That's right. This was a rare, high evaluation from Madara Uchiha.
However, as the wielder of the Amaterasu, Itachi Uchiha felt no happiness from the compliment—in fact, the pressure on him only grew worse.
Because… only his Amaterasu was barely useful.
His Mangekyo Sharingan abilities were limited to Amaterasu and Tsukuyomi. He knew the illusion-based Tsukuyomi would certainly be broken by Madara. As the most powerful man in the Uchiha clan's recorded history, Madara was not someone Itachi believed his Tsukuyomi could stop.
But Madara offered only that small compliment.
After a moment of praise for his interesting junior, layers of blue skeletal armor suddenly appeared, rapidly encasing his body. Heavy chakra wrapped the blue skeleton like veins, transforming it into a towering, half-bodied giant.
This was… Susanoo.
Madara manipulated the emerging Susanoo, raising its hand. An enormous, glowing, blue curved sword materialized in its grasp.
The blue Susanoo swung the sword, slashing through the Amaterasu flames and carving open a wide path. The giant, sharp blade pointed straight at Itachi Uchiha.
"Alright," Madara said, laughing lightly from within the protection of his Susanoo. "The abilities of the Mangekyo Sharingan aren't that interesting anymore."
He extended an invitation. "Anyway, battles between Uchiha are all about Mangekyo clashes. Since you've sided with Tobi, you must know that fights between Mangekyo users always end with a clash of their ultimate jutsu—Susanoo. Go ahead, show me yours!"
"…"
Itachi gritted his teeth and clenched his fist. At that moment, he wasn't completely confident.
But Madara's eagerness forced his hand; he could not back down. Besides, Itachi needed to use his Susanoo to stall for time until the Konoha ninjas arrived.
The next moment, a red skeleton erupted from his body. Itachi raised his fingers, staring intently at Madara as he quickly summoned his own Susanoo.
Interestingly, they both chose to manifest Susanoo's second stage. And, in unison, they activated their techniques at the same time.
"What… what is that…"
Sasuke Uchiha could only watch helplessly, his eyes wide with terror, as a blue half-bodied giant and a red half-bodied giant clashed furiously on the battlefield. The way they fought now—the sheer visual impact—far surpassed anything he had witnessed during the Chunin Exams.
"The legendary Susanoo…"
Orochimaru wasn't nervous at all.
Instead, he watched the fight between the two Susanoo forms with delight, his eyes darting back and forth between them. Ultimately, his dangerous, snake-like gaze locked onto Sasuke. That boy was his shortcut to acquiring such power.
In the next moment, the battle's tension grew even heavier. Everyone could tell the next exchange would be even more terrifying.
Itachi commanded his red Susanoo to raise its hand, and crimson Yasaka Magatama(Yasaka Beads) began to spin within its grasp.
"You're going for that move?" Madara certainly wouldn't back down.
He made his blue Susanoo tear through the air as a string of its own Yasaka Magatama formed between its hands, which it instantly hurled toward Itachi.
"This guy!" Itachi's red Susanoo tossed its magatama in a hurry.
In an instant, the differently colored projectiles crashed together. The impact caused both Susanoo forms to stagger, and cracks appeared on their armor. Both Uchiha understood clearly: they needed to reinforce their Susanoo.
Itachi couldn't afford to hesitate. His body wasn't as durable as a reanimated corpse, and the shockwave from the clashing magatama… his brother Sasuke wouldn't be able to survive it either.
The red Susanoo surged with even more chakra, growing into a truly fearsome, armored, half-bodied giant. It now held a gourd in its left hand and a round shield in its right.
This was… Susanoo's fourth stage.
The red Susanoo spun and slammed its shield into the ground, stubbornly fending off the shockwave from the explosion.
"The Yata Mirror…" Madara recognized the shield. He reflected, "A legendary defensive item said to block or reflect any physical attack… so that means… there should also be a weapon for attack…"
Madara didn't care about the cracks forming on his blue Susanoo during the explosion. His gaze remained fixed on the red Susanoo.
He was curious what weapon his junior's Susanoo would wield, thinking he could judge Itachi's skill by it.
But Madara never expected what came next.
Itachi quickly made his red Susanoo display its other weapon—a massive gourd. From it, a dazzling, molten-red light blasted out like a crimson rainbow, piercing right through the cracked blue Susanoo.
And the light continued. Like a red rainbow piercing the sun, it also pierced through Madara's body.
"So it's the legendary Totsuka Blade…" Madara smiled, not at all concerned that this legendary weapon could seal his soul for eternity.
His will… would never be subdued by the Totsuka Blade.
Madara raised his hand, and the blue Susanoo instantly shot higher, his body wrapped in its crystal core. The blade's light abruptly snapped—no, it was gone in an instant.
Itachi had inexplicably canceled his Susanoo. Realizing he couldn't finish Madara in one blow, he immediately decided to retreat, just as he had planned from the start.
But his body was barely holding up. After using Tsukuyomi on Kakashi, followed by Amaterasu and Susanoo against Madara, Itachi struggled to remain standing.
He coughed up a mouthful of blood, nearly collapsing, but still stubbornly grabbed his brother and tried to flee.
Fortunately, he had a teammate. Even if that teammate was a spy ordered to monitor him.
Kisame Hoshigaki shot forward at incredible speed, his body twisting into a monstrous, half-shark form.
He dashed out, grabbed both Itachi and Sasuke, and raced away.
No matter what, he would never give up on the mission. Even though Kisame knew he couldn't beat Madara, he was always ready with a backup plan, falling into a strange, cooperative rhythm with his partner Itachi.
"!!!"
Orochimaru was shocked. Wait—those two grabbed Sasuke and escaped!
Now he was left alone to face Madara.
Orochimaru stared wide-eyed as Kisame disappeared with the Uchiha brothers. He slowly turned back and saw a gigantic, mountain-like figure appearing behind him.
Susanoo—full body. It was a true god of war in the human realm.
Anyone seeing a hundred-meter-tall, full-body Susanoo would find it impossible to imagine defeating it.
This must have been why Itachi planned to escape.
After all, as a true Uchiha, he knew plenty of the clan's secrets, especially some of Madara's. This man surely possessed the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan, and his full-body Susanoo was nearly invincible.
An ordinary Mangekyo was no match.
"This bunch…" Orochimaru gritted his teeth and unleashed an amazing burst of speed, his lower body slithering away like a giant snake.
"Trying to run?" Madara sneered, watching the three shrinking figures with disdain, as if they were ants struggling desperately at his feet.
In the next moment, the complete Susanoo drew its giant ninja blade.
A single slash instantly shattered the very air and swept toward the trio, carving a bottomless, wide rift in the earth. Dust and debris billowed out instantly. Kisame and the others were struck by the shockwave, tumbling to a halt before the wide chasm—a gap they could not cross.
High above, the blue war god soared into the sky. It traced an elegant arc before its huge body settled gently into the chasm. Its wings beat to keep its bulk hovering, its massive head blocking their path.
Madara stood on the crystal in the Susanoo's forehead, gazing flatly at the scrambling group. His mouth twisted into a mocking sneer at how naive they were to think they could escape him.
"The child's play ends here," Madara sneered at the nervous group. He controlled the full-body Susanoo to extend a massive hand. "Now, hand over the boy. I have only just returned to the ninja world, and I don't want to see Lord Emiya's hopes dashed so soon."