Yi Da Qi

Hearing Masked Man Madara Uchiha's words, Itachi fell silent for a moment before drawing the long blade from his back.

Although he still felt that something was off,

the person before him was indeed an enemy. At least, that much was beyond doubt.

As for the Sharingan of the Uchiha Clan,

Itachi knew, of course, that the reason the Masked Man had arrived late was that he'd gone to collect the eyes.

But he hadn't expected

Shimura Danzō to be greedy enough to send people to seize them.

Now,

there was only one thing left to do.

Fight.

Uchiha Itachi raised the blade in his hand and looked toward Chen Xiaoxi. His voice was cool and indifferent.

"Person wearing the white mask,"

"tell me your name. At least, I..."

"You talk too much. Cero."

BOOM!!

Before Itachi could finish speaking, Chen Xiaoxi, standing nearby in his Hollowfied form, abruptly raised his right hand!

In the next instant, a pale-moon-colored Cero shot out!

A storm of violent Reiatsu swept across the area, bearing down with terrifying force that threatened to annihilate everything!

"?"

Seeing this, Itachi's expression changed at once. He was stunned.

What was going on?

What kind of proper ninja attacked while someone was in the middle of speaking?

And besides, this...

What was happening?

Did this technique not require Hand Seals at all?

In the blink of an eye,

the pale-moon-colored Cero, like a laser cannon, shot toward Itachi at incredible speed!

With no other choice, Itachi gritted his teeth and quickly used the Substitution Technique!

Then he leaped into the air and looked toward Chen Xiaoxi, his gaze sharpening.

Kekkei Genkai: Sharingan, activated!

An invisible stream of chakra surged toward Chen Xiaoxi!

At that moment, the pale-moon-colored Cero in Chen Xiaoxi's hand shot beneath Itachi and struck a gray stone pillar.

BOOM!!

The pillar shattered the instant the Cero hit it. But it didn't break into chunks of stone. Instead... it became dust and ash!

It was as if it had been annihilated by a force far beyond what it could withstand.

Seeing this,

Itachi's heart stirred.

This guy's casual techniques had such destructive power... truly astonishing.

But

this was as far as he'd go.

Itachi landed on the ground and looked at Chen Xiaoxi, who had suddenly gone motionless. His expression returned to its usual calm.

The moment he'd leaped into the air,

his Sharingan Genjutsu had already taken effect.

He'd won.

The Masked Man nearby let out a low laugh and said,

"Heh..."

"No matter how much you boast, you're helpless against the Sharingan. So that's all the strength you've got?"

"Finish him, Yi Da Qi."

At these words,

Itachi raised his long blade and walked straight up to Chen Xiaoxi. Looking into the vacant eyes beneath his mask, he said coolly,

"Farewell."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Itachi swiftly raised his hand. His expression cold, he brought his blade down on Chen Xiaoxi.

Though he had no personal grudge against the masked man before him, his position left him no choice but to act.

Just as it had when he killed his entire clan.

There was no justice in it.

The blade flashed through the air, its cold gleam reflecting the moonlight.

However,

at that very moment, something unexpected happened!

Chen Xiaoxi, who had been standing perfectly still, suddenly vanished from the spot!

Itachi's fierce slash cut through empty air!

"?"

What was going on?

Itachi instantly felt a chill run down his back!

However,

before he could react,

he suddenly felt a stormlike pressure behind him!

At some point,

Chen Xiaoxi had appeared behind Itachi like a fading afterimage!

Then Fox Ghost smiled and brought his blade down!

The chaotic Void Reiatsu instantly gathered into the shape of a crescent moon and burst from the blade, blasting straight toward Uchiha Itachi's back!

The terrifying pressure seemed to tear space apart as it struck Itachi without fail!

PFFT!!

Itachi's expression changed sharply, and he spat out a mouthful of blood!

Then an invisible, tremendous force hurled his entire body away. Like a kite with its string cut, he crashed into the shrine wall, leaving a deep crater.

BAM!!

As dust billowed into the air, he spat out another mouthful of blood!

With great difficulty, Itachi raised his head and stared in disbelief at the man standing in the moonlight before him.

How... was this possible?

How had he broken free of the Sharingan Genjutsu?

And how had he reached my back in the instant I swung my blade?

For the first time, shock appeared in Itachi's eyes.

As far as he knew,

he'd been Leaf Village's greatest prodigy since childhood, unrivaled in every way. He'd always been among the very best.

No one had ever completely outclassed him in Body Flicker Technique—not to this extent...

Except for one person—

his senior, Uchiha Shisui.

But Shisui had died long ago...

So what was going on with this guy?

Blood trickled from Itachi's mouth as he stared at the man before him, his expression grave.

He understood now—

the one wearing the Fox Ghost mask was a demon in the truest sense of the word!

At the same time,

the Masked Man watching nearby had also frozen.

Not only had Itachi failed to see Chen Xiaoxi's movements just now—even the Masked Man, watching from the sidelines, hadn't been able to make out his path!

That terrifying feeling... reminded him of his former teacher!

Leaf Village's Yellow Flash, Minato Namikaze!

But

Minato-sensei had died on the night of the Nine-Tails Incident...

So what was going on with this guy?

A new Space-Time Ninjutsu?

In fact,

the moment Chen Xiaoxi had struck,

the Masked Man had almost wondered whether his eyes were really the Mangekyō Sharingan, or just a pair of farsighted eyes...

Beneath the moonlight,

dust swirled through the air.

Chen Xiaoxi slowly lowered the white blade in his hand and smiled at Uchiha Itachi, who had been sent flying.

"Hey, hey, Uchiha Yi Da Qi—is that the Sharingan Genjutsu you're so proud of?"

"Doesn't look like much to me."

After Hollowfication, Chen Xiaoxi had taken on an entirely new form.

Even his Zanpakuto had been dyed a pure pale-moon color by the Hollow soul within him.

From the hilt to the guard, from the blade to the scabbard—not a single part was spared.

This state was naturally completely different from the Asauchi in his normal form.

So as long as Chen Xiaoxi didn't use Shikai, he had no need to worry about being recognized by Obito, who was standing nearby.

Fortunately,

after Hollowfication, Chen Xiaoxi's strength had increased to a terrifying degree.

He didn't need to release his Zanpakuto to deal with Uchiha Itachi and Uchiha Obito as they were now.

After all, Itachi, the devoted brother, could certainly be called a prodigy.

But he was too young.

He hadn't even awakened Amaterasu yet, let alone Susanoo.

With strength at this level, he obviously couldn't stand a chance against Hollowfied Chen Xiaoxi.

As for the sneaky Obito, Chen Xiaoxi had already figured out how to counter him.

He just needed to test his idea first.