Brothers' Showdown

Before the abandoned assembly hall of Naka Shrine, Kisame Hoshigaki stood like a guardian statue with Samehada slung over his shoulder. When Sasuke arrived with the Snake Squad, a playful smile appeared on his shark-like face.

"Finally here, Sasuke Uchiha." Kisame bared his sharp teeth. "Itachi has been waiting for you for a long time."

Sasuke's Sharingan glowed crimson in the darkness. Behind him, Jugo, Suigetsu, and Karin immediately went on guard.

"Itachi is inside?" Sasuke's voice was as cold as ice.

"He's been expecting you." Kisame lowered Samehada from his shoulder, its tip touching the ground. "But... only you may enter. The others stay outside."

Suigetsu immediately protested. "Hey, hey, we—"

"Suigetsu." Sasuke raised a hand to stop him, never taking his eyes off Kisame. "Wait outside."

"But Sasuke!" Karin said anxiously. "That shark-face looks dangerous, and there could be an ambush inside..."

Sasuke did not turn around. "This is my battle."

He turned and climbed the stone steps leading to the shrine's main hall alone. His black robe fluttered lightly in the night wind.

Kisame watched Sasuke enter the shrine, then looked at the three outside. "Then, everyone... wait here."

Dark clouds blanketed the sky.

Sasuke stood amid the ruins, his Sharingan fixed on the entrance. Itachi Uchiha appeared soundlessly like a ghost, seated in a high-backed chair at the far end, his expression indifferent.

"I came alone, as promised... Itachi Uchiha." Sasuke's cold voice rang out.

Itachi slowly raised his eyes and calmly said, "How far can your Sharingan see now?"

Killing intent surged in Sasuke's eyes as he roared, "Use your body to find out!"

Sasuke rapidly formed hand seals—Snake, Ram, Monkey, Boar, Horse, Tiger—and shouted, "Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique!"

A massive fire dragon erupted from Sasuke's mouth, roaring as it devoured everything in its path and charged straight at Itachi's chair. With a thunderous blast, the wall and roof were blown open, letting sunlight and dust pour in together. At the last instant, Itachi leaped aside. The chair where he had been sitting turned to ash. The two faced each other amid the open ruins.

Itachi looked at Sasuke with contempt. "You seem to have become a little stronger... Let me see it."

Sasuke refused to back down. "You will soon enough!"

Sasuke flung several enormous Fuma Shuriken, and Itachi easily blocked them with kunai. However, that was only a feint. Nearly transparent steel wires connected to the shuriken had already wrapped around Itachi's arms while he blocked. Sasuke yanked the wires tight and formed hand seals.

"Fire Release: Phoenix Sage Fire Technique!" Sasuke shouted softly.

Countless fireballs raced along the wires, instantly engulfing Itachi's arms and half his body.

A triumphant smile curled up Sasuke's lips. "Well? What do you think of that? Your arms are useless now!"

Itachi's calm voice came from behind Sasuke. "You seem quite skilled at genjutsu."

Sasuke's pupils constricted as he whirled around. The "Itachi" burning in the flames had turned into an unfamiliar ninja and collapsed to the ground. The real Itachi Uchiha was still sitting safely in the original intact high-backed chair, as if he had never moved—from the very beginning, he had already fallen into a genjutsu.

Itachi looked at Sasuke again and calmly said, "It seems your Sharingan still has a long way to go."

Sasuke gritted his teeth, his Sharingan spinning rapidly as he shouted furiously, "Damn it... release!"

The surrounding scene cracked like glass, and the genjutsu was broken. Sasuke panted heavily, realizing Itachi's strength.

Itachi gave a slight nod. "Very good." Before his words faded, he was already beside Sasuke as if he had teleported, extending a finger toward Sasuke's forehead.

Staring into Sasuke's eyes, Itachi calmly said, "Just like this... you will never be able to defeat me."

Sasuke dismissed Itachi Uchiha's taunt. He focused all his ocular power into his Three-Tomoe Sharingan and shouted, "A genjutsu of this level... release!"

He successfully dispelled Itachi's swift genjutsu attack once more. But a strange red glow appeared in Itachi's eyes, and their pattern abruptly changed.

Without changing expression, Itachi activated his Mangekyō Sharingan. "Then, how about this... Tsukuyomi."

The world instantly changed color. Sasuke found himself tightly bound to a cross, unable to move. Itachi stood before him with a long sword in hand.

Itachi's voice seemed to come from another dimension. "In the world of Tsukuyomi, time, space, and matter are all under my control. For the next seventy-two hours, I will stab you with this blade. Enjoy it."

Long "hours" began to pass. Again and again, Itachi's sword slowly and precisely pierced Sasuke's body. It avoided vital points, yet brought pain in its purest, most extreme form. Every second stretched into unbearable torment. Only an instant passed in reality, but Sasuke had already fallen to his knees, drenched in cold sweat, trembling violently and barely able to breathe.

Itachi looked at Sasuke with pity and softly asked, "Can your Sharingan see through this as well?"

Sasuke painfully raised his head. The three tomoe in his eyes spun madly, bloodshot veins covering them, but his gaze remained resolute as he stared straight into Itachi's eyes and said quietly, "I... am not the same... as I was then!"

With a low roar, cracks appeared in the Tsukuyomi space binding him before it shattered apart! Sasuke knelt amid the ruins of the real world and vomited sour fluid, but his eyes remained locked on Itachi.

A bloody tear ran from Itachi's left Mangekyō Sharingan as he feigned obvious shock. "You actually... broke Tsukuyomi..."

Sasuke forcefully wiped the filth from the corner of his mouth and staggered to his feet, panting. "How much effort have I put in to kill you... Pain like this... is nothing compared to my hatred!"

Itachi slowly wiped away the blood tear, his tone low. "I admit it... you have become stronger." His right eye began to change as blood vessels spread through it.

Sasuke spread both hands and began carrying out the ultimate tactic he had carefully planned.

Sasuke said confidently, "My chakra, combined with the lightning of nature... taste this!"

He first formed hand seals and unleashed the Great Dragon Fire Technique again! The massive fire dragon did not attack Itachi directly. Instead, it soared into the sky, violently heating the air and accelerating the convection and churning of the already dense storm clouds overhead. In an instant, thunderclouds formed, lightning flickering within them as thunder rumbled.

Itachi looked up at the sky, blood streaming from his right eye. He murmured, "This ninjutsu is..." Then he suddenly stared at Sasuke's Great Dragon Fire Technique and shouted, "Amaterasu!"

Black flames that seemed capable of devouring light ignited where his gaze focused, racing back along the path of the Great Dragon Fire toward its caster at astonishing speed.

Sasuke was fully prepared. I've been waiting for this! This is the technique I prepared for it—Orochimaru-Style Substitution Technique!

The instant Amaterasu's black flames reached him, Sasuke's real body leaped out from behind a nearby boulder, leaving only a shed skin behind to be rapidly consumed by the black flames. At the same time, he pressed both hands to the ground. "Explode!"

Scrolls covered in sealing formulas, hidden throughout the surrounding ruins, unfurled at once and generated a powerful suction force—Sealing Technique: Lion's Roar! Amaterasu's black flames were entirely drawn into the scrolls and sealed away.

Sasuke stood atop the tallest boulder nearby, breathing confidently. "Your Amaterasu is useless against me now! And my technique is only just complete! Behold, the strongest lightning strike in nature! Kirin!"

He raised his left hand, his fingertips guiding the incomparably massive, violent lightning drawn down from the storm clouds. The lightning gathered in the sky into a radiant, lifelike Kirin beast, crashing down with deafening thunder and the force to destroy everything! Its range covered the entire area, and its speed surpassed any possibility of evasion.

"KABOOM—!!!"

An unprecedented explosion and blinding white light swallowed everything where Itachi Uchiha stood. The shockwave flattened the remaining buildings, cracked the ground, and sent smoke and dust soaring into the sky.

Having consumed a massive amount of chakra, Sasuke dropped to one knee and stared intently at the center of the smoke. "Is it over...?"

The smoke slowly dispersed. A gigantic skeletal half-giant glowing dark red protected Itachi Uchiha within it—Susanoo. In its skeletal hand, it held a shield made of light, the initial form of the Yata Mirror.

Under Susanoo's protection, Itachi coughed violently, blood constantly spilling from the corners of his mouth. He said with satisfaction, "I never thought... you could push me this far... But this ends here."

The dark red Susanoo began to evolve. Meridians and flesh grew over its skeleton, and it donned ancient armor, like a war god from myth. In its right hand was a phantom longsword burning with orange flames, the Totsuka Blade, while its left hand held an oddly shaped solid shield of light, the complete Yata Mirror. Terrifying pressure spread through the air.

Sasuke's expression changed drastically. He could feel that almost none of his chakra remained, but his fierce will to survive and take revenge drove him into motion. He quickly leaped away, trying to widen the distance.

Watching Sasuke's panicked expression, Itachi controlled Susanoo and advanced step by step. "You cannot escape."

Susanoo swung the Totsuka Blade. Though slow, its range was enormous, and the wind pressure from its slash alone could cleave stone apart. Sasuke rolled and leaped desperately through the ruins, using the terrain to evade every strike by the narrowest margin. He tried throwing shuriken at Itachi inside Susanoo, but every attack was easily deflected by the Yata Mirror.

Sasuke was frantic. "No... I can't break through that defense at all! My chakra, too..."

Itachi's Susanoo raised the Totsuka Blade again. This time, the blade suddenly extended and stabbed toward Sasuke at unimaginable speed! Sasuke desperately leaped backward at the critical moment, the sword tip grazing his chest. Though it did not strike him directly, the sealing power and impact carried by the Totsuka Blade still left Sasuke dizzy and unable to breathe, sending him crashing to the ground.

Sasuke struggled to get up, but his body would not obey him due to chakra exhaustion and his injuries. He roared helplessly, "Move... move already!"

He could only watch as Itachi controlled Susanoo and approached step by step. Susanoo's enormous fingers reached out toward the immobile Sasuke.

At last, a trace of despair flashed through Sasuke's eyes. "Is this... the end for me...? My revenge... ends like this..."

At that moment, a sudden change occurred! The Heaven Curse Mark on the back of Sasuke's neck burned fiercely and spread. A vast amount of white flesh burst uncontrollably from his body, forming an enormous white serpent with eight heads—the Eight-Headed Serpent! Orochimaru's hoarse, wild laughter came from the largest serpent head.

Orochimaru laughed smugly. "Hahaha! I finally waited for this moment! Itachi, Sasuke's exhausted body, and your Sharingan—I will take them all!"

The Eight-Headed Serpent hissed and lunged at Susanoo and Itachi within it.

Itachi remained calm, even showing a trace of understanding. He felt relieved instead and said, "You finally came out, Orochimaru."

Facing the oncoming eight serpent heads, Itachi's Susanoo steadily swung the Totsuka Blade. The sword flashed, and seven heads were severed at once. The Totsuka Blade became flowing light, instantly wrapping around Orochimaru's true body—a long white serpent emerging from the eighth head's mouth—and mercilessly dragging him into the red gourd hanging at Susanoo's waist.

Orochimaru wore an expression of disbelief and only managed one final unwilling scream. "No—!!!"

The Curse Mark completely vanished along with Orochimaru's sealing. Sasuke felt weak all over, but temporarily regained some control over his body.

After sealing Orochimaru, Itachi Uchiha's Susanoo began to flicker unstably and soon dissipated. Itachi knew he had reached his limit. Blood poured from his mouth as his steps became unsteady, and he staggered toward Sasuke, who sat collapsed on the ground. By then, Itachi's vision had become extremely blurred; he was moving solely through the last of his will.

Sasuke watched Itachi approach. He wanted to move, but could not even lift a finger and could only stare in terror.

Itachi finally reached Sasuke. Trembling, he raised his bloodstained right index finger and slowly extended it toward Sasuke's forehead, just as he had countless times in their memories. The coldness was gone from his face, replaced by an incomparably gentle smile after laying down all his burdens, touched with a hint of apology.

Itachi's voice was so soft it was almost a whisper. Sasuke could not hear what Itachi was saying, but he stared with terrified eyes and saw the words his brother had told him countless times in his memories, now clearer than ever. "Forgive me, Sasuke... this is the last time."

Driven by inertia, Itachi's finger finally tapped Sasuke's forehead lightly. Blood flowed down Sasuke's forehead from the finger. Itachi's arm dropped limply, his body tipped forward, and he fell heavily against Sasuke's shoulder before sliding to the ground, motionless.

Rain began to fall in a light drizzle.

Sasuke froze. At the instant his revenge was fulfilled, there was no ecstatic joy as he had imagined, only a vast emptiness and confusion. He stared blankly at Itachi's corpse beside him as rain soaked his hair and face. Just moments ago, when Itachi had walked toward him, he had still feared losing his eyes. During the battle, he had noticed that Itachi's vision was failing. Until that moment, he had believed Itachi wanted his eyes to obtain the Eternal Mangekyo Sharingan.

"Aaaaaaah—!!!"

Sasuke fell to his knees and threw back his head in a heart-wrenching howl.

Outside the hall, Karin and the others heard the sound and tried to rush in, but Kisame stopped them.

"It is over." Kisame looked toward the open ground. "Let them... let the brothers be alone for a while."

Amegakure, before the Demonic Statue of the Outer Path.

Within the light of the Phantom Projection Technique, everyone silently watched the shared image come to an end.

Pain's voice rang out. "Itachi Uchiha's death is confirmed. Sasuke Uchiha has awakened the Mangekyo Sharingan."

Tobi, standing in a corner, slowly walked to the center. His comical, frivolous demeanor vanished, replaced by low, imposing authority.

"I will bring Sasuke back. He will take Itachi's place."

Neji displayed just the right amount of shock, leaning back slightly. "Tobi... your voice..."

Tobi ignored him and gave his orders directly. "Pain, Konan, and Sake, the three of you will launch a direct assault on Konoha and capture the Nine-Tails. Kisame and I will capture the Eight-Tails. Zetsu will provide support. The operation begins in three days."

After a moment of silence, Pain nodded. "Agreed."

"This is the final operation." Tobi's tone was heavy. "Once the tailed beasts are gathered, the Eye of the Moon Plan will begin. True peace... is right before us."

The Phantom Projection Technique dissipated. Obito no longer even wanted to keep up the act. He had begun issuing orders in Pain's place. Hopefully, his acting could fool Obito. He also needed to tell Tsunade about Itachi's intelligence and Pain's planned assault on Konoha in three days. As for how Konoha would respond, he had already informed them of Pain's abilities. Combined with Itachi's intelligence, there should not be too many casualties. After all, before absolute power, any defense was meaningless.