Chapter 69: Kotoamatsukami
Fugaku had finally made his decision. It was time to give his son the long-overdue family education he deserved.
"Takemikazuchi!"
At his mental command, the storm clouds exploded. A massive thunder dragon burst from the clouds, its body brilliant silver-white, trailing arcs of electricity. The acrid smell of ionized air filled the battlefield as it descended like divine punishment, plummeting straight toward Itachi Uchiha.
This Mangekyo Sharingan ability had always been his. Using it came far more naturally than when Yasushi forcibly activated stolen techniques.
True, the quality of the White Zetsu sacrifice limited his current power compared to when he'd been alive. But his Reanimation body came with nearly infinite chakra, and he didn't care if his eyes went blind. He could unleash his ultimate techniques without hesitation or conservation.
Against an attack of this magnitude, Itachi had no choice. He activated his own Susanoo, raising its shield to block the strike head-on.
BOOM!
The thunder dragon crashed into the Susanoo's shield with devastating force. The entire battlefield trembled violently, as if seized by an earthquake.
The explosion erupted in blinding brilliance. Lightning scattered in all directions as the dragon shattered, thousands of silver arrows blanketing the entire warzone.
Electrical currents surged through the air, carrying paralyzing power, drawn inexorably toward the bioelectricity of nearby shinobi.
The Konoha ninja tried to evade, but the Uchiha pressed their assault relentlessly, giving them no room to escape.
Reanimated bodies didn't fear lightning. The electrical discharge merely stalled them momentarily before they surged forward again, exploiting the paralyzed Konoha shinobi to drive kunai toward vital points. Trading life for life.
When the lightning finally dissipated, dozens more Konoha ninja lay dead. All members of the sealing corps.
Itachi emerged from the attack unscathed behind his Susanoo's formidable defense, but one glance across the battlefield told him everything he needed to know.
"This can't continue. At this rate, the sealing corps will be completely wiped out. Without sealing specialists, the Reanimations become invincible."
"There's only one way to solve this problem."
"Capture the leader."
His gaze locked onto Yasushi, who stood to the side clutching Naruto, laughing maniacally.
"Itachi, where are you looking?"
Fugaku's furious voice yanked Itachi's attention back just in time to see the black Susanoo's house-sized fist hurtling toward him.
The thunder dragon had failed. Fugaku wouldn't waste time on futile attempts. Instead, he charged forward directly, intending to deliver his fatherly "fist of love" to his wayward son.
Unfortunately for him, his son had zero interest in a father-son "loving battle."
After several direct clashes between their Susanoo, Itachi realized he couldn't overpower Fugaku quickly through frontal assault.
His mind raced, and he changed tactics.
Finding an opening, he rapidly dispelled his Susanoo and formed hand signs in a blur.
"Earth Release: Double Suicide Decapitation Technique!"
In an instant, Itachi vanished from his position, burrowing underground only to emerge directly in front of Fugaku.
Thanks to Yasushi's demonstrations, nearly everyone now knew the half-body Susanoo's weakness lay at the feet. Unfortunately for Fugaku, as a Reanimation, that knowledge hadn't transferred to him.
Itachi's sudden close-quarters approach caught him completely off guard. His arm shattered under the first strike.
"It's useless, Itachi. This body of mine—"
Fugaku intended to continue their verbal exchange, but Itachi had no intention of wasting words with his biological father. He pressed his advantage ruthlessly, exploiting the missing arm.
Fugaku barely managed to block a few strikes before Itachi's fist obliterated his head entirely.
Without a head, the black Susanoo immediately dissolved into nothing.
Itachi moved with brutal efficiency, reducing Fugaku to fragments in seconds, pulverizing him completely.
"It's useless, Itachi..."
By the time Fugaku's head regenerated enough for him to continue speaking, no one stood before him. Itachi had vanished.
Fugaku whipped his head around frantically, finally spotting Itachi sprinting toward Yasushi, raising a Sharingan eye in his hand.
"Yasushi, turn back! Let us protect Konoha together!"
"Kotoamatsukami!"
Kotoamatsukami was hailed as the ultimate genjutsu, capable of completely rewriting a person's thinking, making them operate entirely according to another's will.
More terrifying still, the victim never realized their thoughts had been altered. They believed everything stemmed from their own heart, creating perfectly self-consistent justifications for all their actions.
Self-manipulation.
This surpassed Obito's control of the Fourth Mizukage Yagura by orders of magnitude.
Danzo had possessed Shisui's eye for over a decade, yet could only control Mifune, a non-shinobi. He couldn't even control the Third Hokage Hiruzen Sarutobi. The fundamental problem was that Danzo wasn't an Uchiha and couldn't unleash the eye's full potential.
But unlike Danzo, who used Shisui's eye merely to balance the First Hokage's Wood Release cells, Itachi was also a Mangekyo Sharingan Uchiha. He could access at least partial power from the eye.
His method resembled how Yasushi used Fugaku's eyes, forcibly activating them with his own Mangekyo Sharingan's ocular power. The chakra consumption was higher and the potency somewhat reduced, but it definitely worked.
And with Kotoamatsukami's overwhelming strength, once successfully activated, escape was impossible.
Itachi had absolute confidence in this eye.
He firmly believed that even if Yasushi could use his own ocular power to resist part of the effect, complete immunity was impossible.
Even if he couldn't permanently rewrite all of Yasushi's thinking, altering just the most critical element—his hatred of Konoha—was entirely feasible.
Once Yasushi no longer harbored such animosity toward Konoha, Itachi could bring him to their side, transforming him into another loyal hound of the village.
After dealing with Yasushi, control over the Uchiha Reanimations would naturally fall to the village.
If the village wanted to use them, they could be commanded to assist their comrades in battle, becoming assets that helped defend against external threats.
If the village didn't want them, they could simply be released, returning to the Pure Land for eternal rest.
Flexible and adaptable, either option worked.
As long as he dealt with Yasushi.
Watching the Mangekyo Sharingan in his hand dim, Itachi knew the Kotoamatsukami had taken effect. He immediately stored Shisui's eye safely and extended a friendly hand toward Yasushi with a smile.
"Well then, Yasushi, welcome back!"
"Konoha welcomes you!"
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