When Kakashi and the other two rushed out of the secret chamber and returned to the main hall, the atmosphere outside had already changed. The rain had stopped at some point, but the sky remained overcast. The cold, damp air brimmed with deadly tension and... a faint trace of blood.
Facing off in the clearing before the main hall were Sasuke Uchiha and Uchiha Itachi!
Yet the situation was completely different from before. Sasuke knelt on one knee, the Kusanagi Sword planted beside him to support his body as he panted heavily. A trickle of dark red blood spilled from the corner of his mouth. The chakra around him was in utter chaos. Purple-black markings spread and writhed uncontrollably across his skin, and his Sharingan were so scarlet they seemed about to bleed, filled with pain, savagery, and a hint of... disbelief. The dark power within him had clearly been severely provoked during the fierce battle, and was on the verge of breaking through the restraints of Indra's chakra and turning on its master!
Across from Sasuke, Uchiha Itachi remained standing, but his expression was no longer calm and indifferent. There was a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth as well, and several obvious tears in his Akatsuki cloak. Clearly, Sasuke's reckless, frenzied attacks had not left him unscathed. More striking, however, was that the eyes he had activated were not ordinary Sharingan, but the Mangekyō Sharingan! Their pinwheel patterns slowly revolved, radiating cold, immense waves of ocular power.
Strangely, Itachi did not immediately unleash a lethal ocular technique such as Tsukuyomi or Amaterasu. His gaze remained fixed on Sasuke, particularly on the restless dark power within him. Deep in his eyes lurked a trace of an extraordinarily complex, unreadable emotion-was it solemn concern? Grim resolve? Or...