Beside a long-abandoned building, Sasuke stood on stone steps covered in fallen leaves, his back turned to the dilapidated gate. The kusanagi sword pointed diagonally toward the ground, and a faint scent of blood lingered on him.
His breathing was steady, but his eyes were colder and more desolate than the ruined house, as if he were waiting for something.
He did not wait long.
A faint sound of rustling fabric, almost blending in with the evening breeze, came from behind him.
Sasuke slowly turned around.
Itachi stood ten paces away, his black akatsuki robe with red clouds looking like a clot of congealed blood in the twilight.
His hands hung naturally at his sides, his face expressionless as he watched Sasuke calmly.
"You have come." Sasuke spoke, his voice flat and without a ripple of emotion.
Itachi smelled the scent of blood in the air and spoke slowly.
"Did you wait for me here on purpose?"
"What else? Should I wait for you to appear before me suddenly, just like before, and use those ridiculous lies and hatred, using your self-righteous methods to protect me? Itachi, save it. I am no longer that foolish younger brother who needs you to arrange everything."
The two brothers stared at each other across a distance of ten paces. The air seemed to freeze, with only the evening breeze wailing through the broken walls and tiles. They did not attack immediately, but an invisible confrontation had already begun.
"You killed Utatane Koharu." Itachi stated, his voice betraying no emotion.
"You have triggered Konoha's highest alert and placed yourself completely on the opposite side of the entire Konoha. Is this the path you have chosen? Pure destruction and revenge?"
"Destruction?" Sasuke sneered, the chill in his eyes intensifying.
"I am merely clearing out trash. As for being on the opposite side, I have already been there for a long time, haven't I? Ever since that night you swung your blade."
He took a step forward, his kusanagi sword slightly raised.
"It is you, on the other hand, Itachi. As a Rogue Ninja of Konoha and a member of the Akatsuki Organization, why are you so concerned about the death of a Konoha Elder? Are you still playing that boring spy?"
Sasuke smiled and continued.
"Back then, you stood on the side of the Family and went undercover in the Village, and then the Family was destroyed. Now, you stand on the side of the Village and go undercover in the Akatsuki Organization. Do you think the Village will be destroyed because of you this time? This seems to be your specialty, Nii-san."
Itachi's pupils contracted sharply. He had not expected Sasuke's verbal aggression to be so intense; these words were like poisoned icicles, piercing precisely into Itachi's heart.
"...My stance, my choices, do not need to be explained to you, Sasuke."
Itachi's voice came, lacking its previous calm.
"The path you are on now will only bring more destruction, and in the end, it will destroy you as well."
"Destroy myself?" The sarcasm in Sasuke's eyes deepened. "Compared to living like you—shouldering the sins of the clan's destruction and lies, living in dark corners like a ghost, paralyzing yourself with self-deceptive righteousness, and finally dying like a stray dog in a corner where no one knows—I would rather choose a swift destruction. At least I am clear-headed and free!"
He pressed forward another step, the cold glint on the kusanagi sword reflecting off his icy profile.
"Besides, how do you know that something new won't be born from my destruction? Just like how this seedling of revenge grew from the ruins of the Uchiha."
The distance between the brothers shortened again as they pressured and tested each other.
Itachi watched Sasuke silently. The younger brother before him was completely different from the child in his memories who used to chase after his back while crying.
Hatred and paranoia wrapped around him like the hardest armor, and also acted like the sharpest blade, cutting anyone who tried to approach or persuade him.
"Something new?" Itachi slowly shook his head.
"You only see the chain of hatred, Sasuke. The fire you have ignited will eventually burn you and consume many more innocent people. Is this really what you want to see?"
"Innocent?" Sasuke seemed to have heard the most absurd word.
"In this Ninja World, whose hands are truly clean? The high-ups of Konoha? The members of the Akatsuki Organization? Or... you, Uchiha Itachi?"
Itachi frowned, his eyes narrowing. He knew that words could no longer turn Sasuke back; there was only one way left to make Sasuke turn back!
Itachi's figure vanished from where he stood. The next instant, he appeared to Sasuke's left, a Kunai bearing a cold glint thrusting directly at Sasuke. There was no warning—it was fast, accurate, and ruthless.
Sasuke seemed to have anticipated this. The moment the Kunai reached him, his body twisted at an incredible angle. The kusanagi sword slashed diagonally from bottom to top, parrying the Kunai while sparks of lightning erupted from the blade.
The piercing, shrill sound of Chidori exploded, and the lightning surged along the Kunai toward Itachi's arm.
Itachi released the Kunai and retreated half a step, his hands having already finished forming seals.
"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
Dozens of scorching flames locked off all of Sasuke's evasion space as if they were living things.
The Three-Tomoe in Sasuke's eyes spun rapidly. His Sharingan precisely captured the trajectory of every flame. Instead of retreating, he advanced, dancing his kusanagi sword into a screen of lightning, shredding all the flames in front of him while forming seals with his left hand.
"Lightning Release: Ground Flash!" The electric current spread along the damp ground, interfering with Itachi's movement.
The two figures crossed again, the Kunai and kusanagi sword colliding with a piercing clang of metal, sparks flying everywhere.
The taijutsu battle was fast as lightning. Every strike aimed directly for a vital point, yet was always parried or dodged by the opponent at the critical moment.
The Sharingan granted them dynamic vision and predictive abilities far beyond ordinary people, making the close-quarters combat extremely dangerous, yet breathtakingly magnificent.
In just over a dozen seconds, they had exchanged dozens of blows.
"Is this all you have, Sasuke?" Itachi parried a direct thrust, flickered backward, and a scarlet light flashed in his eyes.
An invisible wave of ocular power enveloped Sasuke. However, the Mangekyo pattern in Sasuke's eyes suddenly flared, and an even more powerful ocular force struck back!
The two powerful ocular forces collided. Sasuke let out a muffled groan, a trickle of blood weeping from his eyes, but his movements did not pause. The kusanagi sword flew from his hand, transforming into a bolt of lightning that shot straight at Itachi's face, while he pressed his palms together, massive Chakra boiling.
"Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"
Blood also wept from Itachi's Mangekyo. He did not dodge or avoid it, the pattern in his eyes changing: "Susanoo!"
A skeletal, crimson-red Chakra frame instantly appeared, blocking both the Great Dragon Fire and the kusanagi sword! The skeleton was quickly covered in muscle and armored, a half-body giant standing atop the ruins, exuding a suffocating pressure.
Itachi had chosen to activate the second form directly.
Sasuke looked up at the crimson giant, his eyes devoid of fear, filled only with burning Battle Intent. "Are you finally willing to get serious? Then..."
"Susanoo!"
Majestic purple Chakra shot into the sky, and another Chakra giant rose from the ground.
Unlike Itachi's crimson Susanoo, Sasuke's Susanoo appeared a deep purple, with a sleeker form. A massive Chakra bow and arrow condensed in its hands; the bowstring was drawn to its limit, the lightning-wreathed arrow pointed directly at Uchiha Itachi!
The two brothers stood in opposition, each in their Peak state!
"Heh..." Sasuke stood within the purple Susanoo, pulling a cold sneer.
"Are you finally willing to show your true skills?"
Itachi stood within the crimson Susanoo, his expression still calm, but the gravity in his eyes was evident.
Sasuke had awakened his Mangekyo for a much shorter time than him, but the completion and strength of his Susanoo exceeded expectations. This talent and obsession...
Without further talk, the Chakra blade in Itachi's Susanoo swung down, and the lightning arrow from the purple Susanoo left the string!
Boom—!!!
The massive sound of the collision echoed across the wasteland, the shockwave of Chakra completely destroying the remaining buildings nearby.
Crimson and purple light flames collided, the battle entering a white-hot phase. Every exchange of the Susanoo consumed a massive amount of Chakra and ocular power, placing an immense burden on the users.
Sasuke's complexion rapidly turned pale, blood weeping continuously from his eyes, but his offensive grew increasingly frenzied. The purple Susanoo even occasionally abandoned defense, trading injury for injury, the lightning arrows tricky and ruthless, constantly seeking the weak points of the crimson Susanoo.
Itachi's consumption was equally massive; he was panting heavily, no better off than Sasuke.
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