It turned out that Kazama had already used the Flame of Living Spirits to bring the deceased Itachi back to life.
"You! How is this even possible?!"
Sasuke, seeing Itachi—whom he had struggled with all his might to finally defeat—now effortlessly revived by Kazama, was grinding his teeth in rage, practically jumping with fury.
"Itachi, you should get out of here. I'll handle the rest!" Kazama said.
Hearing Kazama's words, Itachi gave a helpless nod. When it came to his younger brother, Itachi truly felt powerless.
"Trying to escape? Neither of you is leaving here alive today!"
At that moment, Black Zetsu appeared beside Sasuke.
"Kazama, you little pest, I knew you'd come to save Itachi. That's why I've already set up a kekkai (barrier) around this place. Unless you both die, there's no way out, haha!"
Black Zetsu was cackling maniacally, but his laughter abruptly stopped the next moment.
Why? Because Kazama had already activated Kamui, pulling Itachi into another dimension.
"Damn it! I forgot that little pest Kazama can use space-time ninjutsu too!"
Black Zetsu was visibly embarrassed. His grand plan was to take down both Kazama and Itachi, trapping them in his barrier to die.
But now, just as he was starting to gloat, Itachi had already slipped away.
"Getting slapped in the face at light speed doesn't feel great, does it?"
Seeing Black Zetsu's exasperated expression, Kazama burst out laughing.
"Black Zetsu, you know that even you and Sasuke combined aren't a match for me. Yet you still decided to trap me in this barrier with you guys. Are you just begging to die?"
"Enough of your nonsense!"
Stung by Kazama's mockery, Black Zetsu immediately used his Spiritual Fusion to take control of Sasuke.
"You little pest, you think I don't have an ace up my sleeve to deal with you? Let me tell you, Sasuke has already endured the pain of losing his loved ones. With my help, he's now capable of awakening the Mangekyō Sharingan!"
Under Black Zetsu's influence, Sasuke's three-tomoe Sharingan spun rapidly, transforming into the Mangekyō Sharingan.
"Now, I'll show you the legendary black flames of Amaterasu that can burn anything!"
Under Black Zetsu's control, Sasuke unleashed Amaterasu toward Kazama.
What Black Zetsu didn't know, however, was that Kazama had already encountered Amaterasu before.
Not only that, Kazama could wield an even more powerful version: the Otherworldly Flame Amaterasu.
"Die, you brat!"
Just as Black Zetsu thought the black flames of Amaterasu would completely incinerate Kazama, he was shocked to see that the flames had no effect on him. In fact, Kazama absorbed them into his body with ease.
"Black Zetsu, your intel is way outdated. Amaterasu? That's old news. If you hadn't brought it up, I'd almost forgotten I can use it too!"
As Kazama activated his Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan, a far more powerful Amaterasu took shape, forming a whirlwind of black flames that roared toward Black Zetsu and Sasuke.
"How is this possible?!"
Seeing that Kazama's Amaterasu was even stronger than Sasuke's, Black Zetsu hurriedly forced Sasuke to retreat.
And this was Kazama holding back. If he hadn't shown mercy, Sasuke would've been reduced to ashes in an instant.
"You little pest, I underestimated you. Fine, no more holding back. Now, I'll show you the Uchiha clan's ultimate dōjutsu technique: Susanoo!"
With the Mangekyō Sharingan activated, a purple skeletal figure immediately formed around Sasuke's body.