Sasuke looked back and froze.
Orochimaru stood before Kabuto, his jaws stretched wide. Rows upon rows of sharp teeth filled his mouth, a chilling sight.
His neck was made of countless little white snakes layered together, thick and grotesque.
Kabuto said smugly, "Well, Sasuke? Does my current form look familiar?"
"Thanks to you killing Lord Orochimaru, I was able to absorb him. That's right. This is my true form."
He threw back his head and laughed. "All the laws of nature Lord Orochimaru gathered are inside me!"
"The one thing I lacked was Lord Orochimaru himself, and now even he's inside me! I can't thank you enough, Sasuke!"
Itachi's voice rang out again, cold but measured. "Kabuto, you aren't Orochimaru. There's nothing wrong with imitating someone you respect, but don't lose yourself in him."
Kabuto scoffed. "Most people start by imitating someone else. Sasuke imitated you."
Itachi replied, "That's a way to grow. You've tied your own worth to the things you admire."
"If you look for meaning in yourself that way, you'll never find anything."
"I'll say it one last time. Stop deceiving yourself with lies."
"Those who can't accept themselves are destined to fail."
"You're saying I'm destined to fail?" For the first time, Kabuto's voice wavered. He roared, "How could I possibly fail?!"
The Orochimaru head opened its enormous mouth and lunged at the Uchiha brothers like a python.
"Sasuke, look into my eyes!" Itachi turned toward him, urgency creeping into his voice.
"I see." Sasuke understood at once and opened his eyes wide. "Genjutsu. Sharingan."
"Tsukuyomi!" Itachi cast a genjutsu of his own.
Inside the genjutsu space, Sasuke's illusory form cut the white snakes from Itachi. Itachi did the same for Sasuke, quickly severing his bonds.
Beneath the Sky Screen, everyone watched in discomfort.
"Holy shit!