Thunder pierced heaven and earth.
The gigantic Kirin beast formed from lightning, bearing the will to destroy everything, slammed fiercely into Susanoo's burning shield.
There was no earth-shattering explosion as imagined, because the sound had been instantly swallowed by the immense density of energy. Only a blinding white aurora silently engulfed the entire Naka Shrine. Then came the deafening roar, as though the heavens had collapsed and the earth had sunk.
The shockwave swept outward in a ring, uprooting every tree within a hundred meters and reducing the shrine's broken walls to dust in an instant.
Sasuke's Power Armor let out a strained wail. Every vent blasted out scorching red steam. Half-kneeling on the ground, he gasped for breath, white spots lingering on his retinas while nothing but piercing ringing filled his ears.
"Did I win...?"
Sasuke stared fixedly at the billowing dust ahead. That attack had charged the atmosphere with vast amounts of electricity and drained every last trace of chakra stored within his armor.
The dust slowly dispersed.
At the center of the ruins, vitrified by the intense heat, an enormous orange-red skeleton still stood tall. Though it was covered in cracks and the legendary Yata Mirror had dimmed, it had not shattered in the end.
Protected by the skeleton, Itachi Uchiha knelt on the ground, coughing up blood in great mouthfuls. Yet he was still alive.
"Is this... your full strength?" Itachi's voice was as weak as a dying flame in the wind, yet it was sharp enough to drive Sasuke nearly to collapse.
"You've... got to be kidding..."
Sasuke's eyes instantly bloodshot, an uncontrollable despair and fury surged up from the depths of his heart.
Technology, ninjutsu, even the power of nature itself... Even after going this far, he still could not cross that gap?
"Warning: