He tore those wings off directly, allowing them to fall to the ground in black flames.
"Huh?!"
Itachi Uchiha gasped for breath once more, covering his right eye with his hand. Blood seeped between his fingers.
"Has the Cursed Seal of Heaven shed its wings?"
Sasuke's face was pale, and his body trembled slightly.
"To sacrifice a pair of wings just to withstand Amaterasu..."
"It was worth it!"
Despite saying that, Sasuke could no longer maintain his Cursed Seal form. His entire body instantly returned to normal as the cursed markings receded like a tide.
However, the Chakra and power he had lost could not be recovered.
Furthermore, the Cursed Seal of Heaven came with tremendous pain and risks. After using it, Sasuke was left extremely weak.
Itachi carefully studied his younger brother.
"Has the power of the Cursed Seal run out?"
"Sasuke, it looks like you've lost."
Sasuke coldly replied, "Have I lost?"
"No, Itachi Uchiha. The battle has only just begun!"
Itachi's expression changed.
"Now that you've lost the power of the Cursed Seal and are already in such a weakened state, how can you still say something like that?"
Sasuke sneered.
"The Cursed Seal is nothing more than a power I stole from Orochimaru."
"You still haven't seen my true power."
Itachi's heart trembled.
"What exactly did Jiraiya teach you?"
Sasuke suddenly raised his right arm.
"You'll find out soon enough."
At that moment, strong winds swept across the battlefield as heavy rain poured from the sky.
Within the dense clouds, countless flashes of lightning and electrical currents surged like thunder dragons and serpents twisting through the dark cloud sea. Every so often, dazzling bolts illuminated the sky.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
BOOM!!!
Lightning struck!
Even Naruto had no idea what Sasuke was about to do.
This was the ultimate technique developed through the combined research and efforts of Jiraiya and Sasuke.
Sasuke's raised right hand seemed to merge with nature itself.
In an instant, a tremendous bolt of lightning descended from the sky, tearing through the dark clouds.
Suddenly, the lightning transformed into a colossal thunder dragon.
Its enormous body emerged from the clouds, roaring as it stretched its ferocious form across the sky.
Itachi's expression changed instantly.
"This is..."
"This is it!"
Naruto was equally astonished.
"The power of natural lightning?"
Kisame, Mei Terumī, Might Guy, Yamato, and the others had temporarily stopped fighting. Everyone's attention was focused on Sasuke.
"Itachi Uchiha!"
Sasuke's voice rang across the battlefield.
"Do you know how powerful I've become just to kill you?"
"The magnitude of my current power is proof of how deep my hatred for you runs!"
"Lightning Style..."
"Kirin!"
ROAR!!!
BOOM!!!
In an instant, guided by Sasuke's hand, the magnificent thunder dragon descended from the heavens.
Moving faster than the eye could follow, the colossal lightning beast roared as it stretched out its claws and violently crashed toward Itachi.
Electricity surged everywhere.
Lightning illuminated the entire battlefield.
The dazzling brilliance was so intense that, for an instant, it seemed to illuminate the entire world.
Even the torrential rain appeared to stop.
The earth shook.
The wind howled.
The waves surged violently, sending enormous waves crashing against the shore.
The terrifying roar of the lightning drowned out every other sound.
After unleashing the technique, Sasuke suddenly collapsed onto his knees.
He had clearly reached his limit.
Even so, he forcefully raised his head and glared hatefully at Itachi in the distance.
"Did I succeed?"
His heart was filled with excitement.
Once the dust and smoke began to settle, Naruto and the others stared toward the place where Itachi stood.
But then—
A scene appeared before them that filled Sasuke with disappointment, anger, and despair.
Itachi Uchiha was still standing.
He had not been defeated.
Suddenly, an enormous amount of powerful red Chakra erupted around Itachi's body.
First, bones began to form.
Then came a complete skeleton.
Muscle and flesh gradually appeared over the skeletal frame.
Finally, the entire figure was covered in armor resembling that of a Karasu Tengu.
A gigantic Karasu Tengu-like headdress appeared above its head.
The enormous Chakra phantom stood like a war god, completely protecting Itachi's body.
Everyone was stunned.
"This is..."
Naruto suddenly realized what he was seeing.
"Could this be... Susanoo?!"
Sasuke's eyes widened in shock.
"This is the legendary..."
Itachi completed his thought.
"Yes."
"This is Susanoo."
Although blood continued to flow from the corner of his mouth and his face was pale and exhausted, like a candle flickering in the wind, Itachi stubbornly refused to fall.
He continued:
"Only after simultaneously activating the power of both Mangekyō Sharingan can a third power awaken."
"That attack just now was probably the ultimate Lightning Release technique, wasn't it?"
"If I hadn't known about this technique, you really might have killed me."
"You've become much stronger, Sasuke."
"Cough... cough, cough..."
Seeing this scene, everyone—including Naruto—could not help but feel a sense of despair for Sasuke.
The attack he had just unleashed was unbelievably powerful.
Although its destructive power could not compare with Naruto's Great Rasengan, it was still far beyond that of ordinary Ninjutsu.
And yet, even such a terrifying attack had failed to kill Itachi Uchiha.
Susanoo's defense was practically absolute.
Kisame couldn't help but shout,
"Lord Itachi, I never expected you to have such a trump card!"
Mei Terumī's brows furrowed tightly.
"Susanoo?"
"The legendary power of the Uchiha Clan..."
"This is bad."
"There's no way Sasuke Uchiha can defeat Itachi by himself!"
She looked toward Naruto, ready to rush forward and provide support at any moment.
However, Naruto remained motionless.
"Hm?"
"Does Naruto still believe Sasuke can win?"
"Does he trust Sasuke that much?"
Of course, Naruto knew that Sasuke had not yet revealed all of his power.
It wasn't merely because Naruto knew what Sasuke's true trump card was.
More importantly, Naruto knew something else.
Sasuke would never give up until he had killed Itachi Uchiha.
That was why Naruto continued to stand where he was without moving.
Itachi looked at Sasuke, his heart trembling slightly.
"Sasuke, you still haven't lost hope?"
"Or do you really think you can deal with Susanoo?"
Itachi himself appeared to have reached his limits.
But as long as he could maintain control over Susanoo, he remained practically invincible.
The massive red-armored Susanoo, protecting Itachi's body like a god of war, slowly approached Sasuke step by step.
Sasuke gritted his teeth and threw several kunai with explosive tags attached.
Bang! Bang!
BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions erupted.
However, when the flames and smoke cleared, Susanoo emerged completely unharmed.
"Chidori Sharp Spear!"
Sasuke suddenly raised his hand.
A sharp blade of lightning instantly transformed into a massive spear and struck violently toward Susanoo.
But it was useless.
A huge red shield suddenly appeared between Susanoo's hands, blocking the attack.
The force of the shield even deflected Sasuke's Chidori Sharp Spear.
"Huh?"
Sasuke hurriedly dodged to the side, breathing heavily as his expression became increasingly desperate.
"Not only can it defend against all my attacks..."
"It can even deflect them?!"
Itachi spoke in a deep voice.
"That's right."
"This is the special spiritual weapon of my Susanoo."
"Its name is..."
"Yata no Kagami!"
"As you said, it can neutralize or even deflect any attack."
"That is why it is considered the ultimate defense."
As Itachi finished speaking, Susanoo suddenly manifested another weapon.
Alongside the Yata no Kagami, a massive Chakra sword appeared in its hand.
Itachi violently swung the enormous blade toward Sasuke.
Sasuke's expression changed dramatically.
He hurriedly retreated with all his strength.
BOOM!!!
The single sword strike tore a massive crack through the earth.
The fissure rapidly spread across the ground, eventually forming a seemingly bottomless abyss.
Kisame, Mei Terumī, Might Guy, Yamato, and the others were all shaken by the sight.
"Well..."
The sheer destructive power of Susanoo left everyone speechless.
________________________________________
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