Chapter 214 – Uchiha Itachi, You're Nothing but a Self-Righteous Clown
Planetary energy—or perhaps more accurately, planetary chakra.
Kitagawa Gen had delved into it long ago. Even if, after three years, he had only managed to develop about 62% of its potential, that didn't stop him from studying it. Nor did it prevent him from putting it to use.
"True, the chakra of this world carries some instability. But how much of it do I actually need to use?"
It was precisely because he understood this point that he dared to tap into such power.
He didn't know what the true form of the "Rasengan: Uzuhiko" was supposed to be, but that didn't matter—he could define the technique for himself.
BOOM—!
Power erupted, and the earth trembled in response.
The shockwave reached Takigakure first, shaking the entire village.
"What the hell? They're fighting with that intensity over there?"
Jiraiya, locked in a fierce clash with Orochimaru, was startled by the tremors. Both men instinctively turned their heads.
"Wind Style: Wind Cutter!"
Orochimaru, ever opportunistic, chose to exploit the moment.
"Tch. Earth Style: Earth Wall!"
Jiraiya, knowing his old comrade too well, snapped back to reality instantly. A massive wall of stone rose before him, blocking Orochimaru's jutsu.
"Orochimaru! Don't you get it yet? This path you've chosen leads only to death!"
"My path needs no approval from you, Jiraiya."
Orochimaru's cold retort was followed by another barrage—countless snakes surged toward his former friend.
"Damn you—Ninja Art: Needle Jizō!"
Jiraiya's hair stiffened into piercing spikes, shredding through the serpents. The battlefield reeked of blood and venom.
He still couldn't fathom why Orochimaru persisted. From his view, there was no chance of victory—only ruin. Yet Orochimaru walked that path without hesitation, as if blind to Konoha's growth, blind to everything it had become.
"Three years ago, your plan already failed. Stop this madness! Tsunade, the Third, and I—we're still waiting for you!"
"…Waiting for me to die, perhaps?"
Orochimaru sighed. His eyes turned distant, almost detached.
"Life is too fragile, Jiraiya. There are too many truths in this world I long to uncover. What I seek—you will never understand. In truth, we are alike. You look for a 'Child of Prophecy' to change the shinobi world. I pursue my own method. If I asked you to abandon your ideals… would you stop, Jiraiya?"
"…Seems words won't reach you anymore, Orochimaru."
There was pain in Jiraiya's eyes. But Orochimaru only smiled.
"It was always your delusion. You never noticed that, Jiraiya?"
"Then so be it."
The two slammed their palms to the ground simultaneously.
BOOM!
Smoke burst forth, the already-trembling earth shaking harder. Two colossal figures loomed on the battlefield.
But then Jiraiya frowned.
"Huh? Not Manda? What happened?"
"…"
Orochimaru's face darkened. He could only curse Kitagawa Gen inwardly—if not for him, Manda would still be alive.
Yet before either sannin could continue, their eyes were drawn upward.
In the distant sky, a massive sphere—like a newborn planet—was rapidly coalescing.
---
Clang—Clang—Clang—
Metallic clashes rang out, echoing even over the quaking earth.
Sasuke and Itachi's battle raged on, undisturbed. If anything, it only grew fiercer.
No matter how the ground shook, Sasuke's offensive never relented.
Purple lightning crackled with devastating force, paired with his Lightning Chakra Mode and the swiftness of the Flying Thunder God. Even a healthy Uchiha Itachi found it difficult to respond. Only the power of his eyes allowed him to narrowly evade and counter.
"He avoids my gaze every time… clearly, he's been well-trained."
Itachi had intended to test him with Tsukuyomi, but under these conditions, even he couldn't risk it.
"Why… why did you leave me behind?"
Sasuke's voice shook with fury as his blade slashed relentlessly.
"You thought you had the right to decide for me? Who gave you that authority?!"
Itachi faltered at his brother's roar—just long enough for Sasuke's short sword to nearly cleave his skull. Forced to dodge, Itachi landed hard, weaving past the marked kunai of the Flying Thunder God.
"…So. You know."
SHUN—!
In the blink of an eye, Sasuke appeared where the kunai gleamed, his body wrapped in violet light as he lunged.
"Senior Gen never hid it from me. He said I had the right to know the truth!"
His blade whirled, each strike sharper, heavier.
"I know everything now. I know what really happened. But answer me one thing—"
Lightning split the air as his strikes devastated the surroundings, forcing Itachi onto the back foot.
"Do you even know… who the Hokage truly is?"
Those words stabbed deeper than any blade. Itachi's heart lurched—Sasuke knew the truth?
The village… had told him everything?
"I know about the Nine-Tails incident. I know how our clan's bond with the village rotted. Because the Uchiha can control tailed beasts!"
Sasuke's voice was both fury and grief as he pressed his assault.
"I know Father hesitated. I hated him for it. I hated the village for never trusting us. But with Madara's shadow looming, who could trust so easily? Both sides had their reasons—and their failures. But you, Itachi—!"
"The Hokage agreed to compromise! So why did you do it?!"
BOOM—!
Thunder roared as Sasuke unleashed another Flying Thunder God strike, lightning crashing down on Itachi. Craters scarred the battlefield, forcing Itachi into a ragged dodge.
"…You don't understand the situation back then. You—"
"Shut up! Was it your decision? Or Danzo's?!"
Sasuke cut him off, blade lashing out once more. Itachi flickered into smoke, revealing only a clone—before his true body reappeared nearby, weaving hand signs.
"You understand nothing! You know nothing of that night!"
Fire Style: Great Fireball Jutsu!
A roaring inferno surged forth.
But Sasuke didn't flinch. His chakra exploded outward, the purple lightning burning brighter.
With a slash of his blade, the fireball split in two. And in that instant, Itachi was upon him, Mangekyō blazing.
"Tsukuyomi!"
A surge of overwhelming ocular power erupted in an instant—yet what Itachi saw on Sasuke's face was not fear, but a mocking smirk.
"An illusion?"
"I already saw through your tricks long ago, Uchiha Itachi."
Sasuke's voice echoed from the opposite side. He stood atop a broken ruin, gazing down at his brother with burning eyes.
"You say I don't understand? Maybe I really don't—but let me ask you: did you follow the Hokage's orders, or Danzo's?"
Itachi fell silent.
"Did the Hokage's promise not matter? Couldn't it have bought the clan a few more years of peace?"
Silence again.
"The Uchiha clan had so many people—Uncle Shōya, Auntie Konoka, the ordinary folk who weren't even shinobi. Did they deserve death too?"
More silence.
"And what about the children, the women—the innocents who knew nothing and took no part? Were their lives also forfeit?!"
Sasuke's furious roar struck Itachi like blades, tearing at his already heavy heart. His chest tightened, his breathing grew shallow. He wanted to answer, but Sasuke gave him no chance.
"I'll never thank you for sparing my life. Fate demands that, as an Uchiha, I kill you myself!"
"Do you know? I once looked up to you. I wanted to become the next you. But after that night, all I've wanted is your death."
"And when I finally learned the truth, I realized just how utterly wrong I had been!"
"You thought you were right, but that was nothing more than your delusion. In the end, you're just a self-righteous clown."
"To be honest, I'm deeply disappointed in you."
He drew in a deep breath, his chakra swelling until it shook the very air.
"I almost wish you had slaughtered the clan for power—for the Mangekyō Sharingan. At least then your choice would have been your own. But no—you did it all for some twisted idea of 'protecting me.'"
"That makes it even more shameful, because it was never your right to decide!"
"And another thing—you call yourself a spy, a Konoha shinobi? Don't make me laugh. You didn't even obey the Hokage. What kind of shinobi are you?!"
Sasuke's furious voice broke whatever composure Itachi had left. His hand trembled, his lips parted, but no words came out. Pain and despair warred within him, silencing him completely.
BOOM—!
Suddenly, the ground itself roared. A vast chakra surged outward, rattling the world. Itachi snapped back to awareness, while Sasuke frowned and glanced aside.
Elsewhere, Naruto—currently being chased all over the battlefield by a pack of Akatsuki—stopped in his tracks, dumbfounded. The Akatsuki members, whether living, broken, or reanimated, all turned toward the sky as well.
Even Kakashi and Obito, still locked in their deadly struggle and tumbling across space through Kamui, froze instinctively.
High above, a colossal sphere, massive as a planet, was forming in the heavens.
Their faces all darkened at once.
"Chibaku Tensei…?"
"That big?!"
"Don't tell me… Nagato's been pushed this far?!"