Ning Xue watched the figure go away, confirmed that the other party had completely left, and then slowly looked back.
He looked down at the Kubikiribōchō in his hand, flicked the blade, turned and walked in the direction of Suigetsu.
"Give it back to you."
He handed Kubikiribōchō to Suigetsu with a calm tone.
Suigetsu reached out to take the knife, put it back behind his back, his movements were skillful and natural, and then he grinned, revealing a row of shark teeth.
"You're welcome, little brother! Although you are quite good at using it, this knife is still more suitable for me."
Ning Xue didn't answer, just turned around and took the lead in the direction of the stronghold.
"Gone."
His voice came from the front, short and crisp.
Karin almost followed him.
She rushed out the moment Ning Xue took a step forward, much faster than usual, and she didn't even bother to look back at Suigetsu and Jugo behind her.
"Sasuke!"
There was obvious urgency in her voice, her steps were moving quickly among the gravel and rubble, and her red eyes behind her spectacles were full of worry.
Jugo followed silently, with a steady and rapid pace.
Suigetsu fell at the back. He adjusted Kubikiribōchō on his back, looked at the direction where Kisame disappeared, and then quickly followed the footsteps in front.
Deep in the stronghold.
When the four of them walked through the last section of the collapsed corridor and arrived at the open space that once served as the hall, the sight in front of them made everyone pause for a moment.
Broken walls, rubble, and ground were scorched black by lightning strikes, and the air was filled with a pungent burnt smell.
Sasuke sat under a broken wall with Uchiha Clan Crest printed on it, leaning against the wall and looking up at the sky where the dark clouds were gradually dissipating.
His body was covered with scars. Most of the sleeve on his left arm had been burned off, and the exposed arm was covered with fine wounds. The blood had dried and condensed into dark red scabs.
There was a bloodstain on his face that extended from his brow bone to his chin, but there was no wound on his forehead.
His breathing was weak and rapid, his chest heaved slightly, but his dark eyes seemed empty and blank at the moment, as if his thoughts had drifted to a far away place.
Beside him, Uchiha Itachi was lying on his back on the ground.
His expression was calm, and there was still a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, but the Sharingan that once terrified countless people was closed, and his chest did not rise and fall.
There were no obvious external injuries, but his body seemed to have been drained of all life, and he died suddenly on the spot.
On the ground not far away, two huge gray palms were scattered.
Those were the wings derived from Sasuke under Curse Mark Second State, but they were chopped off and fell to the ground in this decisive battle, and the fracture was burnt black and flat.
At that time, he could feel the power Itachi showed at the last moment - Susanoo.
It was so powerful that he had never seen it before. If Itachi had used that power from the beginning, there would have been no chance of his own survival.
But Itachi didn't do that.
He just closed his eyes, walked away Susanoo, walked tremblingly Earth Flow in front of him, raised his hand like he did when he was a child, and lightly tapped his forehead.
Then he fell down.
"Forgive me, Sasuke..."
Those silent words seemed to still be echoing in my ears.
Karin rushed forward as soon as she saw Sasuke, her steps staggering a little. She knelt in front of Sasuke, her voice was urgent and trembling.
"Sasuke! Are you okay?"
Sasuke slowly turned his head and looked at her blankly, as if he had just been awakened from deep meditation.
Karin didn't wait for his answer, quickly rolled up his sleeves, exposed a section of his white wrist, and handed it to Sasuke's mouth.
"Quick! Bite it down!"
There was unmistakable urgency in her voice.
Sasuke stared at her blankly for a few seconds, then slowly lowered his head, opened his mouth and bit her wrist, and began to absorb her Chakra to recover from the injury.
Karin's brow furrowed slightly due to the pain, but she did not retract her hand. She just squatted there quietly, watching Sasuke's wound begin to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Jugo stood a little further away, his eyes falling on the two huge severed hands.
He was silent for a moment, as if thinking about something, then turned to look at Sasuke, and spoke calmly:
"Sasuke, do you need me to take those two wings back?"
Sasuke did not answer immediately.
He let go of Karin's wrist and wiped the remaining blood at the corner of his mouth. His voice was hoarse and low, with a hint of emptiness.
"... No need."
He paused and his eyes fell on the two palms, as if he was looking at something that had nothing to do with him.
"It's no longer useful."
Jugo didn't ask any questions, just nodded silently and stepped aside.
Suigetsu looked around the messy battlefield and let out a sigh.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk... This battle is really tragic."
He walked to a relatively complete stone pier, sat down, put his hands on his knees, and glanced back and forth between Sasuke and Itachi.
"Seriously, I have never seen you Sasuke so seriously injured."
There was a hint of ridicule in his tone, but there was also some sincere concern hidden in it.
"Is that guy that strong?"
Sasuke did not answer.
He just raised his head again and looked at the exposed sky above his head.
The clouds were slowly dispersing, revealing a corner of blue. The sunlight poured down from the cracks and fell on his face, bringing with it a faint warmth.
Ning Xue stands at the back of the team.
His Byakugan was never closed, his eyes stayed on Itachi's body for a moment, and then moved away.
He saw the traces of disease erosion inside the body, and saw the meridians and organs that had long since dried up.
This body had already reached its end before the battle began.
But he didn't say it.
Just stood there quietly, waiting for Sasuke to recover.
While several people were busy doing their own thing, a voice suddenly sounded from the shadows on the edge of the ruins:
"It seems... I'm late."
There was a trace of regret in that voice, low and majestic.
Several people turned their heads at the same time, focusing their gazes on the direction from which the sound came.
I saw a figure wearing a swirling orange mask, squatting on a broken stone pillar, supporting his chin with one hand and resting the other hand casually on his knee.
He tilted his head, and the eye under the mask swept across the faces of several people one by one, and finally landed on Sasuke, then on Itachi's body, and let out a sigh of unknown meaning.
"I didn't expect the battle to be over."