Chapter 233 – The Brothers' Battle (Part 2)
Tsunade watched Hatake Yusuke lounging comfortably under a massive paper umbrella, a handful of sweets resting in his palm.
Though baffled at first, she quickly gave up trying to make sense of it. Yusuke had always been like this—operating on his own rules, completely detached from logic or decorum.
With a sigh, Tsunade pulled up a chair beside him. Kurenai, standing nearby, simply exhaled quietly. She knew from experience that scolding Yusuke was utterly pointless.
"Damn it, so what exactly are we supposed to watch now?" Tsunade muttered, glaring sideways at him. "Your eyes can see through walls, but we can't see a thing."
"Oh, right. Give me a second," Yusuke said casually, as if just remembering something.
In the blink of an eye, he vanished.
A moment later, he appeared right in the middle of the battlefield—between Sasuke and Itachi.
At that moment, Sasuke had just flung a massive shuriken straight toward his brother. Itachi's Sharingan spun, tracking every motion precisely, ready to sidestep. But before he could even move, Yusuke appeared between them like a ghost.
The shuriken sliced through the air at high speed. Sasuke tugged at the fine wire attached to it, splitting the blade into several smaller fragments that ricocheted midair—forming a deadly web that sealed off every possible escape.
Yusuke didn't even flinch. The countless blades froze midair, halting less than five centimeters from his body—as if time itself had stopped.
"What… what are you doing here?" Sasuke's tone was sharp, his expression taut.
"Yusuke-nii, why are you here?" Itachi's eyes narrowed in surprise. The two brothers spoke almost simultaneously.
"Hahaha, don't mind me," Yusuke said, smiling faintly. "I'm just here to drop something off."
While both brothers looked at him in utter confusion, Yusuke reached into his chakra storage space and pulled out a tiny snail. He placed it neatly on a wooden shelf nearby.
Then, forming a quick hand seal, he created a spherical barrier of transparent chakra around it.
He repeated this five more times, placing six snails in total across different corners of the chamber—each forming a glowing point of light that linked together into an invisible web of surveillance chakra.
"Yusuke-nii?" Itachi asked, genuinely bewildered. This was supposed to be a fight to the death… and Yusuke was planting snails everywhere?
"Ah, don't worry about it. You two continue. Sasuke, Itachi—good luck," Yusuke said cheerfully, waving lightly before vanishing as quickly as he appeared.
Sasuke stood frozen, a vein pulsing at his temple.
"That guy… is infuriating. This is a battle to the death, not some friendly tournament with 'team spirit' and a participation trophy at the end!"
But of course, Yusuke had no intention of explaining himself. He reappeared back where Tsunade and the others were waiting.
"Where did you go just now?" Tsunade asked suspiciously.
"Just setting something up," Yusuke replied, smiling mysteriously.
Raising his hand, he summoned a transparent wall of condensed air using his Float-Float Fruit ability. Then, from his storage space, he drew out a large sheet of cloth and draped it over the wall—forming a makeshift screen.
Next, he set one of the snails atop the table and connected it to the screen using a thin chakra conduit.
In an instant, the cloth shimmered to life. A crystal-clear image appeared, displaying the exact scene inside the chamber where Sasuke and Itachi stood. Even their voices echoed clearly through the air.
To everyone's astonishment, glowing text also appeared at the bottom of the screen—automatically translating every word spoken.
"What in the world is that?" Kurenai asked, startled.
"I… think that's a Den-Den Mushi?" Tsunade muttered uncertainly.
"Bingo," Yusuke said proudly, snapping his fingers.
"So that snail can transmit images too?" Kurenai blinked in disbelief. "You gave me one before—I thought it was only for communication."
"That one was a phone snail," Yusuke corrected with a grin. "This one's a television snail. Different model."
"And you really brought all this… just to watch?" Tsunade asked, eyes narrowing in disbelief.
"Of course," Yusuke replied nonchalantly, popping a sweet into his mouth. "The show's about to start."
Everyone fell silent.
There they were—a Hokage, a Jōnin, and two spectators—while Hatake Yusuke sat back, calmly watching a life-and-death duel between two Uchiha brothers as if it were a Sunday matinee.
Suddenly, a figure appeared in one corner of the screen—a bizarre face split down the middle, one half black and the other white.
"Ugh… what the hell is that thing?!" Tsunade grimaced.
"That's Zetsu," Yusuke replied calmly. "Akatsuki's intel gatherer. Barely any combat strength."
Tsunade's eyes narrowed. "How do you even know all this? If you knew about them, why didn't you tell me earlier? Do you know how long it took me to collect intel on that organization?!"
Yusuke shrugged. "Knowing doesn't help. That thing can move underground undetected by either Sharingan or Byakugan. It's impossible to catch."
"Hmph. I don't believe for a second that you can't catch it," Tsunade said skeptically.
Yusuke smiled faintly. "Relax, Tsuna-chan. That creature still has its uses. When the time comes, I'll deal with it myself. But not yet. That day's not far off."
Tsunade huffed and turned her gaze back to the screen. "Fine. But why are those two just standing there?"
"It's genjutsu," Kurenai said immediately.
"Correct," Yusuke nodded. "They're fighting within the realm of illusion—inside a spiritual dimension."
He tilted his head slightly. "Want to see what that battle looks like from the inside?"
Before anyone could respond, Yusuke's eyes glowed with a faint cerulean hue. He turned toward the snail on the table—and in that instant, the snail's eyes changed, blossoming into six radiant blue pupils: the Six Eyes.
The image on the screen flickered—then shifted. The illusion peeled away, revealing what lay beneath.
The two brothers were no longer standing still. Inside the genjutsu world, their battle was already raging fiercely.
Sasuke lunged forward, his blade piercing Itachi's chest—only for Itachi's body to explode into a cloud of black crows.
Then Itachi countered, his sword slicing through Sasuke's neck—only for Sasuke to dissolve into a serpent that slipped behind him.
Each attack, each illusion, folded into the next—an endless dance of deception within deception.
Finally, Sasuke fixed his gaze on his brother and spoke in a calm, steady tone.
"Nii-san… whose Mangekyō Sharingan was the third pair?"
Everyone watching went silent.
The next words from Itachi made Tsunade rise sharply from her seat.
"Uchiha Madara."
The name froze the air around them. Tsunade's expression hardened. Few names in the world carried such weight—especially to her, a descendant of Senju Hashirama.
"Wait… wasn't Uchiha Madara supposed to be dead?" she demanded, glaring at Yusuke.
"Oh, he is dead," Yusuke said evenly. "But the Madara Itachi's referring to… is just an impostor."
"And how can you be so sure?" Tsunade pressed.
"Because the real Madara didn't die by your grandfather's hand," Yusuke replied softly. "But now—he truly is dead."
Tsunade stared at him for a long moment. His tone wasn't playful; his expression held no trace of deceit.
Finally, she sighed and leaned back. If what he said was true, there was nothing more to ask.
On the screen, Itachi continued to speak—explaining the legend of Uchiha Madara to Sasuke. As the story unfolded, Sasuke's shocked expression gradually hardened into resolve.
Whoever stands in my way… I'll surpass them all. I am Uchiha Sasuke.
"I never thought I'd see Itachi pushed this far," Kurenai murmured. She knew better than anyone the depth of Itachi's genjutsu prowess—even she could not hope to match it.
Seeing Sasuke corner him within the illusion was almost surreal.
Even Kisame, watching nearby, looked genuinely shaken.
"Itachi-san… being pressed in a genjutsu? Impossible…"
"No," Yusuke said, a faint smirk touching his lips. "It's an act. The gap between a three-tomoe Sharingan and a Mangekyō Sharingan is a chasm that can't be crossed. If this were a real battle of illusions, Sasuke wouldn't stand a chance. This… is just part of Itachi's performance."
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