Even though Fugaku's half-body Susanoo was not yet a complete Susanoo, every Uchiha who had never witnessed this terrifying ability firsthand was shocked into silence!
What kind of power was that?
Were they really members of the same clan?
Their clan leader had been hiding such tremendous power all this time?!!
Its terrifying aura made even those merely looking at the Susanoo feel dizzy.
Fugaku merely waved his arm, and the nearby buildings collapsed with a thunderous crash, fully exposing the roughly ten-meter-tall half-body giant to everyone around him.
Even in the pitch-black night, this black Susanoo remained conspicuous. Soon, however, it would no longer be the most conspicuous one.
Feeling Uchiha Fugaku's gaze on him, Uchiha Itachi took a deep breath, slowly closed his eyes, then snapped them open.
The instant Itachi opened his eyes, an orange-red phantom projected out of his body. Energy formed from a mixture of ocular power and chakra instantly condensed into successive layers of bones. The Susanoo enveloping him gradually took shape, growing strands of sinew and masses of muscle from its initial skeletal phantom, until it even donned armor, becoming a red, armored half-body deity!
Unlike Fugaku's Susanoo, Itachi's possessed not only a shield, but also a gourd blazing with roaring flames in its hand.
The Totsuka Blade and the Yata Mirror!
The two giants faced each other from afar. The distance of a great hall was hardly far in their giant forms; both stood within the other's attack range, especially Uchiha Itachi.
Although it was not a complete form and lacked a forty-meter-long blade, the Totsuka Blade's Sealing Jutsu was no empty boast. Never mind Orochimaru's Eight-Headed Serpent-even Nagato brought back through Impure World Reincarnation could not withstand it.
While the two Susanoo faced off, a head poked out from the nearby ruins.
Sasuke: (一`ˊ一)
Why did it feel like Fugaku had deliberately smashed the place where I was hiding?
Goddammit, those bricks practically grazed my scalp as they flew past! That rotten father absolutely did it on purpose!
"Whoa, your dad and your brother actually started fighting! Is this really okay?"
Just then, another blond head wearing a fox mask poked out beside Sasuke, staring in astonishment at the two Susanoo that had already begun fighting while poking Sasuke in the side.
"It's fine. Let them fight. The harder, the better, and the bigger the commotion, the better. I still think this spectacle isn't big enough. Ideally, they'd fight so loudly the whole Shinobi World could see it."
Curling his lip, Sasuke took out his communicator and notified Fugaku's most trusted confidants to evacuate the clan members first, then sent Fugaku and Itachi a message each to "break up" the fight.
[Aw, fuhgeddaboudit, fuhgeddaboudit. Just trade a couple of blows and make some noise. Dad's had his Mangekyo for years and has plenty of experience. You ain't gonna beat him.]
[Aw, fuhgeddaboudit, fuhgeddaboudit. Just trade a couple of blows and make some noise. My brother just awakened his Mangekyo, and he's young and strong. You ain't gonna beat him.]
Fugaku & Itachi: (눈_눈)
Why had that unfilial son/idiotic little brother suddenly sent another message? ×2
Whether Sasuke's words had worked or the two had wanted to properly test each other's strength all along, a sharp glint appeared in both men's eyes as they stared at each other from inside their Susanoo.
Fight!
Rumble-
A pillar of fire that seemed to bridge heaven and earth suddenly erupted from the Totsuka Blade's gourd in Itachi's hand. Radiating immense divine might, it slashed straight down at Fugaku. Strictly speaking, this was not how the attack should be used to maximize its effect. It should pierce its target directly, whereupon the target would be sealed inside the Totsuka Blade's gourd.
This divine weapon, also known as the Sword of Totsuka, would leave its target as though drunken, sinking forever into a world of illusion.
But Uchiha Itachi was not actually trying to murder his father, so naturally, he chose whatever made the biggest spectacle.
The flaming sword pierced the clouds, its dazzling light illuminating the dark night sky around them and making the sword-wielding Susanoo resemble a true deity!
[Father, this is part of the plan.]
"Holy shit! Uchiha profanity" Light flickered in Uchiha Fugaku's Mangekyo as he saw dozens of future scenes in which he was sealed away, and he could not help swearing. Hearing Uchiha Itachi's words through the communicator nearly made him lose his composure altogether.
Since when had Uchiha Itachi become an unfilial brat too? Fuck "part of the plan"! This was the Young Guard trying to seize power!
What happened to putting on an act? Why did this feel like he meant it?
The corner of Fugaku's eye twitched uncontrollably. He took a deep breath, abandoned all other considerations, and stopped conserving his ocular power entirely. In an instant, he manifested a pitch-black rock cave outside his Susanoo, blocking the Totsuka Blade's flaming edge.
[Heavenly Rock Cave]!
In a sense, it was a divine artifact similar to the Totsuka Blade and the Yata Mirror. According to legend, when the goddess Amaterasu hid inside the Heavenly Rock Cave, Omoikane devised the plan that tricked her into coming out. So, for Fugaku, whose Dojutsu was Omoikane, to have the Heavenly Rock Cave as his Susanoo's exclusive weapon was surely reasonable...
Reasonable, my ass!
Why did everyone else fight with weapons, while you swung a house around?
Naruto Uzumaki stared dumbfounded at the Heavenly Rock Cave enclosing Uchiha Fugaku's Susanoo like a nesting doll. Even as he was mentally complaining, he saw Fugaku's Susanoo grab one corner of the Heavenly Rock Cave after blocking the Totsuka Blade's initial assault and smash it straight at Uchiha Itachi.
Just looking at it, this blow was even more imposing than the earlier Totsuka Blade strike. It bore down with crushing force like a small mountain, threatening to smash him into dust!
The sight made Naruto Uzumaki abruptly yank off his mask.
"I used to think you and Uncle Fugaku weren't alike, but looking at this fighting style, you two really are father and son..."
Recalling the time Sasuke had used nature energy to fly into the air and bombard Kakashi with huge rocks from above, Naruto Uzumaki could not help smacking his lips.
Beside him, Sasuke rolled his eyes.
"So you insisted on coming along right now to watch the show just to compliment me? No, wait-you came to compliment my dad and take a jab at me?"
"Well, no..."
"Then why aren't you using Mind's Eye of the Kagura to locate the Root operatives around us? Weren't you the one who kept saying you wanted to come collect some interest?"
As he spoke, Sasuke activated his Purple Demon Eye and whipped his head around. A ninja dressed as an ANBU had crept over through the ruined wall behind them and lunged at him, holding a drum.
One glare from Sasuke dropped the ninja to the ground. Curling his lip, he flipped Naruto the middle finger, then stepped forward and removed the attacker's mask, intending to inspect their tongue.
Huh, a woman. Couldn't tell which clan she belonged to from her looks. That glare might have been a little too strong, though-her eyes were already rolling back, her tongue hanging out, and drool spilling from her mouth.
Sasuke solemnly inspected the female ninja's flushed face, then glanced at her outrageously oversized "headlights." He turned with gleaming eyes, only for Naruto to speak first, his own eyes sparkling.
"Whoa, Sasuke, I suspect she's hiding some enormous lethal weapons on her. We need to search her thoroughly."
"Hmph, creep! How could a man such as I stoop to such behavior!" Sasuke snapped, giving Naruto a thoroughly contemptuous look.
Still, although the female ninja could no longer move, it was best to take precautions just in case.
He casually pulled out a thin rope he always kept on hand, leisurely tied the female ninja up, and hung her from a nearby tree.
"Mm, that's more like it. Old Danzo wastes far too much food... Ahem." Just as he was about to launch into a General Yuwen-style speech, Sasuke remembered that he was apparently one of the good guys and promptly gave a dry cough.
"Stop staring! Come on, we've got real work to do!"
"Real work? What real work?" Naruto stared unblinkingly at the female ninja trussed up with Sasuke's rope work, his mind a snowy-white blank.
"...Finding Danzo!"
"Oh, oh, those dumplings are so white..."
Sasuke: (눈_눈)
Do you want to listen to what you're actually saying?
Before you continue