"Fire Release—Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!"
"Boom!" "Boom!"
"Clang!" Intense flames burst forth at once, blasting terrifying craters across the ground. Sasuke twisted aside to evade more than a dozen rapidly incoming kunai, then stepped forward with his right foot and drew the Kusanagi Sword from his waist.
"Clang!" Holding it horizontally before himself, he stared coldly at the expressionless Itachi Uchiha in the distance, the gravity in his eyes deepening further.
Sasuke had truly never expected this. He had already rated Itachi Uchiha so highly, yet he had still underestimated him. Ever since witnessing Naruto's rapid growth in strength four years ago, as well as Ueno Kei's overwhelmingly powerful strength despite being nearly the same age as him—
Sasuke had begun to understand and reflect on himself. From that moment on, he had decided to cast aside his former self. Defeating Orochimaru, just as Itachi Uchiha had said, was nothing to be proud of.
Because that had not been Orochimaru at his peak. Orochimaru had been in a weakened state and needed to undergo reincarnation—how much of his power could he have retained? Even by the most generous estimate, it could not have exceeded seventy percent of his original strength.
It might even have been lower. Yet Itachi Uchiha had once defeated Orochimaru at his peak with ease.
There were two reasons Sasuke had dared to challenge Itachi Uchiha before obtaining the Mangekyō Sharingan. First, after fighting Orochimaru, Sasuke had perfectly absorbed everything Orochimaru possessed, including his chakra and his understanding of jutsu.
Furthermore, based on Sasuke's understanding of the Sharingan, Itachi Uchiha's Mangekyō Sharingan was likely already nearing its limit. There was no need to fear him too much.
It was precisely because of these two points that Second Pillar had been so confident he could defeat Itachi Uchiha!