"Itachi is dead, but not by my hand..."
A complex expression appeared on Sasuke's face.
He wanted to kill Itachi with his own hands, yet when Itachi died before him, he found it unbearable!
"Only if I kill him myself can it be considered completing my revenge."
"What does this situation even count as?"
"Right!"
"At that time, my eyes seemed..."
Sasuke suddenly remembered that when he saw Itachi being killed, there had been a strange change in his eyes.
He hurriedly went to a mirror and activated his Sharingan.
Three tomoe, perfectly normal.
But then...
Whoosh!
His Sharingan transformed into a bizarre pattern.
The original three tomoe connected, forming a shape like a three-pointed shuriken.
And surrounding this three-pointed shuriken was a six-pointed star pattern.
"This..."
Sasuke immediately thought of some past hearsay and the information recorded in the clan texts he had found.
"Is this... the legendary Mangekyo Sharingan?"
Sasuke couldn't help but touch his eyes, his gaze gradually turning wild with arrogance. "That incredibly strong defensive Ninjutsu of Itachi's was probably also because of the Mangekyo Sharingan, right?"
"In the future, I will also possess such powerful strength!"
"With this power, I will definitely be able to revive my Uchiha Clan, making the Uchiha name resound throughout the Shinobi Ninja world once more!"
Here we go again! Sasuke's at it again!
Seeing that he had awakened the Mangekyo, Sasuke grew more and more excited, the corners of his mouth curving into an exaggerated arc.
He was now eager to test these eyes, completely disregarding the fact that his body had not fully recovered.
He rushed out of his home, heading straight for a training ground.
Of course.
A different training ground.
He didn't want to encounter any more surprises.
"Sasuke!"
A call came from behind. Sasuke turned in surprise to find it was Lee.
Lee looked somewhat tired, but didn't have many visible injuries.
Not long after Guy had taken Lee to the hospital, Lee had woken up.
And the first thing he did upon waking was to find Sasuke.
He didn't know what he wanted to say, but he felt compelled to find Sasuke, as if finding him would provide some answers he was seeking.
"It's you?"
Sasuke's expression was indifferent. He turned to leave.
But he quickly stopped.
Testing by myself isn't enough.
Although Lee's strength isn't as good as mine, he is still strong, especially when he opens the Eight Gates.
But this is just a test; there's no need to use the Eight Gates.
Having Lee assist with some tests should still be fine.
"Lee, I want to test my current strength. Come help me."
He said to Lee over his shoulder.
After speaking, he continued sprinting towards the training ground.
"Uh... alright!"
Lee was momentarily stunned, not expecting Sasuke to ask for his help with testing.
It just so happened he was also feeling somewhat at a loss, so Sasuke's words relieved some of his awkwardness.
The two arrived at a quiet, deserted training ground.
"So, Sasuke, what kind of test are you doing?"
Lee scratched the back of his head, looking a bit puzzled.
"Testing reaction speed. Throw kunai at me with your full strength."
Sasuke stood about five meters away from Lee. "Don't worry about hurting me. Give it everything you've got."
"If you say so, alright then."
Lee nodded, then took several kunai from his pouch and threw them with all his might.
Sasuke immediately activated his Mangekyo Sharingan.
Under the extreme dynamic vision, the several kunai, difficult to see with the naked eye, now appeared to him like drifting leaves.
It was as if he was in bullet time, able to clearly see the slow-moving trajectories of objects.
Relying on this extreme dynamic vision, Sasuke instantly calculated the landing points of the kunai.
He dodged them effortlessly, then said excitedly, "Again!"
Lee had been somewhat worried initially.
But seeing Sasuke dodge so easily, he immediately felt much more at ease.
He threw out several dozen more kunai, yet still didn't graze a single hair on Sasuke.
This couldn't help but stir Lee's competitive spirit.
'I don't believe I can't hit him today!'
Lee's gaze turned determined, the kunai tightly gripped in his hand.
Just then.
"The reaction speed test is over."
Sasuke stretched his limbs, then assumed a stance and said, "Next, we'll do combat training."
"Of course, no need to use the Eight Gates this time."
The side effects of the Eight Gates were too severe, even Sasuke didn't dare face them lightly.
"Alright!"
Faced with a challenge, Lee naturally wouldn't back down. "I'll let you see my true strength!"
"Good."
A wild grin spread across Sasuke's face.
Then, his figure shot towards Lee at an incredible speed.
Lee met the challenge head-on, also charging forward.
The two immediately engaged in close combat, using hands and feet, attacking and defending.
In just a short time, they had exchanged dozens of blows.
"Not just dynamic vision! My Taijutsu movements are more fluid, Ninjutsu feels easier too... Is this the power of the Mangekyo?"
Sasuke grew more and more excited as they fought.
In the end, he once again failed to restrain his strength, sending Lee flying with a punch.
Only then did their sparring session end.
However, right at that moment...
"My foolish little brother, you disappoint me."
Itachi's voice suddenly appeared, instantly causing Sasuke to break out in goosebumps.
"Who's playing tricks?!"
He immediately looked around, yet didn't see anyone.
"I'm right here."
Itachi's voice came from behind him. Sasuke's body immediately stiffened.
He slowly turned his head and saw Itachi standing behind him, looking down at him expressionlessly.
"Impossible! You're dead! I saw it with my own eyes!"
After a moment of stunned silence, Sasuke's expression couldn't help but change drastically.
Even Lee was extremely surprised.
He had only heard a rough summary of the latter half of the events from Guy.
But he knew that the man who looked very similar to Sasuke, but older, was actually Sasuke's biological brother.
And this biological brother had been stabbed to death right before Sasuke's eyes.
Perhaps because of this, Lee truly saw Sasuke as a comrade.
'Your loneliness, I will shatter it!'
Before seeking out Sasuke, Lee had confidently declared this.
But now, the supposedly dead Itachi had suddenly appeared.
His simple brain fell into confusion.
"Wasn't he said to be dead?"
Rock Lee retreated in panic. "How can he be here?"
He hadn't witnessed Itachi's strength himself.
But his teacher, Guy, had personally stated that he was no match for Itachi.
"To think you still haven't seen through the little trick I used. Truly disappointing."
Itachi's gaze was ice-cold, his crimson Sharingan filled with oppressive force.
"A trick?"
Sasuke was stunned, instantly thinking of one possibility. His face suddenly turned ugly. "You used Genjutsu on me?!"
"Of course it was Genjutsu."
Obito, wearing the spiral mask, appeared. He stood beside Itachi, also looking down from above. "And the purpose of designing all this was to make you snap that string in your mind."
"Sasuke, you ultimately exist only to measure my capacity, and these eyes of yours exist for my sake."
Itachi stepped closer and closer, while Sasuke retreated step by step, not daring to offer the slightest resistance.
"Now, hand over your eyes."
Itachi grabbed Sasuke by the neck with one hand, while his other hand slowly reached for Sasuke's eyes.
Sasuke trembled uncontrollably.
He felt the intense killing intent radiating from Itachi.
This killing intent was even more powerful than the killing intent he had sensed from Orochimaru before.
This bone-chilling cold sensation made Sasuke feel as if his body might freeze solid.
But now, he faced an even greater threat.
The approaching fingers were like a death knell counting down.
He wanted to raise his hands to block, but ultimately was powerless.
Squelch!
"Ahhh…!"
Sasuke covered his eyes, writhing on the ground in agony.
After extracting Sasuke's eyes, Itachi carefully placed them into a glass container.
The container was filled with a large amount of saline solution to preserve the freshness of the Sharingan.
"You... what are you doing with Sasuke's eyes?"
Lee mustered his courage, stepping in front of Itachi. "He's your own brother!"
"Brother?"
Itachi turned his body, looking at the trembling Lee. "Sasuke's body exists for my sake."
"Now that the time is ripe, it's time for Sasuke to fulfill his purpose."