The father and son moved without hesitation. The understanding forged into their bones erupted at this moment with all its force.
Fugaku's half-body Susanoo lowered its center of gravity first, poised like a hunting leopard. Taking advantage of the brief moment when Kamui warped space, it charged toward the ankle of the thousand-meter-tall Susanoo;
Itachi followed close behind, controlling his pale red Perfect Susanoo. The Totsuka Blade angled downward as chakra poured into its blade without pause, making its pale red glow burn ever brighter. Like the only blade in the darkness, it locked onto the energy node at Susanoo's knee—the only weak point they could seize.
"Heh heh heh hahahaha! Come on! All of you, come on!" Uchiha Genki finally sensed the faint but precise threat from above. His manic laughter suddenly rose, carrying the destructive urge of someone with nothing left to lose. "The only peace I'll ever know is silence! You should all be buried with this false world!"
His laughter had barely faded when the violence in his eyes erupted.
He controlled the thousand-meter-tall black Susanoo and abruptly raised its foot. Its enormous sole blotted out the sky like a dark cloud, then came crashing down toward Itachi's pale red Susanoo with a roar that tore through the air.
Before the foot even hit the ground, its terrifying wind pressure swept downward, crushing the ruins below to dust. Smoke billowed like a giant wave, and even the space around them trembled faintly under the immense force.
"Watch out!" Obito's voice held a hint of urgency. His scarlet Sharingan blazed as he activated Kamui again.
The space-warping distortion spread toward the descending foot, trying to forcibly alter its trajectory.
But this time, Genki had poured far more energy into his Susanoo than before. Kamui's spatial distortion only shifted the foot slightly. The world-shattering pressure still bore down on Itachi, locking onto him like a mountain crashing down.
"Father! Cover me!" Itachi's eyes narrowed. Instead of retreating, a look of resolve flashed in them. He urged his pale red Susanoo forward at full speed, the Totsuka Blade blazing so brightly it seemed as though he had poured all his chakra into that one strike.
He knew this was their only chance. If they let it slip by, not only would his life be forfeit, but Konoha would face utter ruin.
Fugaku understood at once and didn't hesitate.
He turned his twenty-meter-tall half-body Susanoo around and threw everything into ramming the thousand-meter-tall Susanoo's shin.
Chakra gathered over the Susanoo's body into a sharp shield, carrying the resolve to die together.
But the difference in their strength was simply too great. It was like an ant trying to topple a tree—bang! Fugaku's Susanoo was flung away like a rock struck by a speeding train. Its chakra shield shattered, and its form grew faint.
"Urgh!" Fugaku grunted. Blood spilled uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth, splattering across the front of his clothes.
His body flew backward like a kite with its string cut and slammed into the ruins in the distance, raising a cloud of dust.
Even so, he forced himself to stay conscious, staring at the battle overhead, his eyes full of worry and frustration.
At that critical moment, Itachi's pale red Susanoo finally reached its target.
Thwack! The Totsuka Blade struck the thousand-meter-tall Susanoo's knee with pinpoint accuracy. Pale red sealing energy surged into it like a rising tide, trying to penetrate its interior and stop the flow of its energy.
But the armor showed no sign of breaking. The strike left only a tiny speck of light on its black surface. The Susanoo's surging black energy forced the pale red sealing power back, like ice melting in a raging fire. It vanished in an instant.
"How is that possible?!" Itachi's pupils shrank, disbelief written across his face. His heart sank into an icy abyss.
The Totsuka Blade's sealing power could forcibly seal even beings on the level of a Tailed Beast. Yet now, it couldn't even break through this Susanoo's defenses?
The terrifying power of this black energy had already surpassed anything he could comprehend!
"Hahahahaha! You think that pitiful little bit of power can stop me?!" Genki's manic laughter rang out again, brimming with mockery and contempt. "Ridiculous! Every last one of you is going to die!"
As he spoke, he controlled the thousand-meter-tall Susanoo's giant hand, which descended like a net from heaven to grab Itachi's pale red Susanoo.
The enormous hand blotted out the sky and instantly engulfed Itachi's pale red Susanoo. The terrifying pressure made its form tremble.
"Itachi!" Fugaku's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets. He struggled to crawl out of the ruins and rush to his son's aid, but a sword slash from the thousand-meter-tall Susanoo drove him back again.
The sword energy grazed his shoulder and carved a bottomless trench into the ground. The pain in his chest made him spit up another mouthful of blood. He could barely stay on his feet.
"Kamui!" Obito struck again, his scarlet Sharingan shining brilliantly as he tried to pull Itachi's pale red Susanoo into the Kamui Dimension and save him from the deadly grasp.
But Genki's power was simply too terrifying. His giant hand clamped tightly around Itachi's Susanoo, and the sheer force left Kamui's spatial distortion unable to move it even slightly.
Crack... crack... A series of crisp fractures rang out as cracks spread across the surface of Itachi's pale red Susanoo, like a pane of glass on the verge of shattering.
Chakra poured from the cracks. The Susanoo's form grew fainter and fainter, and its once-brilliant pale red glow gradually dimmed.
"Urgh—!" Itachi let out a pained groan. A tearing pain shot through his eyes as the side effects of using Mangekyo Sharingan techniques in quick succession erupted. His vision blurred and darkened; he was on the verge of losing consciousness.
Still, he clenched his teeth until his gums bled, summoning the last of his strength to wield the Totsuka Blade and try to break free of the giant hand.
He couldn't die—not before he made sure Sasuke was safe.
The Konoha Ninjas below were in complete disarray.
Even Itachi Uchiha's half-body Perfect Susanoo had been so easily crushed. Against the enemy's strength, it was as fragile as an ant. What hope did they have?
Despair spread through their ranks like a plague. Many ninjas slowed, fear and helplessness filling their eyes.
The Ninjutsu they had been using in a desperate bid to hold the line now came in fits and starts, its power diminished.
Sarutobi Hiruzen stood at the very front of the line. Watching Itachi trapped in a desperate situation overhead and sensing the despair among the ninjas below, he was overcome by a profound sense of helplessness.
He had already exhausted most of his chakra. The powerful Ninjutsu he had unleashed time and again had all sunk like stones into the sea, unable even to break through the enemy's defenses.
Could this really be the end of Konoha?
Before you continue