The bladeless sword shattered Susanoo's defenses. With a single flash, Itachi Uchiha felt a chill across his chest and instinctively retreated.
Once he had moved beyond Sasuke's attack range, he looked down at his chest and found not even the slightest wound.
"Did that strike miss me? But... wait."
Itachi Uchiha stared at his hands, his mind dazed.
"Who am I?"
"I'm Uchiha Touc... no, I'm Itachi Uchiha."
Itachi Uchiha's pupils trembled violently as he realized the true power of that strike.
"My memories and awareness are disappearing."
With one slash, Itachi Uchiha had lost roughly three years of memories. And it was not merely his memories that had vanished, but also the ninjutsu, taijutsu, shuriken techniques, and...
His connections to other people, to the world itself, from those three years.
"Entangled Thoughts, Bound Soul—One Slash Severs the Mortal Dust."
The fusion of the Mangekyo and the Sage's power possessed both Ninjutsu Nullification, specifically countering Susanoo, and the power to erase all traces of an enemy's existence from the very root.
It was the gentlest, yet cruelest, slash in the world.
Itachi Uchiha suddenly looked into Sasuke's eyes, his emotions complicated.
"So this is your Sharingan... the Mangekyo that blossomed in order to defeat me."
"Defeat you?"
Sasuke gave a soft laugh. "Itachi, you were praised ever since you were young. Though you never showed it, deep down, you always believed everyone else was beneath you, that everyone around you was a fool.
"That's why you massacred our clan, using such a foolish method to shoulder all the responsibility yourself.
"The old me really did chase after your back, but now—"
Sasuke raised his head toward the sky.
With a deafening boom, the aircraft hovering in the sky exploded. Nagato flew out through the smoke, while at the same time,