still spoke, "You don't understand the situation back then, you—"
"Shut up! If there's still a problem, is it up to you, or is it up to Danzo?!"
Sasuke had no intention of listening to Itachi's nonsense. He flashed forward again, striking heavily at Itachi's side with a single sword slash.
Bang!
Itachi turned into smoke, but in an instant, his true body appeared on the other side, simultaneously forming hand signs.
"You don't understand anything about back then, you don't understand anything!"
Fire Release: Great Fireball Technique!
A huge fireball roared towards Sasuke, but Sasuke remained unfazed.
The Chakra within him burst forth fiercely, and the Purple Lightning covering his body became even more dazzling.
He swung his short sword, instantly splitting the fireball in half. In that very instant, Itachi ambushed him, and his Mangekyo Sharingan spun rapidly.
"Tsukuyomi!"
Vast ocular power erupted instantly, but he saw a disdainful smile appear on Sasuke's face.
"Shadow Clone?"
"I already knew your moves, Itachi."
Sasuke's voice sounded from the other side. He stood on a higher piece of rubble, looking down at Itachi.
"I don't understand? Perhaps I truly don't understand, but I ask you, did you listen to the Hokage or to Danzo?!"
"…"
"Did the Hokage guarantee that the clan could have a few years of peace?"
"…"
"So many people in the Uchiha Clan, and all the ordinary people who aren't Ninja, should they also die?"
"…"
"Those children and women who knew nothing, those innocent people who didn't participate at all, are they also people who should die?!"
Sasuke's roar left Itachi speechless. Each of these words pierced his heart.
He felt his breathing become difficult. He opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but at that moment, he found himself unable to make any sound.
Boom!
But at this very moment, a vast Chakra roared across the entire land.
This Chakra made Itachi somewhat clear-headed. Even Sasuke frowned and glanced over with his peripheral vision.
Not only them, but Naruto, who was being chased around by a group of Akatsuki members with a troubled expression, also froze for a moment.
That group of Akatsuki Ninja, whether alive, turned into scum, or Edo Tensei, also turned their heads in confusion.
"That is…"
Kakashi and Obito, who were being dragged around by Kamui and didn't even know where they had flown to, also instinctively stopped.
They too turned their heads, looking at the gigantic, planet-like object condensing in the sky. At this moment, their expressions changed.
"Chibaku Tensei?"
"That big?"
"Nagato has been pushed to this point?!"