Uchiha Rei VS Uchiha Itachi (Part 2)

The Yellow Springs Space, like an endless abyss, the sky was blood-red, as if about to drip down, pressing down so hard one couldn't breathe.

"So the so-called Tsukuyomi space is actually a Mind's Reflection of your heart." A voice coldly sounded in Itachi's ear, as if it didn't belong to the human world but came from the other side of death.

"You crave death, and have even prepared the ritual for it, but... you can't bear to let go of your brother, Uchiha Sasuke."

"The only reason you're clinging to life... is for him." Uchiha Rei's eyes were as cold as a god of death. "You betrayed the clan, but Sasuke is also a member of the clan. You severed familial ties, yet you want to take away the most precious thing from him in the name of protection... Your love is so twisted it's laughable."

Uchiha's eye twitched. Rei's words were a stab to the heart.

"Your love is too deformed."

Itachi opened his mouth, wanting to say something, but silently lowered his head. The image of a small figure appeared in his eyes, Sasuke standing behind him, staring blankly at him.

"I originally wanted to kill you." Uchiha Rei slowly raised his hand, chakra gathering in his palm to form a Dark Red Ninja Sword. "But now, I don't want to. Perhaps killing you would be a release."

"It's a shame, though. You made your move a few days ago." His voice grew colder. "Since you chose to be my enemy, you must be prepared to be killed by me."

"Don't worry." Uchiha Rei turned and half-sideways, glancing into the distance. "Your brother has nothing to do with me. I won't kill him."

In this Yomi Illusion Realm, that sentence, "I won't kill him," was like a release, and also like a pronouncement.

Uchiha Itachi slowly closed his eyes. The pain, guilt, and struggle that had accumulated in his chest for years finally found an outlet.

"Yes..." he murmured inwardly. "Perhaps it's time to let go."

"The fate of the Uchiha is truly like a Caged Bird..." He slowly raised his head, his blood-red Sharingan reflecting Rei's figure. "And I am that bird, struggling endlessly."

The moment he completely gave up resisting, a bright light suddenly pierced the darkness in his spiritual world.

"What is this...?"

He saw that mirror, an ancient object he had accidentally obtained in the clan's underground secret room a few days ago. He hadn't paid it much attention then, but now it automatically appeared at the moment his spirit was on the verge of collapse.

The mirror surface glowed, seemingly actively dispelling the erosion of the opponent's genjutsu. Uchiha Itachi's eyes snapped open: "It's the Yata Mirror!"

As the light spread, the genjutsu space began to fluctuate subtly.

"And..." He clenched his fist, and a familiar power was awakened from his spiritual world.

"Totsuka Blade." He whispered, "I still possess this sword!"

Uchiha Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan spun wildly, and a phantom sword shimmering with golden light appeared in his palm. It was a divine sword with the power of sealing—one of the legendary Three Sacred Treasures.

Hope reignited, his eyes flashed with light, and he fiercely swung the sword towards the blood-red space!

"Hmph..." Uchiha Rei frowned, watching this sudden turn of events. "You can still resist? And it's one of the Three Sacred Treasures..."

But the genjutsu space remained still, as if it had swallowed everything.

"Too weak... or is it..." Uchiha Rei gritted his teeth, swinging his sword relentlessly.

Until a certain moment, an extremely tiny crack appeared in the blood-red sky.

"An opportunity!" A sharp glint flashed in his eyes.

The appearance of the crack seemed to open a valve, and he could feel chakra flowing within his body again. The feeling of restraint vanished, and a sense of freedom surged through his limbs!

Without a moment's hesitation, Uchiha Itachi unleashed a ninjutsu, his body instantly transforming into a swarm of crows, flying rapidly towards the crack!

"You're not escaping!" Uchiha Rei roared, forming hand seals as the genjutsu space began to rapidly repair.

But at the very last second before the crack closed, the final feather flew out.

Uchiha Itachi had successfully escaped!

The crack was rapidly mending, and at the last moment, the crows broke through the air, and Uchiha Itachi returned to reality.

"Haa... haa..." His breathing was ragged, cold sweat streaming down his forehead, blood tears constantly falling from his eyes, "...I barely survived."

"From today on, I am a bird freed from its cage!"

Without any hesitation, he turned and sped towards Konohagakure. At this moment, his chakra was almost depleted, and his spirit was at its limit. If he were to fight again, he would have no chance of winning.

"He... is more dangerous than Danzo." Uchiha Itachi calmly analyzed, "If I hadn't obtained those two divine artifacts in the secret chamber beforehand, today... I would have surely died."

"Rei wasn't lying... he truly had the power to kill me."

"But I cannot die yet." His eyes turned red, and Sasuke's face appeared in his mind, "The fate of the Uchiha... must be controlled by me."

The sound of wind intensified behind him.

Uchiha Rei had already caught up.

"What a persistent guy, like a cockroach." Uchiha Rei chuckled, "You never know what Itachi will pull out of his pocket at any given moment."

Perhaps it was because he had just broken free from a desperate situation, but Uchiha Itachi's speed was a few notches faster than before.

He was like a black shadow streaking through the night, quickly reaching the outskirts of Konohagakure. He leaped, landing on a utility pole, and using the momentum, he raced along the wires, his afterimages blurring as he disappeared into the labyrinth of streets and alleys.

Uchiha Rei followed closely, but for a moment, he couldn't keep up.

Just then, hurried footsteps and shouts erupted ahead.

"It's Uchiha Itachi! Chase him!"

"Don't let him escape!"

"Uchiha Itachi, surrender!"

A squad of Anbu ninjas surrounded Uchiha Itachi like a tide, trapping him in their encirclement.

Uchiha Rei, however, stood atop a tall tree, not rushing to act. His gaze was fixed on the chaos below, as if waiting for something.

As expected, a moment later, the besieged Uchiha Itachi suddenly transformed into a flock of crows and scattered.

It was merely a Shadow Clone.

"...Escaped quite cleverly," Uchiha Rei narrowed his eyes slightly.

With the Anbu's encirclement, Uchiha Itachi had managed to slip away unnoticed.

But Uchiha Rei showed no signs of anxiety. On the contrary, his expression was stern and resolute, and he murmured softly:

"The monk may escape, but the temple remains. You can't flee Konoha... I'll go to your home and wait for you."

Before his words even fell, his figure flashed, and he sped towards the Uchiha Clan Compound.

In the darkness of night, the streets of Konoha were silent, especially the district where the Uchiha Clan resided, which was now almost deserted.

Even ordinary residents of Konohagakure understood that the relationship between Konoha and the Uchiha was fraught with impending storms, making reconciliation impossible.

The Uchiha Clan had already recalled a large number of Jonin and Chunin, setting up layers of defenses that completely sealed off the clan territory.

However, these defenses were like nothing to Uchiha Rei. He silently weaved through the lines of defense, not a single Uchiha guard noticing his presence.

Before long, he had infiltrated the vicinity of Uchiha Sasuke's residence.

Yet, after several hours passed, there was still no movement from inside. Uchiha Itachi had not returned home.

My time is far more precious than Uchiha Itachi's. I can't wait any longer.

Uchiha Rei gazed at Sasuke's room, a sharp glint flashing in his eyes.

Moments ago, he had gained a wealth of crucial information by intruding into Uchiha Itachi's mental world. Among this information, two points were the most important:

First, the two divine artifacts in Uchiha Itachi's possession – the "Eight Shaku Mirror" and the "Totsuka Blade" – were both obtained from the clan's secret vault.

Second, deep within Itachi's subconscious, there was a golden mark emitting an unusual chakra fluctuation.

"Since you're not coming back, I'll go to the secret vault myself," Uchiha Rei muttered, turning to walk out of the village.

There, on the mountain downstream of Konoha's Naka River, stood the Naka Shrine. This was the ancestral temple of the Uchiha Clan, where clan members held secret gatherings throughout the generations.

The shrine appeared unremarkable on the surface. According to Itachi's intelligence, its main hall contained a secret entrance beneath the seventh tatami mat in the innermost right corner. This connected to the Uchiha Clan's most hidden underground secret vault. In the depths of the vault lay a stone tablet inscribed by the Sage of Six Paths, whose secrets could only be read layer by layer by those with the Sharingan, Mangekyo Sharingan, or even the Rinnegan.

The contents of this stone tablet had long been secretly altered by Black Zetsu, becoming a shackle that twisted fate. And now, this ancient place welcomed an intruder once more.

Uchiha Rei entered the shrine silently. He quickly surveyed the main hall. Everything before him appeared old and ordinary, but he knew that true secrets never lay on the surface.

"The entrance... is right inside here." He closed his left eye, and when he opened it again, his Mangekyo Sharingan had quietly begun to spin.

His vision changed in an instant. The entire space inside the shrine was distorted into patterns of chakra in his eyes—and beneath a tatami mat in the innermost section, a distinctly different convergence of energy appeared. There, the Uchiha clan crest was clearly engraved.

Uchiha Rei squatted down and lifted the tatami mat. Beneath it was a stone slab of hard texture. He reached out to push it, but it didn't budge at all.

"As expected... it's no ordinary mechanism." He chuckled softly, his gaze heavy.

As chakra from his Mangekyo Sharingan poured into it, the stone slab actually began to slowly fade, rippling like the surface of water.

"Only by awakening the Mangekyo can one be qualified to enter this place... No wonder I couldn't find it even after searching for so many years," he murmured.

A staircase leading into darkness slowly appeared. It was the path to the Uchiha's true secret.

Uchiha Rei slowly stepped into it, as if walking step by step into the abyss of fate.