Boom—
No one knew exactly how long that eerie silence following the collapse lasted.
But as soon as everyone's hearing returned, they were met with deafening explosions!
The fragments of the shattered "Chibaku Tensei" rained down on the ground, instantly transforming the surrounding terrain.
The battlefield, already in ruins, became even more desolate—a wasteland of devastation as far as the eye could see.
"What's happening over there?"
Jiraiya and Orochimaru's battle had reached a standstill, primarily because Orochimaru seemed unwilling to continue.
Whether it was their familiarity with each other or the overwhelming roar of power from the distance, it was clearly affecting him.
"Was that white thing a Rasengan? Since when does Rasengan have such power?"
Orochimaru, naturally familiar with Rasengan, couldn't recall ever seeing one so powerful in his memory.
"Did Minamoto win?"
Even Jiraiya was momentarily dazed.
He had heard from Kakashi before that Kitagawa Minamoto had once used a Rasengan to destroy a technique resembling a planet.
Though he trusted Kakashi's words and never doubted Kitagawa Minamoto's strength,
He had never witnessed it personally—until now.
"Hey! Orochimaru, where are you going?"
Suddenly, Jiraiya noticed Orochimaru fleeing toward the outskirts of Takigakure, and he was instantly alarmed.
But Orochimaru merely glanced at him and didn't respond, clearly uninterested in continuing their skirmish under the current circumstances.
"What happened over there?"
Meanwhile, the members of Akatsuki were left reeling from the shock.
The scene they had just witnessed was etched into their minds, and even they couldn't help but feel a chill at the sheer scale of that power.
"Tch, he didn't lose, did he?"
Kakuzu muttered grimly, glancing at Sasori beside him.
"I don't know."
Sasori shook his head, while Hidan pursed his lips.
"Damn it! If that kind of power hit me, I'd probably be shattered into pieces again, hm?"
Having been blown apart twice before, each time worse than the last, Hidan was now genuinely traumatized.
"Let's leave."
At this moment, Kisame spoke up. He had long since lost interest in staying here.
"The Nine-Tails is too much trouble. We can't do anything about him. We've already obtained chakra from the Seven-Tails, so there's no need to linger."
"Hmph."
Hearing Kisame's words, the others snorted coldly but didn't voice any objections.
Although they hadn't captured the complete Seven-Tails, their earlier assault had yielded chakra from its Jinchūriki.
The Nine-Tails Jinchūriki's mastery of Flying Thunder God was proving too problematic,
And the external chaos was far too intense for them to remain here.
"If Ōtsutsuki Minamoto-shiki shows up, it'll truly be disastrous..."
On the opposite side, Naruto was panting heavily while warily watching the Akatsuki members.
Suddenly, he noticed them dispersing, which left him momentarily stunned.
"They... left?"
"They probably couldn't keep fighting. After all, the situation outside..."
Inside Naruto, Minato sighed softly.
He and Kushina had been observing the battle closely.
Though they had heard of Akatsuki's terrifying reputation, they had never seen them in action before.
Now, they understood just how formidable this group truly was.
"But compared to Minamoto..."
Relative to Akatsuki, the destruction caused by Kitagawa Minamoto was far more terrifying!
The sheer scale of the chaos he unleashed dwarfed even the Nine-Tails' rampage years ago.
Especially the massive meteor-like technique that Kitagawa Minamoto shattered with a single colossal Rasengan—it left them utterly shaken!
"Minamoto is really that powerful?!"
Kushina couldn't help but mutter to herself.
Even though she had seen Kitagawa Minamoto's Wood Release in the spiritual realm,
It paled in comparison to the devastation unfolding before them now.
"This is bad. Could they be heading toward Minamoto?"
Naruto suddenly realized something and anxiously turned his gaze toward the distance.
"Don't worry. Minamoto also has Flying Thunder God, and he's far more proficient at it than we are."
Minato reassured Naruto quickly.
"Let's check on Sasuke first, then we can go together!"
"Sasuke..."
Naruto nodded and turned his attention toward the distance.
In another part of the ruins, Sasuke and Itachi Uchiha's battle continued.
Even as distant explosions shook the earth like an earthquake, causing the ground beneath them to tremble,
Neither of them stopped—they fought with increasing intensity!
"Everything I did was wrong?"
At this moment, Itachi's mind was buzzing.
Faced with Sasuke's relentless attacks, he barely had the will to counter, focusing solely on evasion.
Sasuke's words had deeply unsettled him, and Sasuke's transformation was equally shocking.
"Was I truly wrong?"
Itachi couldn't say for sure, but the hatred and killing intent in Sasuke's cold gaze made him feel no joy.
Though he had hoped for Sasuke to become like this, the current reality was far from what he had envisioned.
Whoosh—
Just as he was lost in thought, a kunai flew toward him from an unknown direction.
Itachi swiftly dodged, but in the next instant, Sasuke used the kunai's trajectory to close the distance.
Buzz—
The short blade in Sasuke's hand crackled with purple lightning as it swung down.
Though Itachi managed to put some distance between them, it wasn't enough for Sasuke.
The blade struck, and while Itachi evaded the full blow, the arc of electricity grazed his chest.
Immediately, a paralyzing sensation spread through his body, and blood began to seep from his wound.
"This Purple Lightning..."
Itachi knew all too well how powerful it was—he had experienced it himself before.
Though he should have felt proud that Sasuke had mastered the technique,
The Sasuke before him was far from the person he had hoped for.
"Is dodging all you can do now?"
As Itachi's thoughts spiraled, Sasuke's cold voice echoed once more.
"Don't put on that disgusting act. You don't deserve it. My life wasn't spared by you—it's destiny that allows me, as an Uchiha, to exact vengeance on you!"
"You don't understand the circumstances back then..."
Itachi gritted his teeth, struggling to dodge while speaking.
"Danzo wasn't the Hokage, but he had his ways. He—"
"I don't want to hear your nonsense, you self-righteous fool!"
Sasuke took a deep breath, his chakra surging as his attacks intensified.
"You truly think you were right? Then tell me—do you know who caused the Nine-Tails incident back then?"
"That person was the true culprit behind the strained relations between Uchiha and Konohagakure. I don't want to hear excuses about how the clan would have faced problems regardless!"
"Those arguments are meaningless. Let me ask you—did you know who he was? Why didn't you try to expose him and prove everything?"
"Why didn't you think about eliminating him or at least revealing him to protect the clan and the village?"
Boom—
Sasuke's fury reached its peak, his Purple Lightning glowing brilliantly.
His crimson eyes seemed to harbor a potent ocular power brewing within.
"Don't tell me you thought he was Madara Uchiha. If he truly was Madara, it would've been even better—it would've proven that the Uchiha weren't at fault!"
"Don't give me excuses about how the clan would've reacted to Madara. Those are your delusions. You didn't even try!"
"And don't say you were worried he'd kill me. If that were the case, I'd rather have died. But you—"
"You collaborated with him to massacre the clan. You truly deserve to die!"
Sasuke's words deeply pierced Itachi's heart, leaving him even more dazed and tormented.
At this moment, his inner world seemed to crumble.
Had he been wrong?
Truly wrong?
Looking at the furious Sasuke charging at him, Itachi felt a pang of sorrow.
Sasuke had grown strong, mastering Flying Thunder God and Kitagawa Minamoto's Purple Lightning,
Making him a prominent figure in the ninja world.
And with Kitagawa Minamoto being the presumptive Hokage, Sasuke's future seemed bright.
But none of this aligned with Itachi's plans.
In his vision, Sasuke would remain a member of Konohagakure, but not like this.
He would hate Itachi, despise him, and eventually kill him, awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan.
And then...
"He would inherit my eyes, gain eternal vision, and become a hero of Konohagakure!"
But all of that was shattered.
His dreams had turned to dust, and he had become nothing more than a clown in Sasuke's eyes.
"Die, Itachi Uchiha!"
As Sasuke's blade approached, and as he stared into Sasuke's furious, hate-filled eyes,
Itachi suddenly felt no desire to resist.
Even now, he believed he had been right.
After all, he had deemed the situation back then irreparable.
But Sasuke didn't understand, nor did the people of Konohagakure.
What was the point of living in such pain?
Stab—
The sound of metal piercing flesh echoed.
Sasuke's short blade had plunged deep into Itachi's chest,
So forcefully that it passed through his body and emerged from the other side.
"Sorry... Sasuke..."
Electric arcs danced across Itachi's body as blood dripped from his mouth.
His consciousness began to fade, but he still tried to speak, as though apologizing and bidding farewell.
"Shut up! I don't want to hear another word from you!"
However, Sasuke's icy voice was all he received in return.
"Don't think I'll forgive you. And don't think the innocent souls you killed will forgive you either."
As Sasuke withdrew his blade, Itachi's body collapsed to the ground,
While Sasuke stood tall, silhouetted against the sunlight, looking down at him.
His crimson eyes were chillingly intimidating.
"I will never forgive you. And I have no right to forgive you on behalf of others. Moreover..."
Sasuke spoke coldly, and Itachi weakly raised his head.
In that moment, he noticed Sasuke's eyes had changed.
The three tomoe had merged into a single shape—two brand-new Mangekyō Sharingan had awakened!
"Mangekyō Sharingan?"
Itachi murmured, but seeing those eyes brought nothing but coldness to his heart.
Sasuke's next words turned that coldness into utter despair.
"I will never forgive you. Your words, your existence—they disgust me!"
"You should've killed me back then instead."
(End of Chapter)
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