In Konoha, Uchiha Itachi's strength was beyond question. He was a genius among geniuses, the youngest Anbu Captain in the village, and the legendary wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan.
He was a master of Genjutsu, Ninjutsu, and Taijutsu.
And yet his strength was often turned against his own people. When it came to the Uchiha Clan, he had never held back, striking them without mercy.
But when faced with Shimura Danzō and Uchiha Obito, he always endured and backed down.
When the man before him appeared, Itachi realized he was one of his own clan: Uchiha Rei.
With the Mangekyō, Itachi was confident he could deal with any Uchiha.
"Tsukuyomi."
He didn't hesitate. His ocular power surged, and the red light of his Mangekyō flashed as he fixed his gaze on Uchiha Rei!
But—
He missed.
"Hmm?" Itachi's brow twitched.
Just before Tsukuyomi took effect, Uchiha Rei's figure had quietly shifted aside. His speed was astonishing, like a phantom slipping past the edge of Itachi's ocular power.
Itachi's expression grew more serious. A few days ago, he and the Masked Man had tried to corner Rei, but they hadn't managed to capture him. That was why Itachi had used his Mangekyō ability right away, aiming to kill with a single strike.
I can't rely on Genjutsu again. He swiftly reconsidered.
In the next instant, his hands flew through Hand Seals.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
A huge fireball soared into the air, rolling waves of heat before it. The ground blackened and warped beneath its flames.
But Rei's Hand Seals were even faster.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!" The same Fire Release, but stronger than Itachi's.
His Hand Seals... are even faster than mine?
Itachi frowned as firelight blazed around him. He was actually losing in a Ninjutsu clash.
"If that's how it is—"
He flashed backward half a step, flicked his fingers, and sent several Kunai whistling through the air. They followed tricky arcs, aimed straight for Uchiha Rei's vital spots.
"Whoosh!"
Rei lightly touched the ground with his toes and dodged every attack with unbelievable reflexes.
But just as the Kunai passed behind Rei, they abruptly changed direction!
Chakra Threads?
Rei's gaze turned cold. He shifted aside again, precisely evading the second wave of attacks.
These weren't ordinary thrown weapons. They were the second part of a trap.
Itachi's eyes flickered. While his opponent was distracted, he quickly formed Hand Seals again.
"Fire Style: Great Fireball Technique!"
This time, the fireball was larger, trailing flames behind it as it nearly sealed off every escape route.
Uchiha Rei dodged lightly once more, but the moment he landed, the ground shuddered—
"Boom!"
An explosion roared. Explosive Tags scattered around his feet burst into flame, fire shooting toward the sky.
"Whoosh!"
Rei had barely stepped back when a gleaming Ninja Sword came slashing toward him.
Uchiha Itachi had closed in.
His movements were precise and swift, every step a killing move in a game of chess.
Uchiha Rei smiled faintly and met him with a punch!
"Thud!"
Itachi's body was knocked back two steps, his left arm going numb. His expression shifted.
"Careful thinking, quick movements, and flawless coordination between Ninjutsu, traps, and weapons." Uchiha Rei calmly assessed him. "If I weren't your opponent, you'd have won already."
Before he'd finished speaking, his figure blurred and he closed in again. He moved so fast he was almost impossible to follow with the naked eye, then kicked out with tremendous force!
Itachi gritted his teeth and braced himself, but he was still knocked back several steps, until he hit a utility pole.
Uchiha Rei pressed the advantage, grabbed Itachi by the Forehead Protector, and flung him away with another powerful kick!
Itachi flipped in the air and landed, but a sense of helplessness welled up inside him.
This man... is terrifyingly strong.
It wasn't just his powerful Ninjutsu. Rei overwhelmed him in every way. Chakra, Taijutsu, battle instincts—even the crushing pressure he exerted made Itachi feel as if he were standing at the edge of a cliff.
...I'm only thirteen, Itachi thought bitterly.
His opponent, meanwhile, had undergone full Uchiha training, was in the same year as Kakashi, and was a veteran fighter with extensive battle experience.
The gap between us... is enormous.
A memory from a few days ago flashed through his mind. He and the Masked Man had joined forces to ambush a squad. The one who escaped in the end had been Uchiha Rei.
Itachi had thought Rei was simply lucky, but now he understood... they hadn't been able to hold him.
"Itachi, if you keep dragging this out, you'll only die sooner," Rei said quietly as he watched him.
"...Senior." For the first time, Uchiha Itachi spoke in a low voice, and for the first time, there was respect in his tone.
"You... look behind you."
A sharp glint flashed in Uchiha Rei's eyes. He moved, turning around—
"Caw, caw—"
Uchiha Itachi, who had turned into a murder of crows, dissolved into black feathers before Rei. The real Itachi had silently appeared behind Uchiha Rei.
The Mangekyō Sharingan opened without a sound.
"Amaterasu."
Black Flames erupted at once, clinging to Uchiha Rei's body in an instant, as if they would devour everything.
Uchiha Rei didn't look the least bit alarmed.
"...Amaterasu?" he said with a soft laugh.
In the next moment, the Black Flames, which had seemed so tenacious, rapidly dimmed as if time itself had sped up, then vanished into the air like a distorted illusion.
"How is that possible!" Uchiha Itachi's pupils contracted.
"You forgot," Uchiha Rei said calmly. "Your opponent is also an Uchiha."
His voice was low and devoid of warmth.
"Senior... let me show you what the Sharingan can truly do."
As he spoke, a strange surge of Chakra burst from his eyes. Its power seemed capable of disrupting the cause and effect, and even the logic, of the world.
"Tsukuyomi."
This time, Uchiha Rei didn't dodge. His pupils suddenly contracted. The world before him twisted violently; his consciousness wavered, and the colors around him rapidly drained away. The world became a tangle of black and white.
He looked down and discovered that he was bound to a Cross Wooden Frame. Iron Locks held his limbs tight, leaving him unable to move even a finger.
So that was it...
Uchiha Rei quietly studied the black-and-white space around him.
"This is Tsukuyomi..."
"Unlike my Yellow Springs, I pull the target's body directly into my space, sealing both body and consciousness. Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi, however, uses the mind as its anchor, dragging a person's spiritual form into a Tsukuyomi Space built from his will."
"Uchiha Itachi's Tsukuyomi Space is indeed exceptionally ingenious. It can be used to pass along information. Unfortunately, after he later joined the Akatsuki Organization, he never brought a single truly valuable piece of intelligence back to Konoha."
A cold voice sounded by his ear. "This is the world of Tsukuyomi. Here, time and space, even the sensations in your body... are all under my control."
Several Uchiha Itachis slowly appeared before him, each holding a black Ninja Sword.
"This isn't a Genjutsu," he said softly, without a trace of emotion. "Here, all the pain you suffer will be reflected in your mind as if it were real. For the next seventy-two hours, I'll keep attacking you with this sword."
With that, he raised his sword high and brought it down without hesitation.
"Whoosh—"
The blade sliced through the air and cut into Uchiha Rei's shoulder. Blood sprayed out, staining the world before him red.
Then came the second strike, the third... blow after blow rained down, cutting into flesh. Itachi moved with precision each time, as if he had rehearsed the attack countless times.
Uchiha Rei smiled as he looked at Itachi.
"I'm going to cut you ten thousand times over the next three days." Uchiha Itachi's voice echoed again and again through the space.
But just as the seventeenth strike cut across his chest, Uchiha Rei let out a soft laugh.
"Your Genjutsu... is too crude."
His left eye snapped open. The black-and-white world around them suddenly turned upside down, as if the entire world were being remade beneath his gaze.
"Now it's my turn."
In an instant, the Tsukuyomi Space changed completely.
The once black-and-white Genjutsu world turned bloodred. Thick mists of blood rose all around them. The person bound to the Cross Wooden Frame was no longer Uchiha Rei, but Uchiha Itachi.
"...What?" Uchiha Itachi stared wide-eyed as he saw himself bound to the cross, blood pouring from every part of his body.
"This is impossible! How can you—" he roared, frantically driving the Mangekyō Sharingan as he tried to break free.
"Stop struggling." Uchiha Rei stepped forward. "I'll show you your subconscious—the part of yourself you've never faced."
"Lies! This is just a Genjutsu!"
Blood had begun to seep from Uchiha Itachi's eyes, a sign of the Mangekyō's backlash. He tore at the illusion with sheer mental force, and the Bloody Illusion began to fade.
But just as he thought he had finally escaped, a Colored Illusionary Realm swept over him.
He stood on the streets of Konoha, the sunlight warm. A familiar voice sounded in the distance.
"Why?! Why did you kill Father?! Why did you kill Mother?!" Uchiha Sasuke stood before him, his eyes red-rimmed.
Then a short blade suddenly plunged into Sasuke's back. Blood sprayed out. It was Danzō. His face expressionless, he pulled out the blade and walked coldly toward Itachi.
"No!" Uchiha Itachi cried in terror, only to find that he couldn't move.
Danzō sneered and reached for his eyes.
"You're nothing but one part of our tools."
The next moment, darkness swallowed his vision and agony tore through him as his eyes were ripped out. In the Colored Illusionary Realm, Konoha's shinobi watched. Every face wore a scornful, mocking smile.
"Didn't expect it, did you? There's an illusion above an illusion." Uchiha Rei's voice came from the void, so calm it was nearly emotionless. "The Colored Illusionary Realm is really just a true reflection of the depths of your heart—your subconscious."
"I didn't expect that you yourself have already been waiting for your own death."
"You've lived every day in pain."
Before you continue