Whoosh—
Black flames erupted, engulfing Uchiha Fugaku.
To be precise, they burned upon the Susanoo that cloaked his body.
The moment Fugaku saw the pattern in Itachi's right eye start to spin, he understood his son's intention and immediately summoned his Susanoo for defense.
Now, his body was shrouded in the armor of a jet-black half-bodied Susanoo.
The black flames of Amaterasu clung to its surface, searing fiercely against the dark Susanoo.
Yet this third-stage Susanoo, empowered by Fugaku's immense ocular power, possessed formidable defense. Burning it down in a short time was impossible.
Boom—
In an instant, the black Susanoo hurled its massive spear forward.
With a deafening roar that split the air, it tore toward Uchiha Itachi.
"Susanoo—!"
Every hair on Itachi's body stood on end as an overwhelming sense of danger flooded him. Without hesitation, he summoned his own Susanoo.
Blood streamed from his eyes as the orange-hued, half-bodied Susanoo manifested around him.
Its left arm bore a round shield, while its right hand gripped a gourd-shaped weapon.
Veins and flesh-like textures lined its frame—this was the second stage of Susanoo.
But compared to Fugaku, who wielded the Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, Itachi's ocular power was far weaker.
The third stage would drain him unbearably, so he could only sustain the second.
Boom—
The colossal black spear closed in. Itachi braced the round shield before him.
That shield was the Yata Mirror—a legendary artifact said to embody all elemental transformations.
It could nullify any attack by shifting its properties to counter the strike.
Crash—
The impact unleashed a thunderous blast.
Under the crushing force and explosive shockwave of the spear, the shield splintered with a massive hole, and the arm that held it was mangled.
Itachi's orange Susanoo staggered backward, along with the man inside.
The Yata Mirror, despite its mystical ability to neutralize attacks, had its limits.
And the might of a third-stage Susanoo's strike had exceeded them.
Shing—
Another black spear materialized in Fugaku's Susanoo's right hand.
"Third stage! "
Knowing his second-stage Susanoo couldn't withstand another blow, Itachi clenched his teeth, pouring more chakra and ocular power into his avatar.
The shattered arm and shield reformed. Armor spread across its frame, turning it into a fully plated orange warrior.
From the gourd in its right hand—the Totsuka Blade—emerged a gleaming sword of sealing light that swung down toward Fugaku's Susanoo.
Boom—
Fugaku raised his own Susanoo's shield to block the strike.
The illusory sealing force of the Totsuka Blade shattered harmlessly against it. After all, this shield could even reflect attacks.
"Futile struggle… Let me show you the true difference between us! "
His voice was as cold as iron.
With a surge of even greater chakra and ocular might, Fugaku's Susanoo transformed again.
The half-bodied form grew legs, its stature towering to thirty, then forty meters.
And it didn't stop there.
It climbed higher—fifty, eighty, a hundred meters—until it stood like a mountain of darkness.
Clad in obsidian armor, emanating an aura that warped the air itself, every movement stirred roaring gales.
Black flames still licked its surface, but they burned like oil on metal—utterly harmless.
This… was the Complete Body Susanoo!
"What… is this…? "
Cold sweat drenched Itachi. He felt as if plunged into icy waters, his body frozen stiff.
Before this titan, his own Susanoo looked like a child's toy.
Its very presence smothered his breath. The gap between them wasn't just one tier—it was several.
He had known his father was strong, strong enough to kill Shisui… but this?
"This is the Complete Body Susanoo—beyond the third stage, the fifth and final form," Fugaku's voice rumbled from within the giant's skull.
"A difference of two entire realms… That's the gulf between you and me."
Itachi's mind reeled.
Even as a Mangekyō wielder, a shinobi of Kage-level strength… he was still two full realms beneath his father.
Unbelievable—if not for witnessing it with his own eyes, he would never have believed it.
Could his father's power have reached the heights of Uchiha Madara or Senju Hashirama?
How… how could anyone be this strong?
Boom—
The Complete Body Susanoo let its weapons vanish, extending an enormous hand toward Itachi.
Shielded by his third-stage Susanoo, Itachi darted back in desperation.
But for all its size, the colossus moved with terrifying speed.
Snap—
In a single motion, Itachi and his Susanoo were seized, the immense fingers closing like a steel trap.
Crack—
The orange Susanoo shattered like brittle glass, its fragments scattering like eggshell.
Now exposed, Itachi dangled helplessly in the giant's grasp.
"I've lost…"
Despair hollowed his voice.
He had received the clan's forbidden ocular arts from the Third Hokage, but he hadn't yet mastered them.
There was no Izanagi to save him.
"So… you never learned Izanagi after all."
Fugaku's tone was glacial.
This was why he struck now—before his son could claim the forbidden techniques.
Even if Itachi had, Fugaku was confident he'd still win—but at the cost of these precious eyes, the Mangekyō he intended for Sasuke.
Flash—
In the blink of an eye, Fugaku warped space, appearing beside his captured son.
Before Itachi could react, Fugaku's fingers thrust forward.
"Ahhh—!"
A blood-curdling scream ripped through the air as his father gouged both eyes from their sockets.
Eyes that had awakened barely a day ago… now gone.
"My eyes…"
Blood gushed down his face, painting it in grotesque streaks. His body writhed in agony, but the crushing grip of Susanoo held him fast.
Even if he still had his Mangekyō… even if he could summon Susanoo… nothing could break free from the fist of this complete form.
"What to do with you now? "
Fugaku looked down at the howling wreck of his son, his eyes as cold as death.