In a vast, desolate expanse, two towering figures stood motionless, locked in a silent standoff. The heavy silence lasted only a moment before Sasuke shattered it.
"We meet again, my foolish brother... Itachi."
Unlike the reckless boy he had been over a year ago, Sasuke was now calm. He raised his hand toward Itachi, his voice chillingly cold as he spoke of the inevitable future.
"Today, you'll pay for your crimes... You'll die a miserable death at the hands of an avenger."
The moment the word "today" left his lips, a piercing scream echoed through the air.
Lightning flared violently on his raised palm, transforming into a long, azure spear of light that tore through the air with terrifying speed.
It swept toward Itachi's chest.
Lightning Release: Chidori Sharp Spear!
Itachi remained expressionless, his voice low and menacing. "To die by your hand? Then—"
Before he could finish, the lightning bolt pierced straight through his chest.
Sasuke didn't celebrate, swiftly drawing a kunai and swinging it backward.
Clang!
The two kunai collided with a sharp metallic ring.
Along with the clash came Itachi's unfinished sentence. "Then how will you kill me?"
"Naturally," Sasuke's voice came from behind him, "with the power I've worked so hard to acquire. I'll sever your limbs, break your spine, and slit your throat."
Sasuke vanished from his spot, reappearing exactly where Itachi had stood. Crimson three-tomoe Sharingan spun to life in his eyes. The scene before him shifted abruptly.
The Itachi who had just been struck by the spear dissolved like smoke.
But where he had stood, a new Itachi quickly materialized.
"Chidori Stream!"
Sasuke's body crackled with electricity, which split into countless tiny bolts of lightning that engulfed Itachi. The Uchiha brother turned around, face filled with disbelief. He seemed genuinely shocked that Sasuke could see through his genjutsu.
Zzzzt!
The lightning struck, and Itachi's body went rigid. A cruel smile curled onto Sasuke's lips as the Chidori in his hand condensed and reshaped, transforming into a longsword of pure lightning, which he thrust directly at the paralyzed form.
Chidori Lightning Sword!
The blade instantly pierced Itachi's chest, pinning him firmly to the ground.
"You saw through my illusion so easily..." Itachi murmured, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, though his tone remained unnervingly calm. "Your eyes have finally grown, Sasuke."
"Heh..." Sasuke chuckled dismissively. "Still this boring genjutsu farce. Itachi, it's you who should be growing!"
As Sasuke spoke, a perfectly intact Itachi appeared directly behind him.
"Seen through again?" the Itachi asked, his tone carrying that infuriating sense of superiority. "Looks like your eyes are almost ready to awaken. Very good... hmm?!"
Before the newly appeared Itachi could finish, a kunai was already pressed against his Adam's apple.
"I really, really hate that tone of yours," Sasuke's voice rang out from behind the copy. "So shut up. I ask a question, you answer it. One question, one answer."
Just as the new Itachi and the new Sasuke appeared, the Itachi pinned to the ground transformed into crows and scattered. Simultaneously, Sasuke dissolved into sparks of lightning.
It was a clash of genjutsu and shadow clones.
"You've really gotten stronger," Itachi said, seeing Sasuke break through two layers of illusion in a row. There was a hint of admiration mixed with nostalgia in his tone.
Hearing that tone, Sasuke's grip tightened, and the kunai sliced deeper into the skin around Itachi's throat. A trickle of blood ran down the blade.
"I don't want to repeat myself," Sasuke hissed. "I ask one question, you answer one. One more word, and I'll kill you."
Itachi glanced at Sasuke out of the corner of his eye, neither struggling nor speaking.
Sasuke stayed silent for a beat. "When you slaughtered the clan, you mentioned there was another Uchiha who had awakened his Sharingan and wasn't killed by you. So, he was your accomplice—one of the murderers who wiped out the Uchiha Police Force and clan."
"Sasuke, your analysis is quite good..." Itachi's face and tone held the satisfaction of an elder lecturing a student.
That satisfied tone made Sasuke's eyes harden as he drew another kunai with his free hand and drove it into Itachi's right chest.
"Next time you interrupt me, I'll aim for your left side—right in the heart. Tell me, who is that person? Is he the one who calls himself Madara Uchiha? The one wearing a swirling mask who uses space-time ninjutsu?"
Although Sasuke hadn't been present when Obito invaded the Wind Void Village to fight Menma, he had learned about Obito from Minato afterward. It immediately connected to the other Uchiha Itachi had mentioned during the massacre.
Hearing Sasuke's description, Itachi's calm expression finally changed, his brows furrowing.
"I didn't expect you to know that name. Menma must have told you, right?"
Before Sasuke could snap at the question, Itachi continued. "Looks like I don't need to waste my breath explaining. The person with me that day was indeed him."
"So you plan to kill me first, then take him down?"
Hearing this, Sasuke abruptly released his grip.
The next second, Chidori lit up his left hand while a Rasengan spun into existence in his right.
"That's right. I won't let anyone connected to that night live. You, Madara—I'll kill you all, one by one!"
Itachi, now free, turned, his expression returning to its usual calm. "You still love to boast as much as ever. But I said, if you want to kill me, you first need eyes like mine. And you don't seem to meet that requirement yet."
"So, you really can see through my illusion..."
Before Itachi could finish speaking, the world around him shattered like a mirror struck by a hammer. The cracks grew faster and larger until the entire scene collapsed.
The setting returned to the initial silent confrontation between the two brothers. The only difference was that Itachi now covered his left eye, his expression one of utter disbelief.
Sasuke appeared before Itachi with a smug grin, wielding the combined power of Chidori and Rasengan.
Then, he slammed it down.
"I saw through your Tsukuyomi from the very beginning," Sasuke declared. "I was just putting on an act to gather information. So... goodbye, Itachi."
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