Clang!
A piercing clash shattered the night.
Kisame, at the last second, sensed the danger and angled Samehada to block, but the monstrous force from Sasuke's sword tip sent his pupils shrinking. His body hurtled backward, blood's coppery tang seeping from his chest.
His old wounds hadn't fully healed.
This single strike stunned even Itachi. At Sasuke's age, even he couldn't muster such raw power.
"Itachi-san, we can't let him escape!" Kisame growled, ignoring his injury. The white bandages on Samehada had torn apart in the clash, revealing its scaly, monstrous blade.
His hands flashed through seals.
Water Style: Water Shark Bullet Jutsu!
A shark-shaped torrent roared toward Sasuke. Kisame restrained himself, avoiding louder techniques in this covert mission.
But Sasuke danced through intricate steps, his body weaving effortlessly to dodge the attack.
Under Kakashi's guidance, he'd honed not just his gacha-granted swordsmanship but also ninja taijutsu, mastering chakra-enhanced physicality and Sharingan precision.
Itachi snapped to attention, his form blurring as he appeared before Sasuke.
"Who taught you that swordplay?" he demanded. In this world, swords were alien—Sasuke's blade looked like an odd double-edged knife.
"Scared?" Sasuke sneered at the brother he loathed. "You forced me to live in hatred and misery, groveling in your shadow. Now, I'll make you writhe in regret and torment!"
Itachi fell silent, then asked, "How do you plan to make me suffer?"
"Hmph." Sasuke raised his katana, its tip locked on Itachi. "As long as I live and grow stronger, your path will never succeed. Your heart will burn with anguish!"
That was the Heartless Sword's cruel truth. If the beloved outshone the seeker, the path became an inescapable torment—a blade that cut both ways.
Itachi studied Sasuke, realization dawning.
"So… you know." He sighed inwardly, deciding to play along. "You're right. I spared you because you're my final step to perfection."
The Uchiha were cursed by love. Killing kin unlocked the Mangekyo Sharingan; only a sibling's eyes could forge the Eternal Mangekyo.
Itachi assumed Sasuke had uncovered this secret.
Sasuke's eyes widened, his body trembling—with excitement or rage, he couldn't tell. Pointing at Itachi, he roared, "You admit it! You slaughtered our parents, our clan, for that path! I'll never let you succeed!"
Itachi gazed at Sasuke's two-tomoe Sharingan, a pang of disappointment stirring. Still only two tomoe? Was his hatred too weak?
His body wouldn't last long. Before it failed, Sasuke needed at least three tomoe, if not the Mangekyo.
So…
"Knowing changes nothing," Itachi said, his crimson eyes glinting demonically in the moonlight, voice cold as ancient ice. "Foolish little brother, you think you can stop me? In the end, you'll share our parents' fate."
"Shut up!" Sasuke's face twisted in fury. Hearing "father" and "mother" from Itachi's lips was revolting.
"Shut up? You?" Itachi stepped forward. "To stop me, hate me, despise me. Weak as you are, what can you do?"
"…"
Kisame glanced at Itachi, then touched his reopened chest wound. Weak? At Sasuke's age, with that strength?
Then he recalled Itachi's own prowess at that age.
Kisame stayed silent. Monstrous brothers.
"You call me weak?" Sasuke lifted his head, chakra surging. His clothes and hair rippled as if stirred by an unseen wind. "Then tell your partner to back off. Face my power yourself!"
"Oh?" Itachi's voice was a soft challenge.
"This is between us," Sasuke said, his gaze sharp as a blade's edge. His katana still aimed at Itachi, he spoke slowly. "I have one ultimate move. Do you dare face it?"
Itachi met his brother's eyes.
No fear. Only searing killing intent and a matured resolve.
He'd grown so much.
"Kisame," Itachi said calmly, "stay out of this."
"…Alright." Kisame eyed Itachi, hefted Samehada, and stepped aside.
He knew Itachi's strength. Unless he held back deliberately, Sasuke stood no chance in a one-on-one.
And Kisame trusted his eyes to spot any restraint. The Akatsuki paired them to watch each other, after all.
"Show me," Itachi said, spreading his arms as if in an embrace. "How you've changed since that night."
"You'll see." Sasuke's voice dripped with icy malice. "I've learned what it means to be a true ninja!"
His aura surged, coalescing into a palpable force.
He raised his katana high.
Invisible currents erupted from him, intangible yet blinding, as if each was a shimmering blade unsheathed.
"What move is this?" Kisame muttered, eyes narrowing.
He'd never seen such a technique.
Sasuke was gathering power, but this aura—pure, sharp, cold yet radiant, as if all foes were mere shadows before him—was extraordinary.
To infuse emotion into a move was unheard of in the ninja world.
"Sasuke…" Itachi murmured, a trace of awe in his voice.
In his brother, he sensed an immaculate, unblemished spirit.