Kakashi was breathing heavily, his Sharingan wide open. He steadied himself as that move had drained a huge amount of chakra from him.
The Mangekyou Sharingan in his eye slowly faded, returning to its normal three-tomoe state.
What was this feeling? And what kind of power was that?
As long as he stared hard at one spot, could he just make things around it vanish?
This was the first time Kakashi had ever used this ability, and he didn't expect it could even break Uchiha Itachi's genjutsu.
Normally, a person couldn't break free from the eye techniques of the Sharingan on their own.
Kakashi couldn't help rubbing the corner of his eye, which was still burning hot. Of course, touching it didn't change anything.
"What happened?! Kakashi?"
"Can we open our eyes now?"
Kurenai and Asuma only heard silence around them, followed by Kakashi's heavy breathing. That made both of them nervous.
Was it over?
Kakashi looked at what was left in front of him—Itachi's lower body, still spraying blood everywhere.
Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the blood suddenly turned into a cloud of crows that scattered in all directions.
"Don't open your eyes!"
Kakashi quickly shouted, and the two behind him squeezed their eyes shut even tighter.
A storm of crows rushed at Kakashi, blocking out all his vision.
Then Itachi's voice echoed from every direction around him.
"I didn't think you'd be able to use the Mangekyou Sharingan too. As expected of Kakashi-senpai."
Judging by his reactions earlier, Kakashi's overall skill level still seemed to be about the same as back in his Anbu days.
Just like Hatake Satoru said, this guy really hasn't improved much at all.
Of course, even without much improvement, Kakashi was still stronger than most of the weaker shinobi in the village.
But Itachi truly didn't expect Kakashi to push an 'add-on' Sharingan all the way to Mangekyou level.
And it happened inside his genjutsu, forcing him to awaken it.
Even though this looked like his first time using it, and his accuracy and power weren't quite there yet…
Just being able to activate it was already impressive.
"But if you think that's enough to kill me, you're still too naive."
Itachi's voice came from right next to Kakashi's ear. Kakashi whipped his head around, but all he saw were countless black feathers swirling around him.
He turned back again, and in that instant, a pair of blood-red eyes with three spinning blades stared back at him.
"Damn…"
Kakashi muttered when he saw those eyes.
So Itachi had Mangekyou Sharingan too.
Under equal conditions, there was no way his borrowed eye could beat Itachi's own.
"You managed to break one Sharingan genjutsu. But this one has no escape."
"Genjutsu—Tsukuyomi."
"For the next forty-eight hours, you'll experience suffocation over and over again."
The black feathers fell away from Kakashi's face.
His eyes widened as everything around him began to spin, then he was swallowed by endless darkness.
Unlike the last time, when a blood-red scene and stabbing blades tormented him, this time Itachi wasn't there.
Kakashi hesitated and stepped forward, only for the ground under his feet to suddenly collapse. Dark red mud, thick like it was mixed with blood, began to swallow him.
Even focusing chakra to his feet didn't help at all.
He couldn't break free from this pit.
Kakashi quickly sank into the swamp. The dark red mud, thick with a sharp, bloody smell, rose up to just below his nose.
Then the swamp swallowed him completely. Unable to breathe, Kakashi slowly lost consciousness.
Moments later, when he opened his eyes again, he was standing on the same swampy ground.
Only this time, there were many other versions of himself standing unsteadily around him.
Kakashi looked up at the darkness around him. Not far away, an unusually bright, clear full moon hung in the sky.
Uchiha Itachi's voice echoed from all directions once more.
"In the world of Tsukuyomi, I control everything—space, time, and even substance."
"For the next forty-eight hours, you will keep drowning and gasping for air, over and over."
"How long can your mind hold up?"
Kakashi felt his feet give way, and he suddenly plunged downward again.
He looked up one last time. The bright moon closed like an eye, then turned deep red—now a bloody crimson moon.
With a loud splash, Kakashi slammed onto the ground, gasping heavily, taking in deep breaths of air.
Sakura and Asuma had no idea what was happening. They stood anxiously beside Kakashi, eyes tightly shut as they asked.
"Hey Kakashi, what's going on? Why did you collapse the moment that guy spoke?"
Kakashi knelt on one knee, still overwhelmed. He had never felt so grateful just to breathe.
Even though he'd lived through two full days in that darkness, only an instant had passed in the real world?
If Itachi had wanted to kill him, he could have done it easily just now.
So why didn't he?
Hoshigaki Kisame instantly moved from the ground to stand beside Itachi. He looked at Kakashi, who was still able to stand, and said,
"He survived that technique and his mind didn't break?"
"But Itachi, using those eyes too much is dangerous for you too."
Itachi frowned slightly but didn't answer.
Kakashi began to understand. The Mangekyo Sharingan didn't just harm others—it clearly had serious risks for Itachi himself as well.
Both his chakra and his mind were badly damaged.
Kakashi kept breathing hard, struggling to lift his head and look at Itachi.
"Are you here for Sasuke?"
The last surviving member of the Uchiha clan.
Itachi's eyes flickered slightly, but when he heard the name Sasuke, his expression became completely calm.
Coming to see Sasuke was one of Itachi's reasons, yes.
But if he had only come to find his younger brother, Itachi wouldn't have shown up so openly, or brought someone else along.
This was official business.
Itachi brushed his wind-blown hair aside and said quietly, his eyes half closed,
"No. It's about the Fourth Hokage's legacy."
---
Read 30 advanced chapters on my patreon
patreon.com/GustinaKamiya
---