The power within Du Yang surged once more. White light blazed around him, as if he were about to merge with the moonlight. His presence grew ethereal and boundless.
Figures clashed across the training ground.
Itachi once again unleashed the ocular technique housed within his Mangekyō Sharingan. Black flames of Amaterasu erupted.
Generally, there were only a few ways to counter this move: completely abandon one's body and shed it like Orochimaru, dodge at incredible speed so it couldn't hit, or use something like Susanoo to block it.
However, the black flames of Amaterasu seemed unable to harm Primordial Qi. His entire body had transformed perfectly into qi, which could be separated and recombined at will.
Itachi realized this in an instant. He unleashed the ultimate power housed within his Mangekyō Sharingan and summoned Susanoo without hesitation.
In an instant, a massive red skeleton enveloped him. Muscles, blood, and sinews quickly grew over its bones, followed by armor.
At last, a colossal figure appeared before him, clad in red armor and resembling a burly warrior. Its presence was utterly terrifying.
Beside it, the tiny Du Yang looked like a mere underling.
The Totsuka Blade appeared in the hand of the red Susanoo. It seemed poised to stab Du Yang and seal him away completely.
Du Yang didn't dare take that gamble.
If the Totsuka Blade pierced him, he would certainly be sealed inside the gourd.
It was a power that seemed to operate by its own rules.
He couldn't be certain whether the Primordial Qi he had separated from himself would also be recognized by the Totsuka Blade and sealed away.
Since Itachi had used such a troublesome move, Du Yang would have to counterattack with a thunderous blow.
For a moment, Du Yang felt that the time for the decisive battle had come.
Du Yang instantly performed two other techniques. The first was the most basic one: the Clone Technique.
However, the two clones he created were unlike ordinary ones. One was made entirely of pure white light, while the other consisted of a substance like black lightning.
They were called clones, but the chakra he released had unknowingly transformed into the Purification Power wielded by a level-five Mutant and the Advanced Conqueror's Haki found in the One Piece world.
That's right—his Clone Technique had undergone a strange transformation, too.
At its core, the Clone Technique created illusory chakra doubles. It was, in essence, a form of creation.
Using this basic technique, Du Yang had now summoned beings that did not belong to this world at all.
At the same time, Du Yang gripped his ninja sword tightly. His skin resembled the hide of a Thunder Drum, constantly contracting and expanding, stretched taut. Beneath it, veins branched out like the limbs of a flourishing tree, spreading as his blood seemed to surge to a fever pitch.
As his blood roiled, his veins formed vivid patterns like red lines drawn by a painter. Every tiny detail was as intricate as the pattern of a snowflake, a masterpiece of nature.
It was as if the countless branching veins had been adorned with delicate embellishments, and clusters of blood-red blossoms had burst from their tips.
Now that Du Yang had shared the power of three others, his physical abilities far surpassed what an ordinary ninja could imagine. He could even use a technique from the One Piece world that forcibly drew out the body's potential.
As an elite jonin, Naruto Du Yang already had exceptional skill with ninja tools, including ninja swords.
One Piece Duyang needed no introduction. When he was a pirate, he had been a swordsman with outstanding swordsmanship.
Now, he was a swordsman powerful enough to wield Advanced Conqueror's Haki, and his sword techniques were devastating.
For a moment, time seemed to freeze.
Then, at a certain instant, it began spinning wildly like a gear.
The Purification Power and Advanced Conqueror's Haki from the Clone Technique coated the ninja sword, black and white light intertwining along its length.
Susanoo thrust the Totsuka Blade at Du Yang, but it failed to hit. Itachi, son of the Uchiha Clan's leader and wielder of the Mangekyō Sharingan, had thought his attack was foolproof. Yet it failed to seal this Uchiha rebel, who was about to bring the bloody massacre of that night to an end before it could begin.
Du Yang appeared behind him with uncanny speed. The architect of the clan's massacre immediately turned and thrust the Totsuka Blade again. The magnificent power of the black-and-white light made Du Yang's figure grow more solid, while the force of the slash seemed to reduce everything in its path to nothingness.
When Itachi came to his senses, he discovered that his Susanoo had vanished. Du Yang had simply plunged his blade into Itachi's chest.
The power of Advanced Conqueror's Haki made that single strike astonishingly powerful.
The Purification Power wielded by a level-five Mutant seemed capable of reducing everything to nothing: matter, space, time, even existence itself. It was a truly planet-destroying power.
Itachi seemed unable to accept reality. He staggered backward, gasping violently, and could feel his life rapidly slipping away.
Uchiha Du Yang seemed to have done nothing more. He simply watched Itachi in silence.
"Your power is truly incredible."
Only now did Itachi understand what kind of opponent he was facing.
This had never been an evenly matched battle. Its outcome had been decided from the very beginning.
Every technique Du Yang used was beyond Itachi's comprehension.
His opponent's strength far surpassed his own.
That's right—Du Yang hadn't come to duel Itachi at all.
There had been no back-and-forth struggle, no losing ground only to unleash a desperate burst of power and turn the tables at the last moment.
Du Yang intended to crush him with overwhelming strength.
The power he possessed had already placed him at the pinnacle of the Shinobi World.
But raw strength alone wasn't enough. He had to change everything, and he couldn't do it through brute force.
Du Yang said calmly, "Now do you understand? The Uchiha's power is beyond your imagination. The clan's only path isn't annihilation."
"Who are you, and where are you going to lead the Uchiha?" A glimmer seemed to appear in Itachi's eyes.
He wasn't afraid of dying. Instead, he could barely contain his excitement.
If such a powerful Uchiha existed, the clan could have a very different future.
Unfortunately, he wouldn't live to see that day.
Itachi gave a bitter smile. His vision went dark, and he fell to the ground.
Perhaps his decision to massacre the Uchiha Clan had been wrong, but he didn't believe he had made a mistake.
Still, it was a relief to have one of his own stop him.
That was Itachi's final thought before he died.
Looking at Itachi's corpse, Du Yang let out a breath and watched as his Mangekyō Sharingan shone with an unusual light.
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