Fists wrapped in Chakra struck Itachi again and again with dull thuds.
Each impact produced a bone-jarring thud, making his slender body stumble backward, cracking the stone slabs beneath his feet.
"Why didn't Kotoamatsukami control you?"
"Before my burning will of fire, no genjutsu can have any effect."
Bang!
Another heavy punch, imbued with the force of wind and thunder, accurately slammed into Itachi's abdomen. The immense force hurled him violently against the ruined wall behind him.
With a deafening crash, the solid stone wall instantly became covered in a dense web of cracks.
Itachi's body was deeply embedded in the wall's indentation, and blood dripped from the corner of his lips down his chin.
Before he could be shocked by Satoshi's provocative words, he discovered something even more unbelievable. He had clearly seen the trajectory of Satoshi's fist, condensed with terrifying Chakra. However, at the crucial moment, his body seemed to be tightly bound by invisible chains.
Satoshi's figure slowly emerged from the lingering smoke and dust.
Itachi struggled to raise his head, his pupils suddenly contracting. In Satoshi's scarlet eyes, the familiar Three Tomoe had vanished. In its place was a pattern he had never seen before.
Mangekyo Sharingan!
"Mangekyo... you too...?"
A chilling coldness instantly spread throughout his body.
He understood instantly that, like himself, a tremendous stimulus had pushed Satoshi to an unprecedented height.
Regardless of the reason, the appearance of these eyes meant a fight to the death.
Facing this destined rival, who had defeated him in the Chunin Exams and now also awakened the Mangekyo, the complex emotions surging in Itachi's chest transformed into a nearly deranged burst of laughter.
"Hahahahahahaha! Satoshi! Come on! Let me see what kind of capacity these newborn eyes of yours truly hold!"
Satoshi was confused.
What was this bastard talking about?
How could such an idiot even talk about capacity?
Sure enough, everyone who awakens a Mangekyo Sharingan is a lunatic.
He wasn't.
He was a guardian of Konoha who inherited the will of the Second Hokage, Tobirama.
No more words were needed. After a fated gaze, the two figures, like arrows released from a bowstring, once again shot towards each other.
Clang... Clang... Clang...
The deathly silent Uchiha street was instantly filled with the harsh clang of metal.
"Satoshi, this time, I won't lose!" Itachi roared, his Mangekyo spinning wildly, trying to catch Satoshi's weakness.
Responding to him was Satoshi's even fiercer offensive. The blade precisely shattered Itachi's blocking kunai, once again replaying that decisive scene from the Chunin Exams.
A powerful side kick, heavy with force, landed squarely on Itachi's chest.
Itachi's figure flew backward again. He crashed heavily into another crumbling wall, sending rubble flying.
Water Release: Water Dragon Biting Explosion!
A massive amount of Water Chakra instantly condensed, and a giant water dragon appeared out of thin air. With an aura of crushing everything in its path, it lunged towards Itachi in the pile of rubble.
At this moment, the pinwheel pattern in Itachi's eyes suddenly accelerated its rotation.
Dark flames ignited out of nowhere, instantly engulfing Satoshi's figure.
Amaterasu!
The inextinguishable black flames frantically licked the air, emitting destructive high temperatures.
Itachi gasped, staring intently at the swirling black flames, waiting for Satoshi to turn to ash.
Sizzle!
The harsh sound of rushing water tore through the silence.
Right in the center of the fiercely burning black flames, a rapidly rotating water vortex appeared out of thin air. The turbulent water currents firmly encased Satoshi.
The Amaterasu black flames, said to incinerate all things, futilely adhered to the outer perimeter of the water curtain, unable to penetrate an inch.
"What?!"
Itachi's shock was beyond measure. He knew the terror of Amaterasu all too well.
How many trump cards did Satoshi have?
Enveloped by the water vortex, Satoshi stepped out of the black flames unharmed, his cold Mangekyo Sharingan locked on Itachi.
Inextinguishable black flames?
Before a cheat, they were just trash!
"If that's the case, then what!"
The extreme shock instantly transformed into even more complete madness.
The Chakra within Itachi's body erupted like a volcano, releasing without reservation.
"The ultimate power of the Uchiha clan! Susanoo!"
Scarlet light shot into the sky. A giant skeletal frame rose from the ground, muscles and sinews rapidly covering it, and a Chakra cloak quickly condensed into form. A half-bodied red giant stood atop the ruins.
Satoshi slightly raised his head, his hands slowly coming together. In an instant, the natural energy of the world surged wildly into his body. Below his eyelids, two golden eye shadows quietly appeared.
A vast power rippled around him. Senjutsu Chakra furiously condensed and compressed in his palm, emitting a dazzling azure light.
Sage Art: Rasengan.
Itachi was completely insane at this point. "Hahahahaha! Any attack is futile in the face of Susanoo's absolute defense!"
Itachi was now completely consumed by the madness of power and his obsession with his destined rival.
"It's useless! Struggle! And then turn to dust with despair!"
Before he finished speaking, Satoshi's figure moved.
The peak speed achieved under Sage Mode left an afterimage in his original spot. His true body had appeared like a ghost before Susanoo's massive head.
He held high the Rasengan, containing destructive Senjutsu Chakra, and with overwhelming force, slammed it onto Susanoo's seemingly impenetrable Chakra armor.
Time seemed to freeze at this moment.
Crack!
In an instant that Itachi's Mangekyo Sharingan couldn't even capture, where the Rasengan touched, the cracks in Susanoo's supposedly absolute defense, its Chakra cloak, instantly spread.
Boom!
Immediately following, the entire giant half-body, starting from the head, collapsed with a roar. Scarlet Chakra fragments, like a collapsing mountain, scattered and flew.
Itachi was struck, spitting out a mouthful of blood. His body fell limply from the disintegrating giant's remains, crashing heavily into the ruins and rubble.
"Why, why, why!"
Itachi let out a hysterical roar.
The ultimate power of the Uchiha clan had once again been completely shattered by this young man in such a brutal manner.
Itachi struggled to stand up. He was unwilling, he still had Sasuke.
He used his last bit of strength.
Fire Release: Great Dragon Fire Technique.
Water Release: Water Dragon Bullet Technique.
A ferocious roaring fire dragon and a surging roaring water dragon violently collided.
Boom!
Amidst the deafening explosion, water and fire clashed, instantly rising into a thick white steam mist that covered the sky and obscured the sun. It completely enveloped the core of the battlefield, cutting off all visibility.
Itachi clutched his chest's fatal wound, breathing rapidly. He stared intently at the edge of the dense mist, waiting for the figure wearing the spiral mask to appear, waiting for his last trump card. However, the expected spatial vortex did not appear.
Satoshi slowly reached for his waist. A crisp clang of a blade rang out as the short sword was slowly drawn.
On the blade, Chakra flowed faintly like water ripples.
What Itachi waited for was only a figure that tore through the dense mist, moving so fast it surpassed the limits of vision.
Flying Thunder God Slash.
Itachi's eyes reflected the cold blade, and Satoshi's movements had no pause. His arm became an afterimage, and the short sword pierced Itachi's heart with absolute precision.
Thud!
The sound of a sharp object piercing flesh was exceptionally clear.
Itachi's body stiffened abruptly, the madness, unwillingness, and pain in his eyes instantly froze, then rapidly dimmed.
Blood continuously gushed out, staining the rubble beneath him red.
"Itachi, this is the last time. You don't have to forgive me."
Itachi, dead.
Black Zetsu, observing from the shadows, had a face full of surprise and bewilderment.
"According to Obito's plan, tonight he and Itachi were supposed to team up to eliminate all Uchiha except Sasuke."
"As for Satoshi, Itachi swore he had a way to deal with him."
Black Zetsu really wanted to curse.
He had no way at all.
As for the will of fire resisting genjutsu? Bragging.
That thing was useless even if it burned out, alright.
Just then, not far from the battlefield, a swirling ripple of space silently twisted into appearance.
A figure wearing a spiral mask, with only one scarlet Sharingan exposed, had just stepped out of the Kamui dimension.
"Too late."
"Retreat." Black Zetsu decided immediately, "A chess piece loses its value when it's discarded."
After speaking, he quickly retreated into the ground.
Obito took a deep look at the figure standing in the darkness, and space twisted again. His figure also silently vanished from the spot.